VANCOUVER FILM RACING | All Night, Everyday

What do you get when you have 14 UBC Film undergrads, one UBC Film grad student, one UBC Film alum and two actors participating in Vancouver’s 24-hour Film Racing Tour?

Well, you get a three minute and nine second short called All Night, Everyday. When first approached (through a Facebook group invite, yes, that’s how Hollywood’s casting their blockbusters now) to participate in this competition, I was a little hesitant.  I’ve heard stories about the race from working professionals in the industry who have done it in the past, and they all say it’s crazy and chaotic.  But when do I ever listen to what other people say?

After all was said and done, I was happy to do it and I learned a lot.  I ended up bonding with a great (and gigantic 16-person) crew.  Despite being tired and probably being sick of me after spending 24-hours in a confined space*, a few of the crew members answered some questions to give people a better idea of what goes on behind the scenes during this madness.

MI: Who’s idea was it to do this in the first place?
Sarah Crauder (2^nd AD): I think it was Laura Good’s.
Chris Gilling (Post Sound): I’m guessing Laura’s.
Oliver Millar (Director): Laura’s idea.
Stirling Bancroft (Cinematographer): Definitely, Laura.
Alice Deegan (1^st AD): Mine. All Mine. Alright, fine, it was Laura’s.

MI: Laura, since just about everyone is pointing fingers at you, I’m gonna ask what was the motivation behind putting this crew together?
Laura Good (Producer): We have an awesome program, so I wanted us all to do something together before school started to reconnect and get psyched up for this year. I also wanted to represent our school to the community.

MI: What are the three words you would use to describe the 24-hour period that encompassed the duration of the race?
Alex Poutianen (Co-writer): Jack Bauer-esque.

MI: That’s not really three words, but rather a name turned into an adjective.
AD: Pass My Pillow.

MI: Okay, at least Alex’s answer was an adjective, now that’s just a demand.
AD: Or stressful, exhilarating, and absurd.
Kevin Doherty (Co-writer): No sleep party.
OM: An important experience.
SB: A little easy.

MI: What were your expectations going into the race?
KD: There will be tired!
CG: I thought I would be working right from the beginning, and so adjusted sleeping patterns accordingly, but that was a pretty stupid expectation… so I couldn’t get to sleep during the downtime at the beginning.
OM: That it would be more serious and unpleasant.

MI: What was the most memorable part of the entire thing?
AP: [When] our actors showed up…we now had a movie to make.
SB: When the actors tried to pick up my focus puller.

MI: Hint to actors: This is a big no-no, and you will not want to mess with the cinematographer’s tools on or off the set.  Those are their babies.  Any non-actor related moments?
LG: Jacob (McNeil, grip/runner) making chili for the entire crew the night before, and it being amazing.
CG: Going insane due to no sleep and technical problems.
OM: Everyone giggling uncontrollably with exhaustion at around 5pm.

MI: Jacob’s amazing chili combined with little to no sleep and technical problems leads to uncontrollable giggling.  Lesson learned.  Other than that, what have you guys learned doing this 24-hour race?
SC: I learned a lot about the work habits and abilities of the undergrads.
KD: Party every day!

MI: You’re an undergrad, right, Kevin?  What about from the director and cinematographer?
OM: Good filmmaking takes time.
SB: Organization is key. Laura did a stellar job in building the team.

MI: Anyone else?
Nate Wendel (Post sound): That under pressure and lack of sleep, it’s always better to stay positive and not get in any fights even if the temptation is very strong!
AD: It’s bat shit crazy to try to make a film in 24 hours, and we all must have either severe mental deficiencies or a genuine love of film and outstanding work ethics.

MI: What would you change if you were to do it again?
AP: Sleep more beforehand.
KD: Think better, sleep more previous.
MI: Okay, other than more sleep, what are other changes you would do?
SC: Networked post-production instead of moving physical drives around.
LG: I would have made sure that we had enough empty hard drives standing by, and I would have started the editing process earlier in the day.
AD: I’d make sure that the post workflow was better organized before the race itself began, as that is where we got the most hung up/ fell behind.

MI: Do you think having such a huge crew was an advantage or a disadvantage?
SC: Advantage.
AP: An advantage.
LG: Advantage, for sure.
AD: Definitely an advantage.
CG: Advantage
OM: Advantage
KD: We had the correct number of crew.
NW: Advantage. [But] the sound editing would’ve gone smoother for me if there hadn’t been ten kids next door giggling like a slumber party during the few hours that Chris and I were doing that. We got so jealous and resentful of everyone who was done and came really close to making a scene. It was really just because they were right next door and also, we were being stupid jerks and shitty friends.

MI: I apologize for the distracting giggling, but as stated before, it was probably due to the lack of sleep and Jacob’s amazing chili! With that being said, did anyone ever panic during the 24-hour period?  If so, what moment made you start panicking?
AD: I may have peed myself on the car ride over to deliver the final film when we had only minutes to spare before the deadline.  It was in your car.  And I’m sorry.
MI: Well, that explains the smell…Anyone else panic?  Or pee in my car?
SC: Nope. I had utter confidence in the timetable and our 1st AD.

MI: I think my confidence in Alice is now gone knowing she peed in my car**.  Does everyone else agree with Sarah?
OM: [Everyone] working together is comforting.
SB: Never panicked.
NW: I was never close enough to the film to panic. But I was present when the key creatives panicked, which was when [I] just wanted to flee the burning carnage.
KD: Things got a little loopy with footage transfers/audio synching and panic said, “Hi,” for a second.
LG: Yes, we were editing the three separate scenes one at a time, and then locking them individually. An hour before the film was due, we put all three scenes back together, and the film was a minute too long. I didn’t think we would be able to cut the film down to the required time and still get it exported in time.

MI: Well, we did get it submitted, and with some time to spare.  Now that it’s done, would you do it again?
SC: Yep!
AP: Yep.
LG: Absolutely.
SB: Yeah.
NW: Absolutely. And with the same people as well. I mean, we did it. We got a film done on time. We can do so much better with another chance.
CG: During the going crazy phase I thought no, but now, yeah.

MI: What was the first thing you did after you got home when the race was finished?
SC: Watched some Law & Order re-runs.
AP: Went home in a daze and ate a lot.
LG: Drank water, fell into bed.
AD: Brushed my teeth.  It felt orgasmic.
SB: I vomited, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.
OM: I didn’t go home, because I was already there… But I watched Jersey Shore and felt better about myself as a result.

MI: Nate’s got a different story to tell about the first thing you did.
NW: [As] soon as the film was out the door, Oliver’s like, “Alright, let’s shotgun that beer.”  And I guess as an afterthought Kevin asked me if it was okay.  So we all went out on the front porch, and gradually, Stirling, Jacob, and Chris joined us.  I guess all the girls had actually left to go drop off the film.  All of them.
MI: It’s true.
NW: On almost no sleep and completely empty stomachs, it was a hell of a thing. Oliver immediately disappeared behind some bushes all bent over and emerged spitting. Ah. From then on it was basically a party.

MI: Thanks for the answers guys!  It was a great experience to share with all of you.

The screening is at the Ridge Theatre on Arbutus on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, (yes, TONIGHT!) at 9:15 PM.  You can buy tickets at the door on a first come first serve basis for $10 (cash only).  For more info on the race, check out www.filmracing.com.

Interview and photography by M Ibalio

*Though we were in a confined space, we were all there under our own will and desire.  And for further clarification, the confined space was a 7 bedroom, 5 bathroom mansion; so it was actually not such a confined space, more like a large mansion.
**Alice Deegan did not actually urinate in my car.

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