April 02, 2004

The 48 Hour Film Project , an international filmmaking competition where teams have just two days to make a short film from scratch, is back and bigger than ever -- and they're recruiting filmmakers in cities around the world. So, call your friends, grab a camera and hold on for a wild weekend of movie making.
  • I did a UK version of this, and it was a fantastic experience. I've never self-linked before, but it's hard for me to digest the entire weekend into a Monkeyfilter sized sound bite, so I hope nobody will mind my directing the curious to my writeup of my experiences. As a side note, the UK version that I did was free; this one requires a $25 entry fee. On the other hand, the free version I did was run by enthusiastic but rather overwhelmed amateurs; maybe your 25 big ones buys you a slicker, more professional event. If you're interested, you can find some preliminary info on the freebie event here, although there isn't much more than a date right now.
  • Self links are fine in comments, jacobw, especially when they're on topic and interesting. Cheers.
  • yeah, jacobw it's great to hear about your experience! BTW, everybody who has access to see these movies definitely should try, they are wonderful. and a great opportunity for budding directors/actors/crew etc. i'm not a filmmaker myself but i love watching these!
  • I participated in last fall's national 48 Hour competition (as did BearGuy!) as a director, and loved it. Already signed up for the DC event for BearGuy's team as editor. It's a lot of work but TONS of fun! And you'd be surprised at the quality of films made in such a short period of time.
  • I was 1st AD and script supervisor on one here in San Francisco this past fall. It was a lot of fun. Our team picked sci-fi and did a very Twilight Zone-esque thing about a paralyzed man who was controlling the body of another guy. It was a lot of fun and I met some great people. The producer/director and the wardrobe/makeup people from this production have started up their own production company and I got to do some AD work with them on their first short a couple weeks ago.
  • (bearguy and sooooz, keep me in mind to help out next year! for the d.c. fest. i'll be overseas this year on the 48-hour weekend. but i'd love to help you guys out next year! hold microphones, brew coffee, whatever...)
  • I love this type of film project. It's so interesting to see what each filmmaker does with the material. Lady X is another project in a similar vein and all of the films (episodes) are available for viewing online.