The Washington DC 48 Hour Film Project

What Happened During Your Weekend?

The DC filmmakers share stories from their wild weekend of filmmaking. (Blogging ended shortly after the filmmaking weekend.)

So Much Drama!!!!

for a team that got assigned thriller/suspense we certainly experienced a lot of drama this year!
First, as you may have heard, two of our crew members got engaged during the weekend. On camera. In the guise of setting up the next shot. We did have some extra work to do to fool the bride-to-be into thinking she was helping set the camera and light for the next shot while the actors changed... but it was worth it. Their proposal was beautiful and romantic and worth every extra minute! Second, and less fun, we chose our suspense element to be a "haunted pool" which may have doomed us. The crew member who made the smoke and bubble effect with dry ice in the pool ended up with some pretty serious-looking burns on his arm, which almost sent him to the hospital. And the two producers learned the hard way that "H2No" is a real thing -- both of them had their houses flooded in unrelated incidents during the weekend of filming or immediately after!

phew! looking forward to a drama-free 2014! (maybe we'll get drama as a genre and not as an obsitcle!)

- Pamela Nash, 4&9 Productions

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So many costumes, so few actors

We were thrilled to get permission to use the American Backstage Company store in its new location on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, VA. We had hundreds of costumes and props at our disposal, but not a big enough cast to take advantage of them. Still, we had 4 crew members decked out in full-on bunny costumes in a police suspects lineup. What a hoot! We were laughing all day long. I wonder if there will be an award for beating the required line of dialogue to death? "Rabbit Trap" screened in Group A.

I rehearsed stealing earrings with our jewel thief, Ron Ward, to ensure a smooth take; but, alas, that scene didn't make the final cut. He got scarey good at it though. I'll not be wearing anything valuable next time we meet!

- Diane Williams, Shotgun Shakespeare

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All Singing, All Dancing

Another awesome 48 Hour Film weekend down! As always, the weekend felt more like playing on the playground than work. After 20 boxes of delicious sugar cereal, ten jugs of milk and a lot of duct tape (cheap car mount) we have our favorite 48 Hour submission yet. Can’t wait to see all the films at the beautiful AFI Silver! And can’t wait to show our Operetta “Le Lait Renversé”

- James Meerdter, Crash of Rhinos

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Watching 100s of films vs making ONE

This is our first project -- for me as a producer and for my friend as Director.

We came in with a motto that we are gonna make a few million mistakes in those 48 hours but we are gonna have fun making a film.

We did.

Our cast wasn't confirmed until friday night. We were running short on crew. But come Saturday morning, all the stars in the sky aligned for us and the best of the crew showed up to volunteer for our project. They were at least 1500 times excited than I am about the project and loved their dedication. Each of our actors are an institution by themselves.

I have learned so much in those 48 hours than from last 20 years of being a couch potato watching a billion films.

Yeah we did not make it in time, but .. no regrets. We are in this for the fun of making a film, our film. And we did. Thanks to our Cast and Crew.

Team Panther Chameleon. (Group F)

- Victor Paul, Panther Chameleon

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Talent aligns

I was absolutely floored by our team's dedication to the craft of cinema. Our crew was focused, our writers were tight, and our actors lifted my spirit and broke my heart. I am so eager to share "Distilled" with DC this year!

- Brian Pennington, Star Wipe Films

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Kryptonite

Year eight for us was great until late.
Audio problems (loose plug) had us reshooting scenes and calling actors back Sunday morning.
I really didn't think we were going to make it
with any semblance of a complete film.
Now I am dreading the dropped audio clips and,
even worse, audible directing cues caught by the cam.

This always feels like Olympics. All that effort and then one trip up and your just fighting to finish.

Comforts me to hear other post some difficulties. Soon it will all be over and I'll
be laughing and sighing with family and friends.

Onward.

Mike Charbonneau

- Mike Charbonneau, Sweep the Leg, Johnny!

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Just like a Marathon run

I was exhausted from little or no sleep and even got leg cramps and thought "what does this feel like" - after many years of doing the 48hfp this was the first one I thought seriously about giving up. But just like the second wind after "heartbreak hill" I got up and finished - what is better is in a marathon all you get are blisters and a T-shirt - here you have a film that you made you can watch or cringe at forever.

Thanks 48hfp

Mark M

- Mark McKinney, Actors with Strings

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small team comes up big

I've been giving it a go since 2007, and usually have a small ensemble. This time, we numbered six, which is the least I've had since I started. We did nicely; a good efficient shoot the ended before the encroachment of darkness. We delivered the movie on time, which is not something I have often been able to claim. I would say this year was notable for its lack of logistical disasters. I should also mention that I have new three-month-old twins to go with my pre-existing five-year-old, and that made preproduction hard. And just because I am accustomed to not sleeping doesn't mean I feel any better when I lose sleep writing a 48 hour film. Okay, enough; I'm boring myself.

- Tom Jennings, Dupont Circle Pictures

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Once more into the breach...

After a six-year absence from the 48 Hour Film Project competition, the aging warriors of Travesty Films have once again set foot on the cinematic battlefield. Throwing caution to the wind, these brave men (and, OK, a woman) have produced their very first animated film, GHOSTAHOLICS.

It seemed like it would be the easiest approach. We ended up getting less sleep than on any of the other eight times we've done the 48.

Some people learn nothing...

Screening Friday at 7pm. See it with someone you love.

- Dave Nuttycombe, Travesty Films

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