Picture this: opening up a secret envelope, finding inside your assignment, and whipping together a film on that assignment—all in two days’ time. That happens each year with the local SATO 48, which is gearing up for its 13th season.
Forty-eight hours is all the participants in SATO 48 get to shoot edit and produce a five minute film. SATO stands for Springfield And The Ozarks. The twist is none of the teams know what their film will be about until they receive their so-called “inspiration package.”
All teams receive the secret envelope at the same time during the launch event. The package contains elements that each film must contain, like a certain word or a specific prop.
Holly Atkinson, works with ADSmith, which helps promote the film contest.
“They essentially just wanted to open up that window and see how many creative individuals were here in Springfield and what that untapped resource would look like,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson said the quality of films is impressive.
“I went in completely just expecting to spend several hours watching films that were not good, if painfully bad, and I was completely blown away,” Atkinson said.
The finished films will be shown at The Moxie in downtown Springfield from Thursday, April 26 to Sunday, April 29.
There’s still time if you want to participate in SATO 48. Signup is available on the SATO 48 website until the kickoff event. The cost to enter is currently $50 and will continue to rise until registration closes where it will cap out at $100.