Woody Cavenaugh

These were the "Group B" films shown more or less in alphabetical order by team name, there was one exception, one teams entry didn't get into the program, and was tacked onto the end. One thing I noticed about the official 48 Hour Film Project trailer was that at the end they thanked the Screen Actor's Guild. Why? Money didn't change hands anywhere, so the union shouldn't really care, I mean except for the part where they feel like actors should make a flat million dollars a minute fee (Unless someone misses a meal, has to work late, or is asked to do something uncomfortable, then they get more.) The screen actor's guild is a lot like The Empire, and the 48 Hour Film Project is sort of like Cloud City. Its a small operation that the Empire really isn't all that interested in. (Unless it suddenly has some sort of stragegic advantage like trapping Jedi or something). This is another discussion for another time.

Lets talk movies! First off I have to say that "Group B" on a whole was better than "Group A" and once again the bar was raised into the atmosphere. If "Group C" continues the trend, next year will be completely mindblowing.

Synthetic by Bonnie and Clyde Productions. The night started off with a bang, almost literally as this film walked the tightrope between gay stereotyping and chauvinism with a big old scoop of Kevin Smith for inspiration. It was cute, funny, edgy and origional. Where they lost out was the technical side, makeup, lights, sound, one scene they forgot to white balance and their actresses looked like zombies. Did they nail Kevin Smith, absolutely not. Did they nail their comedy genre, oh yes. I made this my third pick based on script alone.

Organized Art by Good As A Mugg. These guys won big last year and I see no reason so far why they won't do it again this year. The difference is this year will be a little harder for them due to everyone else stepping up. Did it have problems? Thankfully, yes. I was completely confused and ended up having to try to read my program by the light of my tablet to figure out what genre they had. Finally, they revealed that it was mockumentary and the mob guys were talking to a film crew and not to other mobsters. Once that confusion was out of the way, I laughed and laughed and laughed. After the initial confusion, it proved to be a very solid technical piece with a funny script, and good actors. I gave this film my second pick. This team is sure to take home an award or several again this year.

Where Are the Flying Cars by The Mes. I think this must have been one of this group's first film attempts, and for that it wasn't bad. Credit where credit is due, it was really risky to drive all the way to Nags Head to film a one minute sequence, but it was worth it as it really added to the film's production value. There were huge problems in many places, but for a group of newbies it was a good solid start.

The Super Best Buds by Nexus. Five kids between the ages of 13 and 16 make a superhero movie. In parts I found it embarassing to watch(I remember being that age all too well), but I couldn't deny this group of friends have unlimited potential and one day they will surpass everything we've seen so far in the 48 Hour Film Project. Greensboro needs a filmmaking summercamp for these guys and others like them. I'd volunteer to help.

Silo by Pure Energy Productions. Buddy movie? How can you make a buddy movie when one of the buddies is a ghost and the other is being murdered??? This was a team with a good idea, that needed a tripod and a script revision.

Scarred by See-Saw Productions. They drew horror, and drew upon the relatively recent advances in Japanese horror movie style. I was on the fence with this one after I saw it, and made a note that said so. However, unlike a film I saw last night, the more I thought about this one the more I liked it. They cleverly solved the whole actor problem by having no real dialogue, and only flashes of two people. Where these guys really shined was in the editing room, and though they had a couple of render problems, and some messed up sound it was technically very sound. I could have easily given this my number three pick, and probably would have had I been given an hour to think about it before I voted.

Strangers by Sweaty Tooth Madman. I hated that they opened with some pretty bad graphic's problems, but it didn't take me long to forget about it. This was the film where afterwards we all sat around and tried to figure out what the story was about. Rednecks, sex changes, huh? Not too shabby on the technical side, they had real problems with sound that either happened during shooting or in post, and a few of the handheld shots made me want to hurl, but overall it wasn't too bad. This film wasn't eligable for judging because they went way over in time. I felt like they wanted more time to tell their story, but I think a different editor and director could've told the same story in less time. This team is destined for better in the competitions to come.

The Gift Team Underexposed. What a wild ride! A great deal of stuff happened in seven minutes and it managed not to come off as rushed. The overall production value was so high that the one tiny technical error I saw that most of the audience completely missed crushed my soul. This was a team who like only one of the other teams tonight made the conscious decision to sacrifice nothing in their 48 hours. It was clear that every job in this production was filled by someone who was dedicated not only to the film as a whole but in excellence in the roll they played in it as well. I went back and forth on this one a little but in the end I gave this film my #1 pick. I can't imagine this film not winning something, and with so many excellent elements, its just a matter of the judges picking which element they want to single out the most.

Unforced Entry by Carolina Dream Team. These were essentially first time filmmakers giving a good honest try at the competition. Their story was pretty good, even if I was lost at the ending. Maybe I was supposed to be confused, they did choose mystery. They obviously didn't have much equipment, and what they had they really weren't comfortable with using. I suspect that if they had had an extra six hours in post production they could have fixed 90% of what was wrong and I hope that they will go back and reedit their piece not only for practice but to use in other competitions.

So my voted on picks were "The Gift", "Organized Art" and "Synthetic". Had I had another hour to think about it I would've switched "Scarred" with "Synthetic", but I do not by any means regret my decisions.

Over everything I have seen in the past two days, my picks would be "The Gift", "Organized Art", and "Unhinged: The Sly Stephen's Story". But I am not 100% certain in what order I would place them.

If you are free tonight, come out to the Carousel theater to catch the "Group C" films at either 6:30pm or 8:30pm, if these past two nights are any indication, you will not be disappointed.

Or if the weekend is more your thing, come out to the Sky Bar at 7pm on Saturday the 30th for the awards ceremony. The "Best Overall" award will be given at 9pm with the technical awards going first. Who knows, maybe they will be able to show the winners. (Hear that Ed and Nisha?)