Machinima and 48 Hours

A couple of weeks ago, the 48 Hour Film Project took place in a very special town — the town of Machinima. For those unfamiliar, machinima is a form of rapid animation that uses game engines to do the rendering instead of highly specialized software and powerful server farms. One of the most famous machinima [...]

Make it Fast

These guys have been making a movie every weekend for weeks now. In a mere 24 hours (or so) they put together a movie every weekend.   Look — a simple joke, a sleepless weekend, a truckload of fluorescent lights, and a working air pistol — 800,000 YouTube views. Got the memo? It’s longer than [...]

From the San Jose 48HFP Producer

Hello Bay Area 48 Hour Filmmakers and Fans! Although the San Jose competition is complete, there is a lot of great news to share with you. So take a look and see what’s next for Bay Area independent and competitive filmmakers. In this update: San Jose Awards National Film Challenge 48 Hour Film Project Machinima [...]

Is It Still A Phone

The folks at FiLMiC Pro wanted to be sure that we could believe that it’s possible to turn an iPhone into a credible capture device for 24p video. So they did what they knew we’d demand. They showed us. It’s clear they had some fun making this too. If their engineers exhibit as much bravado [...]

National Film Challenge Launches

Each year the 48 Hour Film Project appears in more cities (for 2011 it was over 100 worldwide) and at the end of the competition season, there’s one more big game for competitive filmmakers to play. It’s called the National Film Challenge and it’s open to everyone. So teams that are not close to one [...]

Let There Be Illumination

Long time readers here may have been introduced to Mr. Deity in the past. And if not, here’s a wonderful introduction to this long-running series. It also explains a lot of things I wondered about. It’s always nice to learn how things really happened.

You Gotta Earn It

The folks at Chikinbone Productions have delivered films for the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project for three years running now. In the 2010 competition, they drew Film Noir as their required genre. They were also required to include the line, “You’ve got to earn it.” It was also necessary for them to include a [...]

We Are Positive

The folks at Ovation Pictures are clearly out to entertain. Their entries in the 48 Hour Film Project from as far back as 2006 have consistently polled well with audiences and juries alike. In the 2011 San Jose competition, their film “Oh Negative” garnered best acting nominations for multiple members of their cast. This film [...]

Now Hear This

Longtime independent film competitors Square Marden delivered another top film in the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project. Their entry, “Stuffed” will be screened Saturday night at the Awards and Highlights show. This film was an international finalist in the 2011 Go Green competition. You can see their latest competitive film screen along with a [...]

EyeQ Films Got The Word

The folks at EyeQ Films have been competitors in the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project since it began. In the second year of the San Jose Competition, EyeQ brought home the top award with their film “The Animals.” In between competition seasons, Richie Lopez of EyeQ shot this lovely music video for the talented [...]