Feature: Page (1) of 2 - 09/09/04

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Once upon a time, oh about 10 years ago, most folks who made a go of a career in Hollywood had a script, but worked as waiters, video store clerks, or in retail in hopes of one day landing their big break in the town where dreams are made. . .and broken. And for the most part, that script would languish due to the prohibitively high costs associated with filmmaking.

Today, this is not the case. As the personal computer became more powerful, and video cameras evolved to capture a digital signal, people all over the world have become digital storytellers. The power of the Internet became the distribution medium, and the notion of digital filmmaking became entrenched in the minds of those who sought to tell a story. Today, those in Hollywood trying to break into the film industry are armed not only with a script, but full blown short films, demonstrating not only their talents, but their desires to make it in Hollywood.

Scene from Three Wishes of Paddy Cake

Think about it. Most computers sitting on desks all over the world have the power to make a movie. This notion of technology is pretty compelling. With a computer, an editing application and a DV camera, you too can make a movie. You can take that polished script, shoot the scenes with a DV camera, edit the video on the computer, add some special effects, and distribute it via the Internet or other medium. It might not be the next blockbuster, heck it might not be any good, but it would still be your movie where you called the shots.

Do it all in 24 Hours
Now accelerate the whole notion of digital moviemaking; scriptwriting and revising, shooting, editing, production and post production, effects, and do it all in 24 hours. But here's the twist. Make a movie where there is no script to begin with. What do you have? You have entered the zone of the 24 hour film festival. These festivals, which some say first took root in Canada several years ago, have sprouted all over the digital planet. From Australia to Canada, to Brazil to Los Angeles, these festivals have exploded onto the screening and digital moviemaking scene. In the United States, these festivals are put out by many diverse groups. The Minnesota Film Arts 24 hour Film Festival, Scavenger Film Festival, The Shootout 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival,  The Leeds Children & Young People's Festival, even the Latter Day Saints have a 24 hour film festival.

Filmmaking on the Fly
To hinder the use of previously filmed materials, each film festival has a certain criteria that the filmmakers must follow when creating their movies. It could be a certain word or phrase that must be present in the dialog, or a specific object must be present, or a special camera technique, a film genre, or a main story/idea. Other criteria are also observed. It could be  the number of members on your team, or the number of actors in the film.

Or perhaps you must include a scene with a Coke can or other object as a prop. Many of the 24 hour film festivals also have a limitation on the length of each film. Films from four to 6 minutes seem to be the norm in the 24 hour category, a duration that won't overly tax today's computer systems, while also being a more manageable time frame for the filmmakers as well as those who screen the films.

After Effects 6.0 was used to create this crowd scene

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