Back in August 2017, our St. Petersburg video production crew at Litewave Media teamed up for our 8th year taking part in the 48 Hour Film Project. The competition started in 2001 and has had more than 900 competitions take place around the globe. Teams spend two sleepless nights together writing, producing, editing and scoring a 4-7 minute movie in hopes of winning their city’s Best Film. Those Best Film winners from 130 participating cities around the world go on to Filmapalooza where they compete for the international title of Best Film. Litewave Media’s team has been lucky enough to win the competition (Tampa/St. Pete) in both 2012 and 2016!

Kelly slates the next scene while David, our Monk gets into character.
The rules are simple: each team must include a specific character, line of dialogue and prop as chosen by the festival. The weekend kicks off with a representative from each team drawing their genre from a hat. This year our team drew the “Sports” genre.

The Litewave Media cast and crew shot through the night as our ping pong players perfected their skills.
“You really need to look at what you have available around you” said Cashmir, founder of Litewave Media, “and we just so happen to have a fancy ping pong table right here in our St. Petersburg video studio!” Using the table as inspiration along with a lot of caffeine and snacks, the team brainstormed and worked their way into a script for our Sports-themed film.

Actor Josh and Kelly (PA) channel their inner pong player at a bay area park.

Steadicam operator Eric films the Monk character played by David.
The film was shot using two Canon C300 MkII’s, a combination of Litepanel Astra lights, Joker 800 HMI, and an ARRI Skypanel. Check out our list of St. Petersburg film equipment rental for a full list of our available cameras and lens packages.

Boom Operator Nat, strikes a pose while our sound technician Mike makes some adjustments.
After a most productive 48 hours our film, The Battle for the Paddle, was submitted with seconds to spare into the competition. The Battle for the Paddle took home Awards for Best Costumes, Best Editing, Best Special Effects and Best Supporting Actor – Zachary Vasquez from the 48 hour Film Project!

The Litewave Media crew poses with 4 of their 5 awards won at the Tampa Bay 48 Hour Film Project Festival.

That’s a wrap! The Battle for the Paddle cast and crew after a long day of filming.
Thanks to the awesome cast and crew that made our film possible!
In December, The Battle for the Paddle was also selected to screen at Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. The film played in the comedy shorts block, and we were awarded Best Comedy Film!

The Battle for the Paddle cast and crew pose on the red carpet at the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival.
Ever wonder how a man’s love for ping pong takes him on journey to find his true calling? Check out our film right here! Let us know what you think.
Do you have an upcoming project for our St. Petersburg Video Production Company? Contact us today to see how we can help. Find us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the Litewave Media blog to stay up to date on all of our St. Petersburg video production company’s news.