48 Hours Later
Official Rules & FAQ
Welcome to 48 Hours Later, Fear Screen’s fast-paced filmmaking challenge powered by The Set Starters Group. Designed to test your creativity, teamwork, and stamina as you race to write, shoot, and deliver a complete short film in just two days.
Challenge Schedule
- The 48-Hour Window: The challenge officially kicks off at Fri 16 Oct 2026, 19:00 and runs continuously until Sun 18 Oct 2026, 19:00, exactly 48 hours later.
- All Creative Work: Everything from initial concept and scriptwriting through to production, sound design, and final export must be completed entirely within this 48-hour timeframe.
Production Rules
To keep the competition fair, thrilling, and true to the spirit of the challenge:
- Full Production Cycle: All writing, filming, editing, sound design, and colour grading must be completed within the official 48-hour window.
- Runtime (3 to 10 Minutes): Finished films must run between 3 and 10 minutes, excluding the opening title card. End credits may be included within or run beyond this limit.
- 100% Fresh Footage: All footage must be captured during the challenge window. No stock footage or pre-shot material is allowed, with the sole exception of organizer-supplied assets.
- Copyright & Clearances: No copyrighted material (music, clips, images, artwork) may be used unless you hold verifiable written permission. Original scores or royalty-free licensed content are welcome.
- Trailers & Premiere Embargo: Teasers and trailers up to 60 seconds long may be created and shared online after submission. However, the full film must not be publicly screened or released anywhere before its official Fear Screen Film Festival (FSFF) premiere.
Safety & Permissions
We want everyone to have fun and make incredible horror cinema — but safety always comes first:
- Stunts & Hazardous Locations: Any stunts, prop weapons, pyrotechnics, or potentially hazardous locations must be properly risk-assessed, monitored, and managed responsibly at all times.
- Location & Talent Releases: Teams must secure rights and permissions for all filming locations, cast members, music tracks, sound effects, and images used. This includes worldwide screening and online distribution in perpetuity. (Standard release templates can be found in the participant "Releases" pack).
- On-Camera Consent: Anyone appearing on camera must give explicit permission to be filmed.
- Under 18s: For all cast and crew members under 18 years of age, written consent from a parent or legal guardian is strictly required before the film is cleared.
Content & Eligibility
- Disqualification Rights: Fear Screen Film Festival (FSFF) and its project partners reserve the right to disqualify any entry that breaches these rules or contains material deemed genuinely unsafe, hateful, or non-compliant with challenge submission guidelines.
Using AI in Your 48 Hours Later Entry
At Set Starters Group and 48 Hours Later, we recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool in today’s creative workflow. Used thoughtfully, it can assist teams with scheduling, logistics, and planning. However, we draw a strict line between AI as an administrative support tool and AI as a creative substitute.
Permitted (Admin & Planning)
- Brainstorming title ideas or initial concept prompts
- Generating production documents (call sheets, shot lists, shooting schedules)
- Assisting with grammar, spelling, or proofreading written paperwork
Strictly Forbidden (Disqualification)
- AI-generated imagery, art, or concept art in the film
- AI-generated video, motion plates, or visual effects
- AI-generated scriptwriting, dialogue, or storylines
- AI-generated music, sound effects, voice cloning, or synthetic voices
Our Ethical Stance: 48 Hours Later exists to celebrate authentic creativity and human endeavour. Generative AI tools frequently scrape the work of real artists without consent. To represent a machine’s output as your own diminishes human craft, undervalues effort, and undermines your creative peers. Any entry found to contain generative AI creative material will be immediately disqualified. We are here to celebrate human creativity: raw, imperfect, passionate, and completely original.
Before You Upload
Once your film is locked, graded, and rendered:
- Submit on Time: Upload your file through your participant dashboard before the published submission deadline. Do not leave uploads to the final minute.
- Keep the Premiere Exclusive: Do not post or screen the full film publicly before its official Fear Screen Film Festival (FSFF) screening.
- Share Your 60-Second Trailer: You are warmly encouraged to share your 60-second teaser trailer across social media to build anticipation and celebrate your team's hard work! Tag #48HoursLater and @FearScreen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about taking part? Here are answers to the most common queries:
What runtime does our film need to be?
Finished films must be between 3 and 10 minutes in duration. This does not count the opening challenge title card. Your end credits can either sit within the configured runtime cap or run slightly beyond it.
Can I participate as a solo filmmaker, or do I need a team?
You are welcome to enter as a solo filmmaker or assemble a cast and crew of any size. Only one person (the Team Leader) needs to register and manage submissions.
Can we prepare scripts or footage before the challenge starts?
No. All writing, filming, recording, and editing must take place within the 48-hour window. Pre-production planning (assembling crew, locating props, securing gear) is allowed, but no creative scripting or filming can begin until the secret kickoff packet is released at Fri 16 Oct 2026, 19:00.
Can participants under 18 take part?
Yes! Young filmmakers and actors under 18 are warmly encouraged to participate, provided they have written consent submitted by a parent or legal guardian prior to festival screening.
What camera and sound gear can we use?
You can shoot on whatever camera you have access to — from smartphones and handheld mirrorless setups to cinema packages. Sound and story are king in horror; we judge based on creativity, craft, and execution, not budget.
Can we use music from copyright-free libraries?
Yes. You may use original music composed during the 48 hours or royalty-free/Creative Commons music, as long as you hold the proper commercial synchronization license permitting festival and online streaming in perpetuity.
Can we share clips or behind-the-scenes on social media?
Absolutely! Behind-the-scenes photos, production vlogs, and trailers up to 60 seconds long are strongly encouraged during and after the challenge. Just remember to keep the full film under wraps until its official FSFF premiere.
Where do we upload our completed film?
Registered teams will have an active upload portal inside their 48 Hours Later dashboard where they can submit their video file (ProRes or MP4/H.264), team credits, and release documents before the published submission deadline.
Final Words
Ready to Make Horror History?
These rules exist to level the playing field so every team has a fair, thrilling experience. Good luck, stay safe, and most importantly… keep it scary.