It’s 6:10 pm and we are counting down to tonight’s Gala. I will be representing the Team Fat Cats and Starving Dogs at the awards event that runs from 9-11 pm.
The goal of competing was to have fun and drive forward my film-making skills. The reason why I started to make films was to create awareness of my art and my interest in Hamilton’s architecture. I certainly think that my goals have been achieved.
Working with Jane, Shani, and Erin was a very rewarding experience. Not only were they fun, but they proved essentially to making an original story. Further, I gain a deeper understanding of the value of storyboarding, white balancing every scene, wide lens, and colour correction. I also gained a deeper appreciation for the amount of film-making talent in the city.
I am not sure what I was thinking about the other competitors. I knew that there were film production companies and a group of actors in the city, but somehow that knowledge did not transition into an appreciation.
For a time, we heard that there were only ten teams competing. This sort of reinforced our belief that the competition was limited, and mostly school based. So, we were surprised to discover at the kick-off that 35 teams were competing. After submitting the film, we learned that some of the teams were made up of people from local and high profile media organizations: Double Barrel Studies, Creative Media, Hive Studies, Inchroma Digital Media, and Lilt Films. Now, the early low numbers for teams entering the film festival seem more caused by fear than a lack of interest.
So, with less than 3 hours to the Gala, I am wondering what are our chances we for making the top 10 list. We made a great film for first-timers. Hoping for the best.
Chris Erskine
chriserskineartist@gmail.com
@erskinec
FCSD Studio 