A short film entitled Ring and Run won first place at last weekend’s 48-Hour FilmFest. Three groups of students competed in the competition. Each group directed, produced and edited its own short film in two days.
The students were not allowed to record or edit anything before 5 p.m. Friday and had to complete and submit their videos by 5 p.m. Sunday.
Contestants were allowed to write scripts and do other preparation work before the 48-hour countdown began.
Cannon Spears, senior digital entertainment technology major from Blue Ridge, directed the first-place film and took about a month to prepare.
“I made sure to space out what needed to be done during the 48 hours,” Spears said. “My film was heavy in special effects, so I made sure to film the heaviest part of special effects first so I could give it to our special effects guy to work on. All our filming took place Friday evening and Saturday morning. Then the rest of the time was spent with my editors.”
Stephen Estrada, senior management major from San Antonio, was the director, producer and screenwriter of his film. Estrada said getting the film completed in 48 hours was a very stressful process.
“A lot of the time people don’t understand how difficult it really is to get an idea across the screen to two people,” Estrada said. “That’s what a director does. They have a vision in their head, and they push it to other people and show them what they want them to see.”
Once the films were submitted, students were able to view the shorts and were encouraged to vote on their favorite one. The winner was determined by votes.
“It just feels really great when you work so hard on a project and finally, after all the pieces come together, you have your own piece of work that you worked so long on,” Spears said.
Contestants were encouraged to collaborate with other teams. Ivan Righi, sophomore digital entertainment technology major from Curitiba, Brazil, said the best part was meeting other filmmakers and working together.
“I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with the other teams and talking about what they liked with their films, what they wish they could have done better, hearing their critiques from my film,” Spears said. “There is a competition side, but there is also a very valuable collaborative effort among all the teams.”
Caleb Williamson, senior digital entertainment technology major from Thousand Oaks, California, has submitted four films since 2012. His favorite part of 48-Hour FilmFest is looking back on his earlier projects and seeing how he has grown since.
“The beauty of filmmaking isn’t in making a flawless product, but the growth that comes with taking risks, so just do it,” Williamson said.
There will be another 48-Hour FilmFest Nov. 21. Films from both competitions will be entered into FilmFest in March, along with other films.
“Get involved in FilmFest,” Estrada said. “It’s just an amazing, amazing process. If you’re thinking about making a film, if your friend is trying to pull you into making a film, if you just have one film making thought, join FilmFest. Join the Facebook. Be a part of it. You’re not going to regret it.”
