But it’s a constant in the year. For the past 4-5 years we’ve participated in the 48hr Film Project and this year is no different. Except for the fact that it’s an eco themed challenge AND it’s earlier in the year then the usual summer based ones. While still in its infancy, the 48 Go Green Film Competition is already on its way to becoming a positive influence in both the global community and the independent filmmaker.
And by “WE”, I mean the film team I’m a member of, Square Marden.
For the uninitiated, the 48hr Film Projects are whirlwind endeavors that’s over before you could say, “We’ll fix it in post”. However, under circumstances that run the gamut of stress-free to ‘I’m losing hair’ type pressures, the 48hrs can prove a challenge or just another way to flex the creative muscle. We signed up for the online competition and discovered that we were pitted against 140-150 INTERNATIONAL teams. Oi! Remember what I said about ‘I’m losing hair’ type pressures, well, consider that fact the first brick on the wall…
We decided to hit the road and film the project in San Luis Obispo. Why there? Because we were all craving Firestone Grill and Splash Cafe and it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. Feed the stomach, feed the mind, right? Trust me, you have meals from either of these two places and you’ll know what I mean by cravings. Anyway, we were blessed to have a place to rest our laurels in the form of Richard‘s cousin’s home and hospitality.
We hit the ground running when we received our required film element criteria. They were:
Theme: Save the environment. Character name: T. Dupont Line of dialogue: “Can you help me?” Props: Keys
While the actual brainstorming session went on for a few hours, solidifying all the ideas into something shootable, relatable and cohesive took the entire weekend to execute. If I were to think of a word to describe the experience, it would have to be “Organic”. New ideas would crop up while shooting or new character tweaks would infuse a different and potentially more satisfying energy on frame –and those are the things you can’t ignore. Another thing we weren’t able to ignore was the weather which decided to be horrendous as it was a blessing in disguise. It rained cats and dogs on and off throughout the weekend and while everyone’s health was on my mind, I couldn’t help but feel giddy over how great it looked on frame. Who am I to argue against Mother Nature adding FREE production value to a short film whose theme is saving the Environment? But enough talk, here are some photos!
First shot of the day!
Playbacks in the rain, the lesser known musical...
Geoff, as "T.Dupont", capturing images for later movie segments.
Richard, Janely and Stitch --in between takes, keeping warm and dry.
Tiny bubbles!
Everyone on the project was helpful to each other!
Andrew and I in the middle of an impromptu location scouting meandering..
While we may have shot more of the pier, we're keeping this in mind for the future.
Elizabeth Nishea just being Nishea.
With the weather threatening to get worse, we had to really get the shots we needed.
Our one interior shot. And pleasantly warm too.
We officially wrapped a day of shooting with high-fives, dry clothes and a lot of delicious meat from grill. (Which, unfortunately I do not have any photos of). We did, however, top the ENTIRE weekend off with an afternoon of ATVing out on Pismo Beach! After a run-and-gun weekend of shooting, we hit, to our surprise, the dry sand dunes. Unforgettable.
Pictured L-R: Richard Gali, Leejay Abucayan, Jeremy Manongdo, Andrew Rose / Front: Tasi Alabastro