T-minus 2 Days, 4 hous and Counting...

In the 20 days since my last blog post, I've been fairly excessive in the pre-planning and wrangling of last details. I have gotten permission slips signed for both locations and music release, and my cast and crew are just finally starting to feel overwhelmed by emails. If anything, I err to the side of "over communication" with the film shoots I coordinate. But some people (even on my team) don't even freakin' read their emails, so I have to be careful not to over-correspond. There has even been question amongst the staff this week about WHO was editing. Which was really Funny to me, since I had earmarked our editors early. I even constructed the team in such a way that the editors didn't even have to be on set all weekend, choosing instead to put them to work sorting and logging footage early in the day. I thought that was perfectly clear, but apparently it wasn't. So, even the best communicator can have troubles getting the word out. And if you OVER communicate, nobody responds at all. Such is the fun of managing different people, with differing styles and modes of communication. The trick is "blending" all those personalities into one seamless team. Such is the mark of "good producing." I learn more and more about that with each project, and especially with each 48.

So, in 2 DAYS and 4 HOURS, I will know Genre and Required Elements. I will then scramble through story brain-storming with a small crew, then go outside with my Fire Crew to shoot some footage for StumbleMuse graphics, credits and the like. My crew will be scrambling, I'll be frantic, and everything will be out of control for the first 5 hours of the Project. The competition cannot be WON entirely in the first 12 hours, but it surely can be LOST. I've added some layers to the Friday production for the first time this year, and I hope that it proves to be workable and beneficial. I am adding credits footage and editing to the Friday workload and hoping we'll have more time to "fine tune" the 4 to 7 minutes of actual movie on Sunday. Credits always seem to be an afterhought in the last hours of each 48, and then something inevitably goes Awry. So, I'm hoping to avoid that this year.

But there's always Something... Something always goes awry during the 48. And that adds an edge, an adrenalin rush, a surge of dopamine like no other, once your movie is turned in. Turning a 48 Hour Film Project movie in, on time, is quite a rewarding experience. I hope I have that feeling Sunday, June 26th at 7:30. I wish all the filmmakers good luck during the competition weekend.