Competing in the @VTFilmFest "Sleepless in Burlington" 24-Film Competition

This weekend, I was part of a 5 person team that competed in a 24-hour film competition. Different Vermont colleges put together teams and each college can only have one team. Schools included University of Vermont, who won "People's Choice," Burlington College, who won "Best Film," Middlebury College, and St. Michael's.

Our film is titled "Tobin" after our lead character. Unlike most of the team's, we came in without script writing experience or any knowledge of working with actors. Let me tell you that my acting classes don't make me qualified to tell actors and actresses what to do or write scripts.

The strength of our film lied in our shot variety and the original music that we performed by two St. Mike's students. The music actually dictated the way we edited and I was so excited about it. Eric Parziale played the cello and Dylan Gombas played the fiddle. The film wouldn't have been nearly as awesome without their amazing contribution.

Our actors obviously played a critical role in the festival as well. Themie and Tobin were our lead actresses. Tobin was the director of the film for Burlington College last year and it was great to have the prior experience in the group. Themie, a UVM student, was with us all day from 10 am until the sun went down. Themie told us after the showing that she had been approached by a fellow actress and was told that the actress cried during the film. It made me feel great about the quality of the film.

The four required elements included the new mural just off Church St., buttons from Maglianero's, the phrase "a storm is coming" in the dialogue, and a Phish quote in the title screen.

The executive director of the Flynn Center, John Killacky, was a judge and complimented us on our ability to seamlessly integrate the buttons in our film. I was thrilled to hear that it didn't feel like we forced inclusion of the elements.

While I always want to win, Burlington College deserved the top honor. They had amazing video, audio, and story. I was very impressed with them and congratulate them.

If you come to St. Mike's and are offered a spot on the team, take advantage of it. It's exhausting, but an opportunity that may not come around again. I wouldn't take back the experience for anything.

xoxo
Gabbi