The Audience Awards

A big congratulations to the four films that took the Audience Award! These winning submissions are definitely worthy of the prize.

Audience Award Winner: Group A
"Basket Case" by BSSP

Audience Award Winner: Group B
"A Woman’s Intuition" by Paraffin Productions

Audience Award Winner: Group C
"The Trade" by Redhanded

Audience Award Winner: Group D
"A Keesh for Hershel" by Barkada inc

If I Picked The Winners...

Best Film
"Tail" - It Donned On Me

Best Directing
"Tail" - It Donned On Me

Best Cinematography
"Tail" - It Donned On Me

Best Editing
"Tail" - It Donned On Me

Best Acting
"Tail" - It Donned On Me


If I had it my way, "Tail" would take every prize at the 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project awards ceremony. And IDOM sweep! Obviously, I am a little biased. Ok, maybe a lot. I did manage to attend every screening this year, so I do have an opinion or two. At this time I'd like to give my picks for the 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project. Please note that these are my personal picks and not predictions. To be impartial, I have removed IDOM's film from the list. If I were to pick the best of 2008, minus Tail, they would be the following:

Best Use of Character
"The Trade Expert" - Last Minute Productions

Best Use of Prop
"The Trade" - REDHANDED

Best Use of Line of Dialogue
"Button Man" - Nobody Productions

Best Costumes
"Servo" - Chaka Khan

Best Special Effects
"Button Man" - Nobody Productions

Best Graphics
"Moose" - Mediablitzed

Best Musical Score
"A Keesh For Hershel" - Barkada, Inc.

Best Sound Design
"The Golden Ticket" - Pillybooka

Best Cinematography
"The Last Job" - Emerging Artists

Best Editing
"Button Man" - Nobody Productions

Best Screenplay
"A Woman's Intuition" - Paraffin Productions

Best Acting
"A Keesh For Hershel" - Barkada, Inc.

Best Directing
"187" - Curly Haired People

Runner Up For Best Film
"Button Man" - Nobody Productions

Best Film
"A Woman's Intuition" - Paraffin Productions

TAIL At The Roxie

I'm thinking we should replace the curly topped IDOM boy with Rick Kemp. Can you imagine the red-headed chiropractor gracing the IDOM logo? He has the perfect face for the spotlight! Dr. Kemp was front row and center in the Daily Journal yesterday! The funny thing is that he didn't even know that we made the front page until a friend of his called and told him so! When Rick gave me a copy of The Daily Journal, I had to laugh because IDOM made the cover while Obama was relegated to the back. It's nice to be the cover boys and girls for the day, and I owe it all to Susie Robles, the reporter who wrote the story.


The final group of films for the 48 Hour Film Project premiered last night at The Roxie. It's so gratifying to see all your hard work on the screen with a full audience! Evan summed it up well on the IDOM site:

Today was a big day for IDOM - we hit the front page and the big screen on the same day! The San Mateo Daily Journal ran a front page story on us today titled 'It Donned on Me' enters second short: 'Tail' which gives a good summary of our team history as well as the history of the 48 Hour Film Project.

Tonight was also our screening group and we got to see 'Tail' in front of a packed house at the Roxie - and I have to say the audience reaction was even better than we could have expected! The screening as a whole was great with several interesting films from both new and returning teams. Thanks to everyone who attended - and for those who missed it we'll have 'Tail' on the site tomorrow!

Group D brought some great films. Barkada, Inc. once again scored with their musical "A Keesh For Hershel." These guys crack me up. I've been a fan of Barkada ever since they released their San Jose 48 HFP piece, "Saving The Past From The Future." This group nailed every note with their musical, no pun intended. Other films that made impressions on me were "Servo," a silent film about a robot butler from team Chaka Khan, Turnabout Pictures' tooth fairy fantasy, and the romantic comedy "Sustainable Love" by Food Court Films. These films get two enthusiatic thumbs up from this IDOM'er.

After the screening, creepy guy Mike and I hit up every newspaper rack in Burlingame looking for copies of The Daily Journal. After I dropped Mike off, I searched San Mateo and Foster City for the publication. An hour an a half and 70 copies later, I finally made it home. It is now approaching 2am, and now I need to get some shut eye. I will close this blog with a picture of Elena Cruz, the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project Producer, and myself. I do have to pose this question: Does my head look unusually large in this photo?

IDOM In The News

Lookie here! IDOM made the front page of The Daily Journal! Talk about perfect timing, as the screening of "Tail" is tonight at The Roxie. I am so stoked.

‘It Donned On Me’ Enters Second Short: ‘Tail’
By Susan Robles

Trade expert Gloria Lorenz is secretly being tracked by a detective as she goes about her everyday activities in the short film “Tail.”

No, it’s not the latest summer blockbuster coming to a theater near you, it was made by a group of locals who met at the College of San Mateo to compete with other small groups of up-and-coming film makers.

The film will be screened at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco Monday, July 28 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. as part of the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project.

The film produced by the local group, who call themselves “It Donned on Me,” is called “Tail.”

“We met in a [video editing] class taught by Evan Donn at the College of San Mateo a little over a year ago,” said group member Tony Nguyen, 35. “It’s an extremely diverse group of people, but we’re all in it together sharing one passion.”

The 48 Hour Film Project started in Washington, D.C. in 2001 as a whim by filmmaker Mark Ruppert. The objective is to create a short film in two days incorporating a character, prop, line of dialogue and genre pulled from a hat. Winners in the individual cities have the chance of going on to win $5000 as the “Best 48 Hour Film 2008.” Seven years after Ruppert pioneered the challenge, the craze has caught on as quickly as the films are made with over 70 U.S. cities participating this year.

This is the second year in a row “It Donned on Me” has created a short movie for the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project. Last year, the group was caught off guard when Nguyen took a chance and entered the class into the competition without their knowledge.

Earning him the nickname “chief instigator,” Nguyen knew it would either make or break them as a team. They took it all in stride and 48 hours later produced the film “Urgent Care.”

“I knew it could go one of two ways,” said Nguyen, a Foster City resident. “Our project would suck and I would never talk to any of these people ever again or we would produce something that was good and it would jump start us into something more, and I’m glad that it was the latter.”

Although “Urgent Care” didn’t place in the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project, Visa — sponsor of last year’s event — chose the film as a finalist for their “Life Takes” invitational. It went on to win second place out of 120 films chosen from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.

“I knew we were going to win something because I had seen it in my horoscope,” said team member and stylist Dinah deSpenza. “They laughed at me and then we won, and I said, ‘See, I told you.’”

“It Donned on Me” has done four other short film challenges since then, including the International Documentary Challenge. In May, their film “Stick and Pound” took home best cinematography and best direction at the awards ceremony in Toronto.

Their latest effort, “Tail,” began production Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m. and had to be turned in by Sunday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. On Friday night, the team pulled the genre “detective” out of a hat, their three elements being: a character named Gus or Gloria Lorenz; a ticket for a bus, plane or train; and the line, “Forget it. I already have.”

Things went a lot more smoothly this time around for the team who says there is no room for egos when you’re trying to create a quality piece of improvisational work in 48 hours.

“Everyone works well together. The makeup person not only does the makeup, but also holds the [boom] microphone during filming,” said Michael Eyvazov, an actor in several of “It Donned on Me’s” films. “[The team] takes a lot of pride in what they do…making sure there is no sloppiness in the production.”

“It Donned on Me” has acquired several accolades in their first year and Nguyen insists they still get excited every time they get together to make a film. And although what’s most important to them is making time to do something they love, they wouldn’t mind winning the top prize at this year’s 48 Hour Film Project.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’d love to win,” said Nguyen. “But anything we win is just icing on this cake that we baked together.”

The IDOM Creative Process

The IDOM creative process is very...uh, what's the word I'm looking for...creative! Our brainstorming sessions often turn into IDOM hurricanes where the wackiest of ideas get tossed around. I swear, if we had made films based on some of these ideas, people would probably think we're sniffing too much White Out.

If I had my way, every film we make would have Lynn Ruth Miller's cleavage and my butt crack prominently shown.


If Rob had been the mastermind behind "Tail," we would have had two horses dancing to a fiddler's jig. Of course, I would convince Rob to make those ponies Vietnamese.


Finally, if Rick ran the show, we'd have hot girls in lingerie running around with their prop and line of dialog.


I like that we go off on tangents like this. It's fun. It keeps us moving along. Please do note that this is just a parody and not meant to be taken seriously. Oh, another thing, Mike Eyvazov would appear in all of those films.

Group D Screening

I really do recommend that everyone gets their advanced tickets for Monday Night's screening. I showed up at 6:30pm for the Thursday night showing and it was sold out! I had to wait in the standby line until everyone was seated. Luckily, there were two seats available in the back and so I was able to get in!

From: elenacruz@gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 7:02 PM
To: sanfrancisco@48hourfilm.com
Subject: it's not over yet...

hi everyone,
don't forget about our last screening on Monday, July 28! it would be great to see all the teams there, and i'd love to celebrate with all of you afterwards at dalva. to bribe you guys to come, i've been counting ballots all weekend, and i'll spill the beans on who won the audience awards for Groups A, B & C.

GROUP D - remember to invite your crew, family and friends to your screenings! there are TONS of tickets left for Monday's show.

by the way, i'm still working on a venue for the Awards screening...Dolores Park is unable to host this year, so we're working on finding a new place. it will happen before the end of August - will keep you posted.

Elena

TAIL Shots

Tony's Picks

I spent every night this week at The Roxie Theater checking out the other 48 Hour Film Project submissions. There are definitely some films out there that will give IDOM a run for our money!

On Tuesday night, a silent film by Pillybooka from group A really stood out for me. This team was very innovative with their soundtrack. From group B, Emerging Artists' "The Last Job," stood out for its stylized spy film that had all the punches. That film is definitely in contention for the top prize. The other film that I found very entertaining was a movie called "Female Intuition," by Paraffin Productions. This film made me laugh so hard. Their strength was definitely in the writing and acting.

Group C definitely brought some excitement to the 48 Hour Film Project, as there were a few films that made an impact on me. I actually had a hard time choosing a winner from this group because at least five of them were worthy of the top pize. The one that stood out most was "Button Man" by Nobody Productions. This team made a "making of of movie" movie, and they had all the elements of a winner: good writing, acting, and editing. It as definitely a well packaged piece. The other films that stood out for me were a fantasy called "Moose" by Mediablitzed (this one will probably win all the male vote for the girl on girl action), a western called "The Trade" by REDHANDED (a Mad Max-esque piece), "The Dubovnik Equation," a clever spy school film by Astigmatism Productions, and "187," the detective/cop submission by Curly Haired People. I watched this one very closely because it was our genre. This movie got a lot of laughs from the audience, and they had some very clever special effects.


Below in bold blue are the films I would like to see the audience award. These aren't predictions, but my personal picks. Of course, I chose IT DONNED ON ME for group D!

Group A, Tuesday, July 22nd, 7:00 and 9:30
A Big Gas Production - "Paradise Falls" (fantasy)
BANDE DESSINEE FILMS - "The Rift" (sci-fi)
BSSP - "Basket Case" (comedy)
Chautauqua - "Adam & Steve" (historical fiction)
Dramatic Gopher Productions - "Gus The Fifth" (road movie)
Off Duty Entertainment - "420" (holiday film)
Pillybooka - "The Golden Ticket" (silent)
Sixty-Sixers - "A Brief Case" (detective/cop)
Sleepytime - "A Few Pointers" (western)
Step 6 Productions - "Ticket To Change" (film de femme)
Team Scenechronize - "The Mourning After" (romance)
The Dirty Overs - "Face Down" (horror)

Group B, Wednesday, July 23rd, 7:00 and 9:30
4th Avenue Tamale Parlour - "The Loop" (sci-fi)
80 Babies - "Hard Labor" (film de femme)
aiight - "Gloria" (romance)
Emerging Artist Productions - "The Last Job" (spy movie)
I Am I Am Productions - "MDK" (horror)
Lordy Lordy - "The Transfer" (comedy)
Montage Productions - "Fuel" (road movie)
Outlaw Media Productions - "Trick Or Treat" (holiday film)
Paraffin Productions - "A Woman's Intuition" (fantasy)
Solo Bello Films - "Hazard Of The Trade" (drama)
Spontaneous Fermentation - "Write It Down, Get It Out" (silent film)
Taza Films - "Dust Off" (western)
Team Freezum - "Visions" (suspense/thriller)

Group C, Thursday, July 24th, 7:00 and 9:30
Astigmatism Productions - "The Dubrovnik Equation" (spy movie)
Baoumount Pictures - "Power Switch" (political drama)
CurlyHairedPeople - "187" (detective/cop)
Fogbelt 2880 - "How The Bunny Got The Bear" (fable)
Mediablitzed - "Moose" (fantasy)
Missing Piece Productions - "Gus & Gloria" (comedy)
New California Productions - "Beat March" (romance)
Nobody Productions - "Button Man" (supsense/thriller)
Platypus - "Burn" (drama)
REDHANDED - "The Trade" (Western)
Revision3 - "You Go Charrisse" (film de femme)
Team Schneider - "Category 742" (sci-fi)
The Harrison st Scruff - "Christmas Lullaby" (holiday film)

Group D, Monday, July 28th, 7:00 and 9:30
Barkada inc. - "A Keesh For Hershel" (Musical)
Blue Sky Moon Productions - "48 Bullets" (western)
Chaka Khan - "Servo" (silent film)
EagleVision - "Submission" (suspense/thriller)
Film Grinder - "Rec" (horror)
Food Court Films - "Sustainable Love" (romance)
It Donned On Me - "Tail" (detective/cop)
Last Minute Productions - "The Trade Expert" (sci-fi)
LIGHT A FIRE - "Stunt Husband" (comedy)
Lobster Clause Productions - "Letting Go" (road movie)
Oak Street Productions - "Lovesmith" (romance)
PhilMFilm - "She Was 27" (historical fiction)
Proper Thought Studios - "Texarkana Blues" (spy movie)
Roll up and Shoot - "Three Birds One Hit" (film de femme)
Turnabout Pictures - "Like Pulling Teeth" (fantasy)

KGO Interview, Part Deux

It turns out that Scott Lettieri, the KGO reporter who interviewed me last Friday regarding the 48 Hour Film Project, edited two different versions of our interview. I posted the original one a few days ago, and here is part 2:



It's a bummer that the sound byte from Which was used instead of Urgent Care, but that's ok. Scott did an awesome job, and I hope that I will meet him again in the near future.

48 Hour Film Project Screenings

From: Nguyen, Tony
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 11:23 AM
To: Nguyen, Tony
Subject: FW: San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project

Hello Everyone!

It's that time of year again! The 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project has just wrapped and now the screenings are under way. Making a movie in 48 hours is not easy, but my team, IT DONNED ON ME, made it through the weekend unscathed. We did have a little help from two incredible actors, who just so happen to work at Dolby: ERIN-KATE WHITCOMB and TOM BRUCHS. Some of you may also recognize our third actor, MICHAEL EYVAZOV. I swear, this guy is a method actor who is very dedicated to his craft! Our film, "Tail," will premiere Monday, July 28th at 7pm and 9:30pm at The Roxie. Required elements:

Character:
Gus or Gloria Lorenz, Trade Expert

Prop:
A ticket for a bus, plane or train.

Line of Dialogue:
"Forget it. I already have."

Film Genre:
Detective/Cop

When: Monday, July 28 at 7pm AND 9:30pm
Place: Roxie Cinema, 3117 16th Street (at Valencia)

Notes: Tickets can be purchased at the door half an hour before the first screening. You can buy advance tickets online at ticketweb.com. Tickets will sell out, so be sure to get in line early! Tickets cost $9.

Come on down to the Roxie on Monday night and see Erin-Kate and Tom outside of their corporate shoes! There is an audience pick award, too, so please vote for Tail!

Regards,

Tony

TAIL: The Movie Poster

TAIL

After hours of debate, It Donned On Me decided on "Tail" as the film's title. When Evan dropped in the credits and finished that final render, everyone let out a sigh of relief and headed off to Cafe Atlas to drop off our entry into the 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project. WE DID IT!!

Detective Film

The brainstorming session on Friday night went very smoothly. IDOM has really become quite crafty at this 48 hour film project game. Coming up with the concept for our detective film took only three hours, and that's including all the playing around that occurred in between. I was confident coming into Saturday knowing that we would rock the filming.

10:10am.
Erin-Kate Whitcomb, our star, arrives at IDOM Studios in the Presidio. Evan fills her in on the storyline. Dinah preps her up for her scene. Tony takes on the role of lighting technician. Rick is conspicuously missing.



11:41 am.
Erin-Kate channels Kate Bush and runs up that hill. Then down. Then up again. Then down. We filmed the opening sequence in one or two takes. I wonder if our star stretched before the scene?



11:54 am.
I asked for Sex And The City and I got the following instead. Mike is looking more Alice Cooper than Carrie Bradshaw, and I'm not even going to ask what Rob's motivation was behind his pose.




12:47 pm.
Our leading man, Tom Bruchs, arrives on set a little before noon. Unfortunately, we had to send him back home because we weren't ready for him. Evan explained that we needed to finish Erin-Kate's scenes first, and that we didn't wanted him to just wait around. Tom understood that this was the 48 Hour Film Project and that anything goes. He even offered us the use of his downtown San Francisco loft, which we happily accepted, as Evan and Joanne's bedroom is not photogenic enough for this film. We arranged to meet up with him after 6pm. After Tom took off, Evan filmed scene two with Erin-Kate. Before doing so, however, he had to Windex down his kitchen window. What the heck? Our director cleaning windows? Rick Kemp, where are you...?



12:58 pm.
While helping Dinah pack up her make-up and Erin-Kate's wardrobe to schlep to our next location, the IDOM stylist and I experimented with some new looks. HOT. Hey, be glad that I'm not posting pics of my man cleavage. I think I burned Evan's eyes when I threw those puppies in his face. Too much information?



2:36 pm.
We made it to location #3 a little bit after 2pm. Luckily, it wasn't too far from IDOM Studios. Joanne doesn't have to travel to far to get to work. The third scene of our film takes place in a conference room where Gloria Lorenz, the VP of Global Trading, is giving a presentation on the NAFTA trends of 2007-2009. Exciting topic, no? I put together the PowerPoint slide this morning, and I tried to keep it as dry as possible. The scene went very well, and I'm excited to say that almost every IDOM'er got cameos! While the cameras rolled, Erin-Kate rambled on about nothing while the extras "took notes." Missing from the scene was Joanne, who was operating the PowerPoint slide. Also M.I.A. was Rick. Where the heck is Rick? Paging Dr. Kemp...



4:19 pm.
NEW FLASH! The red-headed chiropractor finally showed up! We were all concerned about the guy, so imagine how relieved we were when he arrived. The guy looked malnourished, so I fed him some leftover pizza from earlier. While Rick chomped on his slice, Evan, Rob, and Dinah headed over to Nob Hill to film a scene with Erin-Kate. The rest of us prepared for our next shoot down in South of Market Area. When Rick finished eating, we all drove to The MotoJava Cafe.



5:21 pm.
Peeping Donn! What a pervert! Check out Evan taking pictures of a nudie girl on a dumpster! This is such a great shot, but our director is actually filming Erin-Kate from behind the dumpster. While Director Donn was getting this shot, Sig and I printed out a copy of the location release for Tom's loft. I had some problems with the printer, so we had to print that document out on 11x14 paper. It was like a poster!




6:57 pm.
We arrived at Tom's loft at about 6:30pm, and what an awesome abode it was. Carin, Tom's girlfriend, was very hospitable and provided us with wine and cheese. What a very kind gesture. We spent a few hours at Tom's place filming the final two scenes. That's all I'm going to say about this because I don't want to give anything away. I will, however, post the following pics...





11:23 pm.
Rob invited a two time fiddling champion to score our film. The problem was that we did not have a rough cut! Nonetheless, the musician showed up, and we gave him an idea of what the mood of our film was so that he could come up with something. He gave us some incredible fiddling, and I sure hope we end up using them. Amazingly enough, we finished the audio recording in 20 minutes. We really had no choice, because we were kicked out of the recording studio at 11:30pm!


And that was IDOM's Saturday! What a long day it was, but I do believe that we have enough material to put this film together. We all agreed to meet back at IDOM Studios in the morning to complete this project. For now, though, it's sleeeeeeeeeeppppy time...

And So It Begins...

The 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project officially started today, and amazingly enough, I was uncharacteristically restrained. This is IDOM's sixth film together as a team, and I pretty much know what to expect, so there's really no need for the Ritalin. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited, but I've done this song and dance five times now, so I now have a little bit more control of my exuberance. That's how I see it, but my fellow IDOM'ers may see it differently!

I would bet money that lack of sleep probably contributed to my mild demeanor. I finally got to sleep at about 3am last night. I was up to the crack of donn working on my "History of IDOM" blog entry, and for this reason I was a walking zombie in the office. I was sitting in my cube when the following email popped up in my inbox at 11:06am from the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project Producer:

"KGO wants to do a story - we are meeting at Atlas Cafe at 11:30 TODAY! Email me back if you can make it. If you can do it later today, that could work as well. Will take the first several teams that respond. Thanks!"

Talk about short notice! But I figured it was close enough to lunch time that there would be no harm in me heading down to Atlas Cafe a few blocks away. Fortunately, this did not eat up too much of my time, and I was able to get back to the office and actually do a little work before the big event. The interview went very well. The reporter, Scott Lettieri, interviewed the producer and three team leaders for about 15 minutes. The final product was whittled down to 48 seconds, which is apropo, considering that this is the 48 Hour Film Project. Here's the interview:



Two seconds of IDOM fame! In any case, at about 5:30pm, MacDiva & The Donnettes (Sig, Dinah, and myself) and one honorary Donnette (Michael Eyvazov) cruised over to Fat City to pick up our required elements. It was at that point that the excitement began to kick in. As I approached the venue, flashbacks of last year's 48 Hour Film Project hit me. You just don't forget the first time, and this event will always have a special place in my heart because it is where it all began.

The four of us entered Fat City and waited for the our turn to pick our genre out of hat. Very nerve-wracking. When the SF48HFP Producer called Group D up on to stage, the adrenaline pumped harder and harder, and the anticipation almost led me to a mild infarction. I was number seven or eight in line, and that much dreaded musical/western genre was still in there! My blood raced and my heart beat faster, and when I finally pulled that piece of paper from that hat, I let out a big sigh of relief: DETECTIVE/COP. Shortly after, I thought to myself, "aw geez, what the heck are we going to do with this genre?!?!"



Genre:
Detective/Cop

Character:
Gus or Gloria Lorenz

Prop:
A plane, train, or bus ticket.

Line of Dialog:
"Forget it. I already have."


After Fat City, IDOM followed standard operating procedures and headed over to our pre-production headquarters for some serious brainstorming. After three hours of throwing ideas back and forth, we figured out our movie. I called our talent at 11pm and went straight home to sleep.

It Donned On Me: The History

On the eve of the 2008 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project, I thought it would be appropriate for me to post It Donned On Me's history as a team. This event is where we got our start, and one year later, we have five films under our belt and are considered Internationally Acclaimed Award Winning Film Makers.



June 21, 2006
Evan Donn School Of Film Screening At Dolby

Hello Fellow Film Makers,
We're set for our film festival.
Details below:

When:
Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 7pm-9pm

Where:
Dolby Laboratories
100 Potrero Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94103-4938

This should be a fun night. Since this is first Evan Donn School of Film Festival, let's play it by ear. We'll keep the same format we have always had in class. Please submit your work on DVD by Monday, June 19th. You can send it to me at Dolby. If you can't put it into a DVD format, then please submit a Quicktime version. I'll have my Powerbook hooked up. Since we have two hours, we could preview up to 10 minutes per person. Evan, I hope you will bring your work as well. The presentation theater fits 80 people, so I highly encourgage you to bring your family and friends. Kids are welcome. Each person can bring up to 8 guests.

I'm really looking forward to this. If this flies, then maybe we can turn this into a quarterly event. Please feel free to contact me if anyone has any questions or concerns.

Regards,

Tony



June 29, 2006
48 Hour Film Project Screening At The Roxie

Hi All,

For those who haven't heard, the 48 Hour Film Project is screening in San Francisco tonight, Wednesday and tomorrow at 7:30 and 9:00PM at the Roxie Cinema in the Mission. Check out their web site for details. http://48hourfilm.com/sanfrancisco/. I may go up tonight at 9:00 but most likely I'm shooting for Thursday at 7:00PM. Anybody up for it? I want to see what can be done in 48 hours. Maybe next year the Evan Donn School of Film can enter. Had a great time at our last get together. Maybe we could meet in a better place next time. Just kidding Tony, you're the MAN. Well actually, Evan is the MAN. Your the second MAN.

See ya,
Rick Kemp



October 28, 2006
Donn Halloween Party

Not sure how many people are checking in to the forum lately so I figured I'd send out the details via email...

I'm having a Halloween party this Saturday! Oct 27 @ 6pm. If you've got your halloween-themed videos ready, bring them along and we'll have a screening. I know Joe and Tony have both claimed they're working on something...gonna be ready in time?

I just picked up a new HD (1280x720) video projector and it is beautiful! I can't guarantee sound on par with the Dolby theater, but at least the picture will be nice...So wear your costume and bring your films Saturday night.... let me know if you're planning to be here and if you're bringing anyone!

Evan



March 31, 2007
April Fool's Day Screening

Ok, well we need to get this moving so here's what I'm thinking - we don't need to pull anything out of a hat if a third-party (like Joanne) chooses the three things - because then none of us has any prior knowledge of the three things. We'll all need to use the same character, prop, and line of dialogue in our films, so I can just have Joanne come up with something and mail it to the list. I've CC'd her on this and she's offered to come up with the three things and send them out over the weekend, so...

ready...

set....

Quote:
"I've never seen one that small before."

Prop:
Hammer

Character:
Rupert Sanborn



May 19, 2007
Evan Donn School Of Film Screening

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for coming to the First Annual April Fool's Day Film Festival. I am happy to say that it was a huge success. It's always fun to see everyone and their projects. I like this quarterly meeting that we have because it inspires me to keep creating new projects. If I didn't have deadlines, I'd just get lazy and not produce anything. I think the format that we have works well: bring your own work or submit the assigned project. We had a good mix on Saturday.

Now for the next challenge. This time around, there will be a character, two props, a quote, and a song. This items were randomly chosen, and everyone has a different song. The rules are that every item needs to used in this 3-5 minute (no more!) movie, and at least 60 seconds of your song must be used in the movie. This is what you will need to work with:

Character:
"Fred"

Prop #1:
Balloon

Prop #2:
Picture of Evan Donn.

Quote:
"That's colorful."

Individual Songs:

Sig - Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Rob - Physical (Olivia Newton John)
Evan - You Can Do Magic (Chicago)
Sasan - Sun King (The Beatles)
Rick - Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis Presley)
Joe - Ruby Soho (Rancid)
Tony - Beat It (Michael Jackson)
Tom - Don't Stop Believing (Journey)
Dinah - Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Penny - Stop In The Name Of Love (The Supremes)

Tom, Dinah, and Penny, we picked your songs out of hat. It would be great if you all take this challenge, but you don't have to. Instead, you can submit your own projects for the next screening. I'm curious to see how people will incorporate their songs into their film! Now that we have the challenge, we need to pick a date. The general consensus seems to be end of May. Does May 19th work for everyone? The week after that is Memorial day, so I'm not sure people will be around or not. If we do this on the 19th, then we have 7 weeks. Let me know what you all think. I can host again.

Good luck all!

Tony



May 20, 2007
It Donned On Me...

Tony:
I did some research on the 48 Hour Film Project, and I think we should go for it. The website is not updated, but the SF 48 Hour Film Project Producer works at Dolby so he gave me the scoop. The event occurs the weekend of June 15th.

Evan:
I definitely want to do it, the 15th is going to be tight for me though. I'm working in vegas that whole week and I'll probably be coming back that day. Assuming it starts in the evening though I'm willing to jump right into it.



June 15-17, 2007
Urgent Care - San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project

Genre:
Road Movie

Character:
Maggie or Mayo Logan

Prop:
Jar of Coins

Line of Dialogue:
"Call me as soon as you hear anything."



July 26, 2007
Visa Announcement

Hello Tony,

Big congratulations to you and your team! Your team has been selected based on its entry “Urgent Care“ in the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project to be invited to participate in the Visa “Life Takes” Invitational. This is going to be a fun event, and thanks to our partnership with Visa, you can win great cash prizes, as well as show off your filmmaking skills.

You are currently a “Provisional Finalist.” You will be formally contacted in the next few days by Marketing Resources, the company handling all of the administrative and travel portions of the Invitational. They will send you the official paperwork to confirm your eligibility and participation in the Invitational. Please complete it and return it to them.

Many more competition details will be forthcoming, but here is the basic information:

The Visa “Life Takes” Invitational will take place the weekend of September 7-10. There will be a Kickoff Event in your original competition city on Friday, September 7. You will need to mail or ship your completed film and paperwork back to us with a Monday, September 10 postmark.

Film Requirements:
Minimum length of the film is 1 minute; maximum length is 3 minutes.
All films must be G rated.
Required genre and elements to be announced.

Prizes:
Each team participating in the Invitational will receive a $500 Visa check card. The team leader and a guest for each team will be sent to San Francisco for the official screening and awards celebration on Saturday, September 29. There will be a total of 30 teams competing in the Invitational—10 teams from each of the following cities: New York, San Francisco, and LA. Only the Top 10 films of the Invitational as selected by Visa’s judges will be screened in San Francisco on September 29. The grand prize winning team as selected by Visa’s judges will win $10,000. The first runner-up will win $5000, and the 2nd runner-up will win $2500. Please send us an email as soon as possible confirming your participation so that we know whether or not we need to contact a team on the waiting list. Remember: you MUST send the paperwork back to Marketing Resources to officially claim your spot.

Congratulations and good luck.

Mark and Liz
Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, Executive Producers
48 Hour Film Project, Inc.



July 28, 2007
The Urgent Care Reunion Party

Wow, and I thought the dildo was good...It donned on me that an Urgent Care Reunion party is mandatory! Lynn Ruth Miller was gracious enough to offer her home for this event, so please swing by the coast for a night of fun.

Agenda:

6:30pm - The Arrival. Mingle, eat, drink, be merry. An EMT will be on hand if someone should choke on an hors d oeuvre.

7:30pm - Queenie's Cabaret Show, Starring Lynn Ruth Miller. Queenie, the senile stripper will astound you with her collection of outrageious parodies guaranteed to put your underwear at risk! A body of balloons goes pop and every funny bone is exposed. Comedy at its naked and bawdy best.

8:30pm - "Urgent Care: The Making Of" Documentary Screening. For those involved, relive the 48 hours. For spectators, sit back and witness what the It Donned On Me Team went through.

9:30pm - Special Announcement.

This will be a potluck event, so please respond with what you will bring in your RSVP. Please feel free to invite others. Please arrive no later than 7:30pm or else you will miss the show!



August 10-12, 2007
Doggie Style - San Jose 48 Hour Film Project

Genre:
Holiday Film

Character:
Don or Dawn August, PR Specialist

Prop:
Peanut Butter

Line of Dialogue:
"I feel embarrassed."



September 7-9, 2007
Exit - Visa "Life Takes" Invitationals

Genre:
Fantasy

Character:
No required element.

Prop:
Visa Card

Line of Dialogue:
"Life Takes _____________."



September 25, 2007
Top 10 - Visa "Life Takes" Invitationals

So there I was sitting in class. At about 8:30pm, I decided to check my email. I opened up my Yahoo account and saw an email from the 48 Hour Film Project Producer titled "Visa 'Life Takes' Invitational--Top 10." My heart started to beat faster. I quickly opened up the email and my jaw dropped when I read its content.

To my shock, I saw IT DONNED ON ME on the list. I quickly turned to Joanne to tell her the news. I began to freak out. I wanted to jump out of my seat and make this announcement, but she pretty much bitch slapped me and told me to settle down and not to disrupt class. I had four other IDOM'ers within a five foot radius of me--one of whom is the instructor--but I had to sit still for the rest of class.

I went mad, so I excused myself and stepped outside to inform the other members of my team of the good news via phone. When I returned, Professor Donn ended class, and I directed my team mates to my computer. I had them all read the email, and we all cheered. Can you believe it? WE MADE THE VISA 'LIFE TAKES' INVITATIONAL TOP TEN!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mark Ruppert [mailto:mark@48hourfilm.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 8:20 PM
To: '48 Hour Film Project'
Subject: Visa "Life Takes" Invitational--Top 10

Hello Filmmakers—

It’s time for our announcement of the 10 films selected to be screened at Theatre 39 this Saturday night. The judges had a difficult choice. There were 30 well made films to choose from, but, as stated earlier, the judges had to choose only 10 to screen.

Each film team deserves hearty congratulations for their efforts. As expected, the level of film making was superior. We only wish that all films could screen at the theater. Those films not screened at the theater will screen at the party at the Bubble Lounge.

The Top 10 Films for the 48HFP Visa “Life Takes” Invitational 2007

(in alphabetical order by Team Name)

Figers
"Britty First Dates"

It Donned On Me
"Exit"

JeffroGee Productions
"Cheese Run"

One Glass
"Top Secret"

Rabid Manatees
"Rock, Paper, Scissors"

Subject To Change
"Life Takes Timing"

SubSanity
"Rated Arrrrrrrrrrr"

Team BP
"Terms of Use"

Team Midas
"Two Coins"

Tri-County Lawn Bowling Assoc.
"Ghost in the Machine"

The 3 prize winners are in this group and will be announced after the screening. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston
Executive Producers
48 Hour Film Project, Inc.



September 28, 2007
Visa Life Takes Invitational

I am sitting here on the guacamole green Ikea couch trying to comprehend what happened last night. I had to stab myself a few times with a butter knife to see if I was really awake and not dreaming. I now have a few scars on my thigh, but at least I have proof that everything that happened in the last 24 hours was real. I am proud to announce that IT DONNED ON ME finished in the top three of the Visa "Life Takes" Invitationals and walked away with $2500.

What an awesome achievement. As Evan Donn noted, "the competition was strong - all of the top ten films were great, and honestly at the end of the night it could have gone to anyone!" Big congratulations to the first place winner, Team Midas' "Two Coins," and the Grand Prize winner - Team BP's "Terms of Use." IT DONNED ON ME was definitely in good company. I swear, we must be the happiest bronze medalists ever. It never was about winning or losing for us. We were just happy to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project. Making it to the top 30, and then the top 10, and finally to the top 3 was icing on this crazy little cake that we baked from scratch.

It is by chance that we met, but it is by choice that we stayed together. We started out as 10 random strangers who met at the College of San Mateo, and now we are award winning film makers. It donned on me that life takes a lot of things: talent, passion, creativity, camaraderie, respect...this little team of film making enthusiasts from that school up on the hill has it all, and I am proud to be a member.



October 19-21, 2007
National Film Challenge - "Retreat"

Genre:
Fantasy

Character:
Drew or Diane Smothers, Yoga Instructor

Prop:
Garden tool.

Line of Dialogue:
"I don't have time for silly games."

Note of Interest:
While Retreat didn't manage to make it into the finalists for the National Film Challenge we just found out it won a special judge's award - "Best Acting By A Horse"! Congratulations to Junior, the star of Retreat and now a nationally acclaimed, award-winning equestrian thespian!



December 16, 2007
IDOM 2007 Holiday Party

Of course, it wouldn't be an IDOM party without a screening! Check out The 12 Days Of Donn!



March 6-10, 2008
Stick & Pound - International Documentary Challenge

Genre:
Music or Art

Other Requirement:
Include the filming day's date somewhere in the film.



March 27, 2008
Doc Challenge Finalists Announced

Hello Doc Challenge Filmmakers,

The moment you have all been waiting for: Our Round 1 Judges have completed their voting which determined the finalists for the 2008 International Documentary Challenge. In total, 101 films were shipped by the deadline and eligible for judging. There were many, many great films this year. So many, in fact, that there was a tie and 14 finalists have been named and will screen at Hot Docs.

Before I get to the finalists, I want to mention that ALL of the Doc Challenge films, whether finalists or not, will be screened by several broadcasters and distributors. So don’t be discouraged if you aren’t a finalist. I will send more information on this later.

Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order):

1. All The Eights, 88
Team: Sholi
City/Country: Sydney, Australia
Genre: Biography/Character Study

2. Ars Magna
Team Juicebox
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study

3. The Art of Balance
Team: Surge Media
City/Country: New York, NY, USA
Genre: Sports

4. Beholder
Team: Boss and Coder 34
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: First Person

5. Bend & Bow
Team: Profluence Productions
City/Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Genre: Experimental

6. Click Whoosh
Team: Reel Grrrls
City/Country: Seattle, WA, USA
Genre: Historical

7. Ghost Bike
Team: Go!
City/Country: Toronto, ON, Canada
Genre: Art

8. I=me2
Team: Year of the Rooster
City/Country: Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Genre: Experimental

9. Ice Fishing
Team: Rotating Planet
City/Country: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre: Sports

10. Jetty
Team: Fly On The Wall
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political

11. Meet The Freegans
Team: Shields Films
City/Country: Portland, OR, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political

12. Pennywise: The Changing Face of Change
Team: Lucky Shot
City/Country: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political

13. Red Light Blues
Team: Abrahami-Netz Productions
City/Country: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genre: Social Issue/Political

14. Stick and Pound
Team: It Donned On Me
City/Country: Foster City, CA, USA
Genre: Art

These 14 finalists will screen on the evening of Saturday, April 26 at 9:30pm at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto where the Grand Prize Winner will be announced. All finalists will receive 2 complimentary industry passes to Hot Docs (a $1,200 value) and the Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 and a one-year membership to the International Documentary Association. In addition, other awards (such as Best Cinematography, Best Editing, etc.) will be announced on April 26.

Congratulations to all of the finalists! And to all of the other filmmakers who finished their films by the deadline – a heroic feat in and of itself.

Cheers,

Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge



April 26, 2008
Best Director & Best Cinematography

We're back from Hot Docs in Toronto, where "Stick & Pound" screened as one of 14 finalists in the International Documentary Challenge 2008 - and it brought home two awards for Best Cinematography and Best Directing! You can see a full list of all winners here on the IDC website.

The trip was great, four of us made it and it was the first visit to Toronto for all of us. Unfortunately we missed most of Hot Docs Festival itself (it ran all week but we could only be there for the last 2 days), but the IDC screening and parties were a lot of fun. It was also cool to meet members of the other teams and hear about everyone's experiences in the competition. The screening itself was really good - all 14 films were very strong and it's amazing to see what people can pull off in such a short time period.

Tony and Dinah have both posted photos and write-ups of the trip on their blogs - http://unrendered.blogspot.com/ for Tony and http://1orangemooninafrica.blogspot.com/ for Dinah.

We'd love to post the film here but the organizers of the Doc Challenge are currently seeking distribution for the films entered in this year's competition and have asked us to hold off posting them online for a little while (ahh, the collisions of old and new distribution systems) - contact Doug Whyte for inquiries regarding distribution.

In the meantime "Stick & Pound" will likely be screening at several other festivals around the country this year so check back here for a chance to see it in your area!

May 24, 2008:
Tony Signs IDOM Up For 48 Hour San Francisco

The San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project is slated for the weekend of July 18-20. Here we go again...