By Mike Dunham

The 2nd Annual Anchorage 24 Hour Film Competition started at precisely 8:01 p.m. on Friday as about 40 Cecil B. Wannabees got their instructions and fanned out to write, shoot and edit a short film and turn in the finished product by 8:01 p.m. Saturday.

Given the organizer's recommendation of four people per production team, that should mean 10-12 shorts ready to be presented to the public at a screening and awards announcement to be held at Out North at 7:30 on Sunday.

Contestants, mostly UAA students, some with cameras, tripods and energy drinks in hand, sat in a classroom to get their last minute instructions. Pornography is not welcome, but tasteful nudity will be permitted, they were told. And no, cutting a video copy of "Rambo" into an 8 minute abridgement is not considered representative of the originality the organizers hope to see. Also, products must be submitted in two formats, to make sure that at least one copy is viewable despite inevitable technological glitches at the last minute.

The first competition took place in 2007 when UAA students frustrated by the lack of a film program decided to offer this event for similar-minded cinematographers. There was no competition in 2008, hence "second" in this title.

Three cues were announced at the end of the session. Each cue needs to be included in the films in a recognizable way, but producers have great leeway as to how they present the cues. The announced cues were:

1. Volcano
2. A '50s jingle (actually a '50s-STYLE jingle; it can be made up, since hardly anyone there could be expected to have actually heard a commercial jingle from the 1950s.)
3. A pound of flesh.

"I'll repeat that," said co-founder Woodruff Laputka. But he didn't have too. Contestants were already streaming out of the room.

Updates as they happen. If you have news from the set, comment here.