Upcoming Meeting, Tips & Tricks

Howdy SCU,

As October draws to a close, we are approaching the six-month mark until the 2011 48HFP. Once Sean gets home from his out-of-town work assignment this weekend, we'll start to compare calendars so we can set a date for our Executive Planning Meeting. I'll send an email and post a message here once we've secured a date. And I'll let everyone know who is a mandatory attendee versus optional.

One of the things we'll discuss and determine is the organizational chart for the 48HFP weekend. We're hoping to have two full camera crews this year, so we need to figure out who answers to who, and who owns what tasks. In 2009, our 48HFP team we had a cast & crew of only 8 people. Last year we had 14. With two camera crews this year, we could easy double in size to 30 people or more.  So an org chart is going to be a necessity so we don't have 30 people all asking Sean or Mark what they need to do in any given situation.

We also need to plan out a rough outline of the events that have to occur next Spring, leading up to the 48HFP weekend (i.e. brainstorming session, workflow test, etc.). The rough outline will also include a timeline for the actual 48HFP weekend activities.

The 48HFP committee sent out a newsletter today and they had a good tip in there that we have NOT done the past two years, but I think we all agree is very important for a smoother run in 2011...testing the workflow! This will involve Sean Healey, Mark Wilson, and Chris Cochran at a minimum, and should take place sometime early in the month of April, to allow enough time to fix anything that isn't working. If we do secure a second camera, then we'll want that camera and sound crew involved too. And if we secure a second editing suite, we'll also need that Editor and equipment involved...

Test Your WorkflowThe 48HFP weekend brings many unexpected things, so make sure your workflow isn't one of them. In the week ahead of the 48HFP, have your DP shoot something on the camera you will use with the sound person recording sound they way you will record it; have your editor ingest the footage into the computer you will edit on; check the footage and make a few cuts; then output five minutes of footage in the way you plan to output it and time it (so you know exactly how long it will take to export). Make sure EVERYTHING in the path is exactly what you expect so you can be free to deal with the 12 other unexpected things that will hit you over the weekend.


We'll be talking with you soon, SCU...

Executive Planning Meeting

Howdy SCU,

Fall starts on Thursday, can you believe it? Football has started and colder weather is just around the corner. Time to think of Spring! As in May flowers. As in 48-Hour Film Project. We need to plan our Executive Planning Meeting for October/November. Please email me back to let me know what your work schedule looks like for October, and/or any out-of-town plans you have right now. I'll take all the date, throw them into a bucket and try to find an available night when we can get the most people together on the same night. It very well may come down to a weeknight meeting since everyone's weekends are so busy. The location is still TBD, but due to popular geographic locations, it will probably take place in Edgewater since that is a central location for the Calvert County and Baltimore City team members. And well, it's just a lot more convenient for Ed & I so we don't have to get a babysitter, ha ha.

So, send me an email with the dates you are NOT available, and I'll start to work on the date, time, location, and agenda.

We WILL make the top 12 this year, SCU. The time to plan is now.

Hey HEY hey, South County United!

Have you missed me? It's only been 2 months and you probably wonder why I'm bothering you again so soon. But check your calendars, kids. The next 48hfp is just 8.5 months away and it's time to start planning.

I don't know how many of you keep in touch with Sean Healey or Mark Wilson throughout the year, but those boys want to WIN the whole 48hfp contest this year. (And they're serious, ha ha).

I don't have such grandiose goals, but I absolutely, positively want and NEED to get into that elusive top tier of the 2nd showing of the "Best of DC" round the following week.

In 2009, South County United, in our premiere showing of the contest, made the "Best of DC" round with just a mere 8 cast & crew members (most of which played multiple roles).

In 2010, we almost doubled our crew size with 15 team members. And once again, we made it into the "Best of DC" round (albeit a bit surprisingly).

In 2011, we WILL make it into the 2nd showing of the "Best of DC". And hey, maybe we'll even win the whole thing? But if SCU wants to be a true contender in 2011, we need to plan ahead. I'll take care of all that planning-ahead stuff (with help from Sean and Mark) but I wanted to let everyone know that we'll need to have some pre-planning meetings in 2011.

I'm hoping to get all of you key people together at one location in mid-March and again in mid-April. It can be a weeknight sober event that lasts only 2 hours, but we need to get to work. We could even do a tele-conference or web-conference. Hey, it's 2011 people, we can use technology to our advantage. I know everyone's weekend schedules are busy. So please plan on spending 2 nights in March and April 2011 with the cast & crew of South County United, so we can lay down a plan to kick some @$$ in 2011.

More details to come over the next few months. Sean, Mark, and I will have our initial meeting this Fall (October/November) to start laying the groundwork for our success next year.

Please email me any fantastic ideas that you have for our team in 2011. Your input is always welcome. This is a team event.

Enjoy the last fleeting hours of summer, kids! GO RAVENS! (ha ha)

1,000 Hits...Again

Hey SCU,

We've crossed the threshold. Which threshold you ask?

South County United has now officially hit over 1,000 hits on YouTube for BOTH of our 48hfp films. That isn't by any means an official benchmark, but I'm still pretty excited and I hope y'all are too.

We did get a nasty comment from some "TLONG2294" person (...whatever), who thought our 2010 film was 'less than stellar'. He or She can have her fun, I don't care. Both of our films made the "Best of DC" round of contention, and we can hang our head's high and brag about that to anyone who asks.

2011 will prove to be an even better year. We have a cast and crew who is thirsty for a spot in that elusive top-12 ranking. And we WILL get there.

We have ten months to wait, but get psyched, South County United!!! It will be here before we know it.

Over 1,000 Hits!!!

Hey SCU, just in case you haven't seen our rudimentary film from 2009 in a while, we just FINALLY reached the 1,000+ hit milestone on YouTube!!!! Our "Behind the Cornhole" film officially has 1,003 views as of tonight (Saturday, June 5, 2010).

And, NOOOOOO, I haven't watched it several hundred times this week to get us there.

Meanwhile, "High as a Kite" is at the 800+ mark so we have a hundred-and-some more views to get to that elusive mark that Cornhole has hit, but I know we'll get there, team. It took Cornhole over a year to hit that 1,000+ mark but after only one month online, we're in reach of the same threshold for our 2010 film.

In 2011, I fully suspect we'll have 1,000+ hits in the first week. Watch out, competitors, we're out for blood in 2011.

Commemorative Mugs

Happy June, South County United!

I wanted to continue our beer koozie tradition this year but found that most custom design sites require a minimum order of 50 or 100 koozies. I think we can all agree that we already have too many in our house and I don't think there would be much of a market for them on eBay (at least not yet, haha).

So as an alternative, I created coffee mugs that our team could collect. They have a bit more staying power than a t-shirt, and were a bit more functional than just a poster. For next year's mug, I will wait until after the "Best of DC" announcements and add a "ribbon" to our mug design to denote the Best of DC contender status.

I wish I could afford to buy everyone a mug, but I can't swing it right now. But wanted to let you know they are now available online. I created one for 2009-From Behind the Cornhole, and one for this year 2010-High as a Kite. All your names are on there.

If you click here you should get the link to purchase the mug, email if you have any issues.

What's your number?

So I looked again at the blog link below from the Jungle Rules group. Dan went to both screenings of the "Best of DC" on Thursday Night...Awesome.

He listed his commentary...Awesome.

He outlined the awards...Awesome.

His commentary was listed in the order of the screenings (at least for the first 12 films, of which SCU "High as a Kite" was in)...Awesome.

But the screening order (if Dan's blog is in proper order) has "Saving Face"(side note: which was an amazing story and film) as the last movie shown in the "Best of DC" 9:30pm screening. Yet, the 2nd-to-last film "Shovel Ready" won (sidenote: also an amazing story and film, deserving of the win).

So once again, my hypothesis was wrong. I'm not completely off base, but like Mark Ruppert said to us at the drop-off, it's not "scientific".

I do wish that the 48HFP committee would just post official rankings at the end of the contest. Our team is COMPETITIVE and we want to know how we did each year. We based our 2009 appearance as "18th out of 110 films" based on where we screened in the "Best of DC" round. This year we dropped to "22nd" (if we followed my very UN-scientific meanderings).

I know that publishing rankings and data would probably ruin the whole spirit of this amazing competition.

But, Mister Mark Ruppert, if you find this blog one dark and dreary night in the middle of a February blizzard...enquiring minds want to know...why do you give such scantily clad details on the results of this contest?

Best of DC Winners

48HFP BEST OF DC WINNER: "Shovel Ready" by The Big Honkin

Here is a blog entry from a fellow contestant who attended last night's award ceremony, with commentary on all films including ours.

http://remanentdomain.blogspot.com/2010/05/best-of-dcs-2010-48-hour-film-project.html

Updated Best of DC List: 24 Teams

We got an updated email from Mark Ruppert today, apologizing for missing a few teams from the "Best of DC" round screening next week. So I've updated the list accordingly.

We've been able to find most of the films online, and not surprisingly, there are some really fantastic contenders this year. Again, South County United is so excited to be among the top 24, what an elite crowd we've found ourselves in!

I'm providing some links below to the films we've found. If your team is listed below without a link to your film, I just couldn't find it with a Google search, so pop me a note with your URL and I'll update it, thanks! And congrats, hope to meet some fellow filmmakers next Thursday.

3/4 Films.....Mainframe

BetaMacks.....Horn

Cavegirl.....Therapy

Citra Productions.....Tiebreaker

Drunks and Children.....Continuing Saga of Bud Chestrock

Eastern Avenue.....Quelques Instants

Holy Skit Productions.....Ordinarily Extraordinary

Jungle Rules.....Koma

Musky Adventures.....The Puppy Wrangler

Pilot's Crew.....Breathe Focus Octopus

Red Light District Attorney's.....Staple Remover Melodrama

Rolling Blunder.....Dash

Second Minute Films.....My Own Worst Enemy

Silver Panthers.....Rent in Peace

Simple and Unsimplified.....Shadow Tale

Solimage.....Jackalope

South County United.....High as a Kite

Spartan Films.....FDA

Star Wipe Films.....Kill The Monsters

Team BOM.....Chloe

The Big Honkin.....Shovel Ready

The Quest.....Under My Skin

Veer Sciatica.....My Friends in Sudan

Wit/161.....Saving Face

Notes for 2011

As it turns out, our previous assumptions of the science behind the 48hfp judging were wrong. And for 2010, South County United is very happy that our hypotheses were indeed way off base.

We thought that the order of the films on the original screening night was the order of judging results -- meaning, the last film showed in each screening was considered the best, and the ranking went down from there. "High as a Kite" screened in 5th place out of the 12 qualifying films in our Group H this year. So we thought we were toast when it came to making it to the "Best of DC" round.

Thankfully we were quite wrong. Our film DID make the Best of DC round. And as it turns out, the 'top 5 films' from our group (by order of their screening), did not all make it to the Best of DC round. It appears we had 3 films from Group H make it to the next round, so our film screening in 5th place last week did not have any bearing on how the judges eventually ranked the films.

Needless to say, we're incredibly relieved and excited to have the prestige of making it to the Best of DC round for our 2nd year in a row. We've been able to watch a few of the other "Best of DC" films online and they are pretty fantastic.

So we'll eat my piece of humble pie now, and revel in this accomplishment as our 48hfp resume grows.

And congrats to the other 19 films who will join us next Thursday, May 27th, in the Best of DC screenings:

1. ¾ films Mainframe

2. The BetaMacks Horn

3. Big Honkin Shovel Ready

4. Cavegirl Productions tHerapy

5. Citra Productions Tiebreaker

6. Drunks and Children Continuing Saga of Bud Chestrock

7. Eastern Avenue Quelques Instants

8. Jungle Rules Koma

9. Musky Adventures The Puppy Wrangler

10. Pilot’s Crew Breathe, Focus, Octopus

11. The Quest Under My Skin

12. Rent In Peace Silver Panthers

13. Rolling Blunder Dash

14. Second Minute Films My Own Worst Enemy

15. South County United High As a Kite

16. Spartan Films FDA

17. Star Wipe Films Kill the Monsters

18. Team BOM Chloe

19. Veer Sciatica My Friends in Sudan

20. Wit/161 Saving Face

We Made It into the BEST OF DC!!!

Congrats you crazy cats! South County United's little film, High As A Kite, has made it to the BEST OF DC round!!!

The screening is Thursday May 27th. We do not know if we are the 7pm or 9:30pm screening yet, those details are still being worked out. So clear your calendar for that night, and Sean or I will let you know as soon as we do!

CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU for all of your hard work, South County United. We're building quite an impressive resume!

2010 48hfp DC Audience Award Winners

Obvious disappointment for the South County United team since we did get a ton of laughs at our screening. But Cavegirl has a great film so congrats to them and the rest of the teams who won the Audience Awards this year.

Here are the 2010 Audience Award Winners:

Group A The Big Honkin’ Shovel Ready

Group B Star Wipe Films Kill the Monsters

Group C Eastern Avenue Quelques Instants

Group D BetaMacks Hörn: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Internet

Group E ¾ Films Mainframe

Group F onesixtyone (WIT) Saving Face

Group G Rolling Blunder Dash

Group H Cavegirl Productions tHerapy

We got a comment!

We got our first comment on our film! And it's not from someone we know, LOL! Thanks, Spartan Films! I'll be sure to check out your website to pay homage to your work as well.

This video was awesome. From one film maker to another, Spartan Films SALUTES you! Great work!

48HFP DC Website: Filmmaker Blog

Team, the 48hfp committee allows filmmakers to add comments to the DC page about this year's contest. You can read some experiences from other teams, add a comment on your own, etc. I posted one last year and did again this year. You can catch the blog on the DC portion of the website here: 48hfp DC Filmmakers Blog

My entry is below. Thanks to everyone for another fantastic year! Here's to hoping that some screening groups had zero good films and that we can still eek into the Best of DC round!

We just watched “High as a Kite”, our second 48-hour film on the big screen last night (Group H, South County United). If possible, we had more fun filmmaking this year than we did in 2009. As our Director so eloquently stated at our screening last night, this is the second year we’ve had naked men in our films!

As the Production Manager, I was concerned about our growing cast & crew size this year. After we did so well in our freshman year (18th overall out of 100+ films), we had a bandwagon onto which people were jumping.

With only 8 cast & crew members last year, many of us had multiple roles to play, but we were an efficient team. This year, we almost doubled our team size with 15 people. I was worried about too many extra people muddying the waters and getting in the way. But as it turns out, they brought an extra dose of energy, creativity, and passion that was a fantastic addition.

Each one of our new cast/crew members contributed something significant to this production – whether it was operating the main camera, making an onscreen appearance, singing a background vocal in our fun original song, producing an original trombone hat and other fantastic props, or hoisting really heavy gear from set-to-set – every person on our team worked their tail off this year and our final film quality shows that fact.

As we drove home from the screening last night, with half of our cast & crew in one car, our Director was already discussing his vision for next year. He’s switching up the roles, creating new ones, eliminating some, consolidating others, and adding a new pecking order of responsibility. We have about 51 weeks to think about it, and a few of us on the team will think about it a lot over the next year.

Our film didn't place as high in the screening order this year as we’d have liked, but our team still loves the film we made. Our friends and family think it’s a great film too (don’t they have to say that?).

But the best reward of all, by far, is hearing the audience full of people we don’t even know, laughing out loud at all the right spots. As we walked away from the theater last night, someone from the audience caught up with us to tell us how much he just LOVED our film, and said that the “weirdness” is what made it great.

Thanks, guy! We’re just high as a kite.

Best of DC 2010 Screening

Hi team,

An email today explained that the Best of DC for 2010 is going to be THURSDAY MAY 27th. There are two screenings that evening at 7:00pm and 9:30pm. We won't know if we've made that cut (top 24 films) until probably next week but wanted to let you all know that was the date so you could try to keep your calendar clear.

There are tickets for sale for Friday May 28th on the AFI site, but that is for a "Best of 10 Years of the 48 Hour Film Project" screening.

High As A Kite - The Original Song

Listen to "High As A Kite" on SoundCloud

LYRICS:
I like goin through the drive-thru to buy my fries
You broke into my heart and made it supersize
No matter where I go girl there I find
You’re always stealin real estate in my mind

I couldn’t afford you flowers, so here’s a fern
If you ever leave me girl, I’d crash and burn
You got me by the tail, fallin at your feets
Just wait till I get you home girl, between the sheets

CHORUS:
I’m high as a kite now baby
I rock you all night now baby
I got this love for you baby and I don’t want to stop

I’m high as a kite now baby
I rock you all night now baby
And my love for you makes me feel so right
When I feel this way I want to fly my kite

You are the kite that pulls my string
When you play with my ding-a-ling
And the wind from your derriere
Keeps my kite in the air
I could add your name to my tattoo
I saved this space here for you
I ain’t got no money or coins
But I got a jackpot here in my loins


REPEAT CHORUS

Screening Tickets Available

Hi team

If you want to get your tickets for the screening now, they are available online. Sean & Erin have 2 comp tickets, everyone else needs to purchase them. We did this last year at Sean's house but they appear to be available early this year.

Reminder, South County United (that's us) is in Group H which screens Friday, May 7th at 9:30pm. Tickets are $10 each.

** BEST OF DC ANNOUNCEMENT ** The AFI Theater has tickets for the "Best of DC" available already, and that appears to be the Thursday and Friday before Memorial Day (May 27 and 28). Just be careful you buy tickets for THIS Friday May 7th, I almost bought the wrong ones.

For those of you who are participating the first time this year, the 48HFP committee chooses the top 24 films and screens them again in the "Best of DC" screening. The top 12 films make it onto a "Best of DC" DVD that goes on sale on the 48HFP website. Last year, South County United placed 18th overall so we really want to break into that Top 12 this year and get onto that DVD!

TO BUY TICKETS: www.afisilver.com

(Last year, our screening was pretty packed, not sure if it sold out completely or not, but it has sold out in years past, so we suggest you get your tickets now if you want to attend the screening).

Weather Report

Hey SCU - it's gonna be 80s and SUNNY on Saturday. There's a good chance, just like last year, that we'll be filming outside so pack your sunscreen and a hat if you need one. We had some sunburns last year so just wanted to remind everyone.

Food, Food and more food

Hi team, I wanted to give everyone a head's up on the menu this weekend. If anyone has any special dietary needs or restrictions, please plan on bringing "safe" food for yourself. Due to tight timeframes and no budget, we can't accommodate all needs and requests, as I'm sure you can all understand! Thanks!

• Breakfast (7-8am at Healey's house or on set): Munchkins, bagels, fresh fruit, breakfast bars, yogurt, OJ, coffee
• Lunch (on set by noon): Assorted Croissant Sandwich Tray (turkey, ham, roast beef), chips
• Dinner (at Healey's house around 6pm or after filming is done): Homemade casserole with chicken/vegetables/pasta/cheese with rolls
• Beverages (all day): Water, water everywhere - we need to stay hydrated (bring your own soda or sports/energy drinks if you need them)
• Snacks (all day): Cheese sticks, Peanut Butter Crackers, Apples, Bananas, Raisins, Granola Bars, Chips, Candy/Cookies

Only 36 hours until 48 hour!

Hello South County United! Start your engines! We're down to the wire here, final organization is being done today and tomorrow. Paperwork is printed and ready for your signatures. Food is being purchased tonight to feed you mongrels. The rough timeline for the weekend is outlined below, but...

***** KEEP IN MIND ***** This timeline is extremely rough in nature, loosely based on how things worked for South County United LAST year. We have no way of knowing if 2010 will prove to run on the same schedule.

For example, if we pull the "Film Noir" genre, we almost have to film Friday night (all night) since the genre requires black & white with dark & shadowy mystery. Or, we may end up requiring a sunrise shot in our film, in which case your butts will be on set by 4:00am to prep for the first scene. As the 48HFP slogan says...

Every minute counts when you only have 48 hours to make a film!

Friday Evening

• 5:30pm - 7:00pm - Jen Siler will attend kickoff event to get assignments (maybe with Chris Cochran depending on his schedule).
• 7:01pm - Jen will call Sean Healey with the 3 elements and genre. Sean will blast the info to the team.
• 7:30pm - Focused Brainstorming session begins at Healey's house for anyone interested in attending. (Short timeframe, very focused brainstorming, nothing but story ideas allowed to be discussed.)
• 9:00pm - Everyone leaves Healey's house except for core writing team (Sean, Chris, Jen) to refine script and dialog.
• 1:00am - Target deadline for final script*. Printout 15 copies.

* Please note the final script is 99% final. We did rewrite some things on set last year and will consider that again if it improves the film. But no character negotiations are allowed once final script is printed. (That's how Ed & Jeff ended up in SPEEDOS last year, hahaha!)

Saturday Morning

• 7:00am-8:00am - Call time for cast and crew. Arrive at Healey's house no later than 8:00am. Donuts and coffee will be available. **Last year, we met at the beach, Sean Healey or Jen Siler will text or call you Saturday morning if an alternative meeting location is required.**
• 8:00am-9:30am - Arrive onset at first shoot location. Crew sets up gear and preps set. Director provides special instructions and reviews shooting schedule. Cast reads through the script.
• 9:30am - Target start time for filming.
• 5:30pm - Target completion of filming.
• 5:30pm-7:00pm - Return to Healey's House. Dinner and wrap party/debrief.
• 7:01pm-onward - Post-Production continues (ongoing through entire 48 hours).

Sunday

• Cast & Crew sign paperwork
• Cast & Crew confirm film title
• Cast & Crew write logline
• 5:00pm - Target deadline for final film on flash drive
• 6:00pm - Leave Edgewater to deliver film in DC

Get a GOOD night's rest tonight, cast & crew. You'll need to store up that energy for the next 3.5 days. Can't wait to see everyone!

A nod to last year's DC winner

This week's "Film of the Week" from the 48.tv website is last year's DC Winner. Filmed entirely in front of a green screen, and tremendous help from a CGI master, I don't think we stand a chance of competing with something like this but thought you all might want to see last year's winning film to see what we're up against in the very talented DC region. (Thankfully, the team who won last year is NOT competing this year, these are the guys who taught the workshop I attended 2 weeks ago).

This week's film is...

"Gwendolyn Dangerous and the Great Space Rescue"
by Integral Arts
a Film de Femme
Washington, DC 2010

In this campy ode to sci fi serials, Gwendolyn Dangerous boards the ship of Hassan the Heinous in an attempt to save her sister from being his slave.

This one goes out to DC, Boston, and Singapore filmmakers, who will make over 200 48HFP films this weekend. Good luck to them!

Check it out:

http://www.48.tv/bin/index.cfm/id/389fb23a-e2a2-6914-d3f1-9885e4e55a52

Screening, Kickoff, Dropoff

Hello DC 48 Hour Filmmakers—

Below is the listing of when to be where for the Project film weekend. Please read the Kickoff, Drop Off and Screening Information carefully so that you're in the right place at the right time!

KICKOFF EVENT

You must have someone present to draw the genre for your film in our random drawing. Please limit total attendees to 3 people.

Friday, April 30, 5-7p.m.

[All teams arrive by 5:30 pm--participate in check-in and drawings--Leave at 7pm sharp!]

WAREHOUSE THEATER

Enter through the parking lot on New York Avenue

645 New York Avenue NW--between 6^th and 7^th Streets

(for the past 3 years the weather has cooperated and we have held the drawing outdoors, so keep your fingers crossed)

DROP OFF EVENT

Your film must be received by 7:30 p.m. to be considered on-time and eligible for all awards.

[Late films will still be screened (but not judged), so be sure to get them in!]

Sunday, May 2 6:30-9:30 p.m.

"On-time" films by 7:30pm!

WAREHOUSE THEATER

645 New York Avenue

PLEASE NOTE: Do not enter through 7^th Street

SCREENING SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

Below are the official screening times and groups for the DC Project.

Your team has been assigned to a group. The only way to change groups is to find a team willing to switch with you.

Before you get deep in the moment of filmmaking, just a note about the screenings:

- Don't forget to invite your family, colleagues and friends to the screenings.

The info is below.

-Forward this email to your team members so that they know which screening to attend to see their film.

-For each screening group, the audience will vote for their three favorite films and from these votes, one film will be awarded the audience award. There will be eight Audience Awards in DC.

-At the screening, feel free to celebrate your film (and to lobby the audience for votes). In the past, film teams have worn costumes, handed out candy and postcards to the audience in the lobby and brought posters and props along to the screening.

We're looking forward to a series of fun and exciting screenings. Get some sleep!

DC 48 Hour Film Project Screening Info:
The screenings will be held on Tuesday – Friday, May 4-7 at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring.

TICKET SALES

Tickets may be purchased online at www.afisilver.com (credit card required).

Tickets go on sale beginning Monday, April 26

Each team leader receives 2 comp tickets to his/her screening.

Or can be bought at the door of the AFI Silver Theatre that night!

Please contact me with any questions.

Mark

Mark Ruppert

DC Producer

48 Hour Film Project, Inc.

www.48hourfilm.com

Mark@48hourfilm.com

GROUP A Tues. May 4 7 pm

Dupont Circle Pictures

Empty Bench Productions

Epsilon Eridani Productions

peachu

Running Welshmen Productions

SiLvEr PaNtHeRs!

Spartan Films

The Big Honkin'

the Blue Rhino Productions

The Chenettes

The Quest

Unabandoned Works

WipPan Films

GROUP B Tues, May 4 9:30 pm

Apex Predator Productions

Bigger Boat Productions

Creative Liquid

Cyclopean Pictures

Drunks and Children

Frozen Penguin Productions

General Admission Films

Golden Films

Media Dacha

Musky Adventures

Peterwagon Films

Red Lift

Star Wipe Films

GROUP C –PG -13 Weds., May 5 7 pm

5212 FilmWorks

Astrocasters

CrazyLulu's Team

Farar Productions

Morning Coffee Productions

Red Pill Productions

Revolver Films

Rising Phoenix Productions

Team B.O.M.

The Lions

Tohubohu

Wytek Pictures

Xtreme Perception Video Production

GROUP D Weds., May 5 9:30 pm

Angels Production

Aquarian Entertainment

Dancing Pirate Scouts

citra Productions

DC Militia Productions

Dusky Manito

Hollywood Is A Man Productions

Holy Skit Productions

Jungle Rules Films

Loud Noises

Simple and Unsimplified

Tragedy Plus Time

Traxart Entertainment

GROUP E Thurs., May 6 7 pm

2Failures

3/4 Films

Actors with Strings

BiteBiteBite Productions

Cinema Murcielago

Flavor Babies

Fly By Night Films

Leaping Lizard Productions

Power Group Productions

Shoe Tree Films

SwimFast, LiveSlow

Ursus Lotor

Wake Up The Giant

GROUP F Thurs., May 6 9:30 pm

Krisp Productions

Leaning Tripod Productions

Nothing Sacred Productions/Mini Americans

onesixtyone (WIT Films)

Pick Me! Pick Me!

Pilot's Crew

Red Light District Attorneys

River Run

Sciatica Veer Films

Second Minute Films

solimage

Team Soul Story

Untied Artists

GROUP G Fri. May 7 7 pm

Baboy Productions

The Betamacks

Connectivity Group Productions

Crowded Elevator Pictures

DC Dogs

Dim The Lights

Eastern Avenue Films

Gatorot, Drink Of The People

Performance Initiative

Rolling Blunder Productions

Star Maker Machinery

Z M Movies

Zipper Productions

GROUP H Fri., May 7 9:30 pm

[sic] Productions

Badass Productions

Broken Reels

Cavegirl Productions

DC Film and Video Meetup

Flying Over Trout

JustinTime productions

Karma vs Mojo

Silver City Productions

South County United

Straight, No Chaser Productions

Team Bulala

Unfinished Productions

Untouchable Films

48HFP Screening: Friday 9:30 PM

South County United,

Start your engines and sound the horns. Our 2010 film will screen at AFI in Silver Spring on Friday Night, May 7th, at 9:30 PM. Maybe since it's a Friday night event, we can get alot of people in the seats! We need votes to get audience favorite award.

48hfp Workshop

The first 48hfp Workshop in DC was offered this year. Kevin Good and Barry Gribble from Integral Arts were the instructors. They were the city winners in 2007 and 2009, and they have a laundry list of other awards and accomplishments, just check their website.

The workshop offered loads of tips and tricks for making a better film for the 48hfp. Topics included Script Writing, Camera Work, Audio, and Lighting. For me, it was an interesting learning experience, but there were no takeaways for me to bring back to my team, South County United. Our team is lucky enough to have a fantastic professional crew and resultant equipment.

I think this workshop would be perfect for the team who has participated in 48hfp once or twice, using a $300 camera and no other equipment. Barry and Kevin are extremely talented and they have the awards to prove it. Their advice and lessons were spot-on to the amateur filmmakers who want to raise the bar for their 48hfp team.

One interesting tidbit of info that I found really interesting was around Environmental Portaiture (addressing camera work and setting up a shot). Barry and Kevin used the example of people sitting on a sofa (on film). So many 48 Hour Films submitted have a scene with people sitting on a sofa. And 99% of the time, the sofa is up against a boring white wall.

Now, think about every sitcom you've ever seen on TV. The sofa is never placed against a wall, it's almost always in the middle of the room. (Friends, Seinfeld, Everyone Loves Raymond, Happy Days, Cosby Show, you get the point....).

So there were definitely some fun and interesting things that I learned, since I'm not a camera operator or a photographer. But it will make me more aware of most of the things I see on TV or movies from now on.

Thanks to Kevin and Barry for a great day. And I think I speak on behalf of the 100+ teams entered this year -- thanks for not entering the project this year!

Brainstorming Bonanza

Thanks to the SCU teammates who participated in our brainstorming session last night. Glad we were able to find time to do one this year, with everyone's busy schedule. Sean & Erin Healey, Jeff Cook, Ed & Jen Siler, and Chris Cochran and Whitney all participated and we got a lot done!

As notes for 2011, we started by brainstorming each genre, trying to list a few good ideas with very basic story outlines.

Then we hand-picked our Top 5 strongest and most realistic story ideas (based on # of actors required, # of locations required, special props or extras required, etc.). We had to throw out a few really good ideas for sheer time restrictions. If we ever enter a 20-minute short film contest, we have some great ideas!

After we picked our Top 5 story ideas, we went through each genre again to see if one of our 5 stories fit into each genre category, and tried to get 2 story ideas for each genre. We were short on a few of the genre, but were able to come up with at least something (but hoping we just don't pick those)! Two that really have us stumped this year are the Silent Film and the renewed genre for 2010, Film Noir.

We're fortunate this year to have two females willing to act, so the Film de Femme category no longer scares us. Last year, we had zero females so we were at a loss for that genre but we should be OK this year.

I'm attending the newly offered 48hfp workshop tomorrow, looking forward to learning some of the tips & tricks that former winning teams have to offer.

South County United is feeling prepared and ready this year, I hope that isn't a false sense of security!

Two weeks from this moment, the cameras will be a-rollin! Cheers to a great 2010 48hfp!

T minus 3 weeks!

Salutations, South County United. Just three weeks from this Friday we'll start racing to get our 2010 film completed! Can't wait!

Not sure what is going on with the 48hfp committee but according to the DC page on their website, there are now 104 teams registered? So much for that 100-team limit they had talked about!

I decided to register for the new workshop the 48hfp committee has organized this year. It's Sunday, April 18th from 12:30 until 5:00pm in downtown DC. The "teachers" are from Integral Arts team who has won this contest twice, been named a Top 5 US 48HFP team twice, won the Panasonic HD Showdown in 2007, and won the LA Television Festival in 2009. So their credentials speak for themselves, I am going to attend the workshop to see what our team can learn and apply to this year's film.

If anyone else has an interest in joining me, you can register by CLICKING THIS LINK.

100 Team Maximum!

The 48hfp committee decided this year to cap the number of teams who can enter at just 100. We had 110 last year (I think)? I like this new development since the contest originated in Washington, D.C., it is always the biggest contest of all 80 cities. So I'm glad they aren't going to let it keep growing.

Don't forget team, that the screenings will be immediately following our crazy weekend. This year, those will occur Tuesday-Friday, May 4-7. Last year, they did 2 screenings per night, a 7:30pm and a 9:00pm so we can assume a similar schedule this year.

For those of you with erratic work schedules, try to keep this in mind when accepting jobs, maybe try to snag those daytime only shoots?

48hfp Genre Shake-Up

They did it again! I just read the official "genre" post on the 48hfp website and they have eliminated 3 of the 2009 genres and put 3 new ones in. They also created a refreshed Wild Card Genre List. Lord help us!

The 3 eliminated genre are: Detective/Cop, Holiday Film, and Superhero. In their place, in the main genre list are: Film Noir, Road Movie, Silent Film.

So the official MAIN genre list for 2010 is:

Buddy

Comedy

Drama

Fantasy

Film de Femme (must have lead female character)

Film Noir

Horror

Mocumentary

Musical or Western

Road Movie

Romance

Sci Fi

Silent Film

Thriller/Suspense

Wild Card Genre

(if you don't like the genre you initially pick, you can take your chances for a wild card but then you are stuck with it)

Adventure Serial

Dark Comedy

Foreign Film

Heist

Historical Fiction/Period Piece

Mystery

Surprise Ending

Time Travel Movie or Doppelganger Movie

50 Teams

Just five days after registration opened, there are already fifty teams registered. I don't remember last year how many teams registered in the first week, just wanted to document this on the blog so I remembered next year.

The 2009 contest had 110 teams entered, so we're halfway there already after just a few days. Game on, D.C.! South County United has a mission to get into the top 12, so watch out!

Sean Healey's name is in lights: http://www.48hourfilm.com/dc/ (those damn Directors get all the glory)

Official Registration

Congratulations!

Your team, SOUTH COUNTY UNITED, is officially registered for the Washington, DC 48 Hour Film Project scheduled to begin April 30.

For more information, go to the Washington, DC page of our website:
http://www.48hourfilm.com/dc/

Announcement Email

Another email arrived today from the 48hfp producer, Mark Ruppert. He wanted to remind us that registration for this year's 48hfp starts MONDAY! Again, my calendar reminder is set so I will take care of this for South County United.

They have a new workshop planned for this year with lessons on Filmmaking and Secrets to a Successful 48 Hour Film. It's Sunday April 18th if anyone is interested. It's taught be award-winning 48hfp filmmakers. Details about cost and curriculum will be announced soon so I'll update you all when that email comes out. I have it on my calendar to try and attend, depending on how much it costs and what else might be going on that weekend.

They are also having a mass-audition casting call called Stonehenge on Sunday, March 28th. They show monologues delivered on screen from about 120 actors/actresses who are interested in being cast in a 48hfp. Sounds interesting, do you guys think it's something we should attend? We still don't have any females interested in acting, do we? The event is $20 for two people to attend. It might be worth it to go check it out, even if we don't use any of the people we see audition?

48HFP Reality Show

The bane of reality TV has reached an all-time high, but this is one I would watch! Vote now to get a full season of a 48HFP reality show! It needs a lot of votes, so take 30 seconds to cast your vote. No registration required and it's just one-click voting.

www.halogentv.com/vote/

48HFP Email Has Arrived

The DC 48HFP committee sent out the official email today. The contest weekend is April 30-May 2. Registration begins Monday, March 8th. I've already marked my calendar with a reminder so we don't forget to register.

Official Dates for 48hfp

The website has been updated confirming that the DC 48hfp will be Friday, April 30th through Sunday, May 2nd. I'm bummed since we know Erin is out of town that weekend :(

Mark your calendars in ink, South County United! And get those brainstorming ideas sent over so I can keep a running list!

DC 48hfp Website

Previous 48hfp DC Dates

Hey gang - I looked up the dates of the previous 48hfp weekends for the DC contest over the past 9 years. There were a few years where they chose a later weekend than the first weekend of May. The website says that the date announcements will begin in February, so I'm hoping we'll have an official weekend locked down soon. And I'm hoping it's going to be May 7-8-9 so Erin is home!!

2001 - May 4-6
2002 - May 17-19
2003 - May 2-4
2004 - May 7-9
2005 - April 29-May 1
2006 - May 5-7
2007 - May 4-6
2008 - May 2-4
2009 - May 1-3
2010 - (No dates released yet)

48hfp DC 2009: From Behind the Cornhole

To see our low-res video on You Tube, just click the picture above or the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDNKGb5nbxk

T-Minus 14 Weeks...

South County United is revving the engines! We participated in our very first 48 Hour Film Project last year in the Washington, D.C. contest. Our cast and crew of ten folks had never made a movie, been part of a film contest, heard of the 48hfp, nothing!

Our Producer/Director of Photography/Cameraman/Writer/Editor, Sean Healey, heard about the 48hfp from a colleague of his during a job he had in D.C. Sean brought the idea to us all over dinner and drinks one fateful night in February 2009. He had very little details, other than the fact that you had 48 hours to make a film, you got a required character, prop, and line of dialog. Then your team had to pick a random genre from the Hat of Doom. Other than that, we had no idea what the heck we were getting ourselves into.

A few of us more adventurous types (like me!) were on-board immediately. You didn't need to convince some of us to spend a weekend with friends doing something totally out of our comfort zone. I got online and started researching like the mad fool that I am (thus, I was instantly elected without any formal vote to be the Production Manager type person who would organize EVERYTHING, even if a little too much).

I found blogs and forums from previously vetted teams, all over the world, who have lived through the 48hfp to tell the stories and share the sheer exhilaration that this contest surely provides. We only had to wait about 2.5 months but it couldn't arrive soon enough for our team. We were READY!

Even after the exhaustive research online, we still had no clue what to expect. And I'm glad we didn't to be honest. It made the experience that much more memorable and absolutely fantastic. We kind of just "winged it" and to be honest, it worked for us. I'm almost worried about this year's 2010 contest because we might over-think things or plan too much? Is there such a thing?My Type-A personality surely has never considered any such possibility.

In the 2009 D.C. chapter of the 48hfp, our little virgin team placed 18th overall out of 110 amazing and talented teams that entered a film. A handful of those were disqualified for voting due to late submissions or other technicalities. But considering none of us had any clue what we were doing, we were extremely proud at the end of the day. We made one of the top two "Best of D.C." screenings, people laughed at our film (even a few people who weren't on our team), and we are still talking about how much fun we had 8+ months later. That, in and of itself, is testament to how much fun the 48hfp can be.

Granted, it was an absolute exhaustion that I haven't felt since college when I had to cram for a final. It was frustrating that we didn't have time to do some of the creative or challenging things we wanted to attempt. There were short tempers at times, when the hunger/exhaustion/frustration started to boil over. We had a naivete that I think I am going to miss this year.

But all in all, it was probably one of the best weekends of my life. It was so different than anything I've done before. And I learned so much about some of the friends that I thought I already knew pretty well. We all got to showcase our teamwork, creativity, humor, seriousness, professionalism, competitiveness, drive, and passion in a way that I didn't know my own friends were capable of (no offense SCU teammates!!). And I got to meet a few really talented people who I didn't know before that weekend, and who I can't wait to work with again in just a few months.

Stay Tuned for more posts from the SCU team as we prepare to land on the 2010 edition of the Washington, D.C. 48 Hour Film Project. We certainly are not giving away any of our trade secrets, or the ideas churning in our heads. But we'll keep you up-to-date on some of the happenings as they unfold.

With the bar set so high after last year, we have a lot of work to do!