SAU video students compete in film challenge

The weekend of Oct. 5 to 7, students from Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) Department of Communication and Media traveled to East Lansing to compete in the East Lansing Film Festival (ELFF) 48/5 Contest.

According to the ELFF website, the 48/5 contest brings filmmakers together to write, shoot, edit and premiere an original five-minute film in 48 hours. Teams are given three specific elements they must incorporate into their finished film, and to add to the challenge they choose a genre out of a hat.

The students who participated in the contest were members of professor Dorie Shelby’s new class, short form film production. They also invited a few other video-film students, including two freshmen, to join them for the weekend.

“It was a blast,” said Shelby. “I’ve done a lot of 48/5 type contests with lots of groups, but I have never worked with such an organized, talented and efficient group as this one. I gave up my entire weekend, but it was positively delightful.”

For the challenge, the SAU team drew the genre of comedy and, according to senior Evan Jarvi, created “a mix of ‘Arrested Development,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘30 Rock’ all mashed up together” for their story.

“This was the best experience I’ve had in terms of filmmaking collaboration; it really pushed everyone on the team to find their niche and put 110 percent into that one job,” said Jarvi. “For the upperclassmen involved, it was definitely an opportunity to put the skills we’ve learned in our directing classes to work and hone specialized skills in different areas. For the underclassmen, they were able to see how we led, but also how we took full advantage of the equipment and time given to us.”

The group ended up receiving second place for their short, “Crystal Clear.”

“I am very pleased with the second place award, and I could make a strong case for the first place award. I thought we had a strong story, it was well produced and it had a fun surprise at the end. It was clearly, hands down, the audience favorite based on audience response at the screening,” said Shelby. “This is definitely the highest award we’ve received.”

Shelby is looking forward to entering the next ELFF 48/5 Fest in February. Anyone interested in being involved can contact her.

[WRITER’S NOTE: ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE OCTOBER 2012 EDITION OF “THE PULSE”]