Here’s the deal; I have competed in the 48 Hour Film Festival three times. The 48 is a competition where film teams have 48 hours to create a movie, start to finish, in 48 hours. Each team is assigned a genre at random, and all teams have to incorporate a specific character, line, and prop (visithttp://www.48hourfilm.com/how-it-works to get more detailed info about it). Each time I have done it, it has been an incredible, tense, high-stake, very rewarding and very dramatic experience. You can imagine; after 2 nights of little-to-no sleep, combined with the pressure of creating an entire short film, things can get a little crazy. And every time I have done it, I though, “Gee, there is so much drama and tension behind the scenes, just shooting that would be enough for a short film”.
Well kids, that is what I am doing. I will be selecting a team to film behind the scenes to make into a short (30-40 minute) documentary. This team will be competing in the 48 Hour Film Project in San Francisco on August 19th. We will be shooting everything this team does, beginning to end, and I need your help to bring this incredible weekend to the screen.
Imagine it: at the kickoff event, all the teams are gathered, waiting nervously to find out what their teams’ genre will be. When they finally get their genre (at 7:00 PM), the write and director has to write the script in time for the actors, who will be showing up the next morning bright and early. This will be a frantic brainstorming session that lasts through the night. The next day, filming begins, and could go through the night. With so many moving parts there are bound to be unforeseen problems; losing sunlight for outside shooting, transportation issues, technology issues… The next and final day is editing, the final baton. The editor has to organize and cut together all the footage to be under 7 minutes, and render in time to submit at 7:00 PM, no later than 48 hours after the received their assigned genre. The pressure is on. And at the end of it, the team can say they made an entire movie in just one weekend.
Walt Disney said, “Everyone needs deadlines.” The 48 Hour Film Festival was really an amazing experience that lit a fire under my ass to get off my butt and start making movies, and continues to do so for veteran and new filmmakers. I am so passionate about this project because it will be an amazing story to tell, and because I want to show people how fun and rewarding it is to get up and make your vision a reality, whatever it is.
The funding goal is $7,200. Here is where the money will go:
• $2,700 – Production Labor – $900 will go to each of the 2 second shooters ($900 seems like a lot, but this will be for approximately 36 hours of work, which, if divided into 8-hour days, would be only $200 per day, far below market rate for this work), and $900 for Angelo, the director (not only for shooting but for the many hours I spent working on the film instead of looking for work, etc.)
• $2,200 – Equipment Rental – This is the price to just rent all the equipment we will need to shoot. A few items will just be purchased, since the cost of renting them for all the days they would be needed would come close to or exceed the cost of just buying it, like batteries or other less expensive items. The move expensive items (like lenses, mics, etc.) will be rented to save money. Angelo doed have some personal equipment he will be using, but not nearly enough for everything. Here is a sample of the cost of some of the equipment we will need (cost for rentals for all days of shooting, including pre- and post-interviews):
You get the idea. There is also lighting, tripods, monopods, insurance for the rented equipment, etc etc.
By far the most time-consuming. For those unfamiliar with the process, editing takes an insane amount of time. There will be over 100 hours of footage that will need to be sifted through, organized, edited, mastered, color-corrected, and edited. Angelo will be doing most of the editing,additional editors will be needed. The money will be split amongst Angelo and 2 other editors
Gas. Transportation. Unexpected costs. There is always something.
Seriously. I am independent, and local. I am an artist. I am paying other artists. You will have helped support that. You can say you helped produce an awesome, indie short film. Even if you can only afford a little, that’s cool! I get it! Everything helps! And you can get some wacky-cool stuff! Check out the perks!
Not only all that fuzzy stuff, but the 48 Hour Film Fest is actually an amazing event that motivates others to make movies. Through showing this film, others will become aware of the festival, and more people will make more, better movies.
I have been producing all kinds of media here in the Bay Area for 2 years now, from weddings, short documentaries, music videos, narratives, and live events. This will be my first large-scale project. Please help me make it a reality.
If the team is blessed enough to make more than the campaign goal, the money will go toward purchasing the filming equipment, rather than renting it. Since I will be making many more films in the future, if I am able to purchase the equipment, rather than rent it, I will need much less funding to complete projects, since the bulk goes into the renting the equipment!
There are many aspects of this movie that are not set in stone yet. Stay tuned! I will be updating the status frequently!