Equipped with nothing more than a camera, a prop and a script line, students competing in the University Film Organization’s 48 hour film competition will race this weekend to create what they hope to be short film masterpieces.
The competition is an event held by UFO every semester. The competition will begin on Friday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. and will come to and end at the same time on Sunday, Nov. 11, 48 hours later.
On Friday, those participating in the competition will meet in room 105 of South Hall to learn the guidelines. The participants, often in teams, will have 48 hours to create, shoot, and edit their very own short film. In determining the make-up of their film, they will all be randomly selecting their film’s three key elements – a genre, a line, and a prop, to center their film around.
“It’s a great exercise in film making because it forces you to be spontaneous,” said Emily Berens, president of the University Film Organization.
Spontaneity will indeed be evident in the short films as the participants will be given three basic and brief elements and are expected to center a film around them.
The 48 hour film competition largely resembles many national film competitions, and directly corresponds with the University Film Organization’s mission statement which stresses trying to create and sustain a vibrant and thriving film community here on campus. This competition and the organizations annual film festival go a long way each year in maintaining Bowling Green’s film community.
The last time the 48 hour film competition came to the University it was won by a group led by Nicole Floyd, a freshman at BGSU. Floyd was honored to be selected as the competition’s winner, and to this day still cannot believe she won.
Floyd’s group received a “silent” film genre, a joint as their prop, and “that’s not what I mean” as their line.
Her group successfully hit on each of their three elements, and defeated eight other groups, a total of 30 other people.
Around 13 people have already signed up to participate and nearly 50 people have shown interest in the competition. Among those who have confirmed they will compete is Stephen Hildreth, a senior at BGSU.
“Film is the ultimate medium. From an aesthetic standpoint, I don’t think it would be possible to do this project well,” Hildreth said. He has entered the competition before and is saddened by the prospect of this being the last time he competes, as he is expecting to graduate in December.
The University Film Organization is run year round and encourages students to actively participate in film and video projects. The 48 hour film competition is a chance for the organization to gain publicity and show the University what they have been accomplishing. The organization offers screenings on a regular basis, times and locations are available on the their Web site and anyone interested is encouraged to participate.
The final screening for the 48 hour film competition will be held Tuesday at nine o’clock. The University Film Organization does not yet know the location, but the decision should be made public by Friday. The screening generally draws around 100 students and community members and a good turn out is expected once again, Berens said.
