As if filmmaking wasn't hard enough already: Throw in a 72-hour time frame, unknown plot elements and the pressure of competition, and you have the makings of the Volvo Adrenaline Film Project.
Adrenaline, which came to the Virginia Film Festival four years ago, is the brainchild of filmmakers and friends Beau Bauman and Jeff Wadlow. After winning the Chrysler Million Dollar Project in Los Angeles with their film Cry Wolf, Wadlow and Bauman introduced a similar competition to the festival.
"It involves community members, high schoolers, the FilmMakers Society [and] other art kids," said Laura Scott, FMS vice president of publicity. "It's fun bringing kids together from different groups."
Run by Bauman and Wadlow, Adrenaline is a 72-hour competition, with filming beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday and ending 7 p.m. Saturday. Teams of three people use their creativity and filmmaking knowledge, pulling together actors and a crew to make a five-minute film in three days. To prevent advance preparation, competitors are given a line of dialogue and a prop that must be used, both of which are related to the overall theme of the festival. Each group is also given a film genre to work with.
"It really is 72 hours," Scott said. "There is some prep you can do, but you really don't know until the start."
The films are screened Sunday, with various prizes awarded for categories such as Most Improved Team or Team That Overcame the Most Challenges. And, of course, the winning film is revealed.
The variety of film genres and styles of filmmaking adds to the popularity of Adrenaline's screening.
"The screening sells out every year," Scott said. "It's very popular -- every famous guest, director [and] the board of the festival comes to see it."
Last year's Adrenaline competition included teams from JMU and Radford, along with community, high school and student teams. The winner, a film noir called The Taste of Evil, followed condiments in a refrigerator, emphasizing the importance of good writing.
"Last year, with the Revelations theme, the prop was Miracle Whip and the line was 'I want to believe it,'" Scott said. "It was really fun to see teams make a film -- they all had their problems, but they all found a way to get over them."
This year's competition includes 12 teams. The Film Festival's theme, Kin Flicks, lends itself to a broad range of options for the competition's unknown elements.
"The hardest part about the competition is that you have to miss classes and be dedicated despite midterms," Scott said. "You have to supply your own camera, computer to edit ... You have to be very dedicated to making this a big thing in your life. If you aren't dedicated, you won't finish."
The Volvo Adrenaline Film Project is screening Sunday at 4 p.m. in Newcomb Theater.
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