(35.5mb)

This got shot for Student Upstart Films 24 hour movie contest (in late August).

We had two ideas:

• 1. A very epic-sounding movie featuring ventriloquists fighting ventriloquists that may have
• 2. A variation on the improv game “Civil War Letters” where two characters voice their personal letters to each other.

We erred to the side of caution and decided to pursue something we could actually do and get right (the second idea).

The Process (What We Planned):

Our group (unlike most of the other groups) was filled with experienced movie makers, so we were able to steer clear of the modus operandi of the other groups which involved shooting your whole movie in a hundred foot radius in or around your dorm with dialogue and plot made up on the spot. We actually spent the majority of time we spent on the project in pre-production — coming up the arc of the story and then brainstorming on one-liners until we got enough that we liked.

We also made sure that we stuck with a “simple idea” (a sketch) that would be much better, easier to follow, and easier to do than a multi-scene, multi-location, epic that would’ve probably included a flashback.

It seems that in the end, experience doesn’t really teach you what to do to make a good movie, but it definitely teaches you what not to do.

What Actually Happened:

For various reasons, we finished shooting about 9 hours early but turned in the final product an hour late and were disqualified. I spent about 3 weeks after that making three different edits until I got what you see here. After I make a “final” edit, it seems as if I always go back 2 more times before I’m actually happy enough to put it down and walk away.

It still could be shorter by 30 seconds or a minute. As far as technical things, we probably shouldn’t have used the on-camera mic because of how close we were to the fridge. The audio levels on the music tracks are way too low, but it was a concession I had to make in order for you to hear the dialogue because I made the mistake of recording it so low. The green light that I set up to hit the wall could’ve been higher so it didn’t give Ryan a weird shoulder shadow.

What makes it worth-while though is there’s almost a transcendental moment 2 minutes 40 seconds in where the camera stops on Ryan with his eyes closed (when he pauses for a second to collect his thoughts) before he delivers the line, “You used the giftcard that I bought you, to buy me a birthday present.” That, I think is the one perfect movie moment sandwiched between a lot of hit-or-miss moments.

Overall the pitch session (proposing ideas) and shoot was fun, everything that happened afterward was not. I’d do it again, but maybe I’m just a masochist.

In the end, Everyone who did their job performed brilliantly though.