Triton Television, a student-run filmmaking organization, hosted its winter quarter 48-hour film festival on February 21-23. UC San Diego students who are passionate about filmmaking formed groups consisting of five to seven people, including different roles such as a director, assistant director, screenwriter, director of photography, editor, sound producer, and actor/actress. This was my first time not only being involved in a 48-hour film festival, but also being behind the scenes and learning what it takes to make a film. From my personal experience, here is how the long, and knowledgeable, weekend went down.
Friday, February 21 at 6 pm
Inspired students gathered in the Snake Path room for the kickoff meeting. The meeting went over rules and prompts for the 48. The prompt was “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Each group was assigned a sin and my group received lust. The rules were simple: the film should be no longer than 6-8 minutes; one line had to be included in the screenplay, “No harm, no foul”; and lastly films must be submitted on Sunday, February 23 at 6:30 sharp.
Friday, February 21 at 7 pm
Once our teams were assigned, we started heading to the library to discuss our game plan. We all brainstormed ideas until we came to a final decision of what our film will be about. From there, we let the writer work his magic.
Photo Cred: Mary Mikaili
Saturday, February 22 at 11 am- 1:30am
It was go time. We packed up all the equipment and made our way to the first location to shoot. But guess what… It was raining! Luckily one of my team members brought her car and we put everything inside. Nonetheless, we still persevered and managed to not get all of the equipment wet. Filming is a lot of work. You must make sure the lighting is sufficient, the sound isn’t static, while at the same time shooting with the camera. It takes a whole team to make a film, but with everyone’s hands on deck, everything will eventually fall into place.
Sunday, February 23 at 6am- 6pm
After many hours of shooting, it was time for the editors to put it all together. The editor and assistant editor are the visual masters; they strategically pick each shot and make sure there is continuity in the overall film. The time was getting closer to turn it in and the editors were working on the clock. At 6:30 exactly, we finally turned in the film. YAYYYY!
Sunday, February 23 at 7:30 pm
All the talented filmmakers met again to watch the films. Towards the end of the screening, the official judges gave out awards. My team won “Best Cinematographer” and “Honorable Mention” for actress!
I learned so much about being behind the scenes, and I am so proud of my team and for all the groups who created creative films in only 48 hours. If you are interested in the 48-hour film festival, be sure to keep an eye out for the next one next quarter!