Sunday saw films about murder, roommates, superheroes fighting over tampons, intergalactic bars and a talking dog.
These were just a couple of things featured in this year’s 48-hour shootout screening held at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
The screening featured 24 short films, of which 17 were eligible for the contest. The winner of the event was The Funkmaster, a Lucifeatures production featuring a charismatic man who persuades all those around him, except for one important man, to learn the joys of dance and music. Second and third place went to Casual Sunday and Bad Blood, respectively.
“It’s really awesome,” said P.J. McConnell, a sophomore video production major and director of The Funkmaster. “It’s really a unique experience and I honestly didn’t expect to win. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you get to do four times in your life.”
In the underclassman category, the winner was Humbleton, a Tennant and Smith production about a town possessed by the power of singing that must stop their evil mayor from his dastardly plans.
“It feels really great to win,” said Ben Leeson, a sophomore video production major and director of Humbleton. “It’s great to know that all your hard work paid off. It’s all a metric ton of work.”
In addition to the films mentioned, the screening also featured: Break, Puppeteer, Banana, Third Bar from the Sun, Happy Birthday Candice, Double Date, Retention, Control, Love’s Anonymous, Just Tim, Ask Not, I Wish, Red is the Color of Love and Blood, and They’re Will Be Blood.
The films that were not able to make the deadline, including Santiafro and How to Trick Your Man Into Marrying You, among others, were played during the intermission while the judges were selecting the winners. In addition, the intermission also featured works from sketch comedies, like B-Side Comedy.
Before making each film, all the filmmakers were given a genre, a line of dialogue, and a prop that they had to use for or in their movies. For the first time this year, they were also given a subgenre that they could choose to use as well. Genres for the films included horror, dark comedy, action/adventure, suspense, and others.
“I like viewing our peers’ videos and getting to see all the hard work that’s been done,” said Paul Delgesso, a junior video production major and director of Love’s Anonymous. “We have to remember that these films were all made in just 48 hours. It’s easy to forget that sometimes. And if I get some laughs from my video, then I feel I did my job.”
In addition to the filmmakers themselves, the crowd included friends of the filmmakers coming out to support them in the filmmaking adventures.
“I came out to support my friends and see people’s hard work pay off,” said Alex Laber, a senior video production major and previous 48 hour shoot contestant. “I know how hard it is to make a good film in 48 hours.”
Whether or not their film got the love they wanted, Mitchell Toler, a sophomore video production major who starred in and worked on Humbleton, said nearly everyone involved feels eager to come back next year for some more fun.
“We’re really excited with the film and are so glad that it got the response it did,” Toler said. “We can’t wait to do this again. But next year, we’re not making a musical.”
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