Putting It Together in 48 Hours

Written By, Yasmeen H.

Do you think it is possible to put together a short film in 48 hours? Well Mark Ruppert did. Not only did Ruppert challenge himself but now people in over 80 cities around the world are being put to the test. Thousands of people are taking part in the 48 Hour Film Project.

The 48 Hour Film Project began approximately a decade ago. Mark Ruppert is the creator and executive producer and Liz Langston is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP). The concept requires participants to produce a four to seven minute film in only 48 hours. “Although it doesn’t sound that complicated, filming involves much more than a camera” stated Frank Casaceli, the producer for the Detroit 48HFP. The participants had to write a script, cast a crew, shoot, edit, and produce the film in the allotted time.

At the beginning, a kickoff is held in each contending city, where teams are given rules and instructions. The kickoff was held at the Detroit 48 Hour Film Project Headquarters, located at 1600 East Grand Boulevard. Frank Casaceli is the producer of the 48 Hour Film Project representing the Detroit Metropolitan Area for the years of 2008 and 2009. Casaceli first became involved in the 48HFP by producing a film for the Nashville 48HFP in 2007. “My film, titled Red Night White Light was awarded Best Use Line of Dialog, and runner up Best Horror Film.”

During the kickoff, Casaceli announced the required elements, rules, regulations, deadline, and assigned each team a film genre. “The films ranged from silent, foreign films, horror, musicals, to regular ‘buddy’ films”, says Casaceli. “This is only the second year Detroit has been involved and participation has grown from 26 teams in 2008 to 43 teams in 2009,” adds Casaceli. After the kickoff, the Detroit participants were equipped and on the way to shoot their films.

This year 40 contestants were eligible to be screened at the Royal Oak Main Theater and the Maple Theater of Bloomfield Hills. “There were nine late films, which could not be awarded Best Film, but were eligible for other local awards”, said Casaceli. Four screenings were held in order to view all 40 films submitted on behalf of the Metropolitan Detroit Area 48 Hour Film Project. Between Wednesday’s screening at the Main Art Theatre and Thursday’s screenings at the Maple Art Theatre over 750 people attended”, Casaceli said proudly.

During the final stages of the local competition, one team of contestants from each city is chosen, and travels to Las Vegas to compete in The National Association of Broadcasters Show in April 2010, and receives a chance at $3,000, a HD Panasonic camera, distribution of their film, and a chance to have their filmed screened at the Cannes Film Festivalin 2010.

Judges for the competition were chosen by Frank Casaceli. This year’s judges were Ed Gardiner, Gary Bredow, and Gary May, all of whom are involved in the film industry. Casaceli notified the judges of the criteria to base judging as follows: creativity (40%), technical merit (30%), and adherence to the assignment (30%). Secondary judging considerations were: sound, lighting, props, characters, line of dialogue, and adherence to genre.

Numerous awards were given at the award ceremony. Paradise Valley Media were the overall winners representing the Metro Detroit 48 Hour Film Project. This was the first year Paradise Valley Media entered the competition and they received a total of three awards for their film A Little Knowledge. The film won Best Film, Best Directing, and Best Sound Design. Connie Mangilin and Michael Einheuser produced A Little Knowledge, and Clark A. Eagling directed. The team was ecstatic and overjoyed with their accomplishment, especially since this was their first time entering the 48HFP. When asked about advice for future participants and aspiring directors and producers, Mangillin encourages people to “just get out there and do it! There’s no better film school than hands on experience.”

The film The Most Difficult Thing by Lionbelly Media was considered a runner up winning four awards for Best Writing, Best Acting, Best Use of Line of Dialogue, and Best Use of Character. Love Between the Lanes by Bendell – Krau Productions won two awards for Best Musical Score and Best Choreography. Two awards were granted to Awesome Fantasy by Potato Clock for Best Special Effects and Best Costumes.

Two of the judges had very different perspectives on the films; Gardiner was impressed and enthusiastic, while Bredow wasn’t too impressed with the quality or effort put forth by most submissions. Mr. Gardiner explained that A Little Knowledge was a complete tight story which had a hook, the lead character did a fine job, and the film was well put together. Gardiner was also impressed by the production values, lighting, acting, sound, and editing. He stated that “the ones that were in the running for best film were well done but some were not interesting and didn’t have a tight story. Some hitall the marks,” he said, “but not all”. Gary Bredow was also impressed with A Little Knowledge he described it as “good content, cohesive story with an actual point to the piece.”

We asked Ed Gardiner about the capabilities of the groups’ and his response was “Some groups have worked together for many years and it was evident because they had their ducks in a row. Others formed a team through this project and collaborated. Teammates need to know their relationship to one another and the significant parts they play. Making a movie in 48 hours is a really tough job. One of the teams was actually arrested for trespassing and still made it out in time to submit their film!”

Gardiner categorized the elements which make a good film: “Bottom line is a film is a story. The story is most impacted by writing, acting, directing, and editing. The writer holds an important role because he/she has to compose something that the audience cares about - a believable storyline. The actors engage you in the film which needs to make sense. It is the director’s responsibility to guide the actor. Acting and directing go hand in hand - it’s a joint thing that needs a final touch by the editor. The next set of elements is just as important but secondary, sound, lighting, and the plot.”

Gardiner said “The 48 Hour Film Project is not creating an industry or fixing the economy, it does however, give us the chance to work together, challenge ourselves, show off our creativity, and have fun as we go through the process. Making a film involves many factors, as in writing, directing, acting, locations, sound, lighting, special effect, tracks, audio and video editing. The 48HFP is creating a stepping stone. It is good practice to build skills, evolve, and master the craft of producing a film so that participants, can go on to produce feature films.”

A special thanks to Mark Ruppert for his inspirational thought, everyone involved for putting forth the effort, and Frank Casaceli for bringing it to Detroit. We will be looking forward to future 48hour film projects.

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