# 48Hours

48Hours is a New Zealand film-making competition. It involves teams of various sizes competing to write, shoot, edit and score a short film, which must be between 1 and 5 minutes long (7 minutes before 2016), over a single 48-hour period. Developed from the US-based 48 Hour Film Project, which was run in Auckland in 2003, 48Hours has been running as a New Zealand-only event since 2004, with regional competitions organised in 8 cities and regions around New Zealand: Auckland, Hamilton, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
The event was founded by Anthony "Ant" Timpson and is organised by Ness Patea and Ruth Korver. There is a launch event on Friday night of the shoot weekend, where each team is given a randomly selected genre. They are also given three compulsory elements which are common to all teams. These are a line of dialogue, a prop, a character, and since 2010, a "technical" element.
All creative work required to produce the film must be undertaken and completed within the 48 hours of the competition. This includes storylining, scriptwriting, filming, editing and audio mixing. Teams must deliver their finished film to the competition organisers by the Sunday evening to be eligible for prizes, although late deliveries will still be screened in the heats.
By 2011 the competition had grown to include more than 800 teams nationwide with at least 10,000 people believed to be involved. In 2020, there was a free lockdown version of the competition which was run in level 4. There were 1208 films created over one weekend.

## Compulsory elements

Every year teams are given a number of compulsory elements to help ensure that film has been wholly created on the shoot weekend. The elements include a character with a gender-neutral name, a character trait, a line of dialogue, a prop, and as of 2010, a technical shot. As well as these, teams are randomly allocated a genre for their film. 2017 saw the introduction of themes, different elements, and the ULTRA48 Challenge for teams that elect to do it for added difficulty.
| Year | Character | Character trait | Line of dialogue | Prop | Technical shot | Shoot weekend |
| 2003 | Gnarly Watson | Rock 'n' roll legend | "I didn't see that coming." | Torch | — | |
| 2004 | Jesse McCloud (Auckland) | Total has-been | "Do you mind if I have the last one?" | Ice | — | |
| 2004 | Terry Spears (Wellington) | Model | "Just put that down nice and easy." | Doll | — | |
| 2005 | Bodil de Resny | Animal lover | "Please don't do that." | Banana | — | 13–15 May |
| 2006 | Robin Slade | Eternal optimist | "That's what I'm talking about." | Mirror | — | 26–28 May |
| 2007 | Jerry Reed | Hypochondriac | "What do you call that?" | Rope | — | 18–20 May |
| 2008 | Kerry Post | Perfectionist | "Wait a minute." | Brush | — | 16–18 May |
| 2009 | Alex Puddle | Exaggerator | "It doesn't fit." | Rock | — | 8–10 May |
| 2010 | Sidney Manson | Fabricator | "When you look at it that way..." | Broken toy | Dolly zoom | 16–18 Apr |
| 2011 | Bobby Young | Ex-bully | "What have you got?" | Bent wire | Freeze-frame shot | 20–22 May |
| 2012 | Nicky Brick | Unlucky person | "I did that." | Leaf | Slow motion | 18–20 May |
| 2013 | Vic Meyer | Insomniac | "Did you hear that?" | Card | Point of view shot | 24–26 May |
| 2014 | Morgan Foster | Liar | "Not with that you're not." | Ball | Extreme close up/macro | 4–6 Apr |
| 2015 | Harper Harrison | Thoughtless | "Oh, really?" | Bread | Match cut/match dissolve | 1–3 May |
| 2016 | Charlie Flowers | Thoughtful person | "One more time" | Wool | Rack focus | 16–18 Sep |
| Year | Character | Physical Element | Sound Effect | Technical shot | ULTRA48 Challenge | Shoot weekend |
| 2017 | A female | Collision | Wilhelm Scream | Smash cut | Create a sequel to any of your team's previous 48 shorts AND include the required elements from that year. | 25–27 Aug |
| 2018 | | Puddle | Slamming door | Shadow or silhouette | Main characters must be children (defined as "under 18") and/or animals. | 11–13 May |
| 2019 | | Wind | Laughter | Double-take, overhead shot | Split-screen and break the 4th-wall. | 14–16 Jun |
| 2020 | | A Photograph | An Echo | An Arc Shot | N/A | 17–19 Apr |
| 2021 | Reluctant, unlikely, or anti-hero | Something Invisible | Heart-beat | Reaction Shot | Set in the dark. | 5–7 Mar |
| 2021 (II) | Confidant | Package | Ticking | Reflection | Set in the dark. | 12-14 Mar |
| 2022 | A gate-keeper | A sign | A whisper | Worm's-eye view or Bird's-eye view | N/A | 12–14 Aug |
| 2024 | A traveller or neighbour | An exit | A warning | Match cut | N/A | 17–19 May |
* ↑ A bonus prop of "a red scarf" was to be included.
* ↑ Each team had to choose one theme from this list: Redemption, Love, Transformation, Sacrifice, Vengeance, Friendship, Justice, Jealous, Ambition, Fate.
* ↑ New Zealand was mid-lockdown during shoot weekend.
* ↑ A second shoot weekend was held for centres in lockdown during the first weekend.
* ↑ The 2003 competition was part of the 48 Hour Film Project. "The Auckland 48 Hour Film Project". 48 Hour Film Project. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
* 1 2 In 2004 Auckland and Wellington were given different elements.

## Genres by year

| Year | Staple Genres | Staple Genres | Staple Genres | Staple Genres | Staple Genres | Staple Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Common Genres | Rarer Genres |
| Year | Action, Revenge | Crime, Heist | Horror, Splatter, Monster, Supernatural, Ghost, Zombie, Possession | Musical, Dance | Romance, RomCom, & anti- | Sci-fi, Tech thriller, Time travel,Multi- verse | Buddy, Twin, Bro, Bechdel | Ed., Sex ed. | Fantasy, Adventure, Fairy-tale, Wish | Mystery, Puzzle | Mistaken identity, Secret identity | Shock ending, Shyamalan twist | Super- hero | Rarer Genres |
| 2006 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | | | | ✓ | based on true story, coming of age, mokumentary, war, pretentious art film, puppet |
| 2007 | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | ✓ | | | | ✓ | grindhouse, western, war, unnecessary sequel, coming of age |
| 2008 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | animal film, juvenile delinquent, drama, pretentious art film |
| 2009 | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | | | | ✓ | | parallel world, religious, real-time, nature runs amok, conspiracy, politically incorrect |
| 2010 | | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | | | | sports film, femme fatale film, bio pic, road movie |
| 2011 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | | | ✓ | | | ✓ | one room, body switch, quest, fad, road movie |
| 2012 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | | ✓ | | | | ✓ | end of world, inspirational, one-shot, found footage, erotic thriller, based on an urban legend |
| 2013 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | | | | | | | | non-dialogue, obsessive relationship, race against clock, robot/cyborg/android, immobilized, converging story-line, reunion |
| 2014 | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | against the odds, film within a film, race against clock |
| 2015 | | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | cat & mouse, last person on Earth, black comedy, other dimension |
| 2016 | | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | ✓ | | | cat & mouse, comedy of errors, dystopian, lovers on the run, one location, punk, puppet, real-time |
| 2017 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | | | | | alien, at night, bad seed, Christmas, survival, thriller, z-grade |
| 2018 | | ✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | | | ✓ | | | | | high school, fish-out-of-water, last day on Earth, spans more than 10 years |
| 2019 | | | | ✓ | | ✓✓ | ✓ | | | | ✓ | | | coming-of-age, generation gap, gross-out or cringe, holiday, nature runs amok, opposites attract, wrong-place-wrong-time, real-time |
| 2020 | | | ✓ | | | ✓ | | | ✓✓ | ✓ | | | | unwanted guest |
| 2021 | | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | | ✓✓ | | | | ✓ | invitation, redemption, race against time |
| 2021 (II) | | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | ✓ | | | | ✓ | | ✓ | gross-out comedy, race against time, real time thriller |
| 2022 | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ✓ | | | | | | | | anniversary, comedy of errors, impossible situation, swap movie, coming-of-age, pavalova western |
| 2024 | | ✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | | | ✓ | | ✓ | | | | | animal adventure, real-time, fish-out-of-water, lovers on the run |

## Regional and national winners

After initially being held in Auckland in 2003 as part of the international 48 Hour Film Project, the independent 48Hours began in 2004 with teams in Auckland and Wellington. At its peak in 2011, it was represented in eight cities.

### Notes

* ↑ A second shoot weekend was held for centres in lockdown during the first weekend.
* ↑ The 2003 competition was part of the 48 Hour Film Project. "The Auckland 48 Hour Film Project". 48 Hour Film Project. Retrieved 21 November 2013.