Actually it's funny...we submitted The Challenge to the Barrie Film Fest at the very last minute because we were still in the process of shooting Genesis. We weren't able to attend the festival because we were traveling to Niagra area to shoot an epic fight scene! It was unfortunate that we weren't there to accept the award for our film but it's nice to know people enjoyed it.
While we're on the subject, I feel like looking back to The Challenge...
Although it's not actually classified as a "Reel Film", it was definitely a stepping stone in our progress. The 10 minute short was put together for my University thesis project where I chose to deconstruct the action genre, and by doing so I would create one myself to see why action films are made the way they are.
So I researched the most popular type of action sequences and came up with: a dirtbike chase, a gun battle, and a sword fight...to the best of our abilities. With each sequence we had to choreograph, rehearse, and shoot all the action based on our own knowledge. But I had two awesome guys who were willing to do anything to do it right! After eight months of production we finally had our masterpiece...only to have it totally shot down by the professors at my University, stating that it looked "too Hollywood"...I'm guessing they didn't get where I was going with this.
Anyhow, I stuck to my original plan because I believed that what I had created was true to my research, even if it meant sacrificing part of my grade....which it did.
But who cares? I passed, and I got second place at a film festival because I stuck to my vision. The lesson here kids: don't let anyone change your vision, you created it, it's yours!
I'll leave you now with some photos from The Challenge...
