The Buffalo 48 Hour Film Project
What Happened During Your Weekend?
The Buffalo filmmakers share stories from their wild weekend of filmmaking. (Blogging ended shortly after the filmmaking weekend.)
My daughter won't stop singing your song Sharkie!
To the team which made the musical about "Sharkie" -- thank you SO MUCH. My daughter won't stop singing it.. every day!
"Nobody mentioned it at all... that life could be this way... isn't it amazing, what we'll do for pay?"
It kinda grows on ya... ;-) Nice job!
--Rob
- Rob R, Candlelight Productions
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Great voting... but...
Great voting... but whatup with the \\
- 8Est use of character, Another coward
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Cabbageheads!
Congrats to EVERYONE for making awesome films... dare I say "art", for all of us cabbageheads to enjoy!
I think I'm gonna go get me some spicey mustard and go munch me some cabbage...
CIAO!
- Rob R, Candlelight
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Had a Blast!
This years 48hfp was the best of the three so far. I had a lot of fun, this time expanding my horizons by implementing 2d animation into my project.
My team's film, "Superhero: The Ballad of Buffalo Man" turned out very well, I think. I loved the audience reaction to the cartoon aspect, particularly the interview with Buffalo Man.
I can't wait to participate next year, when I'm hoping to possibly do the entire film via animation - perhaps even in 3D if I can master the third dimension.
- Christopher Burns Jr., BC Films Production
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Perceptions and clarrifications
I am a member of the team that did the film that has seemingly sparked a lot of controversy here and will lend my thoughts though they were already summed up largely with the "art is not safe" comment.
So here is the thing....on all the sheets of paper our delegate brought back to Fredonia, not one thing was mentioned about making the film PG, or language restrictions. I would strongly suggest to the organizers of the fest that if they want that to be the case THAT IT IS CLEARLY STATED IN OFFICIAL RULES, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS (caps absolutely intended.) You want it done, put it plain as day, in writing, on the official sheets. Not hidden in fine print on a website, or a person saying it.
To the offended party with children, I am sorry that any discomfort was had but in fairness everybody was warned, you took the chance and sat in there. I was not at the screening so I do not know the answer to this question, but if at the very first hint of "obscene" language you did not cover the ears and walk out, that again was your choice.
Please understand I mean no disrespect to you or anybody, but I sure as hell will not apologize for the way I talk, or people talk. My opinion ultimately is that we cannot seek to shelter people from this shit and that there are far, FAR worse things to be concerned about as parents than the words "fuck" and "snatch"
On the definition of obscene...by legal standard, our film is not obscene. It surely has "questionable" language, but the piece is FAR from obscene. The most obscene thing about it is the AIDS Cabbage wording which is pretty un-PC.
pe(A)ce and thanks to anybody that enjoyed it or sat through it. best wishes and good luck to all.
- Don, Worsub Films
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swearing...
I don't see what the big fucking deal is man. :)
Kids that acted in my movie weren't allowed to come to the screenings because of the potential of bad language, out here in denver about 10 out of the 40 teams dropped f-bombs as well as the dreaded c word haha.
Sometimes thats how characters talk. I didn't write 'You son of a bitch' in my dialogue, it was adlibbed in there and fit.
All I know is Rob Zombie puts it best 'Art is not safe'
so, whether you go to a museum or a film festival, some people's tastes aren't necessarily your own.
Appreciate the work put in, and write the MPAA next time its too offensive.
...thats my two sense :)
- Phil Secrist, RED DANDER PHILMS
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Swearing...
I honestly don't remember hearing to keep it PG, so the swearing was not an act of defiance or an attempt to look bad-ass, it's just how our short ended up playing out. Keep in mind, we're from Fredonia, so we're not tied as directly as the rest of the Buffalo teams.
While I can sort of understand the person who had a child in tow being upset, I still don't totally get the issues with language. To paraphrase Lewis Black, swearing is what adults do when we're angry.
As for the self-righteous "Rule Man" who felt the need to take our short and Impermanent to task for what are ultimately minor infractions, are you too cowardly to post your real name and what your short was?
Bueller? Bueller?
Yeah, I thought so. Keep fighting the good fight anonymously, you coward.
- Mike Subjack, WorSub Films
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Evan -- awesome!
I second the prior postings.. awesome job. The elevator thing really made it "authentic" too. Everything about your film rocked.. let's see how things go on Wednesday!
On the "obscene" question -- I kind of agree with the last poster -- and Terry did very clearly state to keep it "family friendly" and "PG" although I don't see any of that verbiage in the "official rules" (just not to make it obscene).
Lots of great films in group B's screening.. hopefully ours being shown first (Beyond the Garden, the one with the puppet and the guy dancing around with the cabbage) didn't put it at too much of a disadvantage by the end of the night (e.g. people would still remember it!).
What a fun ride.. :-)
- Rob R, Candlelight Productions
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To Curious Filmmaker:
Thanks for all your compliments, much appreciated! in response to your questions, we used a crane for that lobby shot. And the spider dolly was wrangled up somehow by our good buddy Dave. I don't ask questions. I just let Dave do his thing and he comes through big time. As for the elevator shot, we were allowed to go into the security room and video tape their monitors - and they were nice enough to bring it up full screen for us which was awesome.
- Evan, The loaf
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language
as quoted already; "must not infringe third-party's rights; must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent); must not contain obscene or pornographic material;"
; there are 2 sets of rules quoted. one being obscene or indecent and one about porn, so 2 different subjects.
look up obscene in Websters dictionary; "being language regarded as taboo in polite usage "
that would be swearing. however,the point is taken about how do you make a horror film w/o being offensive etc. in fact, the short about giving one daughter a kidney and purposely letting the other die is offensive as well.
terry said it last year, but i didn't hear him this year, that films should be pg.
the next question i would have is, do the judges look closely and not vote on those movies w/o telling ppl? is judging secret?
are the movies judged BEFORE the viewing, or is the viewing only to show all the movies that met the time requirement and the rest is up to the judges?
the bottom line on the language issue, aside if it is allowed or not, it is offensive by many ppl.
tata,
jim
- Jim Howe, Fozzy logic
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cabbage in common
Hi, just wanted to say what an incredible experience. one of our easier films for me as production manager. My 10 year old daughter was production asistant, it is her third film as assistant. she loves doing it.hair and mu/a. I think it was a solid entry! Dan and Jay are two awsome film makers! I am lucky to have met them. ginger green was an honest attempt that was tuff to cut. we had so much good material. matt outdoor enthusiast was some funny shit, we had a ball filming ! natasha mckenna was just as much fun! I am very pleased with our effort . our crew is growing each day in size and talent. again thanx for great experience. mike selvaggio production manager "cabbage in common"
- mike selvaggio, The Nobel Bavarians
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In regards to my short...
To the person who had issues with our short film and the language in it, there is nothing in the rules about swearing, so this idea we should be judged based on a non-existent criteria is unfair to say the least.
You were warned about the language in advance, so if you chose to stay with your child and watch our short, then that was a conscious choice on your part. You weren't forced to stay and view it. Thanks for staying, though. We appreciate any and all viewers.
To everyone else, I enjoyed the event and I admire all the hard work that went into your short films.
- Mike Subjack, WorSub Films
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Awesome movies in B
Can't wait to see the best from A on wednesday. Always fun to see who's in the other group.
Not understanding why people are so upset about the language when there was a decent amount of smoking this year. Children + bad language = bad but children + smoking = good????? I'd have to say, even though there's rules regarding what you can/can't do, it's still pretty wide open. IE would you want your kids seeing a movie in the Horror genre that's really horrorific?
- Stephen Howe, Fuzzy Logic Inc
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hey hey hey... OBSENITY?... cmon now... don't stifle creative talent
Hey, I watched the buddy flick that is in question for screening group B. They followed the same type of buddy script as 'SuperBad' if you can't stand the humor then you can't stand the 48... according to the official rules : To be eligible for the Project, Entries must be the original work of the Entrant; must not infringe third-party's rights; must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent); must not contain obscene or pornographic material; may not contain defamatory statements about any person, company, organization or entity; may not invade privacy or other rights of any person, company or entity; may not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations; and may not contain any copyrighted elements (other than as owned by the Entrant and/or 48HFP). Entries containing prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by the 48HFP, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate will be disqualified. 48HFP reserves the right to make the final determination as to which Entries are eligible. ....
how do you deem something 'innapropriate?' if its not porn... its okay.... is what I read into that.... let the best team win....
- Phil Secrist, RED DANDER PHILMS
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Following the rules...
to the guy who's concerned about the bad language:
the 48 hour rules state "no obscenities".. i'm sure the judges will judge accordingly.
the rules also very clearly state no stock video, and give clear examples. sadly, some films such as the 2nd sci-fi one thurs. used "explosion" stock footage which violates the rule.
check it out at: http://www.48hourfilm.com/filmmakers/rules-filmmaking.php (section D and Q)
and
http://www.48hourfilm.com/filmmakers/faq.php (see "what about special effects" on the right side column)
we probably should have a new separated slate for films which are disqualifiable, like they do for on-time and late films LOL.
- The Rule Man, A team who follows the rules
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Spider Dolly and Crane
VERY Cool indeed -- your team rocked, and the use of those tools paid off in the end IMO. Did you have a "crane" or a "jib"? I know Paul @ Communiquip rents jibs, but I haven't seen anyone in town renting spiders and track... where'd you find it?!
Good going guys.. I listed you up there in the top 3 films.. nearly pissed my pants it was so funny. HEY.. and while you're blogging... did you pop off the top of the elevator to get that shot?
- The Curious Filmmaker, One of the top 4 (IMO :-)
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To Curious Dude asking about equipment:
Luckily, we were very privileged this year to have access to a crane (yes, that's what you saw in the opening scene) and also a "spider dolly." These things are friggin cool. they're basically two long tubes of rubber that you can just throw on the ground, and the tripod it comes with has a pretty intense set of wheel constructions that rotate and spin around the curves in the tubing so that even if your tracks are wavy and uneven, the movement stays smooth. VERY cool toy. we also used this for the shot tracking with the lady as she rode the chair away from the rubber bands. this one, though, we used the separators for the tracks to keep it perfectly straight. Shout out to dave and sarah for rocking the setup on those shots. (more info: http://www.porta-jib.com/spider_dolly.htm)
- Evan, The Loaf
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Curious what equipment was used by Ma's Meatloaf
There were two shots where I because curious what equipment the team used.
(1) Near the beginning, there was a verticle glide of the camera as it ascended from ground level upwards. Was this just the camera guy with a very steady hand?
(2) During the "office battle" there was one smooth continuous well-coordinated shot when the camera shot one guy in a cube (left) then panned in a circular motion to a right-angle right to shoot a girl who was about to nail him (well.. staple him perhaps) while another girl ran around the corner behind her to attack. VERY smooth camera work. VERY good coordination (directing??)
Did you guys use any special equipment to track? A steadicam?
In the spirit of learning, I'd love to learn more about your technique and tools...
Thanks!
- A curious filmmaker, Group B
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I thought this was *family friendly*?!
We were clearly told our films were supposed to be *family friendly*... PG. So what's up with the swearing in a few films...
*especially* the one with F*CK and *snatch* and that other poor-excuse-for-a-laugh.
Seriously-- what's the gig? Will that film be reamed by the judges on Wednesday? Why was it even screened when it so blatently violated the rules?
- Anonymous Viewer of Group B, A team with a young child
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-Fun Weekend- Awesome showings Group A
All in all, I can't really complain. I did this a few weeks back in my hometown of Denver, and everything that could go wrong did. My actor didn't show up, so I had to act. I'm a director, I don't act....plus write, edit, shoot, cater, produce, etc... just wasn't happening...
then on a whim I saw buffalo was doing the same thing, My sis and bro and law live there, so I figured, why not redeem myself....I was pissed and stressed and nothing went right in denver....
I went to craigslist (BEST place to find quality actors) and found some awesome leads. My sister's friends came through w/ donating their kids, which we gleefully tied up.
Things went smoothly, w/ only 5 hours of sleep throughout, I was very pleased w/ the outcome of our movie 'HERMAN'. I had to fly back this morning and was initially in group b showings... but luckily as I was turning in my tape, another team had to work on wednesday (group a) when their movie was filmed....
so alas, I was able to watch my movie on the big screen.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the movies in the theatre, and was glad to see all the support from friends and family from all the teams. I wish I was there to watch Group B's showings, but A had some calibre.
My favorites of the night (besides my own of course) were the musical, training daze and stoned fist...
Every team did awesome, and each had their own brilliance. I know no-one had a 'perfect' film, but in 48 hours, I don't think that's totally possible....(unless you have a well oiled machine of a crew.
Had an awesome time.
Buffalo filmaking community was a treat to be involved w/ everyone was a lot 'chummier' than the old denver crowd.
I'll be back next year to do it again!
- Phil , RED DANDER PHILMS
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Broke a toe, Capture device lost power, and had a blast!
Someone wise once said that the only thing that can be expected, is that there will be things unexpected.
Somethings I didn't expect included breaking my toe while running from one room in the heat of editing.... or following a totally different execution plan than we anticipated.... or the power on our capture device deciding not to stay "on" (YIKES!).
But I am *very* happy with how our team worked, and so incredibly pleased with the outreach of friends and community to help indeed make a film in 48 hours! People offering their locations, having entire staffs "clean desk" in preparation "just in case" we shot there. Village Desserts donating a *generous* amount of Buffalo's best chocolate chip cookies (and subs by Besta Pizza). Markets and hotels and festival organizers -- actors and musicians -- everyone who opened a hole in their daily lives, to be a part of this madness. Awesome stuff.
This was our first year doing this project -- we learned a ton, slept little, had a blast, formed a team, and made something that I think is pretty darned good -- and I can't wait to do it again next year!
Looking forward to the screenings :-)
--Rob
- Rob R, Candlelight Productions
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one of the good ones.
finished a script at 3am, then we decided to rewrite it. half the props we needed weren't done in time. got booted out of our location hours earlier than what was agreed upon. all in all, not a bad year. I feel like everyone on our team did a fantastic job and i'm super proud of not only them, but the video we made. i can only hope all of the other teams had as much fun with as many problems as we did.
- Evan, The Loaf
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