This past week I participated in Oberlin’s 3rd ever Cinema Brawl, a competition and film fest in which crews are tasked with crafting a short film within 48 hours. What ensues is a weekend of chaos, creativity, and non-stop filmmaking. This was my first time participating in the Brawl, and it was a wonderfully fun and challenging experience. I was in a group of people who individually signed up, so we did not know each other beforehand, which added a whole nother exciting layer to the challenge! Here’s my experience going head to head in the brawl!
The Brawl starts at 6pm on Friday, when groups arrive at Mudd’s fourth floor studio to pick up their gear. There are six kits to pick from, and they are first come first serve. Our team was there first (go us!) so we picked the kit with the biggest lens, an advantage for cinematography. All in all we had a camera kit, an audio kit, a boom pole, tripod, slate, and lighting kit. With all of the equipment essentials, my group headed over to Wilder to start writing our script. We ended up coming up with a boy band named 4k, as the four members’ names start with K, and a film that documents their rehearsal, downfall, and reunion. As I’m sure you can tell, pure cinema.
To ensure that no one begins work on the film before the 48-hour period, there are certain elements that you need to include in your film and only made public once the 48-hour window starts. For example, you usually need to include a hand drawing of a certain CIME professor somewhere in the film, and also get a cameo by a particular student actor. This was our top priority when crafting our film as if you don’t include these elements, your film will not be eligible for the competition. On Saturday, we spent the morning and afternoon filming non-stop, making sure we had all of the actors, scenes, and required elements. After the exhilarating, hilarious, and exhausting shoot day, it was time to get some rest before the final stretch.
As the editor of our group, I spent all day Sunday in the Apollo editing lab chopping up our film. One thing I love about time crunches in filmmaking is that there is no time to overthink your choices. Oftentimes, the hardest thing about making a film is just doing it, so with only 48 hours, we had no choice but to go with our first ideas and be confident in our decisions. It’s a great exercise in trusting your gut, going with the flow, and not getting too wrapped up in your own head. We ended up turning in our film at 5:30, and made sure to return our gear right at 6 o’clock. And thus the clock struck, and the 48-hour period had come to a close!
The screening and awards ceremony was held on Saturday night the week after. Some of the award categories include best actor, best use of required elements, best cinematography, etc, and if you win, you get a tiny 3D printed Oscar. While our film didn’t win anything, it got a lot of laughs, which is an award in and of itself.
The weekend of Cinema Brawl I was extremely busy, since I pretty much only focused on completing our film. Despite this, it was the perfect break from my school and work responsibilities. Since filmmaking is work I deeply enjoy, it was invigorating to be embroiled in it for 48 hours. It also made me feel more confident about going into production for my senior thesis film, because if I can get a film done in 48 hours, I can get one done in a semester.
I also want to emphasize that Cinema Brawl is not just for filmmakers. It’s also for actors, musicians, writers, and really anybody. Even if you have no experience in filmmaking, it is still incredibly fun to participate in and try out.
You can watch our very silly little film here!
