Executive Director Craig Renaud announcing Best Film

Last night the 48 Hour Film Project came to a close with another at-capacity crowd, this time, at the Argenta Community Theater for the Best of Awards Ceremony. The finale event in the 48HFP featured the Top 11 Audience Award chosen films:

La Petite Mort by BrickHut
Snipe Hunters by Raymond Roquello & His Orchestra Productions
Faith by Domino Pictures
God & Jesus Living in a City Apartment by Riding Dinosaurs
Reboot by AndrewMFilms
Left by Team Arkansas Times/P. Allen Smith
Love Is In The Hair by Baby Lonzo Productions
Fire Engine Red by Whiffle Powder Productions
A Touch of Death by The Happily Miserable
Chime by Team Bearshark
Hey Kid by Ted Loves Mary

The Best of Winners from the event won a one-of-a-kind golden, bronze, or silver VHS statuette in addition to a LRFF pass of the same color! We also gave a Golden Vader to the Best Film and a Silver Han Solo for the Runner Up in addition to two Gold and Silver Passes a value of $100 (Silver) and $250 (Gold) for each pass!

Best Use of Prop

“Snipe Hunters” by Raymond Roquello & His Orchestra Productions, Charlie Brady WINNER

“The Widow” by Dirty Gnome Productions, Jesse Burks

“Illinois Williams and the Golden Melon” by Better Late than Never by Cody Graves

Best Use of Dialogue

“Hey Kid” by Ted Loves Mary, Matthew Rowe

“Singer (Not Spy)” by Acataleptic, Allison Minor

“God and Jesus living in a City Apartment” by Riding Dinosaurs, Dustin Ridling WINNER

Best Use of Character

“Hey Kid” by Ted Loves Mary, Matthew Rowe

“Love is in the Hair” by Baby Lonzo Productions, Christopher Thompson WINNER

“Use Your Melon” by Ace Diesel and the Damn Browns, Ace Hamilton

Best Editing

“Chime” by Team Bearshark, Joshua Green

“La Petite Mort” by BrickHut, Matt Owen

“Independence” by TriCore Productions/Sterling Imageworks, Justin Story WINNER

Best Music

“Love is in the Hair” by Baby Lonzo Productions, Christopher Thompson

“La Petite Mort” by BrickHut, Matt Owen WINNER

“Singer (Not Spy)” by Acataleptic, Allison Minor

Best Cinematography

“La Petite Mort”  by BrickHut, Matt Owen

“Left” by Team Arkansas Times/P. Allen Smith, David Koon WINNER

“Reboot”  by AndrewMFilms by Andrew McMurry

Best Story

“Fire Engine Red” by Whiffle Powder Productions, Jim Patterson WINNER

“Left” by Team Arkansas Times/P. Allen Smith, David Koon

“Snipe Hunters” by Raymond Roquello & His Orchestra Productions, Charlie Brady

Best Acting

“Hey Kid” by Ted Loves Mary, Matthew Rowe WINNER

“Faith” by Domino Pictures, Dean Denton WINNER

“Last Laugh” by See Spot Run Productions, Eric Deitz

Best Directing

“Reboot” by AndrewMFilms by Andrew McMurry WINNER

“La Petit Mort” by BrickHut, Matt Owen

“Independence” by TriCore Productions/Sterling Imageworks, Justin Story

Best Film

“La Petite Mort” by BrickHut, Matt Owen WINNER

“Hey Kid” by Ted Loves Mary, Matthew Rowe

“Fire Engine Red” by Whiffle Powder Productions, Jim Patterson RUNNER UP

“Left” by Team Arkansas Times/P. Allen Smith, David Koon

You can find more information about the films and the 48 Hour Film Project at www.48hourfilm.com/littlerock

A publicity photo for Left from Team Arkansas Times/P. Allen Smith

We had a fun time over the weekend with 27 Teams competing and turning in their completed films all shot in just 48 Hours on Friday August 17-19. Filmmakers convened at Riverdale Theater on Friday night at 6pm and after drawing genres ranging from Comedy, Period Piece, to Time Travel, out of a hat, team leaders were given instructions on three elements to include in their films. Each film must include a prop of a melon or melons, a character named Tommy or Tammy Shuttles who is a singer, and the line of dialogue “What do we have here?”

Filmmakers were then sent on their way to write, shoot, act, score, edit, and produce a 5-7 minute film to compete in the 48 Hour Film Project hosted by the Little Rock Film Festival. Starting tonight through Friday (August 22-24) those completed films (late and on time) will screen at 7pm at the Riverdale 10 Theater and Cafe. Single admission tickets to the event are $7.00 and three day passes are $18 at the door or can be purchased at http://littlerock48hfp.eventbrite.com/

Check out the screening groups and times below for each film! We hope to see you there and congratulations to all our teams. A special Best of Ceremony will be held at Argenta Community Theater on August 30, 2012 at 7pm.

Group A
Screening on Wednesday, August 22, 7:00 pm

A Happy Boy Production, Jackie Lewis
Baby Lonzo Productions, Christopher Thompson
Big Boy Productions, James Thweatt
Dirty Gnome Productions, Jesse Burks
Overdoit Productions, Drew Selig
Riding Dinosaurs, Dustin Ridling
Team 6, Sam Ashcraft
Team Bearshark, Joshua Green
The Happily Miserable, Michael Trieu

Group B
Screening on Thursday, August 23, 7:00 pm

Acataleptic, Allison Minor
Better Late Than Never Productions, Cody Graves
BrickHut, Matt Owen
Domino Pictures, Dean Denton
New Trick Productions, Jim Johnson
Raymond Roquello & His Orchestra Productions, Charlie Brady
See Spot Run Productions, Eric Deitz
Team Opinion, Michael Henderson
Trailer Trash Productions, Chris Wilks
TriCore Productions/Sterling Imageworks, Justin Story

Group C
Screening on Friday, August 24, 7:00 pm

Ace Diesel and the Damn Browns, Ace Hamilton
AndrewMFilms, Andrew McMurry
Carnes Audio Visual, Matthew Carnes
Heads Or Tales Productions, Jennifer Mazzacane
Leave the Cannolis Priductions (PDK), Michael Ferrara
Red Snapper, Ben Gibson
Team #1, Robert Jennings
Ted Loves Mary, Matthew Rowe
Whiffle Powder Productions, Jim Patterson
Team Arkansas Times, David Koon

Cain and Abel

I was lucky enough to meet Mark Thiedeman at last year’s film festival after seeing his incredibly nuanced short A Christian Boy and have tried to follow his filmmaking career ever since. His films are like nothing you ever see coming from this state although I was told by one of his actors that his new film, Cain and Abel, playing at the festival this week was primarily shot in his apartment. Mark’s films are obviously influenced by some very great foreign films and it’s easy to tell that he has an obsession with the Criterion Collection catalogue like myself because his films echo a timelessness and beauty that is both subtle and grand. I wanted to talk with Mark about his film featuring this year that is a sort of retelling or rephrasing the biblical story of Cain and Abel.

Where did you grow up and what lead you to becoming a filmmaker?

I grew up in New Orleans, and luckily, my parents were very receptive to the fact that I was an artsy kid from early on. They put me in oil painting classes when I was three, let me sing in choirs, encouraged me to audition for productions at local theaters, and to write. Eventually, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be a visual artist, a writer, or an actor, so I decided to be a filmmaker. It lets you do a bit of everything.

Tell me about your film featuring at the 6th Annual Little Rock Film Festival?

CAIN AND ABEL updates the Old Testament story to the world of a contemporary small Southern town. It tells a story we’re all familiar with–the first murder–but there’s a bit of a spin. Cain, as a character, is largely regarded as one of the Bible’s great villains, along with Judas or Lucifer, but his struggle is very human and quite personal to me. He feels unloved by God, disregarded. That’s a horrible feeling, to feel that God loves some people more than others. And its a feeling that’s made all too possible by our present-day evangelical Christian environment.

Who or what made it possible to make your film?

This might seem to diminish the process a bit, but Samuel Pettit, Keith Hudson and I just decided to make a movie, and we did it. You really don’t need a lot of money to make movies, or a lot of crew members or even equipment. In fact, I find all those things to be a bit stifling. We worked from a loose outline and built the film out of images that spoke to us that we found over the course of a long, scattered shoot. We shot based on feeling and instinct, the way still photographers shoot, rather than by pre-producing the movie to death or copying pre-conceived storyboards. And I hope the images that you see are powerful. If they are, its certainly a tribute to the natural beauty of Arkansas, and to the multiple talents of Sam and Keith.

What do you hope audiences get out of seeing your film?

When I left New York to make films in Arkansas, a handful of good friends told me it was a really good decision. I was told, “the last thing we need is another New York filmmaker.” I think that’s true. I also think it’s true that the last thing we need is another Hollywood filmmaker. Being in the film community in Arkansas–which is still growing and finding its place in American cinema–is a liberating thing. We can be pioneers. Sam, Keith and I went a little wild with this movie, breaking a lot of traditional rules about storytelling and visual style–in short, breaking away from what’s expected of American filmmakers. I hope that, if people like the movie, they’ll see some potential for individualism in Southern filmmaking, to see that we can have our own voice, a new voice, and tell different kinds of stories in a different way.

Cain + Abel plays at 8:20pm on Thursday night at Riverdale and again on Saturday, June 2 at 11:00 am.

One of the great examples of the community support of the Little Rock Film Festival is the local filmmaking component right here in Arkansas. It’s no surprise that many of the Arkansas-based films that premiere at the festival go on to other great festivals and win tons of awards. If you ever want to get into the local filmmaking scene a great start would be joining the Arkansas Filmmakers Forum founded by filmmaker and featured panelist Gerry Bruno.

The Arkansas Filmmaker Forum hosts special events and gatherings for filmmakers and artists to talk about projects and hear speakers from the state talk about their craft. The festival is lucky this year to have two such events being hosted by the Forum as a part of the program!

If you’ve ever been to a party or a screening and spied a producer or possible investor you were just unprepared to speak to then Hip Pocket Pitches is the perfect panel for you to attend. Resident producer and one of the best extemporaneous speakers you’ll meet Tim Jackson (The Last Ride) and executive producer and founder of the production company Jigsaw films Courtney Pledger (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant) will be giving you tips and tricks to selling your film off-the-cuff and all extemporaneously. What better place to learn how to pitch your film than at a film festival? The panel takes place at 6:00 pm Saturday, June 2 and is free and open to the public.

The second event the Forum is presenting is a screening of the first ever short film shot and presented in 3-D from the state of Arkansas. Color me red and blue but then color me intrigued. The film is called Europa and was directed by UCA professor Bruce Hutchinson and was largely crewed by students in the Digital Filmmaking Program at the college in Conway. Another interesting note is that it was written by LRFF staff/husband and wife team Justin and Mallory Nickels. The film is about an astronaut who discovers alien life on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa. Filmmakers involved with the film will be on hand before and after the screening to discuss the process of shooting the film in 3D with a special camera mount and the post-production workflow as well as some of the films CGI and special effects. This is event is free to members of the Arkansas Filmmakers Forum so be sure to go to their facebook page and join!

More directly related to film I was asked to moderate a discussion with author Jason Zinoman, a critic and reporter who writes for the New York Times, regarding his book Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, ConqueredHollywood, and Invented Modern Horror. It is an excellent book that details the likes of famous horror directors like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and Roman Polanski. His tales of the dark side of the New Hollywood coin of the 1970s is fascinating and really puts in perspective the early makings of the genre came to be. Zinoman has mentioned to me that he will have some short film clips from back in the day of a certain screenwriter of a certain sci-fi horror movie I consider to be one of the greatest films of all time.
Video: Jason Zinoman reads an excerpt from his book Shock Value.

Please come to the Arkansas Literary Festival and come to our discussion of Jason Zinoman’s book on Saturday, April 14, 10:00 a.m. on the 1st floor of the Main Library downtown. Check out the schedule here for other panels, workshops, and presenters you might be interested in like Arkansas native Jenny Wingfield who wrote the script to the Reese Witherspoon film The Man In The Moon and for all you visual artists, I’d also recommend the Graphic Novels & Comics panel too.

With less than a week away from the submission deadline for Made in Arkansas, many filmmakers barely have time to lock a picture edit, much less a teaser or trailer, but luckily some interesting ones have been popping up on the interwebs. Movie marketing 101 is have a good trailer. Posters are cool and great conversation starters, but nothing clues your prospective audience in on what your film is about and gives a glimpse of your auteur genius like a well made trailer. When people are deciding what movies they want to see usually their first instinct is to watch the trailer. A good trailer can be the savior or destroyer of a film. I’m thinking of the recently released Prometheus trailer from Alien filmmaker Ridley Scott. That’s a badass trailer and consequently the buzz for the film is through the roof. The quality of the film as a whole is yet to be seen, but you cannot deny the slick, mysterious appeal of that trailer. I’m obsessed with that ending music. So creepy.

 

Most trailers usually end up being 2-3 minutes for a feature film, giving attention to the plot points hopefully without spoiling the best scenes (don’t you hate when you feel you’ve already seen a movie based on the trailer or got all the funny jokes before you go to the theater?). Doing a trailer for a short film can be trickier because you have less footage to glean from and most short films only contain a one act structure so it’s easy to give away too much so a teaser or 60 second or less trailer with maybe just one shot or a series of quick, ambiguous shots might work better.

Compare two films I mentioned in one of my Screen gems column for the Dem-Gaz. Sarah Jones UCA Graduate Thesis short film John Wayne’s Bed is approximately a 30 minute short versus Trenton Mynatt’s Greed, undergraduate short film which I assume will be about half the running time.

I hope both of these films are planning on submitting to the Made in Arkansas category of the Little Rock Film Festival as the entry fee is waved for local filmmakers (that’s pretty rare in festivals). Go to withoutabox right now and register and get your films in before the deadlines! If you have any questions email me at levi@littlerockfilmfestival.org. I do not program the Arkansas films but I can help you with any questions you have about submitting. Hope to see your films on the big screen during the festival.

MAJOR HOLLYWOOD MOTION PICTURE TO FILM IN ARKANSAS

Award winning native Arkansan Jeff Nichols to bring his next feature film home.

OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG MALE TEEN TO AUDITION
FOR A CO-STARRING ROLE!

We are looking to cast “Neckbone” in Arkansas!  He should be , Caucasian, 13-17 years old whose life experiences in a rural environment results in a hard edge and survival instinct.  This role requires that he be comfortable in boats and water.  Other outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and motor biking would be ideal.

This role is also auditioning in other states and Los Angeles.  As proud Arkansans this is an opportunity to showcase what The Natural State has to offer.  Spread the word; encourage all who fit description to make application immediately.

We are also looking to cast “May Pearl” in Arkansas as well.  She should be Caucasian, 15-17, a small town girl with natural beauty.

In addition casting will include approximately 400 actors, extras and stand-ins.

Interested parties may refer to the casting website to make application: wwwARFilmCasting.com.   There you will find all instructions.     If you do not have Internet access, you may mail a non-returnable photograph along with all contact information to Mud Casting, 802 West 8th Street, Little Rock, AR 72201.
Please include age and height.

An open call will be announced within a few days.  It is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 14th with a Little Rock location.

“Mud” written and to be directed by Nichols will begin filming this fall
in central and south Arkansas.  It is a coming of age drama centered on two fourteen year old boys (Ellis and Neckbone) who encounter a mysterious fugitive (Mud) on an island in the Mississippi River.  Intrigued by this man, the boys enter a pact to help him escape capture.  A friendship evolves as Mud teaches the boys as much as he learns from them.

This is Jeff Nichols third feature film.  The award winning “Shotgun Stories” is followed by “Take Shelter”,  scheduled for release in October by Sony Pictures Classics.  “Take Shelter” won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize and the Fipresci Award at the renowned Cannes Film Festival in May 2011, and is featured on many critics’ lists of likely Academy Award contenders.

What is the 48?

The 48 Hour Film Project is a two-day event in which teams of filmmakers around the globe get together to write, shoot, and edit a five-seven minute short film after being given a prop, line of dialogue, character and a genre in only 48 hours.

How do you see the 48 as a positive step for film makers?

The 48 Hour Film Project is great simply for the fact that it provides an opportunity for filmmakers or individuals to experience what its like to make a film and actually have something to show after the process. The 48 Hour can lead filmmakers to other festivals, form great relationships with other artists and even create material for demo reels. There are really countless reasons why an event like this is good for the film community but any excuse to force yourself to create something is good in my opinion.

What is involved with the competition?

The process of the 48 Hour Film Project involves the Kick-Off event which is August 19 when team leaders or a representative from the team must be at the Kick-Off (Argenta Community Theater) to receive instructions or the rules for making the film. Then teams are given two days to concept, shoot, score, and cut together a short film and have it back by the following Sunday at the time provided during the Kick-Off.

After the films are received, they will be organized and screened at the theater for anyone who wants to attend where an audience award ballot will be handed out to tally the top 10 films from the Little Rock group.

After three days of screening, an Award Ceremony will follow where we will screen the top 10 Audience films and hand out awards for Best Film, Best Writing, etc…

The Best Film chosen will go on to represent Little Rock at Filmapalooza at the Taos Shortz Film Festival in Taos, New Mexico.

What advice would you give to first time competitors?

Plan ahead. Make sure you have your actors, equipment, and possible locations available before the Kick-Off. I would also say don’t underestimate the importance of good audio. I’ve seen teams in year’s past produce great looking films only to screen poorly because the audience couldn’t hear what was going on. Get a microphone. Check your levels in post.

I’ll also say that teams should make sure they have all the criteria met before packing away their equipment. Is that line of dialogue exactly the way you wrote it down. Double check everything. You’d hate to miss out on an award because you thought it was an E instead of an S on the last name as an example.

Finally, never assume you have all the time in the world. I’ve heard from countless teams over the years who said they finished shooting early so everyone went home to sleep a few hours or go to breakfast only to come back and not leave enough time for rendering or converting the footage. Take breaks and sleep by all means but do so in sessions where someone is always working on something. Have your editor sleep for two days straight if you have to but make sure as soon as you’re done shooting they are working nonstop to get that DVD or USB drive out the door as soon as possible.

And always, always get some sleep before the weekend.

Do you have to form a team to participate?

You do not have to be a team leader to participate in 48 Hour. In fact a lot of people who participate join teams they just met. We will be having a meetup the day before the Kick-Off at Flying Saucer on Thursday August 18 where individuals without a team can go and find teams. You can also post something about yourself on the 48 Hour Film page with your specific talent or skill, advertising yourself to teams.

For more information or to register a team go to www.48hourfilm.com/littlerock

Team Arkansas Times, a long time frontrunner in the 48 hour film festival, comes out swinging with a video posted on Youtube Friday. The video is obviously a challenge to one and all to end their reign in the contest.

Do you have what it takes to take on the self imposed team to beat?

Register here.

http://www.48hourfilm.com/littlerock/

Film Logline: An ambitious artist struggling with the source of her
inspiration finds help from an obsessive record collector in the search
for her estranged father’s lost music.

We are looking for (2) lead and (16) supporting actors, as well as
featured and background extras.

ACTORS: CONTACT US FOR APPOINTMENT TIMES
Email: casting@45RPMmovie.com
Subject line: Little Rock Audition
Include: resume, headshot, and any online links

Walk-ins may audition but appointments will be seen first and give priority.

If you would like a chance to be an extra in the film, you do not have to
audition! Please attend to sign-up and be photographed.

Auditions will be held at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 S.
Louisiana, Little Rock, AR
Saturday July 16th starting at 11am

Filming is scheduled for September 2011
Shoot Dates TBA

For all descriptions, sides, and directions visit: www.45RPMmovie.com/casting

If you have a project, film news, or any rumors on film you would like to mention email me at David@dogtownpictureshow.com