Sub Par productions outperforms at 48-hour film contest

Sub Par Productions, University of Richmond's student organization that creates comedic short films, competed this summer in a 48-hour film project and was featured at the Byrd Theater.

At the competition, the group won awards for best script, best music and best choreography, co-president Sam Abrahams said. Sub Par was originally a group of friends making comedy videos together, that since 2010 has evolved into a more inclusive group, Abrahams said.

The 48-hour film project is an international competition that is broken down into cities around the world, Abrahams said. In every competition, in addition to writing, rehearsing and editing a short film, participants are given a theme and several additional requirements, he said.

The group has about 15 members, but size can range dramatically because it works on a production-by-production basis, Abrahams said. Abrahams joined the group last year and has a lot of experience with video production and technical equipment that he brought to the group, he said.

In the competition in Richmond this summer, each group had to use the line, "Why am I always first," incorporate a flashlight prop and include the character Alan/Alaina Nicholson, he said. Each team had a different genre, and Sub Par was assigned to a musical, he said.

This was the first 48-hour film competition for a lot of people who participated, Abrahams said.

Austin Nuckols, a music and business major working with the group for the first time, wrote and recorded the music for the project, Nuckols said. At the time, Nuckols was working on writing an opera, so the film project was a great break, he said.

"It was really nice to see how all of us worked under pressure," Nuckols said. "We functioned really well as a group."

Abrahams said that Sub Par Productions' goal was to expand more into the community. The group wants to work on developing a professional style and workflow, and build up a sustainable selection of equipment to maintain its quality standards, he said.

Sub Par Productions also helps create videos for various groups on campus and has created the introduction video for Spring Fever, the annual Octaves spring concert, for the past three years, Abrahams said.

Contact reporter Jessica Racioppi at jessica.racioppi@richmond.edu