Author Archives: Jill Adler

48 Hour Film Project Lures Me In

Leave a comment

When Liz told me she was on Andrew’s team for the 48-hour Film Project in Salt Lake City my first thought was why didn’t they ask me? We actors are so egocentric. I mean I was the one who introduced Liz to Andrew in the first place. So I messaged Andrew and he said of course I could join them. He said he didn’t ask because he sees from my FB posts that I’m always busy. Never too busy for friends and an all-nighter! Plus, I’ve always wanted to do this event – at least once in my life-and I’ve never been in town over the dates. And so began my annual 48 Hour Film “career”.

The 48 Film Project is a national competition that starts at the city level. That year, 2013, 120 cities on six continents hosted a 48-hour weekend. Teams gathered on Friday night- in this case May 31, 2013, at 6 pm where Team Captains reached into a ‘hat’ and drew out a genre. It could be any one of these:

  • Buddy Film
  • Comedy
  • Crime/Gangster
  • Dark Comedy
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Mistaken Identity
  • Musical or Western
  • Romance
  • Sci Fi
  • Superhero
  • Thriller/Suspense
  • Vacation or Holiday Film

We had 48 hours to script, shoot, edit, score and produce a film between 4 and 8 minutes. The catch was that organizers drew a character, a prop and a line of dialogue out of a hat too that MUST appear in all the films in some way.

Here are some examples from previous years:

Character

  • Bitsy Ballou, Advice Columnist
  • Ignazio del Fuego, Cab Driver
  • Hugh Simon, Bouncer

Prop

  • Large Suitcase
  • Snow Globe
  • Electric Fan

Line of Dialogue

  • Is that the best you’ve got?
  • I was lied to and very much deceived.
  • When you say it like that, it’s almost poetry.

The Film Project is back again and it’ll be my third year in a row participating. One of these days I’ll be on an award-winning team but no matter it’s still a blast to spend the weekend with avid filmmakers and peers.

When the judges do choose a winner, they will continue on to compete against the winners from the other cities at Filmapalooza in Hollyweird next February.

The overall winner at Filmapalooza 2013 was “Jacques Serres” by Les Productions avec Volontiers so you can see how far this project reaches. There were winners from Cape Town, the Netherlands, Prague, Denver, Baltimore, etc. But nothing in Utah has ever come close to this caliber of speed-filmmaking.

 

 

Personally, I think Utah can do a lot better than last year’s winner:

Maybe we win; maybe we don’t but I look at this as an awesomely intense team building experience. Our team in 2013 consisted of Andrew Hook, Liz Baker, Jim Stevens, Cami Twede, Joe Hatfield, and little ‘ol me. 

Back in 2001, when the 48 Hour Film Project was first conceptualized, Mark Ruppert and several other DC filmmakers wondered, “Would films made in only 48 hours even be watchable?” Of course, some aren’t but I sure hope ours is!

Update:

I had so much fun making the 2013 film that I also acted in 2014. Here are my two shorts.

This year’s 48-Hour Film Project kicks off Friday, June 12, with 23 teams geared up so far for the weekend, movie-making marathon. If you’re interested in participating, contact any of the filmmakers you see listed under ‘teams’ through their Facebook pages. I’m sure they would love your assistance.

If you’d rather sleep in, you can see all the shorts at the premier screenings June 16 & 17 at the Broadway Cinemas at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.. Tickets are $12.

23 ADULT TRUTHS!!!

Leave a comment

 

1 Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

  1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
  2. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
  3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
  4. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
  5. Was learning cursive really necessary?
  6. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
  7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
  8. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired.
  9. Bad decisions make good stories.
  10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
  11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
  12. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
  13. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
  14. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
  15. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.
  16. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
  17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
  18. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
  19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
  20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
  21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
  22. The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important…………….

SheJumps Inspires Determined Kayakers – Part III

One comment

PART III

We had a pile up heading into the biggest section of whitewater on the McKenzie and I was right on Courtney’s tail. I paddled left to avoid her boat and immediately succumbed to a side wave. I held out underwater for a bit but no one was going to rescue me. I pulled my sprayskirt and swam. Humiliated. But something good happened. I rescued myself and my own boat. I didn’t need anyone’s help.

I kicked it to a safe eddy, emptied out the water myself and got back in. I choked back tears not because I was embarrassed or defeated but because I couldn’t go back and try those waves again. If everyone else could do it, so could I.

I caught my breath and paddled back to the group. The other girls smiled encouragingly. I talked to Lauren and felt better as we approached the last section of rapids. I finally made it without swimming. The cheers from the girls matched the ones inside.

Photo by Desiree

Photo by Desiree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed back into the van for the ride home. I sat quietly listening to the others whose energy was twice what it was on the way in. SheJumps is no miracle drug that will turn you into an instant extreme athlete. However, it does get you amped. It gives you a taste of what that life is like; it enables you to explore parts of yourself you weren’t in tune with while keeping you safe and it plants a seed for continued adventure. It’s up to you to connect the dots.

I loved visiting Bend, meeting the folks at Tumalo and sharing time on the water with some really cool chicks. And I love kayaking whether I’m paddling or swimming next to my boat. At least I know I don’t have to impress some guy with my mad skills or hear him tell me to suck it up.

IMG_6204

To learn more about SheJumps, befriend the SJ Girafficorn on Facebook, go to SheJumps.org, and follow on Instagram and Twitter with @shejumps and #shejumps.

 

 

 

 

PART I                                        PART II

Kayaking = Swimming – Part II

2 comments

PART II

IMG_6195

We piled into the Tumalo van for the two-hour drive. The lively conversation involved topics like the most magical travel experience you’ve ever had, farmers markets and massage therapy. At the put in, Lauri announced she had forgotten her sprayskirt. Lauren, moments later, couldn’t find the van keys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mo set to work building a skirt out of a trashbag and duct tape.

IMG_6201

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of us hunted for the keys. Lauren felt embarrassed and kept apologizing for putting us out, but we all could relate. This was typical chick M-O. We lose and forget things ALL THE TIME. It was easy to go with the flow, Lauren was with us and not a group of guys.

Twenty minutes later she found her keys-  sitting right on top of her boat!  We laughed but didn’t scold. With Lauri all taped into her kayak we were ready to roll, so to speak. The weather was perfect, the water chilly but manageable in a drysuit or wetsuit, and spirits high. Until…

IMG_6199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swimming

We paddled downstream and gathered at the first eddy. I stuck close to Mo hoping to glean some gem that would magically turn me into the kayaker I wanted to be. She looked back and said, “There. That’s it. Now you’re doing it.” But in truth I was still apprehensive about the upcoming whitewater.

IMG_0630

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next task was to eddy* behind as many boulders as we could that were strewn throughout the coming stretch. I caught the very first eddy and beamed.  I thought eddying was the one skill I did fairly well but there was still lots to learn. My head and self-confidence were a jumble.

That’s when I found myself between a rock and a hard place. Literally.

IMG_0696 IMG_0699 IMG_0701

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to eddy-out, into the current, but the rock was too close to my paddle and I flipped, then swam. Mo “rescued” me; shouting for me to grab her boat and keep my feet up in the shallow water as I bounced off rocks. I was ok. The only thing bruised was my ego. I caught up with my boat and apologized for the swim. She said no worries but I began to feel like “a girl”.  We broke for lunch. I laid in the cool water, wishing for a second wind and a chance at redemption; praying the mood would wash over me.

IMG_0677

After wolfing down my turkey sandwich from Bend’s Strictly Organic Café, I still wasn’t ready to get back in my boat. The largest wave train of the day lay ahead. I savored the wild blackberries growing on a nearby bush, wondering where my mojo went. The girls talked excitedly about their morning and their renewed love of kayaking. The SheJumps course was a great idea on so many levels. It brought them together, it developed their skills and it took place in a supportive environment.

It was a glorious afternoon and I wish I could tell you that I rocked the wave train but I’d be lying. I swam that too.

 

*Definition:A river feature formed when the current flows around an obstacle and water flows back upstream to fill in the space left by the deflected current.  The current inside of eddies flows upstream.  Eddies are great for resting, getting out of the current, getting out of the river and scouting.

 PART I                                              PART 3

1 … 67 68 69 70 71 … 147