Can You Cut It? 2013 - Absinthe editing comp returns!

UPDATE: This competition is now closed and we’re currently reviewing all of your entries. Stay tuned for a shortlist dropping soon!

Our widely popular editing competition is back for another year with fresh footage from the mighty Absinthe Films to get stuck into. If you’ve ever fancied yourself as a snowboard film-maker, this is your chance to show the world just what you’ve got. Our Can You Cut It? competition gives you an opportunity to cut and edit footage of the best riders in the world including Nicolas Muller, Gigi Ruf, Bode Merrill, Eric Jackson and Danny Kass.

Like last year, we’ll be asking Absinthe’s top dog Brusti to take a look at your work and pick his favourites. The winning edit (chosen from Brusti’s shortlist by a public vote) will then be included as an extra on next year’s Absinthe DVD.

UPDATE: Brusti himself has just got in touch to let us know that the prize has just got even sweeter! On top of getting your edit on the Absinthe DVD, the top three edits will also receive the pimpin’ Home watch worth €250 shown below! How’s that for a bit of added incentive?

So not only do you get to work with the world’s best riders, you also get your work seen by one of the world’s best filmmakers, as well as thousands of fellow riders. So what does it all involve?

Absinthe have given us a whole load of raw footage from their latest masterpiece Resonance, so much in fact, that we had a really hard time compressing it down into a reasonable download size to distribute to you guys! We’ve got two resolutions of footage for you to choose from depending on your download speed: a 720p (1GB mp4) file which you can download here (UPDATE: download links have been removed as the comp is now closed) or a 1080p file that has been chopped up into 5 pieces: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5 (7.8GB mp4 total). We’d recommend downloading the 1080p footage if your connection can handle it (a higher resolution edit will look better on the DVD if your edit ends up winning), but you won’t be penalised for editing the 720p footage!

We would like you to edit it together into an alternative iTunes teaser for the movie, including sponsor logos, rider names, and anything else you think would get your audience pumped on your intro – as well as the iTunes logo and the sentence “Available on iTunes now” at the end. Upload your entries to Mpora.com before January 31st 2013, making sure to tag them WL-Resonance.

Last year we had some of our best entries to date including the eventual winning edit from Tronic Pro. But remember, this comp is about more than just technical ability: it’s about getting the look and feel of the teaser right – the right song, the right shots, the right pace, the whole lot is important. Regardless of whether you’re a professional editor using multiple Avid suites or a first-time filmmaker on iMovie, it’s worth getting involved. Who knows, you might end up as the next Brusti!

There are a couple more rules that you should be aware of before you get going:
1) Length – your trailer should be no longer than three minutes. That should be more than enough time to create a banging, action-packed edit. You don’t want to give away everything to your audience in a trailer now do you?

2) Soundtracks – feel free to cut your teaser to any tune, but be aware that music rights are expensive, and the better known the song is, the more expensive they will be. In the event of copyright claims, we may have to withdraw your entry. So best to avoid The Beatles or Michael Jackson.

3) iTunes – remember the iTunes logo at the end of your trailer, and remember to tell your audience that Resonance is available on iTunes now.

4) Multiple entries – make as many versions as you like. However, only one entry per person will make the final shortlist, so we’ll pick our favourite out of your various efforts and put that forward for consideration.

5) Errr… that’s pretty much it for rules. Happy editing!