48-Hour Film Project
The crew filmed one last shot under the pergola in Maymont Park's Italian Gardens before quickly packing up and moving on to the day's next location at Virginia Commonwealth University . The clock was ticking loudly, and there were more scenes to get on film, and still another day full of editing yet to be done. Such is the pace of the 48 Hour Film Project , coming to Richmond -- and a theater near you -- for the first time in its history.
Last weekend, Richmond area filmmakers teamed up to take part in the 48 Hour Film Project, created in 2001 as a challenge to those across the country to get out there and make films instead of just daydreaming about it. The mission: write, shoot, edit, and score a short film in two days.
"So many film projects linger and get drawn out or don't ever get finished," said Ellie St. John , the local coordinator of Richmond's 48 Hour Film Project. "This is something that you know -- boom -- you are going to get it done."
The 37 teams who signed up for the Richmond 48 Hour Film Project will vie for "Best of
" and audience awards this Saturday, Aug. 4 when their finished products will be screened to the public at the Byrd Theater . By comparison, more than 100 teams participated in Washington, D.C.'s event.
"They told me initially that my goal was to get 24 teams, and I thought they were crazy," St. John said. "Well, I got the 24 the first two weeks of registration." The screening schedule was soon expanded to accommodate an overflowing waiting list of additional teams.
What some may consider upon first glance a gimmick has become a venue for indie filmmaking at its rawest. When presented with constraints, such as the 48-hour time frame, filmmakers tend to rise to the occasion; some are even at their best. Think director Alfred Hitchcock working within the constraints of the era of censorship, prolifically churning out what are now considered classics.
Whether there is a Hitchcock in this bunch has yet to be determined. But the constraints are there. As with any indie film production, resources, the main one being budgetary, are also often rather limited. Most only have the basics -- a digital camera and editing software, and maybe some ancillary equipment, while others have on hand an assistant director, hair, makeup and costume handlers, sound mixers, and sometimes, craft services. However, it's mostly quick thinking and creativity that will see the filmmakers through the two days.
Other constraints of the contest involve the use of a specific character, prop and line of dialogue that each team must incorporate into their film. For the Richmond teams, it was a character named Cliff or Claudia Foust, who had to be a historian, a pencil as the prop, and "I was thinking the same thing" as the must-use line of dialogue. Teams then pick a genre out of a hat -- musical, horror, romance, spy or superhero, for example, and then get on with the business of making their four- to seven-minute film.
"Many won't know what they'll be doing until Friday night -- the beginning of the 48 hour period," St. John said. Teams generally write their script Friday night, shoot all day Saturday and then edit Sunday before turning in their film by the 7:30pm deadline later that day.
Last weekend, Richmond filmmaker Michael Hagan and his West Grace Productions team could be found shooting their fantasy genre film mid-morning Saturday in the gardens at Maymont.
"We have a couple more scenes to shoot that will be interior and exterior at the VCU Library, and as soon as that's done we are going to go back to my apartment and try and produce the soundtrack," Hagan said during the second day of shooting.
Hagan, whose film "Loosen My Tie" recently aired on The Documentary Channel, said competition will be intense.
"I think it's a creative challenge for all of the teams involved to come up with something that's supposed to be good and well-produced in 48 hours," he said.
While Hagan said they had a plot in mind before they started, their plans went in another direction after they learned what their genre was "fantasy." They were not necessarily shooting on the fly, thanks to on-set co-script writers and co-directors Peter Norment and Leigh Hagan , but are coming pretty close to it.
"As soon as we got the information, I called Peter and Leigh and they wrote the script, which was completely changed from the original idea we had in mind. We didn't start shooting until 10:30pm last night (last Friday) and we wrapped at like three in the morning," he said. The script is entitled "Fortuity." Most teams are probably hoping luck will play a role in the smooth running of their productions as well.
Meanwhile last weekend, at a non-descript office building on Cutshaw Avenue, the Pocket Full of Rocks Studio team, led by director Joshua Jackson , is shooting their comedic buddy film, "Dead Air. " Inside, the makeshift set is full of gray cubicles that on an average nine-to-five day would be filled with employees. One can't help but think of Mike Judges "Office Space" as the young cast and crew, most of whom met as improv artists at ComedySportz, prepare for a script read-through.
They also created their storyline within hours, if not minutes, said Stephen Wheeler , one of the screenwriters.
"All of us got us together about 7:30, 8 o'clock last night and just threw out ideas until one stuck," Wheeler said.
Their improv skills will come in handy. "It's what we are built for," added Wheeler. "Our creative energy works best on the spot."
Jackson said he had high expectations at first.
"I wanted to go in and blow everyone out of the water. But now, after meeting everybody involved, it's just cool hanging around, like, actually making something and not wasting your summer," Jackson said. "Don't get me wrong. I would love to win Best Director and Best Script, but when it comes down to it, just the camaraderie is really awesome."
But has anybody slept?
"I crashed for like three hours because I thought it was stupid to direct while tired," Jackson said.
As the crew and actors rehearsed the script, Wheeler interjected line reading tweaks, asking one actor to add a chuckle for more spontaneity, for example, or to chime in with the next line faster. The script's lines were on the ribald side, in the spirit a Farrelly Brothers comedy.
As the first 24 hours wound down, the LionHeart FilmWorks team was preparing for a pivotal scene involving a relatively complex special effects explosion. The set is a farm in Goochland County, many miles off the well-traveled highway. In fact, it is one of the former sets used by the HBO miniseries "John Adams," which recently wrapped up production in the area.
Actors in authentic-looking period costumes filled the barn where scenes were being shot. A makeup artist was on hand to make sure the actors were sufficiently dirty and sweaty for their roles, one of whom suffers a gash to neck.
"Doesn't that look like bacon?" the makeup artist said, referring to the nasty but fake flesh wound flapping on the actor's throat.
Director Kevin Hershberger is at the helm of this production, and because of his experience -- he has been working in film for eight years, mostly on historical pictures -- he perhaps has access to higher production values than the average 48 Hour Film Project team. He said that his two day shoot, if they actually had to pay for everything, would cost about $50,000 per day.
The genre his team chose was "film de femme."
"So it's about a strong woman protagonist," he said. He further describes the short as being a "western, period historical piece...a ghosty-kind-of-sci-fi-fantasy-time travel film."
As far as the choice locale -- one of the former "John Adams" sets -- the land is actually owned by the James River Correctional Center. Hershberger said Virginia filmmakers are allowed to shoot on any state facility for free. "My producer works for the Department of Criminal Justice Services. So he called the warden...and found out who to go to, and next thing you know, they say, Great. Come on out.'"
"I am kind of new to the experience," said Baron Blakley , the film's writer and producer. "My day job is forecasting jail populations." But Blakley said filmmaking is something he wants to pursue, and the 48 Hour Film Project is one way to get his foot in the door.
"My primary leaning is the writing, but I'm hoping more to get into directing, so working with Kevin is great," he said.
The 48 Film Project is something every filmmaker should do once, Hershberger said. "Because of the small investment, it's easy for everyone to get together because we have this mission to get it done by Sunday," he said.
Moments later, the production crew puts the final touches on the special effects for the big scene and finally, they are ready. Cables let off a rapid fire pop of mini-explosions and the female lead takes her cue to dramatize the action, because she only gets one take.
Afterwards, Hershberger said the scene went off without a hitch.
"I think it went well. We got it from two angles, one in profile. Then I can cut from this, the first initial blast into her face, and then cut to the profile and you'll see her chest explode as she goes back," Hershberger said with relief, perhaps realizing they were headed into the home stretch.
The Richmond 48 Hour Film Project will present each teams films over three screenings at the Byrd Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 4. A "Best of Richmond" winner and other awards will be announced at the final screening's conclusion.
Screening Times:
Group A -- 10:30 a.m.
Group B --1 p.m.
Group C -- 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $6 per screening.
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