48 hour film project mark ruppert liz langston

If you thought making a movie that was carefully planned out and developed was hard, then imagine what the 48 Hour Film Project must be like. Participants are given a genre, character, prop, and a line of dialogue that they must work into their film. They then have exactly 48 hours, and not a minute more, to create up to a 7 minute short to compete for top honors.

While it seems like a tedious process, adrenaline can be a powerful tool that will be essential in order to get things done during crunch time. Along with lack of sleep, participants from around the world will be experiencing this when the 48 Hour Film Project launches on April 17th.

The 9th annual Project will tour to 80 cities worldwide, including the recently added Beijing, Lisbon, Prague, Savannah, and Paducah, Kentucky. Over 35,000 people will be challenged to create the best work they can in a mere two days.

The winner from each city will receive a trophy, Movie Magic Screenwriter software, and will go on to compete for top honors at Filmapalooza, an awards event honoring the 2009 tour’s top film submissions. The first ever Filmapalooza will take place at the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas. The 2009 Grand Prize winner will receive $3,000 cash and a Panasonic AG-HPX170 camera (list price $5695).

With honors and prizes such as those, two days of being stressed out and lacking sleep could be worth it in the end.

Filmmakers and 48 Hour Project Founders Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston spoke to MovieMaker to discuss their one of a kind creation.