In the course of a single minute, 100 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube.com. The amount of material that has amassed on the website since its creation nearly 10 years ago has reached a point where the company’s content database scans through the equivalent of 400 years of blooper, prank, monologue, gaming and cat videos every day.
In 1968, when Andy Warhol stated, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” he didn’t know just how right he was.
• What: 15 Minutes Max Student Film Festival
• When: Friday, Oct. 3, at 5 p.m.
• Where: Madison Theater at 1036 Madison Ave., Albany
• Cost: Free and open to the public
Nearly 50 years after Warhol’s remark, through a joint venture with the Times Union, The College of Saint Rose will feature the “15 Minutes Max Student Film Festival.”
The festival, which will hold a screening Friday, Oct. 3, is in its third year, and as committee member Liz Richard said, it calls attention to local talent in an ever-growing medium.
“The goal of the festival is to present the best student work in the region and present it to the community at large in the hope that it sparks more interest and production,” said Richards, who is also a visiting instructor of communications at Saint Rose.
According to the program’s website, it all started as a conversation among college faculty members recognizing how today’s technology has allowed almost anyone to record video and make it public. That conversation spawned the means of providing Saint Rose students with a “hands on” multimedia competency. From the use of video production assignments to learn foreign languages, to students producing online videos about the advantages and shortcomings of the YouTube culture, to new curriculum focusing on the study of new media, Saint Rose offers a wide range of opportunities for students to become creative producers and critical consumers of digital video.
With the focus on showcasing the best short films produced by local college students, the festival celebrates and encourages everyone to take an interest in film and new media production.
Those students who contribute to the festival follow specific guidelines. First, the film must run no more than 15 minutes long — hence, the name of the festival. Other guidelines include honoring copyright laws, adhering to a PG-13 film rating, and following the Center of Social Media’s Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video.
Students attending colleges within a 50-mile radius of Saint Rose were invited to submit their work for this year’s festival by May. Categories include drama, comedy, mystery, action, science fiction, documentary, video essay, experimental video, news coverage, promotional advertising, music videos and animation.
More than 40 entries were submitted by students from seven colleges, each with the opportunity to earn prizes ranging from $100 to $500.
Richards said the field of artists exhibited an eclectic array of creativity. One of the finalists, she said, pieced together a film without the use of a camera; several hand-drawn pieces were scanned and later animated in sequence.
“I think that there is so much potential here [in the Capital District],” said Richards. “Speaking from someone who enjoys New York City and what it offers, the city limits us [here] in some ways.”
She said the popular perception is creative talents are immediately drawn away to New York City and Los Angeles, therefore people don’t often recognize gifted artists who live locally.
“I’m impressed with the talent,” she said.
The work of 10 finalists will be featured at Albany’s Madison Theater at 1036 Madison Ave., on Friday, Oct. 3, at 5 p.m. Admission is free and the screening is open to the public.
