Wow! We did it. We won “Best of Baltimore” for the 2013 Baltimore 48 Hour Film Project with our entry “Cordially Invited.” What a fun weekend of shooting and creating this clever little piece. This project is definitely the epitome of the collaborative art…filmmaking. We had such an incredible group of folks who participated and each person stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun. Thanks to all who participated, cast and crew.

I had the pleasure of directing this fine band of creative’s as well as shooting and finishing the edit. I knew from the start that we would create something great when we pulled our genre from the hat and it was dark comedy. I called it in the car ride on the way over. I said we would pull comedy. We did. It just turned out to be of a darker version.

I think the hardest thing we had to decide all weekend was where to shoot. My studio or Herbert Mann’s, which is right next door to mine. Once we made that decision everything started to flow and it all came together. The writers came up with a funny script and were tweaking it throughout the day. The crew moved quickly changing set ups and relighting and kept up an amazing positive attitude throughout. The cast worked in between scenes and shots rehearsing so when we were ready to shoot we got what we needed in 3 or 4 takes. It was a total team effort. Was it exhausting? Yep. But it was well worth the effort. We had done other 48 projects in the past and they were fun too. But this one was special.

A special shout out to our star, Maddie Howard, who won the Best Acting Award for her portrayal of Abbey Tuesday in “Cordially Invited.” She did an outstanding job and carried the piece. Not easy for any actor let alone one in middle school. Expect to see her at your local movie theater soon!

And kudos to our crack graphics squad who took home the Best Graphics prize! Awesome work Meg Freeburn and Chester Stacy!

Next stop- FILMAPALOOZA!!!

Here is the link one more time if you didn’t get a chance to see it at The Charles Theater!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr6ZMQlen-c

Some of the cast and crew of Cordially Invited with Baltimore director/host Rob Hatch at The Best of Baltimore at The Charles Theater!