Should NYU faculty and their dependent children receive full tuition remission?
Correction appended
Tisch students are a bit more enlightened now that they've learned the multiple uses of duct tape — it makes a pretty good Valentine's Day date, adds just the right touch as a hair accessory and is useful for a career in espionage or petty theft.
A creative use for duct tape was just one of the many requirements for the students who unveiled their short films at the first Tisch 48-Hour Film Festival on Friday. The event was organized by Tisch freshman and film student Michael Litwak in conjunction with the Tisch Undergraduate Student Council.
Contest guidelines dictated that contestants have only two days to put their films together and have at least one Tisch actor, a Tisch production team (editor, director, etc.) and at least 20 seconds of music from a student at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in their film.
"You can't do film by yourself even if you want to," Litwak said. "Sometimes there's a bit of rivalry between schools, but this film festival gets kids to branch out and makes them meet other people, practice their skills together and want to work together until one day they say 'Hey, let's make another movie.' "
But those weren't the only restrictions.
Contestants also had to use duct tape somewhere in their film, and somehow incorporate the phrase, "Just do it, and say sorry later!"
It was a successful first year for the festival. There was a full house at the 180-seat Cantor Film Center and spillover rooms were set up at Tisch to accommodate the rest of the audience.
"We thought there'd be 10 or 11 teams, but there were 35 sign-ups and 25 teams turned in movies," Litwak said.
The films were judged by film professors Ezra Sacks and Rick Litvin, dramatic writing professor David Ranghelli and drama professor Kate Guyton along with three cinema studies students. A ballot determined the audience's favorite film.
As both the judges and the participants came from programs across Tisch, the film festival brought together individuals of all talents.
"They were trying to get people in different schools to get to know each other," Tisch freshman Alexander Morales, of the musical comedy, "Crossing Christopher Street," said. "It was very fun. Stressful, hard work, but a lot of fun. But you have to stay on your toes and remain calm. If it gets too crazy, it's going to be a mess."
The winner of the film festival and the audience pick, "Ploop Ploop Ploop," was a clever testament to every awkward and slightly dysfunctional roommate situation. "Crossing Christopher Street" described a story of love between a homeless girl with a penchant for pigeons and the young waiter who pined for her from across the street, earning it the second-place prize as well as the award for best soundtrack.
Tied for third place were "Rough Play," which shook up the audience before an unexpected twist ending, and "La Máquina," which allowed a glimpse into the inner strife of an eloquent robot. The depth of things left unsaid earned the film "Break" the award for best drama.
For actor and Marymount senior Mathew Brady, and Tisch juniors Dylan Riley-MacArthur and Gaelan Connell, the creators of "Ploop Ploop Ploop," the frenzy of completing a film in two days was met with nothing but determination.
"I think you just ... just do it," Riley-MacArthur said. "The trick is not to get distracted, to have the willpower."
The Tisch 48 is expected to be an annual festival. So next year, take Riley-MacArthur's advice: just do it, and say sorry later.
In the Feb. 8 issue, WSN inaccurately reported that "Break" won the award for best drama. It won the award for best performance. WSN regrets this error.
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