Patchbay Media is launching the Charity Film Challenge, an initiative pitching charities against each other in a race against the clock to create the best film.

Video production company Patchbay Media is launching the Charity Film Challenge, an initiative hoping to support charities and create opportunities for London-based creatives. 

The Charity Film Challenge takes place in October and invites teams of volunteers from across the city to craft documentary-style short films over the course of a single weekend. In a press release, Patchbay describes the initiative as a “hackathon for video”.

Its founder, Patrick Frank, says: “For over a decade, Patchbay Media has found innovative ways to help charities create compelling video content with limited budgets. We see this challenge as another creative avenue that furthers this mission.

'But we know we can't do it alone, which is why we're excited to collaborate with volunteers willing to give their time, experience and expertise to help London-based charities do more life-changing work."  

The challenge will open with a welcome reception on Friday night, where volunteers will meet team members and charities they have been paired with. On-site filming will take place over the weekend. “There’s nothing like getting on-location with professional video equipment, hitting that red record button, and asking that charity founder ‘What are you doing to make the world better and what help do you need to get there faster?’” says Frank. “And it’s important that our volunteers benefit from the Charity Film Challenge too. The goal is to pair students and amateur videographers with production and agency professionals who are looking for mentorship opportunities."

Speaking to Communicate, Frank said he hoped to show what can be achieved even with a limited budget and few resources. “A lot of people assume there is a huge price tag associated with [creative film] and it doesn’t have to be like that.

“Constraints are good. You don't want to just have unlimited budgets and unlimited everything, because then you're just overwhelmed,” he continued. “But if you're given a finite amount of time and resources, equipment, people, that sort of thing - what can you do with that?”