THE FILM COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

FAQs

What is Mini Operas?

Mini Operas is a three-part competition from ENO that aims to find new creative talent for opera. We’re out to find creative and innovative writers, composers and filmmakers.

Who can enter?

Absolutely everyone. As long as you have a story to tell – whether that’s in words, music or pictures - we want to hear from you, whatever your age, whatever previous experience you have and wherever you live in the world.

You can enter as an individual or as a group; we just ask that you seek a parent or guardian’s permission to sign up if you’re under 16.

But I don’t know anything about opera. Where do I even begin?

Part of our aim in creating Mini Operas is to question and perhaps even redefine what “opera” can be. That’s why we’re not putting any restrictions on what you create and send in to us. We’ll be posting examples of how you could approach each competition along with lots of expert advice, but anything goes. So as long as your piece is your own original work created specifically for Mini Operas and hasn’t already been published elsewhere, we want to see and/or hear it.

What’s in it for me?

Like we said, we want to identify new creative talent and shine a light on it wherever it might be. People around the world will see your work including our judges and mentors, who include visionaries such as Terry Gilliam, Nico Muhly, Jeremy Sams and many others.

Is there a prize?

In addition to being a major platform to getting your work seen, at the end of Mini Operas we will select three entrants who we think have special talent and could benefit with close personal help from some of the industry’s best people. Jeremy Sams, Nico Muhly and Leo Warner have each kindly agreed to mentor one of our three winners for an academic year. You’ll get to discuss and develop your work with one of the most exciting people in your field.

Ok, all clear so far, but how will the whole thing work?

Here’s Mini Operas in a nutshell:

We have three excellent writers who’ve each kindly given us a story that will serve as the seeds for the whole run of Mini Operas. We want you to read their stories and choose one you want to base your own script on. Then write a script for a 5-7 minute opera and enter it into the competition.

We’ll choose 10 winners whose scripts will go through to the composing competition, where we’ll ask all you music-makers out there to write and record a soundtrack for the script of your choice. What you compose is up to you – it might be anything from a piece for orchestra to the sound of traffic outside your window, or anywhere in between. Just make sure it’s your best effort at setting the words to music as you think best fit.

Round three works the same way: 10 winning soundtracks will go through and then we’ll ask filmmakers to visualise the soundtrack and script in some way. Again, it might be live action, animation or something else – it’s up to you.

We’ll come out the other end with 10 film winners.

Can I submit my piece in a language other than English?

No. All work must be in English.

When exactly does Mini Operas open and close?

Mini Operas is made up of three linked competitions so there are six dates to keep in mind:

The scriptwriting competition comes first. It opens on 26 March 2012 and closes to entries on 21 May 2012. Soundtracks are next – that competition opens on 5 June 2012 and closes 23 July 2012. Finally, the filmmaking competition is open from 6 August 2012 to 24 September 2012.

When will the winners be announced?

Our scriptwriting winners will be announced here on 5 June 2012. Winners in the music making competition will be revealed on 6 August 2012. And the lucky 10 filmmakers who make it through will be named on 8 October 2012. Winners of our mentorships will be announced in October 2012 (date tbc).

Is there a word limit for the script writing competition?

No. We want you to write a script for a short opera around 5-7 minutes in length. Now that’s slightly difficult to quantify, but if you have a look at the examples we’ve made, you’ll get an idea of what we’re looking for. Bear in mind that they’re only examples and you might choose to write something much shorter. Be sure to give the composer who comes after you enough to work with but generally speaking, less usually really is a bit more.

Is there a limit to how many pieces I can enter?

No, you can enter as many scripts, soundtracks or films as you like.

I’m finished! How do I submit my entry?

Each of the three competitions will work slightly differently.

For the scriptwriting competition, we want you to post your finished script to your blog and then come back to the Mini Operas website to tell us who you are and where we can find your script. Don’t worry if you haven’t got a blog already – they’re easy and free to set up. You can use any blog you like, but www.wordpress.com, www.blogger.com and www.tumblr.com are ones we particularly like.

You’ll be able to submit your entries for the music making and filmmaking competitions here on the Mini Operas website. Our friends over at Soundcloud and Vimeo are giving us a hand with these entries, so you’ll need to create an account at Soundcloud to submit a soundtrack and/or Vimeo for a film, but you’ll be able to do that directly here on the Mini Operas website.

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