2016 RICHMOND 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT

My film, Ring Rust, premiered yesterday as part of The 2016 Richmond 48 Hour Film Project.

In case you didn't know, The 48 Hour Film Project is a filmmaking competition which takes place over 2 days across the country and...

THE WORLD!

Too dramatic? 
Sorry. I'm still running on a lot of adrenaline.

Where was I? Oh. yeah. I was telling you about The 48 Hour Film Project. 

The 48HFP is a filmmaking competition which takes place over the course of two days. 

Basic math, really 24 hours in a day. 2 days. 24 plus 24 equals 48. 

Hey! Don't judge me. I have an art degree! That's not too shabby. 

The 48HFP is about filmmaking and teamwork and adrenaline and a lot of coffee and snacks. 

This is how it works.  

Teams who have signed up to compete in The 48HFP are assigned a genre. 

The genres for The 2016 48 Hour Film Project were:

GROUP 1

Action/Adventure

Comedy

Coming of Age

Dark Comedy

Drama

Fantasy Film de Femme

Holiday Film

Horror

Musical

Road Movie

Romance

Sci Fi

Silent Film Western

GROUP 2

Adventure Serial

Animal Film 

Buddy Film 

Detective/Cop

Fable

Family Film

Fish Out Of Water

Martial Arts

Mystery

Period Piece

Slapstick

Sports Film

Superhero

Time Travel War or Anti-War 

Genres tend to be swapped out and switched up from year to year, just to keep things interesting. 

As I stated, The 48HFP takes place over three days, Friday through Sunday. 

This year the race to make a short film began on Friday, July 15, 2016
Teams gathered at one location here in Richmond, Virginia.

This small venue becomes a pressure cooker as teams assemble to choose their genres. You can literally cut the tension in the room with a knife during these few hours as one by one team leaders step up on stage and choose their destiny for the next 48 hours. Ad the knife doesn't really even need to be that sharp! You could probably cut the tension with a spork but that doesn't have the same ring.

YOU COULD CUT THE TENSION WITH A SPORK!

See? Not the same.

After everyone who signed up a week earlier has assembled the ceremony begins.

Think Hunger Games.

Side note: Just once I would love a team competing in The 48HFP to call themselves TEAM KATNISS EVERDEEN so when they're name was called for them to step up to the stage to pull their genre out of the house, it would sound like:

KATNISS EVERDEEN! 
COME TO THE STAGE!
AND MAY THE ODDS FOREVER BE IN YOUR FAVOR!

Well, I think it would be funny even if you don't.

Team leaders are instructed to pull two slips of paper out of a hat. Yes. An actual hat. 

One slip of paper represents a genre listed in Group 1 and one represents a genre from Group 2. The team leader would then have to make a quick decision as to which of the two genres pulled they would choose as the genre of their film. 

It's a tension-filled moment.
The wrong choice could be disastrous.

It's obvious everybody has a genre in mind. You can see it on their faces, their lips silently mouthing the words, 'I hope we get comedy' or 'Please Baby Jesus don't let it be musical.'

Musical is a hard genre. 

I have yet to be part of team which has selected musical as the genre, but I can only imagine trying to create a musical in less than 48 hours is more of a challenge than trying to create a non-musical film. The music adds a layer of difficulty most teams shy away from. 

I give major props to those team who say, 'Hell yes! We accept musical as our genre!'
Big balls is just as important in the 48HFP as vision and talent. 

Once a genre has been selected every team must contend with the other elephant in the room.

Uh no. Not that one. 

I'm speaking of course of the pre-selected required elements, which are a list of elements...which...are...ummmm.....required. 

The required elements have always been, and probably will always be, a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and an occupation. 

Required Elements for The 2016 48 Hour Film Project were:

Character: Jordan Bitwinder, Former Olympic Athlete
Prop: a bracelet
Line of Dialogue: "Watch and learn."

Somehow the filmmakers have to weave these elements into their films and they don't have that much time to accomplish that seemingly impossible task. Sometimes that incorporation of the elements is seamless. Sometimes, not so seamless. 

Sometimes the use of the prop is very subtle. It's present in the finished film. It's just that the filmmakers decided not to hit the audience over the head with it. 

Sometimes the use of the prop is so obvious it should include the dinging of a bell. 

DING!

The prop has been used!

Every team is assigned the same elements which makes for a level playing field. 

"But Jody," you might ask, "Are you saying every team has the same required elements? Even teams in other states? In other countries?"

That's exactly what I'm saying! Pretty wild, huh?

 It doesn't matter where you are located, everyone, every team, has the same requirements to work their films around. 

It's kind of cool if you think about it. Everybody has the same requirements. So what you wind up seeing when the films are screened are literally thousands of interpretations of how to say the line of dialogue or use the prop. 

Sometimes the character's name is non-gender specific and teams have to decide if their character is going to be male or female. 

For example, the character this year was Jordan. It was interesting to see that almost half the teams interpreted Jordan as a male name. The other half...as...well..you know where that was going. 

This year the occupation of former Olympic athlete provided teams with the unique opportunity to make their character any kind of Olympic athlete they desired. 

In the films I saw during the Group C Screening of the 2016 48HFP the character Jordan was presented as a wrestler, a boxer and even a swimmer. There were several Jordan's who were gymnasts. 

A year before the occupation was therapist. Almost every team, despite how many different types of therapists there are in the world, presented a psychiatric therapist. Suffice to say, there were a lot of actors lying on couches. 

My team included!

You just never know when it comes to The 48 Hour Film Project and that's Thing Number 2 I love About The 48 Hour Film Project: the surprise element.

I love seeing how all the teams interpret the required elements and how they weave them into the stories they've created. 

Sometimes unique interpretation, however, does meet with controversy. 

Case in point, I worked on a film titled Foot Patrol. 

The required element that year was a hairdryer. 

99% (my math might be off a little) of the teams who created films for The Richmond 48 Hour Film Project that year used hand-held hairdryers in their films. 

We had access to a beauty salon and the kind of hairdryers women sit under while reading magazines and talking with their neighbors. Our movie opened with three people sitting under these hairdryers talking. 

People actually registered complaints, arguing we didn't use the required element in our film and should therefore be disqualified. We used a hairdryer. Hell! We used 3!

These were people with way too much time on their hands, if you ask me. Too much time on their hands, poor vision and no imagination.

It's not The Academy Awards, people! 

Nothing happened. We weren't disqualified and the world kept turning. 
Such is The 48HFP. 

This year the clock started running at precisely 7PM on Friday, July 16. 

Hands reached into the hat. Slips of paper were pulled out. Decisions were made. There were oooh's and aaah's. There were hoots and hollers and there was applause. 

And then reality set in! 

Like marathon runners poised at the starting line, teams were off and running back to their studios, garages, living rooms or wherever they were going to be creating their masterpieces. 

No matter how they were going to go about doing it, there was nothing left to do but produce, write, shoot, score and edit their movies before 7PM Sunday, July 17. 

Sounds impossible right?

Impossible? No. An adrenaline rush? Yes. A roller coaster ride of emotions and creativity energy and tension and panic and teamwork and a love of filmmaking? Oh most definitely!

And that's what I love about The 48 Hour Film Project.

The weekend is a blur. It's kind of like second semester senior year of high school. There's a lot of emotion and nervous energy and all your'e thinking about is the finish line. And then just like that! It's all over. 

It's 7:28 on Sunday night and you're driving home wondering what the Hell just happened. 

Details from the weekend are racing through your mind like blurred billboards along a highway. 

You start doubting yourself. Angst starts creeping into your brain. Questions start buzzing around your head like angry bees. 

Did you do everything you wanted to do?

Did you get all the required elements into the finished cut?

Did everything save onto the jump drive?

IS THERE SOUND?!

OH MY GOD! IS THERE IS A TITLE CARD?!

WHERE ARE MY PANTS?!!

Now the wait begins. Slowly you decompress and start to breathe normally again. You go back to work and begin to get back into a normal routine again. 

The following weekend, after all films have been turned in on time, there is a screening for audiences. 

There are two screenings, Group A and Group B on that Saturday and one screening, Group C, that Sunday. Placement in any of these groups does not suggest anything. That is to say, just because you were in Group B doesn't mean your film wasn't as good as the films in Group A. 

I can't speak for the producers of The Richmond 48 Hour Film Project, but I would imagine that deciding which films should be included in which group is kind of like preparing a good set list for a concert. You don't want to put all your best songs at the very beginning or at the very end of the last day of screenings. You want a good mix. 

After the three screenings films, all entries are viewed by a team of judges and films from each screening are chosen to be shown at The Best of... Screening the following weekend. 

Audience member votes from each screening are also tallied and Audience Favorite Awards from each screening are announced. 

In addition to the audience awards and the much-coveted BEST FILM AWARD...

(See what I did there? I bolded the words Best Film Award because it's a much-coveted award) 

...additional awards which may be presented are, in no particular order:

Best Acting
Best Cinematography
Best Directing
Best Editing
Best Musical Score
Best Sound Design
Best Special Effects
Best Use of Character
Best Use of Prop
Best Use of Line
Best Writing

The producers of The Richmond 48 Hour Film Project, Ellie St. John and Rob Collins, do a great job of creating an air of ceremony at The historic Byrd Theatre, located in Carytown in Richmond, Virginia. 

It's like a mini-Oscars ceremony. It just doesn't last four hours. 

The films which were chosen for the Best Of...Screening are shown and the awards are announced. And then it's all over until next year. 

Their is a sincere passion for filmmaking here in Richmond, Virginia. Every year more and more teams participate. There were 36 teams which presented films during the three screens. Sadly, some teams didn't finish. It happens. Which brings me to a point that must be made to those who wish to participate in future 48 Hour Film Projects:

TIME MANAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL.

You have 48 hours. Every minute counts! Every. Minute. 

It's a hard-earned lesson. There's nothing more heart-breaking to get to Sunday late afternoon and realize you are nowhere near completing your film. Things got away from you and despite all your hopes and desires, you are not going to turn in your film. 

No matter how hard it is, you can't stop moving from Friday til Sunday. You can't let yourself give in to fatigue. Bathroom breaks are okay. Just don't a magazine in with you.

No matter how you do it, you have to push yourself hard and be creative and have fun and...shit...I'm exhausted all over again.

Manage your time and surround yourself with a good team. Be organized or have someone on your team who is. Have someone on your team who doesn't have a problem with kicking you in the ass when you need a good kick in the ass. Creatively or literally.

You just have to get to Sunday night. Make the deadline! 

After that you can eat and shower and brush your teeth and shower and hug your family and see daylight.

I have participated in 7 Richmond 48 Hour Film Projects. I am proud to say the films I participated in were all turned in on time. All were presented in one of the screenings and all were invited to The Best Of...Screenings. One was even chosen to be screened at The Cannes Film Festival. 

The only other thing you have to remember is to tell a good story. 

TELL A GOOD STORY.

It doesn't matter what the prop or line of dialogue is. It doesn't matter what the character's name is or if they're male of female or what their occupation. All that stuff doesn't matter if you don't tell a good story. 

How do you do that in less than 48 hours?

Keep these three words in mind: beginning, middle and end.

It's not enough to just utilize the required elements. Your job as a filmmaker is to tell a story. Your job as a filmmaker, even in the constraints of The 48 Hour Film Project, is to tell a good story. 

Make a movie that stands the test of time, that lasts longer than the two weekends of The 48 Hour Film Project. Create something that you can watch a year, two years, five years from now and enjoy, that will remind you that you made a movie in less than 48 hours!

It's pretty cool. It really is. 

You got together with your friends and you wrote, shot and edited a movie in less than 48 hours. That's quite the accomplishment!

Let me take this opportunity, having said the above, to address the elephant in the room. 

No. Not that one either. The other one. 

Come on. You know of what I speak. The burning question you are dying to ask. 

"But Jody, surely all the movies can't be good?"

I will say this. There is a range of quality. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, there are films that score 2's and 3's, there are films which hover somewhere in the middle and there are films which are 10's. 

There are those films which leave you scratching your head.

There were a few yesterday, truth be known. 

I don't know what happened. Something just didn't work. There was no story or character development. The lighting or the sound was bad. You know a film that doesn't work when you see it. I don't have to tell you.

In regards to the 48HFP, you have to consider who is making the films.

The teams who present at the 48 Hour Film Project represent a multi-cultural range of experience, expertise and financial backing. 

High school students and college students compete. Professional production companies and advertising agencies compete. Theatre companies and comedy groups compete. Some people have the best equipment at their disposal while others have the very basic cameras and lighting and sound set-ups.

What everyone, from the list above, shares, though, is a passion for film and filmmaking. 

This is not a competition for the lazy or the faint of heart. Nobody competes in The 48 Hour Film Project because they have a weekend to kill. Who would put themselves through all that drama and pressure? 

Crazy people, that's who! Crazy, talented, passionate filmmakers who gave up a weekend to make a movie because they have a genuine love for the craft. 

That's pretty special. 

Whether their films worked or not, you have to give these filmmakers major props for even attempting to make a film in less than 48 hours. 

For most, just completing their film, creating their vision and telling a good story is victory enough. The awards are just the cherry on top.

Which brings me to my final point about The 48 Hour Film Project. 

JUST HAVE FUN.

If you're making a film for The 48 Hour Film Project just to win awards, you've already lost. You've lost the point. You've lost the plot, for sure. 

Just have fun. 

Work hard to create a vision. Work hard to bring your vision to fruition. 

Also remember to enjoy the experience. Celebrate every minute with your team. 

Remember to breathe every now, just too much and not for too long. Years from now you will watch your film and you will smile. Not many people can do that.

As I mentioned, this is my seventh year participating in The Richmond 48 Hour Film Project. 

I worked with a new team this year, The Kitchen, a group of talented interns who work at The Martin Agency here in Richmond.

Our film, Ring Rust, was directed by Justin Havey and written by Caroline Gal and Jeffrey Bricker Tune. 

Ring Rust was presented Sunday, July 24, 2016 during the Group C screening. The film tells the story of Justin Bitwinder, a former Olympic boxer in a unique situation. 

I won't tell you too much about the movie. No spoilers here. 

I was in a unique situation myself this year because this is the first time in 7 years I didn't see the finished film before it was screened. I would see it for the first time yesterday and I have to tell you the butterflies in my tummy were the size of sparrows. Or larger-than-usual finches. I'm not really a bird person.

Ring Rust was a challenge to me as an actor because 98% of the movie is just me talking to the camera or to my co-stars. My co-stars who had no lines. They had it pretty easy all day while we filmed. They just say there staring at me like a couple of dummies.

Am I proud of my performance? I am. Do I like the character I was able to create in such a short period of time? I do. 

It's a huge responsibility to carry a film on your shoulders. I don't know how I did or what people thought of my acting. 

People have been very kind since the screening and have said very kind things about my performance. Nobody threw fruit at the screen. So I have to assume I didn't do horribly. 

We'll see. 

(gulp)

We should find out today or tomorrow which films will be invited to The Best of...Screening. 
It's totally out of our control now. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. 

At the very least, I can say I worked with some very creative folks, we shared some laughs and we made a movie in less than 48 hours. 

That's pretty awesome. 

I mean, what did you do last weekend?

Just keeping it reel.
Copyright 2016
All Rights Reserved




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