How to Make a 48 Hour Film

I have participated in two 48 hour film competitions so far and I intend to compete in many more. It is fun, exciting, and rewarding, but it can also be frustrating, difficult, and exhausting. There are a few guidelines and suggestions I can give that will make the experience more fun than frustrating.

For those who are not aware, a 48 hour film competition is where several teams of filmmakers gather together, receive specific elements (genre, prop, line), and must return with a finished movie 48 hours later. This includes writing, filming, and editing the film as you race against the clock. It is generally worth it for the experience of making a movie. Many competitions also reward the winners with prizes and special screenings.

If you are crazy enough to enter a 48 hour film competition, keep the following advice in mind.

1. SCHEDULE EVERYTHING. Even before you receive the genre of your movie, you should plan out exactly how you will spend your time. If the competition starts on a Friday night, I suggest you write the script, rehearse, and plan everything out (costumes, locations, shot list) on that day alone. Saturday is reserved for filming. Sunday is time for editing. I've heard horror stories where filmmakers thought it was okay to film a scene or two on Sunday and underestimated how long the editing process took. Set rigid deadlines for when filming needs to be completed.

2. FILM WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE. I suggest you work with people you have worked with before. Making a 48 hour film is hard and everyone involved has to be dedicated to the end result. Make certain that everyone has their weekends cleared and that they will not let you down or cancel at the last minute.

3. TEST YOUR EDITING EQUIPMENT. Before the competition even starts, I would suggest filming five minutes of footage, uploading it into your computer, making some minor edits, and then exporting it. You would be surprised how many small, time-consuming errors seem to pop up while you are editing your 48 hour film that could have easily been avoided. Of course if you regularly make movies, this will not be a problem.

4. TWIST THE GENRE ON ITS HEAD. Cleverness and originality will always be the biggest factors in a 48 hour competition. Any genre you receive can somehow by turned into an interesting movie. If you get the horror genre, try to inject some creativity and avoid the clichés. No matter how well filmed the movie is, it will not matter if it is something the audience has seen a thousand times before.

5. USE DECENT LOCATIONS. It is fine to film a few scenes in your house, but the film might suffer if the entire movie takes place in your basement. Get out there and find a few locations in advance. Regardless of genre, you may want to secure a restaurant, a park, an office, a library, etc. These are easy locations to get if you ask politely and they will add much needed production value. If you do resort to filming solely in your house, dress up the background a little and make it visually pleasing.

6. MAKE A FAST-PACED MOVIE. The biggest mistake you can make is to create a slow movie. You only have 3-7 minutes to work with anyway, so try to tell a full story at rapid pacing. The pace of the film can be much more important than how expensive your equipment is. Edit and re-edit your script until it is as tight as possible. Cut every line that does not serve a purpose. Make every second count; you only have so many.

7. NO ELABORATE OPENING CREDITS. Save the credits for the end. You have to demand attention with the first ten seconds of your movie and you would be wasting it with opening credits. It is unlikely that you will have a famous actor performing in your film, so don't bother showing off the names of your friends.

8. HAVE FUN WITH IT. You will make a better movie if you are willing to be loose and improvise a little with your film. The spirit of a 48 hour film almost demands that principle. Keeping your crew's morale high will ensure their dedication to the project as well as convince them to participate in the experience again. Do NOT think about competing with other filmmakers. As far as you are concerned, you are only competing against yourself. Try to make a movie that you can be proud of. If you achieve that, you spent every second of those 48 hours correctly.