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
  • Poppy Jasper Film Festival Placement
  • ArtShots Returns
San Jose Awards
The awards for the 2011 San Jose 48 Hour Film Project are official. You can see them here at our City Page, or read a writeup at the See It Online blog along with judges biographies. The awards ceremony on Sept 10 was a big hit with candidate filmmakers turning out in force. This year we published a Twitter stream live from the show for filmmakers and fans who could not be there in person. The tweet activity can be seen collected at this page. Even if you were there, you might be interested to see what folks were tweeting from the theater.

National Film Challenge
Some competitive filmmakers cannot get enough of the game — so there’s the National Film Challenge, a sister competition to the 48HFP. Registration is open now and the competition weekend is Oct 21-24. Filmmakers can register right here, and film fans will want to sign up for updates so that you can see the films when they are completed. Or if you prefer, connect on Facebook to be a part of the conversation that surrounds this worldwide event.

48 Hour Film Project Machinima
Your event production team at the San Jose 48HFP couldn’t bear to see the filmmakers have all the fun, so we put together a team to submit an entry in the Machinima 48 Hour Film Project. According to the rules, our film could not compete for jury awards, but that was perfectly fine with us. Veteran 48HFP team leaders will tell you that the process and the experience of sharing the film with the audience are the really big prizes.

You can see the film we submitted along with the other astounding things that people create in machinima by attending the screening on Saturday, Oct 1. To attend, simply download the free software from Second Life and sign up for a free account. Details about the location will be available on the Machinima City page when they are official.

Poppy Jasper Film Festival Placement
Several of the films created for the San Jose competition will be seen by audiences at the Poppy Jasper Film Festival in October. MovieMaker Magazine called the Poppy Jasper “One of the top 25 festivals for bringing filmmakers and movie industry professionals together..“

We’re proud to announce that these films will open the program at screenings throughout the festival weekend (Oct 14-16).
  • The Pile – Chikinbone
  • Stuffed – Square Marden
  • Give Me A Sign – South Bay Shooters
  • Dead Weight Man – Five by Five Films
  • Moonlight – EyeQ Films
  • Frank, The Genie, and the Golden Colt – Stabbin’ My Jelly!
Stay in touch with us through our Facebook page for news about showtimes so you can be there yourself!

ArtShots Returns
ArtShots is a filmmaking competition that pairs up filmmakers with prominent artists and arts organizations to make a short sizzle reel. Filmmakers who competed in the 2010 ArtShots competition had the opportunity to work closely with established artists such as the San Jose Symphony Chorale and power folk band Tin Cat.
We say that musicians and artists are the filmmakers’ resource for enhancing the fabric of your story on screen. So this competition gives artists and arts organizations a chance to be known, and filmmakers a chance to work with talented artists who might be perfect for the next project.

This year, arts and film community leaders in cities beyond the Silicon Valley have asked to have the competition include them. As a result, you can expect it to gain higher visibility than before. Filmmakers will be able to register for the competition beginning in the first week of October. Stay tuned to  our Facebook page for official details.

48HFP Filmmakers Don’t Sleep
Some of you don’t sleep during your competition weekend, and we’re committed to responding by continuing to remain alert for opportunities to offer you chances to get your work in front of audiences. Be sure and drop us a note if you see something you think we might try to get more eyeballs on your films. We’d love to hear from you.
Vincent Lowe – Producer San Jose 48 Hour Film Project
Like our Facebook Page – We give stuff away!
Website: http://48hourfilm.com/sanjose
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sj48hfp 

National Film Challenge Launches

National Film ChallengeEach 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 of the 100+ cities worldwide, and teams that ARE close enough, but missed the chance this year, and teams that DID compete and just can’t get enough…

All of them are welcome to participate in this sister competition. Films that are submitted compete for cash prizes, a chance to be screened at Filmapalooza and seen by a film festival audience.

Oh, and just to demonstrate a little compassion, the filmmakers in this competition have a full 72 hours to complete the film. (That’s 33% than the 48 Hour Film Project!)

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 jude named “Sherlock Berman.”

This is the movie they made in just One Weekend under those conditions.

Their entry in the 2011 competition (The Pile) is a finalist for the Audience Choice Award. You can see the film and discover the winner of the award at the Highlights and Awards Show.

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 from the 2011 Go Green competition brought home an Audience Choice award.

You can see their latest competitive entry with a live audience at the Highlights and Awards show. Tickets are available here.

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 dozen other top entries. Tickets are available here.

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 Santa Cruz Singer/Songwriter Amy Obenski.

This year, EyeQ is nominated for Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing for their submission “Moonlight.”

You can see it yourself if you plan to attend the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project Awards Show on Saturday night.

And by the way, if you enjoyed Amy’s music, you can help her out by downloading one of her tracks (for free) from the popchips’ Popup Live Music Festival. Download her song constitutes a vote for her and helps her win an invitation to South by Southwest next year in Austin.

San Jose 48 Hour Film Project Awards

That time has come.

Saturday, Sep 10
7:30pm to 10:00pm
San Jose 48 Hour Film Project Awards Show
Theater on San Pedro Square
29 N San Pedro St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Tickets Here

On Saturday night, September 10th at 7:30pm the lights will come up on the very fiercely competitive San Jose 48 Hour Film Project. The audience will see over a dozen of the top films from the competition. Filmmakers will be presented with awards for Audience Choice, Best Film, and a whole lot more.

The show is at Theater on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. This beautiful facility has been the home in the past for the 2010 San Jose Awards show as well as the Awards Show for the 2010 ArtShots competition.

Nominees and finalists for the awards are announced elsewhere here. There are a number of additional awards to be presented that are not in the listing. Hard work and excellence showed up all over the submissions this year. There is a great deal to acknowledge and recognize.

Whether you are one of the competing filmmakers or a fan of short film and the arts, this will be a great place to be on Saturday night. We hope to see you there.

If you are one of the community filmmakers or activists who uses social media heavily, please consider helping us to spread the word about this event. It would contribute if you can take any of these actions:

  • Visit our Facebook event listing and RSVP
  • Share the Facebook event listing with appropriate friends and audience
  • Share this blog post on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+
  • Use the #48hfp tag in Twitter updates about the show
  • When you purchase a ticket, share the link with your Facebook or Twitter friends

Any of these actions can help us spread the word about the hard work and amazing accomplishments of these filmmakers.

San Jose 48HFP Jury returns

The jury has returned with its results and soon the winners will be known.

These are the finalists in several categories for which awards will be given this year.

The finalists are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Film:
Give Me A Sign – South Bay Shooters
Moonlight – EyeQ Films
One Man’s Trash – Surfin’ Kitty Productions
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly

Best Direction:
Dead Weight Man – Five by Five Films
Give Me A Sign – South Bay Shooters
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly

Best Acting (Male):
Terry Lamb (Mr. Miles) in Moonlight – EyeQ Films
Gian-Alberto Perez (Dead Weight Man) in Dead Weight Man – Five by Five Films
Andy Sims (Ian Jeffers) in Oh Negative – Ovation pictures

Best Acting (Female):
Sarah Smith (Ian Jeffers’ Girlfriend) in Give Me A Sign – South Bay Shooters
Janine Burgener (Samantha) in Oh Negative – Ovation pictures
Doll Piccotto (Sabrina) in Oh Negative – Ovation pictures

Best Screenplay:
Oh Negative – Ovation Pictures
One Man’s Trash – Surfin’ Kitty Productions
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly

Best Cinematography:
Moonlight – EyeQ Films
One Man’s Trash – Surfin’ Kitty Productions
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly

Best Ensemble Acting:
Loose Cannons – 10 Count Films
Oh Negative – Ovation Pictures
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly

Best Editing:
Moonlight – EyeQ Films
R-Cubed – Pigs Might Fly
Roll Bottle Roll – Story Cake

Best Visual Effects:
Moonlight – EyeQ Films
Roll Bottle Roll – Story Cake
Stuffed – Square Marden

Best Choreography:
Loose Cannons – 10 Count Films
Roll Bottle Roll – Story Cake
Stuffed – Square Marden

Best Costumes:
Animal Style – Playground Pictures
Dead Weight Man – Five by Five Films
Second Chance – Team Hot Shots

Best Makeup:
Loose Cannons – 10 Count Films
The Medium – Electric Elephant Productions
One Man’s Trash – Surfin’ Kitty Productions

The awards will be presented on Saturday, Sept 10th at theTheater on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. (Tickets are available here.)