Good Advice

There's loads of ways to approach the Vista Foundation 48Hours and every team will do things their own way. Its good to learn from past mistakes and successes though, so we've put together a list of good advice that we've heard from teams over the years.

Teams

When you decide to enter 48Hours, you can do so in one of two ways. You can either register and build a team, or join a team.

If you decide to start your own team, you will need to register your team when registrations open and then find people to help. Teams range in size from 1 person to over 20 people. Obviously which suits you best will depend largely on your reasons for doing the competition, your skills and preferences.

If you would rather join a team, and don't know anyone who is entering, or can't find anyone to join your team, join our facebook group or get in touch with your regional manager. 

Be Prepared

There are a number of things you can do before the weekend to make things easier over the weekend.

  • Plan how you will keep yourself and your crew fed. 
  • Line up some actors who are available all weekend.
  • Line up some music to use - find musicians who are keen to share music they've already made, or who might want to help join the team and compose your soundtrack.
  • Find locations and get permission in advance. Make sure you will be able to access them on the weekend.
  • If you are animating, then you are allowed to prepare character and location assets, the same as live action teams.
  • Expect not to sleep much, especially if you're the editor. (Make sure someone who has slept is free to drive you around).
  • Test your equipment. Make sure you know how to use that camera with that microphone. Charge your batteries. 
  • Test your editing system. Test how long it will take to export a 5-minute movie. Make sure you have enough hard drive space. Use software you are familiar with.
  • Check your internet connection is reliable for the online handin, or find a connection that is.
  • Decide on your roles - its good to decide who is responsible for each part of the filmmaking process.

Shoot Weekend Podcasts

The team at 48Hours love a good hearty podcast, so with the help of teams who have already been through 48Hours, we have made a short series called Tackling The Weekend:

VF48Hours Podcast - Panel Chat - All your Questions

We've assembled a panel of filmmaking veterans to answer your burning questions. Ruth Korver sits down with Sam Harris of Squint Eastwood, Finn O'Connor from Couch Kumara, and Mike Potton from a variety of Wellington teams. They'll share their best tips, tricks, and behind-the-scenes stories to help you survive and thrive in the largest film competition in Aotearoa!

Q & A with Molly Doyle

48Hours veteran Molly Doyle from team Kākāpō Cool shares her journey from school team entrant to working professionally the film industry.

Q & A with Couch Kumara

Wellington team Couch Kumara first took out the Wellington title when they were at school. They've since won Wellington twice more and are still coming back to the competition.

Q & A with Sam Harris

48Hours 2020 Lockdown winner Sam Harris, from team Squint Eastwood, talks about tackling animation in 48Hours.

Southern Filmmakers Collective

Southern Filmmakers Collective were delighted to kick off Collective Conversations with a chat with managers from the the Vista Foundation 48Hours on 16 July, ahead of this year’s competition. The talk discussed the new Across Aotearoa region format, why you should take on the challenge, and excellent tips for assembling a team, preparing for the weekend, and creating a resonant film.

Facing Friday

This episode is all about jump starting the shoot weekend and getting all of the brainstorming and writing started. Featuring Rosie Howells from ‘Tasteful Sideboob’, Dean Hewison from ‘Traces of Nut and Fran Carney.

Shoot Day Saturday

This episode covers how to get the most out of your big shoot day on Saturday. Featuring Stella Reid from ‘Child Support’ and Dean Hewison from ‘Traces of Nut’.

Deadline Sunday

Getting your edit and audio workflows in place and facing that nailbiter final day of the shoot weekend. Featuring Bailey Palmer from ‘Typhoid Films’ and Bryn Olsson.