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48 Hours or Bust

Jun 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Bill Miller

In the video business, discipline is just as critical as creativity

They descended on the farm — a legion of volunteers equipped with Sony PD150s, rusting Omni lights, and backpacks full of enthusiasm. The “borrowed” orange extension cords, dusty from hanging in dad's shed for years, were worn around the shoulders like badges of honor.

These young filmmakers — and I call them filmmakers even though they were shooting video — had come to my place to make a short movie, part of the 48 Hour Film Project sponsored by Avid. Participating teams must put together a short video from scratch in just two days, not knowing the genre of their script until the competition starts. That means writing, shooting, editing, and delivering it before the clock stops ticking.

I had offered my property as the shoot location. With barns, horses, and acres of fields, plus an indoor bathroom, it was a pretty nice setup for this guerrilla band, and it was free. Having spent the last 40 years in the business, I decided to take a passive roll in this project, which is extremely difficult for a hands-on guy like myself. I volunteered my advice only when it came to lunch. (That's 'cause I know where the pizza joint is.)

What I enjoyed most was seeing the zeal and passion these young Stephen Spielberg-wannabes brought to the project. Despite a freezing drizzle, hour after hour they toiled, substituting enthusiasm for experience. Part of my idea in taking a backseat role was to let them learn from their mistakes. Finding your own path is often a better teaching experience than being led every step of the way. I must admit, a couple of times I did offer suggestions (bounce the light in a basin of water to give an eerie effect, for example), but that's because I can't always keep my paws off.

And so it went for 48 hours, at times peacefully. Other times the tension rolled across the fields like the unwelcome rain that chilled the bones but didn't dampen the spirit.

And then came the editing. I just happen to have a complete editing facility at the farm, which I had offered to the crew. So while I slept, the machines digitized and colorized and formulized the story.

When I awoke after a sound sleep, I was greeted by the bleary-eyed director and editor huddled under blankets as blue images foretelling their future danced across the screen. Twelve hours to go and there was still work to be completed. Music, titles, and — oh yes — voice-over narration. Could they complete the edit and beat the traffic into Boston in time? It seemed like a reasonable task.

There was one minor problem. The director, an affable young fellow with tattoos and earrings, forgot one main principle, which is a must for all video makers, whether you're doing a 2-hour movie, a corporate puff piece, a commercial, or a 6-minute entry in a 48-hour film festival: DISCIPLINE with capital letters. Without discipline there is no video; there is no video career. All projects have deadlines; it's part of the rules. While it's fun to color outside the lines, you gotta follow the rules.

After all the hard work, after hours without sleep, the director let the whole project go down the drain. He kept tinkering and tinkering until it was past time to be on the road. And sure enough, they missed the deadline by 15 minutes and were disqualified from the judging. The director dismissed it as, “Oh, it's only a film festival.” But to the 20 people who poured their souls out for him, it was more than a film festival, and he owed it to them to meet the deadline even if it meant sacrificing some of his creativity. This is a business of creativity and discipline, and you have to respect both. I hope this is the lesson they learned from their 48 hours at the farm.

(For more information on the 48 Hour Film Project, check out www.48hourfilm.com.)

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