Film Challenge Retrospective: After Hours

Hey there, true-believers! Eric here.

As part of Two Jackets' Film Challenge Month, we will be sharing our stories about timed filmmaking competitions gone-by.  Andrew, Marcus, and I have been participating in film challenges since we were in film school. Back in those days, the Film Department at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) participated in the National Film Challenge (now the Four Points Film Project) and pitted teams made up of students from freshmen to seniors against one another in a 48 hour-style elimination-round competition. The films that were made in this setting were judged by the faculty and local experts, and the winning project was entered into the worldwide competition.

The film I'd like to talk about is one I've never shared before. In my senior year at MSUM (2009), I was chosen as a team leader and director for "Team Lethal Projection," and we made a little film called After Hours. It didn't involve Andrew or Marcus (Andrew was directing his own project, and Marcus was living in Toronto) but it did feature our good friend Sarah Palm (3rd West Ballard, Hide My Thunder) in the lead role. Here it is!

Look at that glorious standard definition! The required elements for this film were:

Character: Jordan Gordon, Systems Analyst

Line of Dialogue: "This could get very complicated"

Prop: a Bicycle

Genre: Buddy Film

Working on these projects in college was really the crucible that forged our love for film competitions. Back in those days, absolutely everything was done collaboratively and democratically. Every member of the team remains intensely  involved through the entire weekend - from the idea phase to final delivery. In my role as director, I served more as a team leader than as a creative voice. I did what I could to make sure all members of the team were engaged throughout - getting an opportunity to use their own creative voices in whichever role they were assigned to. It gave us a chance to work closely with a lot of different people very early in our development as filmmakers. It ends up being a great exercise in building trust and developing friendships that have served us well in the years since.

I remember the brainstorming session for After Hours very clearly. We got access to the Graphic Communication department’s computer lab for the night and spent several hours writing ideas on the whiteboard, with all ten members of the team contributing ideas and feedback until we had the basis for a concept we all liked. The brainstorming process was really about crafting a story based on resources we had access to. Having a team member with access to an empty office building gave us a great location for our heist film. We also cast our friend Mike Stromenger who, in addition to being a talented performer, worked as the equipment manager at MSUM, meaning we had easy access to the school's small studio space, doorway dolly, and lighting resources. The thing I really took away from this process is how important it is for the director and writer of a project to guide this discussion. If you're brainstorming in a group, it's very easy to get sidetracked, following ideas that aren't productive and unattainable. At a certain point, somebody just has to say, "that idea for a wizard battle on the top of the library is great, but not for this project." After the writers began writing, we started making phone calls, assigning actors, and making team t-shirts!

LOOK AT THOSE GREAT SHIRTS.

We didn't get a lot of sleep (although I overslept on Saturday, which, by the way, is not a great method for inspiring confidence in your group) but every member of the team remained engaged throughout the filmmaking weekend and were given a chance to flex their creative muscles. We didn't win the competition, but I consider After Hours a huge success. Plus, we have t-shirts dammit.

Here at Two Jackets, we’ve learned a lot about film challenges and team management over the years. We’ve changed our methods since college, favoring a brainstorming process that just involves a few people to develop the story, but we’re always working to keep our team members involved creatively, so that they feel they aren’t just working on someone else’s film. It’s a difficult task, and we haven’t always succeeded in these regards, but our time spent in that formative crucible taught us a lot.

What is a Film Challenge?

It’s Film Challenge Month at Two Jackets!

Andrew and Eric (far left) at the registration event for the 2015 Minneapolis 48HFP.

“That’s great!” you say. “But… what does that mean? What’s a film challenge and why does it deserve its own month? And why should we listen to you chumps?” All valid questions! But you could be a little nicer about it. We’ll start with some definitions:

A film challenge is a fast-paced competition wherein a team of volunteer collaborators creates a short film from concept to final cut in a limited amount of time. Compared to a normal short film production that can take weeks, months, or even years to complete, contestants are given only hours to make their masterpieces. Sleep is rare, and delirium is common. With 48 hours to make a film, every second really does count!

To ensure films are created entirely within the time limit, certain required elements are imposed on the team at kickoff. These elements usually include a character’s name and profession, a specific prop, and a specific line of dialogue. For instance, the required elements could be...

Character: Gertrude Snickerpuss, Private Investigator

Prop: a candle

Line of Dialogue: “My name isn’t stupid, your name is stupid.”

As if that wasn't hard enough, a genre is also given to the teams. When we go into a competition we don't know if we'll be making a horror film or a western. It's all up in the air! All of the required elements and the genre must be incorporated into the final film, or the team faces disqualification.

We at Two Jackets have participated in three types of film challenges, all run by 48 Hour Film Project, Inc: the titular 48 Hour Film Project, the 48 Hour Film Horror Project, and the Four Points Film Project (formerly the National Film Challenge). The 48HFP is held in 130 cities all over the world throughout the year, and - as you probably guessed - gives teams 48 hours to work. We made Keeping Up with the Cloneses for last year’s event in Minneapolis. The 48 Hour Film Horror Project runs exactly the same way, but is limited to horror subgenres. We made All Dressed in White for this little sister of the 48HFP. The Four Points Film Project is a world-wide competition held online each year that give teams 72 hours to complete their film. We made I Stole a Lot of Money! last October for this competition. 

Them’s the basics! If you’d like to know more, keep checking in here at TwoJackets.com all month long for stories of film-challenges-gone-by. Also, go make a movie!

Film Challenge Month!

Hey everybody! It’s Marcus here to tell you about our first-ever theme month on the site—that’s right, it’s Film Challenge Month at TwoJackets.com!

On the set of "All Dressed in White".  Marcus' shirt is from the Columbus 48.  Andrew's has some kind of man-fish on it.

In the past we’ve written about our involvement in the 48 Hour Film Project and the Four Points Film Project-- both activities that require filmmakers to make a film from concept to final edit in a limited amount of time, and with a beyond-limited amount of sleep.  As Andrew, Eric, and I gear up for another entry into the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project this June, we wanted to share some of our stories from past timed film challenges.  Tales of intrigue, and adventure, and, did I mention not much sleep?  Because… uh… you don’t sleep much on a 48 hour shoot.

Each week in May, we will be featuring retrospectives on our competition pieces, including posting never-before-seen (on TwoJackets.com) entries from our formative college days!  Between the three of us, Andrew, Eric, and I have participated in over 25 timed competitions, and we have a lot of stories to tell.  Like this one time, when I didn’t sleep all weekend and was hallucinating at the after-party.  True story.  I think.  I was hallucinating, after all.

At the end of May, we will be detailing our schedule and planning process for the next Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project.  This is where you will get to see the best laid plans of mice and men.  The weekend generally seems manageable beforehand, but there’s always something that comes up.  Laugh with (or at) us as you see us try to schedule sleep into the weekend, then come back the second week of June to see how the competition actually went!

So, stay tuned to TwoJackets.com for more on Film Challenge Month, and hear about what these competitions entail, why we love doing them, and what we’re planning for the next one!

Also, it’s May.  Eric said I shouldn’t promote a certain superhero movie because it already has enough buzz, and we’re not getting paid for the endorsement, but I’d recommend seeing whatever movies directed by the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and starring Sam Jackson that you can find.  Nuff said!

Marcus

Minneapolis 48HFP Interview

Happy Earth Day, earthlings! Eric here.

Recently, Andrew, Marcus, and I sat down (actually, we were standing) for an interview with the lovely humans behind the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project. After we were lucky enough to walk away with the "Golden Horseflap" at last year's competition, they figured we might know a thing or two about making films in 48 Hours. It was an easy mistake to make. 

Stunning humility aside, it was a great interview and we had a lot of fun talking about our process and doling out advice to new filmmakers! Needless to say, we spoke for far too long and the resulting hour of chatter was cut down to a lean two minutes. Check out the video below and then sign up for the competition!

Also, we're officially signed up for the 2015 Minneapolis 48 Horseflap! See you there! #48HFP