by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
For filmmakers who live in obscure locations away from the filmmaking epicenters of Los Angeles and NYC, the idea of the 48-Hour Film Project was to bring bona fide producers to the hinterlands to judge the entrants who shot a 1-hour film in 48 hours. The winners would have their films exhibited in a theatre open to the public.
The 48-HFP’s mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. Through its competition and festival, the project encourages filmmakers who perhaps thought that they didn’t have a chance of having their films exhibited. They’ll get a chance to strut their stuff, having their films evaluated by knowledgeable producers and then shown to the public. Indeed, it’s film making on a grass roots level. The project tests the filmmakers’ ability to work with a team and get things done quickly, delivering a finished product on time.
The idea was hatched in May 2001, when Mark Ruppert decided to make a film in 48 hours. Ruppert has impressive credentials as a film director and producer. He enlisted the help of his filmmaking partner, Liz Langston, and several other DC filmmakers to form their own teams and join him in this bold experiment. The fundamental question on everyone’s lips was—is it possible to make a viewable film in 48 hours?
As it turned out, the answer was a resounding yes. Now, six years later and with more than 100 competitions having taken place around the world, the 48-HFP is a viable business entity. This year, the production team has visited Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and Austin, as well as making their 8th trip to Washington D.C.
The smallest team consisted of a single person who set up the camera, then ran around to be on-camera. The largest team to date was an Atlanta based filmmaking assemblage with 70 people. The producers who make this project happen include Mark Ruppert, the Creator and Executive Producer, Liz Langston, Co-Founder and Executive Producer, Christina Ruppert, Director of Operations, and Ben Guaraldi, Director of Outreach.
From August 3rd through the 5th, filmmakers throughout the Jacksonville area took part in the 48-HFP. At the kickoff event, each team drew the genre of their film out of a hat. In addition, a predetermined character, prop, and line of dialogue must appear in each film. The kickoff event was held at the Twisted Martini at the Jacksonville Landing where the teams drew their assignments. The dropoff event was on Sunday, August 5th, at 7:30 pm.
All of the completed films were exhibited August 7th at the Main Jacksonville Library Theatre downtown.
The Jacksonville teams:
Group A:
Somebody Call an Ambulance Productions, Paul Melian-Guidry
Child’s Play, Hollie Bethany
Psycho Film Binge, Danny Quitter
Jax Film Junkies, Gary Everett
Floozy Meg Productions, Laura Gragg
Sailfish Productions, Gabriel Tulier
NFocus, Rob Tritton
Perpetual Pictures, John Thompson
Jax In Production, Suzanne Manns
Pollack, Warren Skeeles
Sweaty South, Coury Kolb
Pyrolune, Bert Herring
Don Flynn Productions, Inc., Don Flynn
Group B filmmakers:
Mother Tucker Production, Jay Allan
Bunnies in the Sun, Christian Bolvin
Standby, Joshua Earles-Bennett
Babble, Tom Bledsoe
WMJP, Parag Adhyaru
Hender Stroud Productions, Adam Madrid
A4515656, Anthony Rodesney
Kettle Black, Anthony Sotelo
Markie Mark and the Filmations, Mark Harvey
6th Floor Museum, Mark O’Brien
Dr. Dangerous, Mark Kohl, Drawing Lines Films, Justin Weber
Critical Reaction, League Infinatron, Billy Gaggin.
by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
As president of the FMPTA, Dean “Mac” McDonald has his finger on the pulse of the local film making community. For a number of years, Mac had hoped to get the Washington D.C. based 48-Hour Film Project to Jacksonville. Finally, this year, the deal came to fruition with 26 teams participating in the project. The concept involves a team of filmmakers tasked with making a viewable film from 5 to 7 minutes long in no more than 48 hours. The films will be screened and judged at the Main Jacksonville Library, with a final showing of the winners’ films held on August 25, 2007 at the San Marco Theatre at 3 pm.
To get more inside information on this exciting project, I chatted with Mac via telephone last Wednesday.
EU: Interestingly, this 48-Hour Film Project was the forerunner and probably the inspiration for the On The Lot TV show. Why did you bring it to Jacksonville?
Mac: Well, we have a large and active filmmaking community here in Jacksonville with a number of full-time professionals working on various film projects, like Mark Kohl and others. I wanted to bring this national project to town for some time, but this year I was able to get it organized and off the launching pad. It’s a clever way of gaining recognition.
EU: Did the Washington DC producer, Mark Ruppert, and his staff travel to Jacksonville to help you organize this event? And, was it hard to get people involved?
Mac: No, I was able to work with them via email and telephone to launch the project through the FMPTA members. To answer your second question, no it wasn’t difficult to get people to sign up and pay the $125 entrance fee. We got 26 teams together rather quickly.
EU: Do you expect to make any money on this deal?
Mac: First, I didn’t do this to make money, but I’ll be happy if it breaks even. Second, for all the participants, it’s a viable way to get recognition for their film projects. The winning team will go on to compete on a national level, and the exposure will give them a chance to enter their shorts in the film festival circuit.
EU: So you will exhibit the films at the library on Tuesday night, Aug. 7. Will that include all the films that night?
Mac: Yes, all 26 films will be shown on Tuesday night, Aug 7th. Then the judges, who are a distinguished peer group of filmmakers, producers, and respected directors, will judge the 26 films. On Aug. 25th, we will hold the big final event at the San Marco Theatre to announce the winners and view the winning entries.
Over the years, Jacksonville has become a small but thriving film making market. Of course, this is an exciting project for all involved, and could lead to some much-deserved national recognition for the winning team. The project was started to help filmmakers living outside the film making epicenters to showcase their talent.
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
