48 Hour Film contest coming to Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

Contest spotlights city

Jacksonville Business Journal - July 27, 2007by Rachel WitkowskiStaff Writer
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
JACKSONVILLE -- Twenty-four teams will compete in a new city film contest that will take the winner to an international competition.

Beginning Aug. 3, the teams will have 48 hours to write, film, edit and produce a short film based on a randomly chosen genre. One of the requirements of the contest is to incorporate a landmark or identifying characteristic of the city into the short film, further promoting the area as a filming site for other productions.

At first glance the team names -- such as Jax Film Junkies, Dr. Dangerous, Somebody Call an Ambulance Productions and Psycho Film Binge -- are a far stretch from the business names that most team members live by daily. But most of the contestants are from some of the city's top production companies and businesses.

Dean "Mac" McDonald, a co-producer for the local contest, is the president of the Jacksonville First Coast Chapter for the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association as well as an employee at Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS), the fourth-largest public company in Jacksonville based on annual revenue, according to Business Journal research.

McDonald competed in the contest five years ago in another city. "It was a nightmare, but I had a blast."

This is the first time the 48 Hour Film Project Inc. has brought its international competition among 63 participating cities to Jacksonville. Many of the project's winners have received national recognition, launching them into new careers or films.

With Jacksonville's large independent film industry, McDonald and the project's other co-producer, Nick Serenati, thought there would be enough teams to qualify the city as a competitor in the nationals. The six-year-old project requires a city to have at least 15 teams. This year, the local competition is limited to 24 teams.

The city's project reached the maximum number of teams more than a week before competition. Still, McDonald said anyone can register to join a team up to Aug. 2.

"I am thoroughly impressed that so many day-to-day professionals in the industry are competing in this," he said.

Participants mostly joined because of the opportunities locally and nationally.

The contest exposes industry professionals to other filmmakers, said Mark Kohl, president of Jacksonville-based Kohl Pictures Inc. and producer for the Dr. Dangerous Team. Kohl's team includes a camera person from Orlando, an actress from Tampa and an art director from Miami.

McDonald said many of the teams have members from various cities in and out of Florida. Some teams are formed by families interested in filmmaking or production companies such as TigerLily Media and Don Flynn Pictures Inc., and television companies such as WCWJ's CW 17, owned by Media General Inc., Clear Channel Communications Inc.'s local Fox30/CBS47 station and the local Comcast Corp. Even employees from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. are participating, on three different teams.

Some of the short films, which range between four and seven minutes, create jobs for contestants and are used in other large festivals for further recognition, said Mark Ruppert, executive producer for the 48 Hour Film Project, based in Washington, D.C.

One of the winners in a U.S. city last year also won a $100,000 production package at the Atlanta Film Festival after the 48 Hour Film Project's competition, he said.

Serenati, a former team producer who is helping to run the Jacksonville competition, has won a festival contest based on the film produced through the project.

Each of the cities' winners will move to a shoot-out in the fall where they will be judged by a national panel. The winning films will air on www.48.tv.

The project has also aired winning films at the top national film festivals. Jacksonville will air all the local teams' films at the Main Library Downtown Aug. 7.

rwitkowski@bizjournals.com | 265-2219

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2007/07/30/story3.html?page=1

For more information: http://www.48hourfilm.com/

[decider]

pretty cool, and a good way to showcase the city.

[Jason]

Hopefully more event like this will help to further showcase our cities film making heritage.

[copperfiend]

I am a member of one of the teams, Henderstroud Productions. Wish me luck.

[thelakelander]

Good luck.  I'm on one of the teams as well.

[copperfiend]

Which team?

[thelakelander]

NFocus.  I'm just helping out an old friend from down South.

[Jason]

Will we get a sneak peek here on MetroJacksonville.com?

Ennis, is there anything you're not involved with right now?

[thelakelander]

lol, I'm pretty busy these days.  As for the sneak peek, I don't know, but we are considering doing a photo documentary on the filming process and possibly airing the film here (if we can get approval) after the competition is over.

[copperfiend]

Good luck to you as well. We have done film competitions before. But this is the first one with such a short turnaround time. It should be fun.

[guapoman2000]

Ennis,

It was a pleasure to meet and talk with you during the NFocus Filming...I am Michelle's Father (TARA).

I have visited my Daughter many times when she attended JU last year but, I had never gone into the downtown areas like I did for the past two days and nights.

As we were leaving from our Hampton Inn (Southside), Rob called and he met us at Applebees and we went up to his hotel room only to find almost all the NFocus Crew and we had an opportunity to see several portions of the film, especially the Dinning Table scene and the Boy Friend Scene dialog and let me tell you it was just fantastic and I am not saying this because my daughter was in it!  The young man who played TARA's Boy Friend (Joshua) did a fastastic performance as well as the Adapted Father and we need to give credit to the person behind the camera as well.....captured all the emotion(s) with little words!  Just great acting....I had a little tear coming down my face after that Dinning Room scene and then, the NFocus team tuned on the lights and thought, Oh yeah....that was my daughter play acting!!!

Can't wait to see the entire NFocus film feature...!!!!

Sincerely,
Carlos

[thelakelander]

I had a great time as well.  Dan and I captured a lot of images documenting the filming process and once Rob uploads the finished product (hopefully within the next two or three days), we'll get everything up on this site for all to see.

[guapoman2000]

If I may share with all those who are interested in developments of this topic.....

E-mail from From: Dean McDonald <macmcdonald@fmptajax.org>
Date: Sun, Aug 5, 2007 11:08 PM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Everyone,

Well all 26 teams participating in the first annual Jacksonville 48
Hour Film Project Completed their films with only four teams turning in
late.  I think this is pretty impressive for a first time city.  Way To
Go Teams!  Woo Hoo!.

Now my 48 Hour Project begins.  I will be dropping off the films to
Easy Edit Video in the morning to be mastered into two screening groups,
Group A and Group B.

All 26 films will be shown and the four late films are eligible to win
the "Audience Choice Award".  The screenings are scheduled for Tuesday,
August 7th, with Group A screening from 6:45pm to 8:30pm and the doors
opening at 6:00pm.  Screening Group B will show from 9:00 to 11:00pm
with the doors opening at 8:30pm.  The screenings will be at the Main
Branch of the Jacksonville Public Library, downtown, in the Auditorium.
  There is plenty of parking in the two city garages located within two
blocks of the library.  It is not too late to get tickets and there are
two ways.

  1.. Buy them at the door on the night of the screening.  You can buy
them, Cash Only, at the door on Tuesday.  Be sure to get in line early
because the shows will sell out. 
  2.. Avoid the line and the possibility of not getting in and go
online to buy them.  You can purchase them by going to www.fmptajax.org and
click on the "Jacksonville 48 Hour Film" button.  There is a one dollar
handling charge for using online but you can also use credit/debit
cards.  This option will only be available until 11:00pm on Monday, August
6th, at which time the buttons will be taken down, and ticket sales
will only be at the door.
Tickets are only $8.50 plus tax (and $1.00 handling fee online) so get
yours soon.

Everyone in attendance will get to vote for the "Audience Choice Award"
and you see what a 48 Hour Film Looks like.

See You There,

Dean "Mac" McDonald
Producer Jacksonville 48 Hour Film Project
President FMPTA-JFC
904-622-6800 C
904-647-6600 H
jacksonville@48hourfilm.com
macmcdonald@fmptajax.org
www.48hourfilm.com/jacksonville
www.fmptajax.org
www.fmpta-state.org

[copperfiend]

We had fun. The editing was exhausting. But it was worth it when we saw the final product.

[thelakelander]

Here's a link to "Belong's" webpage.

http://nfocus48hourproject.blogspot.com/