Our 48 Hour Film Project Trailer

This weekend I experienced the most rewarding and challenging filmmaking experience of my career: the Atlanta leg of the 48 Hour Film Project. I and a rag-tag team of fugitive filmmakers had just 48 hours to conceive, write, shoot and edit a high quality short film. Words cannot quite describe what it was like to take up a challenge like this. But I’ll do my best.

There were quite a bit of firsts for me:

• First time I’ve participated in a 48 hour film competition
• The first time shooting with Zeiss CP.2 cinema lens (more on this experience in a later post)
• First time working with a crew this size
• First time producing and completing a personal film project since starting my company nine years ago

Each team had to pick a genre at random, then were given three elements which had to be incorporated:

• A book
• The character Tom (or Tina) Goodwin, a consultant
• The line of dialog “When will she be here?”

Our genre was sci fi. (Boo-yah!) At first I was nervous about how we’d make a sci fi film in only 48 hours. We didn’t have access to any cool, sci fi props and there were no After Effects gurus on our team to make cool effects. But, in the vein of films like “Never Let Me Go” or George Lucas’s “THX 1138,” we came up with a concept that was simple, yet powerful and poignant. And we were able to work in an important message to boot. (It wouldn’t be a Ron Dawson film otherwise).

Undertaking an experience like this is grueling to say the least. I think I got maybe 5 hours sleep total over the weekend. But I love the film we created. Given the conditions, I think it’s a masterful job, and I owe it to my incredible cast and crew (see below). But I have to give special props and thanks to my beloved wife Tasra who, in addition to co-producing the film with me, was an amazing hostess to our cast and crew, was craft services, and kept me inspired and on track for the weekend.

Over the next few days I’ll be sharing some valuable filmmaking lessons we took away from this project, including: recruiting cast and crew, collaboration, legal clearances, music, and more. So be sure to stay tuned.

PLEASE COME SEE THE FILM

The world wide premiere of our film is this Saturday, June 18, at 9:45 pm. It will be shown at The Plaza Atlanta, 1049 Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA 30306. If you’re in the Atlanta area, please come by and bring your friends. Tickets are only $10. We’d love to win the audience prize, so come and vote. Our film will be shown with the 15 other teams in our group (there were over 50 teams all together that participated). Click here to purchase tickets.

WATCH THE TRAILER

We can’t post the film online until after the official screening. But here’s just a taste.

If you can’t see the video in your RSS reader or email, click here.

I can’t thank my cast and crew enough. Remember, stay tuned this week for valuable lessons.

Cast
Evelyn – Caroline Avery Granger
Tom Goodwin – Danny Williams
The Boss – Phil Stevens
Voice of Assistant – Clay Patterson
Oracle – Annette Buisman

Crew
Produced & Directed by
Ron Dawson

Written by
Ron Dawson
Megan Gruver
Zac Lovelace
Lewis Moats

Co-Producer
Tasra Dawson

Director of Photography
Robert Bryce Milburn

Line Producer/AD
Amy Stephenson

Edited by
Ron Dawson
Robert Bryce Milburn

Story Development Team
Ron Dawson
Tasra Dawson
Megan Gruver
Aaron Guiberteau
Zac Lovelace
Lewis Moats
Clay Patterson

Assistant Camera/Gaffer
Jena Jones
Pike Rincon
Phil Stevens

Behind the Scenes
Jena Jones

Art Department/Set Design
Ron Dawson
Tasra Dawson
Megan Gruver
Robert Bryce Milburn
Pike Rincon

Original Score
Ryan Fraley

Set Medic/Driver
John Guiberteau

Script Supervisor
Elizabeth Guiberteau

PA’s
Angie Guiberteau
Aaron Guiberteau

Set Photographer
Tasra Dawson

Special thanks to
Whitestone Motion Pictures
The Decisive Moment
Joth Riggs
Shari Zellars

This film was made for the 48 Hour Film Project
48hourfilm.com