TMI sophomore Tyler McArdle, fourth from left, received second place for his team’s short film in the SA48HR Film Experience competition.
TMI sophomore Tyler McArdle headed a team that won second place overall in the SA48HR Film Experience, a local filmmaking event that challenges contestants to produce a short film in 48 hours. The competition is limited to 15 sponsored teams; each is given elements to incorporate into a film of no more than eight minutes.
McArdle was editor and codirector with Sergio Ramos of “Letters to Nowhere,” a film about a man who has a fateful meeting while wandering around a gritty San Antonio streetscape.
Other members of Team Sausage Fest Inc. were Jacob Shirmer, screenwriter with Ramos, and Cesar Martinez, camera operator. All are participants in Say Si, a nonprofit, multidisciplinary student arts program. Of the finalists, they were the youngest contestants and the only students.
This year’s theme was The Best of Friends; McArdle’s team drew the following variables: character, Carol, the butcher from New York; location, wrong side of the tracks; and line, “Can we do this later?”
Tyler McArdle
“We were lucky,” says McArdle. “These were some of the easiest elements to work with, so we had a lot of ideas for movies.” After the team members chose the one that seemed most workable, they divided their 48 hours among writing, shooting and editing the short film.
Their team also had the lowest budget of any of the submitting filmmakers. “We did it all for $75,” says McArdle. “We spent it on costumes from the Salvation Army and food from Taco Cabana.” Their locations also were free; the young filmmakers shot outdoors on Cevallos Street, near Southtown, and in the East Side complex of city cemeteries.
SA48HR films were shown Dec. 8 at the Santikos Bijou Theater. An awards ceremony Dec. 16 at Sunset Station recognized the first-, second-, third-place and audience-award winners. Team Sausage Fest won a camera accessory, a month of studio time at C4 Workspace and Gallery and coupons to local restaurants.
The unexpected win gave McArdle confidence, he says: “I’ll definitely be entering other contests this spring.”
A graduate of San Antonio Academy, he is the son of Leticia and Douglas McArdle.
To view “Letters to Nowhere,” visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2P76Su06T4.
