A More Perfect Yellow

No this is not another piece about lemons, but it is so apropos that it comes the day after my lemon sermon.

A couple years ago I was introduced to the 48-Hour Film Project. This is an independent festival of sorts that is open to inspired film makers, their friends and anyone else they can corral into going completely insane for 48 hours. The festival is open all over the country and contestants are eligible to win in their area and move up to nationals.

Premise: On Friday night at say around 7pm your team gets a character name and line of employment, a line of dialogue and a genre picked out for you. Then you are on your own to write, shoot, edit and score your short film to be turned in no later than 7pm on Sunday evening. The project managers put all the films together to run at a special showing (usually the following weekend, so you have had time to rest) and the panel and viewers judge and pick their favorites.

Sounds like fun huh?? My first introduction was a spirited guy I worked with who had one line in his friend’s film. Unfortunately they had problems burning it to DVD and didn’t make their deadline. The director has made a few other pieces – The Apple Tree is one of my favorites.

But on to A More Perfect Yellow. I loved this piece, not only because it is very funny, but also because it is so well done. I can dig the angst stuff that most independents put out there, but they just seem a bit too self-indulging sometimes and heavy. This one is neither. Viva La VHS is a great group of professionals and they have some wonderful help, Guy being the location scout is just one. (The apartment at the beginning with cool furniture and view is his and the set for Santiago’s interview is the Postcard Inn, a fab hotel in St. Pete.) They have gone to nationals with this and hopefully they can even go further.

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