Sleepless in Hamilton for V48 Hour Film Festival competitors
Wintec film buffs worked through the weekend to produce short films with little money but huge enthusiasm.
Hundreds of dedicated film makers spent a sleepless weekend participating in the V48 Hour Film Festival.
The festival, now in its ninth year, gives competitors 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a short film covering genres from body-switching to horror to musicals.
On Friday night Wintec student Deborah Fitz-Herbert and her eight-strong all-girl crew were given a genre (one-room film), a character name (Bobby Young), a prop (a piece of wire) and a line (what have you got?) and were asked to construct a three-to-eight minute film.
Their finished product was ‘Rehab this’, a film about a support group for super villains filmed in a one-room set on the Wintec campus.
Film director Deborah Fitz-Herbert said the festival was a bit of fun to relieve the pressures of studying.
“All the other assignments we do are kind of serious and we were like ‘let’s do something different, just for laughs’.
“When we’re working on assignments, it’s kind of one person’s baby, but with [the V48 Hour Challenge] everyone gets involved, it’s not just one person telling everyone else what to do. You kind of feel more proud when you finish it as well because you only had 48 hours. It’s a good sense of achievement.”
Ms Fitz-Herbert said the competition was a good way to become recognized in New Zealand’s film community.
“It’s kind of all the people that are interested in film making in New Zealand just coming together and having a laugh you know? You can actually get quite well known because if you can create a good film in 48 hours then you will be taken seriously in the industry. “
The Hamilton heats run from Monday May 30 to Friday June 3 at Wintec’s Gallagher Hub and will be judged by five of Hamilton’s film buffs including Waikato Times columnist Dr Richard Swainson.
The top 12 shorts will be selected to screen at the city final and the best of the best will be in to win at the Grand National Final later in the year.
