Film project takes superhuman effort

By Joshua Kagi in Feature, Movies on November 30th, 2010 | 2 comments

TIGARD — They started streaming into a small studio warehouse, some carrying closets full of clothes, some cases full of equipment, others with boxes of make-up. A group of 35 or so was gathering to write, film and produce a seven-minute movie in 48 hours.

Team Splat, in its second year of putting together a film for the Portland 48 Hour Film Project, was comprised of both professional and amateur cast and crew. Their 2009 film, “The Sample”, won best Cinematography and Best Directing from the festival judges.

At 6:45 on Friday evening, Kevin Curry, one of the writers for Team Splat, was showing his anxiousness in getting started.

“Come on Devon,” he said, as he anxiously awaited a text message from director Devon Lyon, who was meeting with representatives from the other 53 teams and project directors.

From that meeting, Team Splat would learn which genre they would be required to produce.

“As long as it’s not a western or musical, I’m fine with it,” Curry said.

The 48 Hour Film Project was created in 2001 by Mark Ruppert, who recruited several other filmmakers from the Washington, D.C., area to attempt to make short films under a tight deadline.

The films were, maybe surprisingly, watchable. So the event grew.

This year, 52 American cities, 27 international cities and even a community in the virtual world Second Life participated in the event, each with their own judges, production teams and gala events.

As the event kicks off in each city, production teams are given a genre and the name of a character that must be included in the film, as well as a prop and a line of dialogue.

Genres range from buddy film to fantasy, road movie, sci-fi and even film de femme, a genre invented by the project to feature strong female leads (such as “Juno,” “Frida” or “Erin Brockovich”).

“We got mockumentary,” Curry proclaimed to those who had gathered in the studio’s largest room.

“What’s that?” someone asked.

“The TV show ‘The Office’ is a mockumentary,” someone else replied from across the room.

“I’m really happy with it,” Curry said. “We can go in almost any direction.”

Shortly after, word came that every team in the Portland project would need to include a character named Pete or Pam Patterson, who was an artist, as well as some pistachio nuts as a prop and the line, “I have a surprise for you.”

With that, the clock had started ticking.

At 7:08 p.m., Curry headed upstairs to the office with Scott Nelson, the other writer for Team Splat, to begin working on a storyline. The cast began dressing up in superhero costumes and getting make-up, while the crew began loading gear into vehicles.

Lyon had received permits to film that evening in a nearby park.

“We’re not sure what we’ll be able to do tonight,” Lyon said, “but, because of the tight deadline, we’ve got to get something on film. Something we get tonight will be usable.”

At 7:44 p.m., Nelson and Curry were struggling to get a scene written while there was still enough daylight to shoot at the park. They had decided that a simple mockumentary was too basic, there needed to be a twist. So, the writers decided to create a mockumentary of a mockumentary.

“When you have as a little time as this, structure is important,” Nelson said.

At 8:09 p.m., Lyon, the actors and crew had enough direction from the writers to begin filming at Tualatin Community Park. Most of the 45-minute filming session was improvised.

Ultimately, only a small portion was usable in the final film.

The cast and crew headed home, dreading a 6:30 a.m. casting call and the long day of filming ahead. For Nelson and Curry, their long day had already begun.

“Whose crazy idea was this?” Nelson asked. “It’s a lot like having a baby. It sucks. You’re sleep-deprived and stressed. But, a few months later you start thinking ‘that was fun. I have this little baby. Let’s do it again.’ ”

At 5:49 a.m. on Saturday, Lyon appeared at the top of the staircase leading into the office, where the writers were still working on a final script. They had been up all night, and the burnout is apparent on the face of both Nelson and Curry.

As the actors began showing up a few minutes later, getting into costume and make-up, the final script was handed off to Lyon, while Nelson and Curry discussed their plans for a nap.

At 7:55 a.m., shooting for the first tangible scene of the film began outside of a comic book shop. The actors received direction and quickly learned their lines.

“Just our clothes? Seriously? I’d rather be vaporized,” Mercedes Rose said directly into the camera as she and the other actors headed down a sidewalk in their undergarments.

The script still didn’t make a lot of sense to most of the actors and crew. This first scene was being shot out of context, as part of the film’s second act. The cast speculated on how to develop a mind-set around characters they had only recently been introduced to for the first time.

And so it goes in the film industry, particularly with this condensed 48 Hour Project.

While the crew tore down equipment and moved into the comic book shop for the next scene, the actors gathered around a table of coffee and morning treats while memorizing the next set of lines.

Despite not knowing which genre Team Splat would be given, Lyon had gained permits and permission to shoot at three locations near the studio: the comic book store, a large warehouse and the city park.

“We weren’t sure how we would use the comic book shop and the warehouse,” Lyon said, “but we knew that we’d be able to build a script around those locations.”

As shooting was about to begin inside the store, a comic book shop patron, oblivious to the production going on around him, walked in the front door.

“You’ll need to come back later,” said Ryan Shurtleff, an employee of the shop who’d been cast as an extra. Out he walked, and filming resumed.

At 10:27 a.m., the production team arrived at the large warehouse, which was to be used as the evil lair for the story’s villain, and would be the location of the film’s most pivotal scenes.

As each scene wrapped, the storyline began to take shape, despite being produced out of order. By then, the actors felt fully confident in their characters.

At 2:41 p.m., nearly 20-hours after production began, shooting wrapped for most of the cast as the climactic battle scene was completed.

Two hours later, Lyon yelled, “That’s a wrap!” after the completion of a character’s solo scene.

The actors who remained until the end congratulated each other on a job well done, and, one by one, headed home. Many of the crew, however, headed inside the studio to get started on post-production, which included an original score and special effects that would go on to win that category at the festival a couple weeks later.

With 45 minutes to spare, the final product was sent off to 48 Hour Film Project headquarters.

Team Splat had done it.

The remaining crew, and some of the cast, assembled to watch the finished product they had created together over the previous 48 hours.

Everyone left the studio proud of what they had accomplished.

It was nothing short of a superhuman feat.

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