5 questions for Liz Langston, co-founder of The 48 Hour Film Project

Erika Gonzalez, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

OK, weekend warriors, if you think spending your days off training for a triathlon or renovating a kitchen is hard work, consider making a movie in only two days. A group of ambitious local filmmakers did just that last weekend, creating productions as part of The 48 Hour Film Project. Launched seven years ago in Washington, D.C., the project now includes 50 international cities, including Denver. The 28 local teams who participated will have their efforts screened at the Starz FilmCenter today and Thursday. Rocky reporter Erika Gonzalez spoke with Liz Langston, one of the contest's founders, about the fine art of high-speed filmmaking.

1 So why the 48-hour limit? "I think people can be asked to contribute one weekend of their lives to a project. It's something they can do without rearranging their work lives."

2 What are some of the more common mistakes you see contestants make?

"They try to shoot something extravagant, like a remake of Lord of the Rings. One thing we always see is young people trying to do characters that are too adult - like gangsters or lawyers and it's hard to sell that reality. Testing the equipment is very important. The teams very often find that there's incompatibility between computers and cameras. By far the most common problem is bad sound."

3 Have any filmmakers achieved any particularly impressive feats in 48 hours?

"We've had helicopter shots. Many explosions, both real and special effects. We had a guy with a one-person, tiny helicopter strap a camera on his head and fly over the Potomac River. Others have gotten the local fire department and police departments to participate. An Albuquerque filmmaker just filmed an aerial shot of the city from a hang glider. One team burned down a house (and they had permission!)."

4 Does it help to have a big budget?

"The most critical factor is a good story. And it does help when people have filmmaking experience."

5 Have any contestants hit it big in the film industry after participating in the contest?

"We have a lot of films that have gone on to compete in film festivals. Our winner from Atlanta three years ago won $10,000 in the Atlanta Film Festival to finish a feature film. There are many people who have formed their own production companies or have been able to sell their services to make commercials and industrial films."

The 48 Hour Film Project

• When and where: various screenings starting at 6:30 p.m. today and Thursday, Starz Filmcenter, 900 Auraria Parkway

• Cost: $9-$15

• Information: 303-595-3456 or denverfilm.org

Filming by the rules

Participants in the 48 Hour Film Project can't depend onprewritten scripts, stock footage or other shortcuts whencreating their productions. A look at some of the contest'sother requirements:

• Luck of the draw: Teams base their films on one of 13 genres (ranging from buddy film to Sci-Fi) they select from a hat. Teams may opt to trade for a "wild-card" genre, which varies from city to city

• Make it work: Officials randomly draw a character, prop and line of dialogue that each team must incorporate into their films.

• No epics: Running time between 4 and 7 minutes.