On Friday, Feb. 15, representatives from 16 different film production groups crowded in East Lansing’s
(SCENE) Metrospace. At 6 p.m., they were each given an envelope that contained the information they were waiting for: a theme (naughty or nice), a prop (flashlight), a location (coffeehouse), and a line of dialogue (“I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers”).
These were the elements that each group had to incorporate into a five-minute film that they were to write, shoot and edit within the next 48 hours.
Two days later, on Sunday, February 17, the sleep-deprived, adrenaline-stoked teams raced to put the final touches on their films in order to make it back to (SCENE) Metrospace by 6 p.m. to turn in their finished product.
By Tuesday, the films were judged, the winners were announced and Mid-Michigan film buffs crowded the East Lansing
Hannah Community Center to get a peak of short-form, fast-paced genius.
And that, in a nutshell, is how
East Lansing Film Festival’s (ELFF)'s popular 48/5 film contest works.
Little time. Lots of work. Loads of talent.
Lansing’s IndependentsHeidi Gustad, a film studies major at
Michigan State University (MSU) and a native of Fargo, North Dakota, (“Like the movie”), directs the program, is so popular that they are adding a Summer 48/5 contest as well.
Gustad says one major attraction to the East Lansing 48/5 film series is cost. “It’s a lot more affordable,” she says. While competitions in major cities usually require entry fees around $200, ELFF only charges $50 ($75 if you enter the day before the competition).
It’s also a fun challenge for the area’s many filmmakers.
Just ask Jason Gabriel, who took first place in this year’s spring competition with his team “Best. Little. Ever. Strikes Back.” (a reprisal of Gabriel’s winning team from the previous fall, “Best. Little. Ever.”).
Gabriel felt the competition was tougher this time around. “I thought maybe we’d place second or third,” he says. His team’s film, a comedy about Santa’s elves called “
Off Season,” was shot entirely in Lansing, at
Gone Wired Café and
Ahptic Productions.
Gabriel decided to get into video production five years ago when he was living in Texas and working in technical support. The idea came to him when he was watching commercials on television and decided he could do better.
Born in Detroit, Gabriel decided to move back to Michigan two years ago, and currently works as a freelance videographer, shooting commercials in the capital area. He says the decision to settle in Lansing was an easy one: besides having family here, the Capital city had other attractions.
“Lansing is the hub of the state,” he says. He believes that the mix of natural and urban settings, along with the vibrant culture, makes Lansing an ideal place for his line of work.
“Culture and politics are all tied into film,” he says.
Gabriel feels that people are Lansing’s top asset. The 23 members of “Best. Little. Ever. Strikes Back.” are all people he met through his work in the area, and each filled various roles as writers, camera operators, editors, actors, on the 48/5 film.
“Everyone was willing to be flexible and try new things.”
Gabriel, who lives with his wife, Kelly, an
LCC student, and their baby daughter, Alana, is planning his future in Lansing, including making another short film this summer, and eventually producing a feature.
Like many area filmmakers, he is excited about Michigan film-making incentives that Governor Granholm recently approved.
Under a new law, filmmakers with a budget threshold of $50,000 will receive a 40-percent tax refund. Although Gabriel does not have these kinds of funds yet, he hopes to work his way up to that point. “It’s a new day and age in filmmaking.”
To view Gabriel’s film, click
here.
Regional attractionEight years ago, Dominic Bracco was working as an actor, but decided that he was more interested in what was happening on the other side of the camera. “I wanted more creative control,” he explains. Now he’s an assistant editor at
Mad River Post, a post-production company in Royal Oak, MI.
Bracco, a Detroit area native, produced the second-place film in the spring 48/5 competition, “The Divine Macchiato.”
He recruited his friends Todd Birmingham, James Day, Mason Holiday and Dennis Young, MSU alumni and founders of the production company,
Detroit Films, to join his team.
Bracco drove alone to East Lansing on the evening of Feb. 15. After receiving the list of elements, he called his teammates in Detroit. “By the time I got back, they had thought of a story.”
“The Divine Macchiato,” the story of a modern day Robin Hood, was shot the next day in Hamtramck.
Bracco shoots music videos and commercials with a production company he started called DB Films. This summer he’ll be working on a new short film, “Smile” and collaborating on a commercial for a local brewer.
He’s also gearing up for this summer’s 48/5 and has set a goal to beat Gabriel’s team.
Like Gabriel, Bracco plans to stay in Michigan and take advantage of the new film incentives.
Having briefly lived in Los Angeles, he prefers the more supportive, laid-back atmosphere in Michigan. “Everyone here is professional, creative and down to earth.”
First-time 48/5-er Erick MacDonald took third place in the February festival. The Flint-native made “Hayden,” the story of a ghost who solves crimes, along with Aaron Mayberry and Michael Pointdexter. The three run a production company together called MAE Films.
MacDonald is a design architect, but hopes to eventually make film production his full-time career. Thanks to the film incentives, he believes there will be more and more opportunities in his home state.
“It’s a turning point for Michigan,” he says. “You’re going to see a lot of skilled workers who have been laid off being trained to work in film.”
This summer, MAE Films will be filming a rap tour in the United Kingdom. Although their schedule is quickly filling up, they hope to participate in a future 48/5, and he says his production team is open to the idea of making a future film in the Lansing area. “We love Lansing,” he says.
Anyone interested in entering the next 48/5 does not have to wait until fall.
According to Gustad, ELFF will be having their first ever summer 48/5 during the weekend of July11-13. More information can be found on
elff.com.
Sandra Miska is a freelance writer based in East Lansing who also happens to be a two-time survivor of the 48/5.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Camera at Ahptic Film & Digital
Jason Gabriel
East Lansing Film Festival (ELFF) logo
Marion Cardelli edited the winning film, “Off Season”
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie