Daily Progress: From panic to polish: Adrenaline Film Project coaches filmmakers on the fly
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Jane Sathe, Features Editor
If you want to see your own original short film on the screen, you'll need to write a script, cast your actors, create a visual environment and then film it. The editing won't get done by itself, either.
Oh, by the way, you only have 72 hours.
While the rest of us will be figuring out how to get all the laundry done before the weekend is over, 10 talented teams of high school students and adults will be unveiling brand-new films they've created from start to finish over the past three days during the 18th annual Adrenaline Film Project. The screening event, presented with Light House Studio, is set for 8 p.m. Saturday at Vinegar Hill Theatre.
By the time the house lights go down, hopefuls will have a more concrete idea of the demands of pursuing the art of filmmaking plus an understanding of how hard work and commitment to excellence can pay off when audience members are moved by the finished products.
Wadlow, a Charlottesville native, said AFP's partnership with Light House Studio has been "really perfect. Over time, it became apparent that what I was doing really synched up with what Light House was doing."
What AFP and Light House share are an expectation of high-quality results from young talents and a willingness to provide guidance and mentorship to help new filmmakers find their footing. Joining Wadlow as mentors are Emmy Award-winning producer Steve Robillard, Independent Spirit Award nominee Han West and Light House Studio program director Rachel Lane.
The mentors have given each filmmaking team a genre, a line of dialogue and a prop that must be used somewhere within the film. The teams have had access to Light House's database of actors and have been allowed to choose filming locations within a 30-mile radius of Charlottesville.
Wadlow said it is important to give the teams a taste of what film careers are really like through "a 72-hour experience as a professional."
"They have to get their films greenlighted at every point," Wadlow said. "We function more as producers. We edit together and give them notes."
The discipline of the program helps aspiring filmmakers come away with a more realistic idea of what the role requires.
Wadlow said aspiring filmmakers can grasp "that it's a lot of hard work. You have to be willing to have your ideas rejected. That's part of the experience."
It's all part of gaining a professional perspective. "It's about communication," Wadlow said of filmmaking. At the end of the day, "it's not about you. It's not about me. It's about the audience."
"You don't want to crush a new voice, but you want to give them the tools to clarify that voice. Think how hard coaches push their athletes," Wadlow said. "Why can't we expect that level of commitment in the arts? A lot of talented people don't get the discipline and commitment they need to make it a career."
Over the past 18 years, AFP has helped launch the careers of a number of filmmakers. Robillard and West have cited the experience as a valuable one. Six of last year's 10 AFP creations were accepted to nine national festivals, and three took home awards.
As audience members, you'll get an opportunity to weigh in on the filmmakers' efforts by voting for your favorite films. In addition to the Jury Selection Award, Mentor Selection Award and Actors Award, an Audience Award will give one team some special applause.
Head to eventbrite.com for tickets, which are $12. Learn more at lighthousestudio.org.