Make a Film in a Flash

Keep it simple , location-wise. "We have been fairly ambitious in the past," Payne says, "and using multiple locations creates a lot of logistics." Plus, releases are necessary for private locations, and public spaces (such as National Park Service grounds) can be a hassle, Brown says, though Metro has been agreeable in the past. If you want to shoot on rail cars or in stations, call Metro public relations coordinator Taryn McNeil in advance at 202-962-1219. But you must avoid cords, tripods and anything that's against the rules. "No running up the escalator the wrong way, no playing dead on the tracks," McNeil says.

Check your footage. Before leaving a location, eyeball the scene on camera to make sure sound was recorded and there were no glaring gaffes.

Finish shooting Saturday. This allows time to transfer the footage to your computer, which may take a while. "Just deal with the fact you missed a scene," Payne says. "Try to fix it in the edit. We've done that by introducing voice-over elements and rolling text on the screen when we had to tie the story together."

OTHER QUICKIE COMPETITIONS

March: The International Documentary Challenge. 120 hours (that's five days).