All posts by martha

“Squeeze” premieres tomorrow night

Tomorrow night (2/24/11) about thirty Portland 48 Hour Film Project shorts will be shown at The Hollywood Theater. Perfect Stranger’s film, “Squeeze,” will be in the 9pm screening. Tickets are only 7 bucks. Other cities (340 teams worldwide participated in the weekend) are also having their premieres that night.

I’m still in disbelief that our team created a short film, that’s fairly understandable, in only 48 hours. It was such a fantastic experience that Sam and I are already plotting for the next time it comes around, probably some time in August. Who’s with us?

Recap of the weekend by John the Writer

John, our amazing writer, wrote a silly recap from his perspective of the weekend on the different roles each team member played. Here goes (and thanks John):


What a weekend! From the writer’s perspective, this Go Green 48-Hour Film Project was an amazing and exhausting experience… and after feeling so squeezed by all the pressures put upon us, it seems appropriate to name our film “Squeeze.”

Getting to that end piece was fun, but it certainly wasn’t easy. It relied on the skills and dedication of so many creative, dedicated and genuinely fun people.

Leading the way was that talented trio of Martha, Sam and Denise — three very different, but equally focused individuals. Martha and Sam brought ideas, vision and skill to the table, and with Denise’s help, assembled a remarkable production team. And throughout, Denise provided the glue that — against all odds — actually held everything together.

But, of course, they didn’t do it alone.

Sam was backed up by the always energetic Ed, who ran around grabbing miscellaneous shots when he wasn’t dumping tape or creating the credits for the final film. And there was Sam’s production assistant dad and mentor, Rick, who lit both scene and circumstance with aplomb.

Denise also had a valuable lieutenant in Jodi… a person who clearly fears no one. Denise spoke often of her velvet hammer, but Jodi does not believe in wasting good velvet… and yet, she somehow left each encounter with smiles all around. That’s skill.

Food break: “thanks Clinton!”

The production crew performed amazing feat after amazing feat. I would put Kerby and

Amy P.’s ability to construct a tarp city up against any real life hobos anywhere. Sara and Brian swung both ways… PA one moment, convincing actors the next. Brian made a helluva water man, and who could have guessed that Sara would make such a convincing bitch onscreen?

Food break: “wow! Clinton!”

Now that were talking about acting, we must shine the spotlight on our protagonist, Amy V., whose experience, talent and professional gravitas gave our story an opportunity to truly be told. Hell, she even gave up her little protege to the life of a street urchin to make our tale more enchanting.

And speaking of street urchins… or more accurately, of drifters, what a leader Royal made. She stood face to face with our protagonist and did not flinch. Although, she did have her posse close at hand… the awesome Sarah A. and Fuzzy Ryan, the aforementioned Lucy, and their effervescent side-kick whose name I did not catch, but whose eyes sparkled all day long.

And finally, there was the infamous G. Verde… who Bill played with smarmy splendor.

Food break: “OMG! Clinton! You’ve done it again!”

It is important to remember that the actors, too, had help. That long, lithe and stylish duo of Annie and Michelle made sure everyone looked perfect… even if it meant making them lay down in the mud and stepping on them or throwing handfuls of crap in their face.

And there was no missing the quintessential cool of Janna as she marshaled and clapped in each scene, or the style of Fife who left her mark on the sets she helped design.

In fact, there were so many roles to be played — and players playing them — that I can’t even remember everyone’s name… like that really nice couple who worked with Rick to light the scenes, prep the tracking shots, position the mics, you name it, they did it… happily. Honestly, there were so many people helping that I don’t think I met them all.

But in the end, all things cycled back to Martha, Sam and Denise, who continued to work on, searching for the best takes, incorporating Graham’s music, editing, editing, editing to the end. And delivering the film. Finally.

Can’t wait to see it.

Twitterings

Denise the Producer, along with a few other team members micro-blogged a few times before and during the weekend. I found it amusing that the hashtag #perfectstrangers had a bit of following, but not because of our production company name.

And, as an old school shout out: