48 Hour Film Challenge

Sat around in a living room on a Friday night with three other writers in the classic calm before the storm. The weekend ahead holds a lot of mystery, anticipation and excitement. We’re waiting for the signal to get cracking at what we’ve decided to dedicate our time and passion to. We could easily be in the pub, talking about films but we want a bit more. Call us selfish but we want people talking about our films… Our phones beep and my eyes light up with joy at one stand out word: “horror”. And so began my experience of the London leg of the 48 Hour Film Challenge 2012. The premise is quite simple on paper – you set up a team, ideally source a few locations and set pieces in advance and then wait for the scramble to begin. Each team is given a broad character description, a prop and a line of dialogue which must be included in a film of between four to seven minutes then we pick a genre out of the hat at random. Then the clock starts ticking and the whole shebang has to be written, shot, edited and submitted in person not a second later than the deadline. It's called a challenge for a reason but it's a hell of a buzz. I'm already planning what I'd do next year, so here's my break down. Obviously, each film maker works differently so there are likely to be some points that you'll massively disagree with me on. That's cool – just try to be constructive when you’re tearing me a new one about my slightly incorrect lay out for storyboards, please? I know this is the internet and all but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil…

First off, it's always important to pick the right team of people to work with, no matter what project you’re faced with. When there's so much uncertainty in what you'll actually be shooting, you're best off ensuring certainty in as many areas as you can. Try to pick people similar to you that you've worked with before so that you know that the team gels. Debates and disagreements during the writing process are inevitable. Full blown arguments aren't. Try and keep the writing team small otherwise you risk drowning in good ideas. Normally, I'd say you can never have enough ideas – good or not so good – but when you're working to a deadline you need to make a decision quick and ensure it's built up to the best it can be. After all, you're only making one film this weekend. If you have two writers, then one can direct the shoot while the other keeps them in check and be constantly re-assessing the big picture. Too many more writers and you could be dealing with lots of different interpretations of the same concept and that's not going to help any one. If you can get the writing done quickly in the main locations with your equipment and actors nearby, you could get one or two quick night scenes shot (you don't really want to be filming on Saturday night if you can avoid it). You won't be able to write a full script, so just get a skeleton structure and agree on the pace and flow of the story. Flesh out the scenes and dialogue as you shoot.

Then get some decent sleep on the first night. Not only for practical reasons (it's going to be a physically demanding day for everyone) but also to let your mind wrap around the idea that you've come up with. It'll be too late in the morning for a complete overhaul of the script but you'll be able to tweak and change it better if you step away for a moment. I always find myself coming up with ideas that feel amazing at the time but they don't stick in the long term, so I try to give it a while before I properly start writing any idea to make sure I’m still excited about it. Obviously you haven’t got that much time but you’ll still benefit from stepping back for a little bit.

When you're shooting, keep everyone informed and as happy as possible. Some people will be working insanely hard, while others will be waiting around not doing much for a while. This is where your Production Manager will shine. People will likely cross over in their roles but have it set out before hand who is primarily responsible for what (and play to everyone's individual strengths and experience). To be honest most of the actual shoot will be fairly standard, if a little slower paced and more disorganised than I’m used to, so I’ll cover that stuff another time. Getting off to a good start is the key to this challenge and then it’s just a case of ensuring that energy and enthusiasm isn’t beaten by fatigue.

Finally, it pays to have your Editor starting work on importing footage and a rough cut as you shoot but make sure they get a lot of rest on the second night for much the same reason as with the writing. Editing can be mentally exhausting so make it as easy for them as possible. If you can, get an early rough cut submitted as early as possible. We were told that it was perfectly acceptable to do this but then bring in a second, more polished cut closer to the deadline. If someone's ensuring your submission is going to make it with plenty of time to spare, then your Editor will have a lot of pressure taken off them to focus on what they do best.

Films are made be people, so are only ever as good as the people involved. But the magic of film making doesn't come from one individual but is greater than the sum of its parts. Use what you've got to the best of your ability and most importantly enjoy it. If it starts feeling too much like tedious work, then maybe it's time to call cut. If you're bored shooting it, the audience will be bored watching it.

All the films made for the London leg of the 48 Hour Film Challenge will be screened at the amazing Prince Charles Cinema on Saturday October 6^th in three slots (11:00, 1:30 and 4:00) If you’re coming, aim for the 1:30 slot because that’s when The Art Collective’s entry will be screened. I had zero input on the team name, btw… Tickets cost £10 and can be picked up at the PCC or here:

http://www.jack-roe.co.uk/stdcgi/taposcgi/prilon/book?perfcode=4898

Otherwise, I’ll have a link up to YouTube when we can make it public and make another post analysing it.