The tenth annual 24 Hour Video Race kicks off this Friday. Continuing our look back at the first decade, here is the third best video as chosen by the race’s organizers: Monochromatic Productions’ Paletero (2009). And after the jump, team member Andy Viganas.
To view all the videos in the countdown, go here.
FrontRow: Where are you now? Is filmmaker still part of your life?
Andy Viganas: I wish it was a part of my life more than it is right now. With a full time job — and life in general — it’s very hard, but I have made it a goal to do as much as I can and contribute to filmmaking. Hopefully one day a big gig can land on my lap. Many of us are still working together at a local news station in Dallas. Our very own Laura Trevino, team mate of ‘09, has made filmmaking a part of her life and the center of her career. She is a full time filmmaker and as a freelancer in television and film productions as well as directing some of her very own productions.
FR: How did the idea for your movie emerge during the 24 hours you spent making it?
AV: We were at a Whataburger, till around 3 a.m., trying to decide a plot or a cool twist to an idea that had already developed and through hypothetical conversations, Laura had about children. So with the desire to show youthful and somewhat innocent mischievousness, we came up with the comedic mishap of the story. We all knew that people connect easier with little kids, and being that this was a competition, it was the best way to go.
FR: What was the most frustrating part about filmmaking under the race’s conditions/What were the most freeing aspects?
AV: The most frustrating part was trying to cover as much as we can and at the same not to push our talent, who mostly were kids under the age of 10, over the edge. Many of us are perfectionists, and having very limited time to accomplish it all was very tough. The most freeing aspect was working with a group of pros who we all shared the passion of visual storytelling and creativity who were all ready to bring a great project to life.
FR: Why did you originally enter the race – how did you put together your team?
AV: As I mention, we all worked with the same company, but in different departments, so we share the same passion of filmmaking. We heard about the race through another colleague, who works for another local TV station, and we decided give them some friendly competition.
FR: Looking back at your movie, do you have any reaction to it/thoughts/things you would do differently?
AV: If anything two things, one, we never got our T-shirts when we won. I mean that‘s the whole reason we entered! Two, I also wish we could have made it longer, but, with the rules and all, we cut it short just to make sure. All of us are very happy with our 24 hour product. Most of us wish we could’ve shot more behind the scenes stuff because it was a truly enjoyable experience.
FR: Has the race had any lasting impact on how you view movies/moviemaking?
AV: Being behind the camera is my passion, but in this project I did some directing and found that it came easy to me. It also showed me that every job, part, etc. is important. The only way to have a good product is that everyone has to be on the same page and little help from the movie gods. They were definitely grateful to us on that day. I forward the Q&A to everyone and Laura give the best answer so here it is: Off-course, being that the majority of the team members come from a journalistic story telling background together with my fictional narrative perspective, it was neat to see the byproduct of different point of views. I often think about how some stories are best told with a combination of both documentary journalistic style and cinematic narrative. I think the people that came together for this particular race was a great combination of skills, ideals, and creativity.
