Ramba

For once, my blog slowdown wasn't caused by a mountain of schoolwork! This weekend, I was neck-deep in the 48-Hour Film Competition hosted by the Loft Cinema here in Tucson. My old classmates and I had two days upon receipt of a movie title to whip out a movie spoof and submit it. We got "Rambo." Score! My armorer skills were in demand and I brought every pair of BDU pants and green T-Shirt I had in my closet. Unfortunately we had a big shortage of Asian extras who would probably fit in my old uniforms; instead we squeezed my mostly strapping Hispanic classmates into whatever would reasonably fit. After hanging all Friday night to help conceive and write the screenplay, I loaded up the production truck and came back on no sleep to help shoot the movie (we had three of four cameras running most of the time). After we wrapped after Saturday midnight, I recognized the symptoms of impending exhaustion and pulled my truck into a parking lot between the I-10 and I-19 on-ramps and closed my eyes. Time passed.

I felt bad about bailing out on my teammates the next morning, but once I got all my footage transfered and helped transfer the others, I wished them well and returned home to a long nap and a mountain of unfinished homework. I've since learned that there's been a problem with the disc we submitted. I hope they fix it... I look forward to sharing "Ramba" with you all.

Update: They didn't even use any of my footage! Seems they overlooked the folder it was in --things like that happen when you're on a short deadline and haven't slept all weekend. I have a copy of what we sent in for the contest, but I'll wait until after the premiere on the 29th to upload it. I'd like to get together afterwards and build an unrushed Director's Cut, because I know I had some unique footage on my tape.

BIG UPDATE: "Ramba" premieres Tuesday night at the Loft Cinema on Speedway. Movies start showing at 7 pm. Cheer us on! I'll upload the movie for you all Wednesday and a Forgotten Cameraman's Cut shortly afterwards.