Talenthouse

The 40th anniversary celebrations continue for legendary rock band Queen as they invite talented videographers and filmmakers to create an original music video for their 1977 classic track 'Sheer Heart Attack'.  The winning submission will be used as a music video and featured across Queen’s social media channels.  This will be the first original Queen video since 'Under Pressure' in 1999.

Queen are looking for fresh and innovative ideas, reminiscent of Queen’s past iconic videos as well as quality of editing from both a music and visual aspect and a balanced inclusion of all the band members.

There are 2 rounds:

Round 1: participants are invited to submit their reel showcasing their talent (must feature original content) for the chance to be selected as a finalist to then participate in Round 2.

Round 2: the selected finalists from Round 1 will be provided with the video of the ‘Queen on Fire Live at the Bowl' performance of 'Sheer Heart Attack'* to cut together, use as stop animation and work with their own original footage if desired.   It is not essential or mandatory to use any Queen footage or visual material in the video and Queen openly encourage participants to use their own assets  to create a wholly original piece.

* If participants choose to use the footage provided, there must be a balanced inclusion of all the band members.

Brian May, Roger Taylor with special guest judge David Mallet.

From the total number of qualified submissions*, the 60 highest voted submissions together with 20 submissions chosen by Brian May, Roger Taylor and David Mallet and 20 submissions chosen by Talenthouse will be named finalists. All 100 finalists will have the opportunity to enter Round 2. Once voting closes for Round 2, Brian May, Roger Taylor and David Mallet will review all 100 finalists’ work and will choose the overall winner and four runners-up.

The highest voted submissions from Round 2 will also be recognized, as detailed below.

*A qualified submission is one which meets all the Terms & Conditions and the Guidelines and Official Rules

The winning video for ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ will be featured on Queen’s official website and across their social media channels including their Facebook and YouTube pages.  The winner will receive $1,500 along with a Queen gift pack including 'Second Five Albums'*, 'Deep Cuts Volume 2' and an exclusive 'Live at Wembley' Fan Flight Case.

Four runners-up chosen by Queen from Round 2 will each receive a Queen gift pack including 'Second Five Albums'*, 'Deep Cuts Volume 2' and a 'Live at Wembley' Deluxe DVD.

The 10 highest voted submissions from Round 2 will be featured on Queen's Facebook page, each receive $150 and a signed copy of 'News of the World' Deluxe CD.

* Second Five Albums comprises 2011 remasters of 'News of the World', 'Jazz', 'The Game', 'Flash Gordon' and 'Hot Space' that are re-released with bonus material

Click ‘Get Started’

Round 1 Dates:

Submission deadline: August 3, 2011

Voting starts: August 4, 2011

Voting ends: August 10, 2011

Finalist announcement: August 25, 2011

Round 2 Dates:

Submission deadline: September 21, 2011

Voting starts: September 22, 2011

Voting ends: September 28, 2011

Overall winner (plus runners up) announcement: October 27, 2011

• Reels submitted in Round 1 must be original content (and not infringe the rights of any third party) and can be pre-existing or created especially for this opportunity

• Videos submitted in Rounds 1 and 2 must be no longer than 5 minutes

• Participants must upload their video to YouTube or Vimeo and enter the URL and click "Get Video". Final videos must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo at least 48 hours prior to the submission deadline

• In order to be chosen as the winner, the selected finalist from Round 2 shall grant ownership of all rights in and to the intellectual property to the winning video to Queen Productions Limited ("QPL") on behalf of Queen in consideration for $1,500 prize monies being offered. This transfer will be arranged directly between QPL and the winner.

• In order to be chosen as a runner-up, the selected finalists from Round 2 may be asked to grant ownership in and to the intellectual property to their video submission to QPL, in consideration for $1,000, upon QPL's election to purchase the intellectual property from the runner-up. The potential purchase and transfer will be arranged directly between QPL and the runner-up.

• The winner (and runners-up if QPL elects to purchase the copyright to their submission) must receive written approval, in advance, from QPL to commercially exploit their submission except for promotional, marketing or portfolio purposes.

• QPL will put forth reasonable efforts to instruct any media to grant proper credit to the winner or runners-up, should the winning or runners-up video(s) be used in the media.

• The prizes awarded to the winner, runners-up and highest-voted participants may be subject to substitution for a prize of equivalent value.

• All rights to Queen’s name, likeness and image or other intellectual property are reserved to QPL and participants shall have no rights to use Queen's name, likeness or image other than for the purposes of their submission or for promotional or portfolio purposes without the written consent of QPL.

"We really enjoyed looking through all the T-shirt entries on the last Talenthouse competition, so we have upped the ante this time round and asking you to create a brand new video for our 1977 track 'Sheer Heart Attack'. The song is a full on rocker and was a blast to play live, so myself and Brian are really looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with. We have also roped in our old friend and video director David Mallet to help judge the entries, so the decision making could get interesting!"

Best of luck!

Roger Taylor, Queen

Written by drummer Roger Taylor and originally conceived during the 1974 'Sheer Heart Attack' album sessions, the song was not finished at that time and so emerged three years later on Queen's multi-platinum selling 'News Of The World' album.  It was recorded some time between July and Sept 1977 at Wessex Studios and was produced by Queen, assisted by engineer Mike Stone.  In 1978 the track was the B-side to the UK hit single 'Spread Your Wings' and also for the American and Japanese releases of 'It's Late' in the same year.

In the live arena the band often performed the track with ferocious intent as an encore.  There is startling footage of Freddie kicking over stage amps during this song, in Japan, Paris and London in 1979. The track remained a staple in Queen's live show from 1977 through to 1984.

Between 1977 and 1982 Queen officially became the most successful band in the world, releasing some of the biggest and best songs of all time including ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Bicycle Race’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Flash’ and ‘Under Pressure’ featuring David Bowie.

This June, as part of the band’s 40th Anniversary celebrations, Island Records are re-releasing Queen's second set of five albums - ‘News Of The World’, ‘Jazz’, ’The Game’, ‘Flash Gordon’ and ‘Hot Space – part of one of the most exciting and influential back catalogues of all time.