Insomnia isn’t so bad
BYU-I represents at national 24-hour film festival
- posted: 27 Nov. 2007
- scrollarts@byui.edu
Past and present BYU-Idaho students entered the Insomnia Film Festival on Oct. 13 with hope and a fast car.
The contest, put on by Apple Inc., is a 24-hour film festival. The basic requirements are that the film had to include three props, dialogues or settings from a list posted by Apple.
According to the Web site, the main purpose for the competitors was to “turn 24 hours into a three-minute masterpiece.”
Justin Somsen, one of the participants who helped the BYU-I students, said that entering the contest was random and not planned.
“Apple sent out an e-mail; I was just kind of curious, so I checked it out because it sounded fun,” Somsen said.
After pulling together a few friends, the students decided to go for it. They didn’t have much experience with editing or making short films, but they all had a good time making the video.
“We had just edited some snowboarding videos before,” said Eli Williams, a sophomore studying construction management.
Not only was entering the contest spur-of-the-moment, so was the topic of their short film. Darren Cherrington, a freshman studying general education, said that his favorite part of the project was storyboarding.
One thing that the whole group was set on was the fact that that they wanted to incorporate a driving scene. The title that the group came up with for their film was “Celerity,” which means swiftness or speed. They felt the title was appropriate for the fast-paced driving scene in the movie.
The students said that despite their hard work and exhaustion from no sleep, they agreed that it’s something they look forward to doing again in the future.
“I would be interested in doing it again; it might be easier the second time around,” Cherrington said.
If the students win the contest, they will receive five computers and software. Additionally, they will get to meet writers and directors, including Barry Sonnenfeld, who has been the producer or director for films and TV shows such as Men in Black and Pushing Daises. 
