We’re heading into the last two weeks before Your Big Break entries close. Some of you have already submitted your entry (or entries), while others will still be working hard. So, what’s the best strategy – use every second you have, or upload as soon as you can?
As you know, there are two ways to [...]

You may have heard this before: screenwriting isn’t writing; it’s rewriting.
That’s because unlike other forms of creative writing, a screenplay is never finished. You might write a draft, then stop and have people read it, get some notes, even send it out to professional readers (or studios, if you have an agent) – but regardless [...]

Tuesday: WHERE WE’RE AT
So I have a couple of days off for Christmas, and when I get back THERE ARE NEARLY 40 NEW ENTRIES! Sorry to shout, but that’s the best Christmas present you guys could have given Your Big Break Critic. I’m writing this blog entry … and then I’m diving in!
A few of [...]

Last week I checked out a few notable entries from the United States. This week I’m looking to the United Kingdom. Could we eventually see a UK entry among the five finalists? In order to get through, these entrants will not only need to answer the brief, and entertain – they’ll need to be able [...]

Thursday: KIWI CLASSIC: Eagle Vs. Shark
Anyone who saw Taika Waititi’s Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night (about to receive the feature-length treatment in his second feature, Boy, which bows at Sundance 2010) would perhaps have been blindsided by his first feature, Eagle Vs. Shark. It’s significant that its title – which refers to the [...]

Jonathan King’s Shorts
Jonathan King is the New Zealand director of the horror-comedy Black Sheep and the teen sci-fi adventure Under the Mountain. But before he moved into features, he directed over 100 music videos, often shooting and editing them single-handedly. He then made two short films, Still and Chogar. The first is a supernatural chiller [...]

Your Big Questions
Who can enter?
Your Big Break is a global competition. Provided you are over the age of 18 you can take part.
Do we have to write the screenplay with shooting in Queenstown in mind? Moreover, only Queenstown?
Yes, you will be filming in the Queenstown region only (but you are not shooting a film ‘for’ [...]

CAN YOU DO IT IN TWO DAYS?
You guys are going great! The entries are flooding in and it’s only going to get crazier the closer we get to the January 15th deadline.
Last week I talked about the idea of three minutes, and the challenge of telling a story within this constraint. Many of you are [...]

Okay, so you’ve written your slug, and it’s a glorious thing. Now what? Now you have to write the “big print”, describing the location, characters, and the action that takes place in each scene. This is where you bring the world and the action of your script to life in the mind of the reader [...]

We’ve just added all-new aerial footage to the site, which you can download in your choice of .mov or .mp4 formats! This footage will also be available to the five finalists to use in their films.

You can download the footage from the Inspiration page now.
Also, a quick note about removing your entries: if for whatever [...]