Furious film-makers in final
Many projects can be easily completed in 48 hours but making a film is not one of them.
Sleep is swept aside for the Rialto Channel 48hours Furious Filmmaking Competition.
Running on little more than three hours’ rest a night, Auckland team Chess Club were ‘‘ completely wrecked’’ by the end of their weekend but made it through to the national finals.
‘‘It usually takes about a week to recover,’’ Chess Club member Barnaby Fredric says.
The friends have been entering the competition since 2009 and after six years the hard work, strong coffee and long hours have paid off.
‘‘It’s one of those things you look forward to,’’ Fredric says.
‘‘When you’re doing it you often question if it’s all worth the crazy hours. Afterwards you really appreciate it.’’
More than 800 teams spent May 1 to 3 frantically making an entire film from scratch.
Teams were given the genre at 7pm on the Friday and were responsible for writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack.
Chess Club team member Paul Harrop says being asked to create a musical seemed a daunting task.
‘‘It was a blast,’’ he says. ‘‘ We were worried to begin with but all the songs were epic.’’
Harrop describes the team’s winning entry Bread Winner as a tale of heartbreak, revenge and deceit.
‘‘It’s Les Miserables mixed with Kill Bill for bread,’’ the Mt Roskill resident says.
The group must now bide their time until the national finals on July 4.
Despite making it so far in the competition, Harrop insists winning is not the ultimate goal.
‘‘We are just a group of five guys who do it for fun.
‘‘It’s not just for professional groups who have a big cast and lots of funding. We look back on the whole thing and just think: ‘Wow, that was awesome’.’’