ShotDeck, the world’s leading cinematic image library, has announced the call for submissions for the 2025 Recreations Contest, which will accept entries from Monday, September 1 through Tuesday, September 30.
Presented annually by ShotDeck, the Recreations Contest is a celebration of cinematic creativity designed to inspire and educate filmmakers, photographers, and visual storytellers. Participants are challenged to recreate a shot from their favorite film, series, music video, or commercial found on ShotDeck — matching it as creatively and accurately as possible. All visual effects must be achieved in-camera, and no AI or computer-generated imagery will be accepted.
For the first time, ShotDeck’s Recreations Contest will take place in the fall, giving educators and schools around the world the opportunity to integrate the competition into their curriculum. The new schedule also introduces exclusive prize categories available only to students.
With over $125,000 in prizes across multiple categories, the contest will reward storytellers, from emerging talents to established professionals, with indispensable filmmaking gear. This year’s sponsors include: Sony, ZEISS, Blackmagic Design, Aputure, Rosco, Filmmakers Academy, FilmLight, Arthouse Film Lab, Musicbed, Saturation, FilmConvert, Nanlux-Nanlite,Other World Computing (OWC), American Cinematographer, RED Digital Cinema, Scriptation, and DEEP-LIGHT among others. Winners will be selected by a panel of world-renowned filmmakers and industry artisans, to be announced in mid-September. Final winners will be revealed in early November.
“The Recreations Contest is about honoring the art of visual storytelling and the joy of collaboration, which is key to what we fundamentally believe in,” said Lawrence Sher ASC, ShotDeck founder and Academy Award®–nominated cinematographer. “Every year, I’m blown away and inspired by the level of talent and dedication on display, and it’s our privilege to be able to champion it through the contest.”
ShotDeck annually awards prizes across multiple categories to Grand Prize, Runner-Up, and Honorable Mention winners, including Best Production Design, Most Difficult Lighting, Best Team Effort, Best Family Recreation, Best Hair & Make-Up, among others.
This year’s contest will also feature special challenges presented by both new and returning sponsor brands, each bringing their own unique spin (and prizes) to the competition. Details on the challenges and sponsors include:
The Music Video Motion Challenge, sponsored by Sony, a global leader in digital cinema cameras and the contest’s Hero Sponsor. In a twist on the traditional still recreation, Sony invites participants to recreate a motion clip from a music video available on ShotDeck. Winners of this challenge can receive a Sony FX6 and lens package, a Sony FX3A and lens package, or one of two Sony FX2 cameras.
The Textured Lighting Challenge, sponsored by Aputure, asks filmmakers to recreate shots that use light and shadow to create visual texture. Whether it’s through practicals, hard light with haze, or shadows from objects like blinds or tree branches, this challenge encourages creativity with lighting design. Prizes include a STORM 1000c Cine Kit amongst other great Aputure lights.
The Large Format Challenge, presented by Blackmagic Design, showcases the capabilities of the new URSA Cine 17K 65 camera. Participants are tasked with recreating iconic shots originally captured on large format IMAX film cameras — such as Ryan Coogler’s Sinners or Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer — for a chance to win Blackmagic gear, including the highly anticipated full-frame PYXIS 12K digital camera.
Rosco’s Color Challenge dares filmmakers to recreate shots known for bold and creative color use for a chance to win Rosco lighting prizes, with the Grand Prize winner taking home a DMG DASH Octa Kit. This challenge provides a perfect opportunity for creatives to explore scenes with multi-hued light sources and push the boundaries of visual storytelling through color.
In the ZEISS Radiance Challenge, show your flare for the dramatic. Filmmakers must recreate shots featuring lens flares as accurately as possible for a chance to win a free Supreme Zoom Radiance or Supreme Prime Radiance rental, or an Otus ML 1.4/50.
The Highest Degree of Difficulty Challenge, presented by returning sponsor Filmmakers Academy (the leading global filmmaker resource co-founded by Shane Hurlbut, ASC), celebrates technically ambitious recreations demanding exceptional craftsmanship in lighting, camera work, and execution. Participants compete for exclusive masterclasses, premium career pathways, and global filmmaker community access.
The Colour Precision Challenge, hosted by FilmLight, is an education-focused category that puts color grading accuracy to the test. Students will be judged on how precisely they can match the color of their recreated shots. Two winners will receive the industry standard dailies platform, Daylight, with a one-hour masterclass.
Arthouse Film Lab presents the LA Film Challenge, highlighting the city’s rich storytelling legacy by celebrating cinematic recreations by LA-based creatives. Submissions will be judged on recreation quality and selected winners will receive prize packages from Arthouse including 35mm film, film processing, prints, and exclusive merch from Arthouse’s capsule collection.
