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How To Make A Film In Two Days

Most filmmakers spend months in pre-production of a film, working out the details long before the cameras start rolling. Then there's the lengthy shooting, followed by weeks of editing and other post-production chores.

But, that was not the case for the short film "Teardrop," which screened at this year's Santa Fe Film Festival as part of the New Mexico Film Expo.

Screenwriter Betsy Burke sat down with The ShowBuzz to explain how the film was made - from concept to finish - in just 48 hours.

Q: Tell me about "Teardrop."

A: It's about a piano prodigy who gets an idea to rescue her grandfather from a stuck life and also her piano teacher, who's in a deep depression.

The remarkable thing about the film is we did it through the 48 Hour Film Project. It's an international contest that centers in major cities, in the States, and a few cities in Europe and a few in Asia even, and you have 48 hours to make a film.

Q: What's the process like?

A: You sign up Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and they give you a genre, a character, a line of dialog and a prop you have to use. You write the film, shoot it, edit it, and turn it in by Sunday at 7:00 p.m.

So, I have some filmmaking friends and we've worked together a couple of times before and they asked if I wanted to join the team and I almost didn't do it because I thought, "What could you do in 48 hours?"

Q: How did it turn out?

We really pulled it off and it came out amazing. My friend just bought a new high def camera and he was all hot to try it out and it looks beautiful. I won best writer and it won seven awards, it swept the 48 Hour Film Project New Mexico awards. It was shockingly good how it came out.

Q: Why did you enter it in the Santa Fe Film Festival?

A: Well we just did it this summer so we're just starting to ramp up and get it in festivals. So we thought we'd start here in our home base. More than the screening I think it's just about meeting people. I love meeting people from all over the world and I try to get to see the international films and things that I can't see at the theater or things I can't rent. I really try to catch the more obscure things.

Q: Are there a lot more filmmakers coming to the festival than in previous years?

A: I think so. I've met a lot of Los Angeles transplants and I think there are a lot of people that were born and raised here that are getting excited about it.

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