Story first. Run-and-gun. The underdog against the clock.
Locked at kickoff. Every one must appear in the film — check off when it's confirmed in a cut scene.
Friday 6:05 PM: genre drops → find the row → scaffold, lead lens, light, stock, tone. Two genres offered? Pick the stronger row — the weirder wild card is usually the easier story.
One line per beat. If a beat doesn't earn its runtime, cut it — story-first wins this thing.
Lens dropdown = house Lens Language. Status: gray = to shoot · amber = shot · green = selected in cut. Set EST SECS per shot — the meter does the math against the 4:00–7:00 rule band.
Each frame can link to a row from your Shot List (the dropdown) — it then inherits that shot's lens + description automatically, shown right below. No shot list yet? Leave it on freehand and pick a lens there. Linked a 2-cam shot? A camera picker appears \u2014 board A-cam and B-cam as separate frames. Set the Framing (shot size, angle, INT/EXT, time, sketch vs photoreal) — that's what makes the AI prompt usable. Then: ✨ Copy Prompt → ↗ Higgsfield (new tab) → generate on plan credits → 📷 upload the result back → sketch blocking on top. Or skip AI and photoboard with your phone.
Fill Friday night, print Saturday morning (Print button below — expands clean). One sheet per shoot day.
Experienced pro actress. Trained, sets a high bar — won't do a weak story. That's a feature: keeps the writing honest.
1–3 teenagers, 18–20. Range, chemistry, premiere reach. Need verbal standby yes.
On-camera as needed + DP. Flexibility and redundancy — slot wherever the story needs.
A local instructor's students/faculty — outreach out. Upside, not need.
Purpose: this is a DRILL, not a film — nothing gets released, nobody needs to act. Run the FULL chain end-to-end: shoot → FCP → FilmConvert / Halation / CineMatch → export. Time every phase. Those six numbers in the Time Log are the entire deliverable — they become Saturday's real schedule.
No crew night available? Solo micro-drill: 30 minutes, just you — shoot 2 min of anything, then ingest → FilmConvert chain → export → 2GB check. Setup + edit-chain times are the numbers that matter most; they don't need actors.
Gear: A7SIII (PP8/S-Log3, ISO 800) · 24 · 35 · 50 · 85 GM II · Sirui 35 anamorphic · 70-200 (scratch test: chart at f/2.8 vs f/8 + bare-bulb flare check vs the 85) · Amaran 300c + Hyper Reflector · 5-in-1 · F3 + NTG2 + boom + lavs · batteries + cards staged. Gear loops ride along: A7III firmware check (≤4.04) · GO II auto-record config · deadcats if arrived.
Exact sequence, in order, before your film starts. Templates + animated bumper live in the dashboard — you can build your own as long as timing & info match.
Disclose every AI tool on the Wrap-Up Form + the AI/Effects Disclosure Form. No Fair Use allowed — everything must be original, licensed, or cleared. And: don't share the film anywhere before the premiere (a poster + a ≤48-sec trailer are fine).
Can be prepped early too: Location Releases + Waiver/Release forms.
No signed releases = film doesn't screen. Written or electronic signatures both fine. Forms are in the hub + on the 48HFP site.
The city producer cuts 48-second promo pieces (with a bumper) to build buzz for teams ahead of the fest. Free exposure for The Long Shots — he edits, we just supply the story.
This year we're leveling up — the team, the ambition, taking the craft seriously. A quick talking-head + behind-the-scenes energy. Easiest path.
A look back at our 2021 run for the producer to cut B-roll over — pending whether we can dig the old film out of the archive.