Vassar Filmmakers lead Insomnia Film Fest

Juliana Kiyan Senior Editor

Making a movie in 24 hours from scratch? No problem for the Vassar Filmmakers. For Apple’s 2007 annual Insomnia Film Festival, the student group wrote, cast, shot, edited and scored their film, Hobopus, all within a 24-hour window. And since the ending of the public rating period for all of the submissions, the film stands as one of the top ranked films, with a chance to win one of the grand prizes.

Ben Rutkowski ’09, Brian Paccione ’09, Lauren Rubin ’10, Woodrow Travers ’09 and Sebastian Weinberg ’09 are the minds and talent behind Hobopus. Their three-minute film, sans dialogue, follows a young musician (played by Conor Stratton, a friend of Rutkowski) in New York City as he struggles to compose a new piece—only to lose the product of his efforts out his apartment window while he is asleep. Downtrodden, he hears some familiar music while and waiting for the subway one day and discovers that his piece has fallen into the hands of a homeless man (whom he previously ignored in front of his building) playing it on his violin.

The Filmmakers were prepared for the arduous task, and some of the members had made films in 24 hours before. They brainstormed ideas in advance and based their original concept on an anecdote of Rutkowski’s. His father’s college roommate lost his music while asleep on the subway and later came upon a homeless person playing his very music.

When the contest officially began at 9 a.m. on Oct. 13, the group got to work. Every team was required to use at least three of 10 film elements predetermined by Apple, such as a specific costume, camera angle or location. The team incorporated five of them, including a fantastical dream sequence (Apple’s prescribed narrative device) and the dialogue “Don’t tempt me,” which appears on the homeless man’s sign.

As some of the team members filmed in hour-long segments, others simultaneously edited the footage on the computer. The team was also required to use original music; their minimalist score comprised pre-recorded music that Rubin had composed two years earlier, as well as violin music by Weinberg.

“[The whole process] worked really well, because this was the first time where we felt we had enough time,” said Rutkowski. But that’s not to say they weren’t working up to the strict 9 a.m. deadline. The Filmmakers said that many of the teams missed the cut; out of 3,000 who had initially signed up, 2,000 teams were able to submit their films in time.

Once the films were in, the public was able to watch them and rate their favorites. To their excitement, the Filmmakers were leading the pack when the rating period closed at midnight Nov. 9. Apple will not officially announce the winners and 25 finalists until Nov. 20. The ratings are determined by a combination of the number of people who rate a film and the rating each person gave.

The 25 highest-rated films will be screened by a panel of celebrity judges, who include directors Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), Mary Harron (American Psycho), James Mangold (Walk the Line), Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) and Barry Sonnenfeld (Addams Family, Men In Black).

As the grand prizes for the judges’ favorite film and the highest-rated film (the category that the Filmmakers lead), each team member will receive a MacBook Pro, Final Cut Studio 2 and other software. The final prize is the Slingjam Creative Award, which focuses on the creativity of the storyline and art direction.

Even if the grand prize eludes them in the end, the Filmmakers see real value in having industry professionals review their film. “These people who are so well-established and respected will see our film,” said Paccione. “They’re going to sit down and evaluate it,” added Rutkowski.

The Filmmakers consider Vassar’s support to be what propelled them to the top. Last month, mass e-mails asking students to vote were sent to the Classes of 2009 and 2010 and residents of Main Building. Dean of the College Judy Jackson even got in on the action and notified the entire campus near the end of the voting period.

“We got so many e-mails from people saying it was really incredible and there were so many great comments on the site,” said Rubin.

“It was such a good feeling,” said Paccione, “not only to see everyone at school support us, but all my friends back home and family members too. All these people were willing to push our stuff and get it out there.”