ACU’s 24 Hour Film Fest received only one submission on time over the weekend. Tim Holt’s (Working Title), designed to be a trailer for a thriller movie, won the competition by default.
Contestants were to upload their films to YouTube and email a hyperlink to the Film Fest team by 6:00 a.m. Saturday. According to the Film Fest Facebook page, participants are encouraged to submit their entries despite the deadline.
Requirements were posted on Facebook at noon on Friday to keep people honest, said ACU Film Fest co-chair Lucius Patenaude.
“We released the control elements right after Chapel,” said Patenaude, senior multimedia major from Phrae, Thailand. “The props and locations are required in the videos to make sure they’re filmed during these 24 hours.”
Junior Tim Holt, a digital entertainment technology major from Plano, directed and edited (Working Title) as his first 24 Hour Film Fest submission.
“It’s definitely stressful, being in the 24-hour time frame,” Holt said. “It’s also a blast, though, because that pressure inspires creativity.”
Benjamin Bratcher, junior acting major of Hildesheim, Germany, performed as the main character in Holt’s (Working Title).
“It’s about a writer who can’t find his title,” Bratcher said. “The premise is kind of corny, but we took it seriously.”
“I really just wanted to make a trailer for an epic drama,” Holt said. “Because of the short time frame, I didn’t have to put in a lot of thought to a storyline. It was easier to jump around a bit. That provided a bit of leeway.”
The film, running about two minutes, conforms to the tense thriller/drama genre.
“I feel like there’s a fine line between it being epic, and it being so epic that it’s over-the-top and funny,” Bratcher said. “I think we did a good job of not making it too cheesy.”
(Working Title) was declared the winner around 3:00 p.m. on Monday.
“I’m really excited to see what the other submissions are,” Holt said, before (Working Title) was announced as the sole competitor. “I’m really anxious to watch them and see how they turn out.”
