Elements of a Short Film

Short Film Poster: A Day in the Life

Have you ever taken on a creative project with a tight deadline? A fellow border artist/filmmaker and I recently jumped into a film competition with only 12 days to prepare. The process of writing, filming, and producing under such intense time constraints was both challenging and rewarding. Although we didn't make it to the finalists, the journey brought invaluable lessons and some positive feedback that assures us we're heading in the right direction.

Concept Stage:
I was approached by a fellow actor about appearing in a short film being produced locally in May. I agreed to do it and we completed the filming stage by late June. At some point, scrolling on the endless social media feeds I came across a call for film submissions to a platform called Musicbed. They were holding their annual "Musicbed Film Challenge". I thought it looked interesting, since it called for, among other categories, short films. So I forwarded the link to Mario Mora, the director and filmmaker I had just worked with on the film (which is titled "Dias de Luz y Penumbra" and will be out soon). The response was quick: "A menos de 12 dias (or 'In just 12 days...')." ​

​Writing Stage:
We met at a local Wendy's to chat. I thought we'd just bounce ideas around. Suddenly a laptop pops out. Mario was ready to work. We started shaping the general premise of the film. Within the hour we got most of the dialogue down but there was something missing, I said...a compelling personal detail from the protagonist's (hitman's) inner self, a picture of his background. Mario said, "I'll take it home and finish putting down what we got then I'll send it your way and you can insert that anecdote and finish revising and editing it..."(I paraphrase). By the following day we had the completed script.

The Talent:
Here's where I gloat just a little. I never knew I had it in me to be an actor. I always admired the trade, though. And so when in 2014 I was invited to participate in a theater production by the Pharr Community Theater playing the role of President Lyndon Johnson, I accepted. I got very positive reviews for that role, and since then I have been in several acting projects including TV commercials, a web series, and two feature films available on Prime Video: "The Blood Tapes," and "Amorsis". So when it came to filling the roles in this film, I ended up as the "Hitman."

Gabriel H. Sanchez - The Hitman

Erik Alamia (who plays "the Stranger" in this film) is a makeup effects artist, boom operator, DP assistant, musician, and drone operator from South Texas. What he may not be known widely for is being a great actor. We thought of casting Erik for the role from the get-go and never looked back. He was perfect. His timing, his tact, the delivery of lines, not just rehearsed, but internalized and felt. Erik's performance is outstanding and his talent is undeniable.

Erik Alamia - The Stranger

​Erika Elisa (her role was "the Woman") is a Mexican-American actress who has performed in several movies, short films, commercials and series including “Who Shot Me” produced by Yours truly. Erika received the invite with only a few days left to prepare. But when the day came to film, she was ready and gave a very convincing performance maintaining a steady stream of real tears flowing for the duration of the various takes. That's talent. That's commitment to the role.

Erika Elisa - The Woman

​We filmed in just four days . It's safe to say that the stars in heaven had aligned for us to pull it off...at least halfway at that point. It was a good feeling.

The Editor:
Post-production is something that I feel is underrated in the filmmaking process because it's not so visible as the acting or filming aspects. But the truth is that the editing step in all of its manifestations is one of the hardest phases in the production of a film. This is where Mario Mora (filmmaker/producer/director) shined. He is highly skilled in his camera work and on the cutting room floor. 

This is his bio: Mario Mora is a musician, producer, multi-instrumentalist from Veracruz, Mexico. He likes to work and explore all sorts of arts. Mario has produced music for artists and actors in South Texas, where he resides. This is his third short film in 2024.

Mario and I corresponded back and fourth on the finer details during postproduction. Me supplying a voice over, and Spanish captions, among other things and Mario creating magic through the art of film editing until he  had the finished product. All that was left was for me to upload the film to YouTube (as per the instructions of the competition) and then submit the link to Musicbed and see what happens. 

Well we didn't make it to the finalists. Boo-hoo. In my personal estimation, we made a good film. It hasn't been widely seen because we are in the process of re-releasing it in an enhanced version which will feature the Spanish captions automatically, and make use of other material that we had to leave out because of the time constraints imposed by the rules of the contest.

https://www.borderartsnetwork.com/ban_tv.html

I hope you are able to catch this and tell us what you think. Are we onto something? Maybe with more funding and more time we could improve upon our efforts. 

Do you have a story of a project with a tight deadline in which you had to get creative to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and get the job done? We'd love to hear from you. Submit it to [email protected] and we'll publish it on the T.R.I.P. Wire (unless you indicate that you don't wish it to be published). We'd appreciate your input and comments regardless.