Who in the Puppet is that!

On set of "Essential Essence."

Tiny Explosions did something we have never done before; we pre-planned an important element of our 48 Hour Film Project film. I am a bit of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to the rules. I don't care if it is a month, week, or hours before the kickoff- if you have an idea for our film, keep it in your head. Does that box have a logo on it? We need a different box. Can you see that Kohl's signage in the shot? We need to reframe. In fact, I get rather cranky when other teams break the rules and pre-write their film. What's the point of 48 if not for the constraints? Still, we kind of massaged the rules a bit in that we made puppets. 

For as long as I can remember, my family has watched the "Muppet Family Christmas" on or around Christmas Eve. It originally aired in December 1987 and I still watch the original recording my parents made on VHS. It is one of my favorite things; the songs, all the Henson characters, the gags, the awesome 1980s WLS Chicagoland broadcast commercials. It's a trip and if you want a copy, I can easily send you a digital one.

While watching the Muppet Family Christmas this past holiday, the idea formed in my head that making a puppet can't be that hard. So of course, I texted Brian immediately. Wouldn't you know it, he was game for it as soon as my text arrived. 

Now in my mind Puppets are a prop and the story options to include them are endless. Did I want to make them in time for the next 48HFP? Sure, but that seemed unlikely, especially since we had four Tiny Explosions teammates join up and we were planning on building the puppets together. It was a months-long process that at times felt like we might need until the Fall to pull it off. Along the way people joked about things we could do with the puppets but I kept my hard edge about story possibilities. Luckily, we made it by July and now 10 puppets exist that were not even a twinkle in our eyes a year ago.

Besides all the months of pregame to create our pack of puppets, we still had to find a way to integrate them into a story. At kick off we lucked into "Fish out of Water" for the films genre for the 3rd time. Each time we've pulled it, I have said it's basically a wild card because any character(s) thrown out of their element is a fish out of water. After our usual brainstorming session the outline of Essential Essence was born. Synopsis: A group of door-to-door salesman are introduced to a new product that transforms their entire world. 

So now, why wait! Enjoy the film.

If you read my annual 48 hour filmmaking post, you know there's some take away or advice I like to share. 2023 is no different. The most important part of filmmaking is writing, but not just coming up with something. The easiest key to success is write a simple story and be a hawk about keeping the story clear and paced well. In production we tend to have such a good time that we let some bits get carried away or not be set up in a logical way. For instance, this film has a lot of set up (probably too much) but once the puppets take over, the audience starts to lose thread on what is happening and why. Gags overtook story and definitely dialogue. I found myself thinking something was missing, a Tiny Explosions newcomer Tosh Dillinger told me our next scene needed more dialogue. Just a splash of coldwater that we clearly were having fun and showing the fun but without explanation it was just puppets dancing around.

This is not a unique problem. As someone who reviews and selects shorts for an annual broadcast showcase of short films, I always weight the story, execution, and delivery of story above everything else. Ambition can give a film a grade bump but not save it. Again, storytelling is not easy to do. Every filmmaker struggles with it. In some ways making something beautiful and paced correctly is easy. Telling a story that hooks and keeps reeling you in is hard. The funny thing is every filmmaker, no matter their experience level deals with this issue. Maybe it's the optimist in me, but I forget this fact every time I see a trailer for a film. Every year a gaggle of 48 trailers come out and I think "Wow, there's going to be 30+ awesome films this year." 

So what's my plan for next time around? We wont abandon brainstorming or outlining, but I will be a logic and bloat hawk. I think a few important questions I will ask myself at every step include: 

• Does this make sense? 
• Are we taking too long in one scene? 
• Is this fun but not serving the story? 
• Are we keeping viewers actively watching and hooked into story?

Still, I want to make a good short film but not at the expense of someone's enjoyment making the film. I've received some weird looks from saying this but Tiny Explosions is not about making masterpieces, we're about having fun and sharing that fun with the audience. This principal is why I like to cut together BTS features. In some ways, behind the scenes featurettes are better than the film. You get a peek into the kitchen and see why the cook loves their job. So with that in mind, here's the behind the scenes of Essential Essence:

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Once again, I was only able to attend our screening and the Best of City screening so my annual Top three films of the 48 Hour Film Project Des Moines come with an asterisk. So from what I screened, here is my personal top three films of DSM 48 2023:

1. "Slap. Bump. Shoot" by Rise of the Cinetree
   The only film I saw this year that nailed the story & writing. Really solid acting and production, but they deserved every bit of the writing award. 
   
   
2. "Free Refills and Calling Dibs on Leftovers" by Trilix
   This film was a trip. It had its own special fever dream logic that I loved and had so many elements in it that really sold the twists and mania of it all. The only thing that would make it better is if Nic Cage was the lead actor.
   
   
3. "Amber Gulch" by Excuse me sir, I'll have milk with my pizza productions
   In a way, picking this may be seen as favoritism or SponCon, but this film was produced entirely by Stella Hogan (Brian's younger daughter) and her team. They are all high schoolers, it was Stella's first time leading a team, and it had all the elements to show she has it. The story was easy to follow, the acting was on tone, there is a clear sense of visual storytelling, and paced editing. As much as I just wrote about writing, visual storytelling is a hard thing to grasp. Understanding how and why to sequence shots, use camera moves, editing trickery, etc. Stella gets it and will only get better. I give them three years and Stella's team will be serious competitors for Best of City. Damn, if that's true we better get serious. Can't let our kids show us up! 

2023 48! It's over and one. Puppets are packed away and sitting lifeless on shelves. It's actually kind of sad that our little pack of fleece friends have hit the screen and now are... done? I don't like that. Not one bit. So now, it's on me. I won't let these puppets go silently into the night. They may not be seen again in 48, but they have not peaked. Stay tuned Horror 48 is coming soon, and some time after that, our puppets will be back.