13 Hours or BUST – 2009 48hfp: Houston

So for the 2009 tour of the 48 Hour Film Project: Houston; Twisted 15 Films gathered with 48 other filmmaking teams at The Usual Pub located at 5519 Allen St., on Friday, June 5. There was so much excitement and anxiety in the air of the cramped little bar from the fact that no one knew quite what to expect upon pulling out the small white piece of paper that held the fate of each film upon its pasty, white flesh. Jon Hobson, this year’s team leader and the chosen one to draw for the genre, reached his eager hand into the hat and withdrew the small slip of paper that read simply “Buddy Film”.

The writing team was so relieved that they did not pick fantasy again, as they did the first year in Dallas – three years ago – they drew out this genre, hereafter “Lines” was born. The three from the team that were present; Jon, Choyce Ybarra and Allen Jones began brainstorming immediately in quest for the perfect film idea that actually didn’t come for another two-and-a-half hours at Choyce’s house. Jon mentioned the beginnings of what was soon to be known as “Quality Time” and they flew with it.

Late Friday evening and stretching into the wee hours of Saturday the writing team worked unbreakably, giving birth to what could be a real life situation between father and son. Allen left around midnight after writing his fingers to the bone, well not literally. At about 3 a.m. Choyce called in one voice talent, Dustin Bass, who tiredly, yet enthusiastically, played the role of the Doctor that delivers the bad news to the young boy’s family.

Saturday morning Jon and Choyce met at the Tomball Historical Depot with two-thirds of the film crew, Kessler McLaughlin (camera) and Katie Rogers (production assistant), at about 8 a.m. Then they hit the road. Over to Spring Creek Park in Tomball where Jon, Kessler and Katie set up the first few shots while Choyce ran over to Danny’s Trix and Kix where Amanda (Jon’s wife) and Gabriel (their son) were waiting to be led back to the park. Which was good because the film called for some make-up and no one had any theatrical make-up on hand, or at all for that matter. They drove in from Grapeland, Texas, about two-and-a-half to three hours away from a Northeasterly direction.

Tw15t’d worked their butts off for the whole freaking Saturday out at Spring Creek Park and then later relocating to Burroughs Park, only a few minutes drive away. After a long, hard day of filming, about a hundred various takes and a couple delicious meals that were prepared and provided by Choyce’s wife, Twila, the team dispersed going their own separate directions; Jon, Choyce, Kessler and Gabe ventured over to the office where Choyce works, which was transformed from a newspaper office to a full out editing room/recording studio/camping grounds. A mini Woodstock for filmmakers.

This is where the project took an unexpected turn for the bad and not so good. The original HD footage slowed down Jon’s MacBook where he could not edit, which is when the team realized they would have to re-shoot EVERYTHING! However, this was a good time for Amanda Hobson to record her Voiceover part. Sunday rolled around when Jon and Choyce began the day at 6 a.m. with an appointment with Tomball Police Department, who let the filmmakers use one of the department’s two patrol Tahoes for the film’s first establishing shots. Thanks to the City of Tomball the entire film was shot in Tomball.

After limiting shots to one location (Spring Creek Park) and keeping within the one or two takes max allotted and utilizing only the bare minimum for cast and crew; the filmmakers returned to the editing room and began the work that was already five or six hours behind schedule. In another three hours the editing was done, now it’s time for music! Over to Jorge David Cabrera’s casa, Jon and Choyce flew – well drove – killing another 30 crucial minutes in traffic.

David really knew the story and how to tell it through his music, all without even seeing the final cut of the film. By the time Choyce and Jon got to Cabrera’s domain he had already had a theme picked for the film and within another three hours the music was complete. Full of emotion – only using one guitar and a few F/X pedals – the music stretched throughout the entirety of the six minutes and 55 second short film.

Finally, Tw15t’d Films were back on schedule and off to get the film turned in on time! Location: The Usual Pub; ETA: 1 hour – but they got there in less than 40 minutes. With only six minutes to spare! Got the film turned in and then back to Tomball without hesitation, because they knew, the sooner they could get home the sooner they could begin their hibernations.

And that’s the story of how a 48 Hour Film Project turned into a 13 Hour Film Project. The Tw15t’d Film team did not let even a major problem stop them from staying in the running of the competition; they kept their faith and they overcame their obstacles, no matter how high they seemed to be at times. This is what they do, with team work and the help of God anything is possible!