The 48 Hour Film Project Columbus, 2024
Nearly one year after our last 48 Hour Film Project, we entered the Columbus 48 Hour Film Project 2024. Could we repeat (what we thought was) the success of 2023? Could we be better??
Who Donut? video thumbnail.

First Improvement: Start More Fresh (and Earlier)

We’re supposed to get smarter as we get older, right? Last year I tired myself out on Friday, loading the equipment, driving to Cincinnati, unloading everything (with help!) and then starting setup. All before we started in earnest at 7 PM.

This time, I loaded up on Thursday, drove to our filming site in Cincinnati earlier on Friday. I was able to unload and unpack and even get a short nap!

As for earlier… well, you can’t start until you have the assignment, but since we were doing the Columbus event, but filming in Cincinnati, we had one person pick up the assignment while we got everyone else organized for a 7 PM start.

And then… Story Time!

We brainstormed story ideas and we had a few good ones. It was very hard to pick. The best idea was from Jackson Coates, but we thought it couldn’t be done in 7 mintes. We settled on a mystery from the brain of Julia Brown that would start serious and then go quite silly.

The assignment, recorded on a piece of paper at the Columbus 48HFP 2024 kickoff event.

We thought the writing would be pretty easy, and we were wrong. The devil was in the details. The writing team (Julia Brown, Terry D. Coates, Eva Cole, and Alexander Wey) took far longer than last year to sort it all out, but part of that was because we were laughing to much, so hard.

We tried to use AI, but it struggled with the intricacies as much as we did and we finally gave up on it. We ended up with a script that was just over 7 pages, but during the Saturday morning table read, it timed out okay.

Filming

With only two locations, setups would be easier than last year’s 5-location shoot, Ripe for the Pickin’. But there were a lot of quick takes and different camera angles in the kitchen scene, so that complicatd things. But the new gimbal and Jackson’s deft handling of it, really helped. The interrogation scene, once we set it up, was a piece of cake by comparison.

The final scene had to wait for the weather to cooperate, but we wrapped by sunset.

Editing

The Blessing sisters (Joye Bauer, Pamela Blessing and Patricia A. Blessing) scrubbed through music choices while Terry edited. The rest of the crew watched the Paris Olympics until the started dropping off. There was one technical error that cost some time editing, but the rough cut was done by 2 AM on Sunday morning.

Final editing took place back in Columbus, where the transitions, titles, credits and music were laid in. The final cut (with one error in the credits–sorry Joye!) was submitted with just under 4 minutes to spare.

The Result?

Well, sure, there are some things we would do differently, but all-in-all it came out okay. I guess we’ll see if anyone laughs at the premiere!

What’s Next?

Next we’ll attend the “World Premiere” at the Grandville Theater in Columbus. Tickets are on sale at the Grandview Theater website. Our film will screen in Group A, begining at 4 PM on Sunday, August 18th.

Our film will be screened with 11 other fims in our Group, but we will be competing against all other teams in the Columbus 48 Hour Film Project in 2024. Watch this space for a recap!

Who Donut? – Team Photo

The Terminal Velocity Team

Left to right: Thad Bauer, Nicole Bauer, Patricia A. Blessing, Pamela Blessing, Joye Bauer, Mike Blessing, Jackson Coates, Julia Brown, Terry D. Coates
Not pictured: Alex Wey, Eva Cole.

Who Donut? – Behind the Scenes

Nicole Bauer strikes a sassy pose during her interrogation by Detective Harper.
On the set of Who Donut, Julia Brown get spritzed for that sweaty look.

The interrogation room was fun to film. On the left, Brittany (Nicole Bauer) strikes a sassy, defiant pose when being interviewed by Detective Harper (Patricia A. Blessing). On the right Veronica (Julia Brown) gets spritzed for that sweaty, nervous look.

Who Donut? – Production Stills

Trevor (Mike Blessing) in the interrogation room.
Veronica (Julia Brown) in the interrogation room.
Brittany (Nicole Bauer) in the interrogation room.
Linda (Pamela Blessing) in the interrogation room.

Shots from the Interrogation room. Top row: Trevor (Mike Blessing), Veronica (Julia Brown)
Bottom row: Brittany (Nicole Bauer), Linda (Pamela Blessing).

The bowl is knocked off the table.

The bowl is knocked off the table.
But who actually knocked it off?

The cast leaves the house.

Shot from the final scene: Everyone leaves.
Left to right: Detective Harper (Patricia A. Blessing), Trevor (Mike Blessing), Brittany (Nicole Bauer), Linda (Pamela Blessing).

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