My RØDE Reel is Back With a Million Dollars in Prizes for Your Short Films

The fifth year of RØDE's short film competition offers the biggest prizes ever.

My RØDE Reel has lots to celebrate. In only five years, it has become the world's largest short film competition. And filmmakers everywhere have reason to celebrate along with RØDE—the Australian pro-audio company behind the contest—because this year there are more categories and bigger prizes than ever available to entrants.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter! With 30 contest categories broken down by elements like genre, tech, and region, there are opportunities for both aspiring and professional filmmakers to win. You can shoot your entry on any kind of camera, from a cinema camera to a smartphone.

How do I enter?

All you have to do to enter is to make a short film of three minutes or less in any style on any topic, plus a behind-the-scenes featurette showcasing the RØDE product(s) used in the making of the film. Entry is free and there's even a free starter pack available at myrodereel.com.

What are the big prizes?

RØDE has teamed up with some of the world's most respected brands in filmmaking to assemble this year’s giant prize pool, valued at an incredible $1 million. These brands include: Blackmagic Design, Zhiyun, Musicbed, MZed, Blastwave FX, FuzzMeasure, Movcam, Rhino, Miller, Astora, Angelbird, Freefly, CamCaddie, FilmConvert, Lowepro, Red Giant, Moment, Atomos, iOgrapher, Adobe, JOBY, Michael Wiese Productions, APHEX and SoundField.

What are the award categories?

There are several award categories, including Judges’ Film Award, People’s Choice Award, Female Filmmaker Award, and a Young Filmmaker Award for the best short film by an entrant under 18 years old, as well as prizes for the best behind-the-scenes films.

This year also features an exciting new category called The Pitch. According to the company, this category offers "a once-in-a-lifetime chance for budding creatives to win a year-long, all-expenses-paid job as a Video Content Producer at RØDE HQ in Sydney, Australia! To enter, creators send a compelling 3-minutes-max showreel or 'pitch' to explain why they should work at RØDE."

For some inspiration for any category, check out the winner of last year's Judges' Prize: Midnight Toker by Nick Coffin.

Entries for My RØDE Reel 2018 are open now and close July 31st, 2018. Find out more details and enter here. Good luck!