By Emily Salvatori, Assistant Editor
The 48-Hour Film Fest took place from Sept. 15 to Sept 17. Participants met on Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. to draw a genre, a prop, a character and a line of dialogue for their group.
Jared Thompson said, “I am so pleased with the event this year. We had 5 very successful films created. Each team worked extremely hard to beat the clock and complete their film, and it was evident in their work. We had a great turnout at the theater which speaks volumes as to the support that these students receive.”
On Sept. 17, the films were screened at Marquee Cinemas at the Highlands.
Thompson said, “Our 3 judges this year were Tim Long, Production Manager for Em Media, Danielle Cross McCracken, President of Oglebay Institute, and our very own President, Dr. Stephen Greiner.”
There were two categories, one for high school and college.
In second place for high school were students Blake McNeely, Holden Farnsworth and Shane McCready from Linsly. The title of their film was “Mr. Duncan Didn’t Expect That.” The high school first place winners were Wheeling Central students Daniel O’Leary, Alex Magruder and Jack Stryker. The title was “Refresh.”
There were also awards for best use of elements in the film. The awards for best use of dialogue and best use of genre went to Wheeling Central. The awards for best use of character and best use of prop went to Linsly.
Jacob Wood and Jonah Estep placed third for their film, “Zero to Hero.” Corey Knollinger and Josee Robertson placed second for their film, “Stay Positive.” The first place winners were Megan Sayre and Kellsi Anderson for their film, “Introspection.”
Sayre and Anderson also won the awards for best use of dialogue and best use of genre. Knollinger and Robertson won awards for best use of character and best use of prop.
Sayre, winner of the 48-Hour Film Fest, said, “I wrote, produced, directed, filmed, and edited my film from start to finish, which is a lot of pressure to complete in only 48 hours. The chaos involved with the time limit helped me thrive. There was basically no pre-planning beforehand, besides knowing what actors and equipment you have available to use, so a lot of it was up in the air until the event kickoff at 5:00 on Friday when I drew my 4 random elements of a genre, prop, character profile, and line of dialogue.”
“I luckily was able to weave my 4 elements into a cohesive storyline, and each one became a key piece of the puzzle in my story. Friday was mostly spent writing. I somehow came up with the beginning and plot twist at end of my story in about 20 minutes, and then had to connect the plot in between through the night,” said Sayre. “Saturday had a few setbacks in the morning, but was spent shooting through the afternoon and editing until early Sunday morning. The rest of Sunday was for finishing touches before the premiere at the Highlands. Time management was vital.”
It was Sayre’s first time participating in this competition. She said, “It was a great feeling to win first place in the competition, and have my hard work pay off. I set out to create something original and unlike anything else I ever have before, and I am proud to have accomplished that. My goal was to at least place, and with it being my first time competing I definitely did not expect to win.”
You can watch the winning films at the website or on Vimeo.
Photos provided by Jared Thompson
