A friend of mine came back to work on a Monday morning exhausted. And not just a ‘celebratory weekend’ exhausted… exhausted in a way I’d never seen before. I asked him what had happened and he replied, “Instant Films.” I was a little perplexed, needless to say. I soon discovered, however, that “Instant Films” equated to the making of an entire short film in a single weekend. Insanity? Maybe…but in a fun way.

So I started wondering who was behind this. Who would think up of such a concept and bring others along for the ride?

Early Thursday morning, after a night of scouring the Instant Films website, I dialed up co-founder John Sylvain; whose gravely voice filled the room from my speakerphone.

Originally started back in 2002, Instant Films was the brainchild of Peter Lebow, Charles Paport, and John Sylvain. The idea came about while Peter and John worked at Sacred Fools, a theater company that John founded. One thing they had tried was to put on a play in twenty-four hours, something transplanted from New York and Seattle. With the help of Charles, who was a director of photography, they decided to take this off-stage and to the world of video and the internet, creating a new company for the venture.

The Instant Films trio started out with only a handful of friends, but that soon grew as more and more people wanted to join. “The quality from the beginning was pretty astonishing considering the time period,” says John. The motto they started out with was “The four F’s. Fun, Faith, Fast and Finished.” Having fun is the key ingredient as the cast and crew “Have to work together intensely and intently” according to John.

In those early days they would screen the shorts in a warehouse. Soon they expanded to a soundstage, until today they screen their festival of shorts at the Los Angeles Center Studios -- which seats 400. The LA Center has screened the last five festivals there and proven to be a great partner for Instant Films.

Once the screening of films became public they were deluged with interest from people. Now they have the luxury of screening those who wish to get involved. Talent that have participated include writers from WILL AND GRACE, and THE WEST WING, among others, as well as actors from BLACKHAWK DOWN and ER. John explained to me they are looking for people who understand the process, as those involved have a better time with experienced crew and cast. Also the audience will have a more enjoyable time watching the shorts.

Once in a while they do hold a cattle call for actors to get new people, otherwise there’s a participation link on their webpage for any one who wishes to be a part of an Instant Films. When looking for directors they are looking for people that show “they can work with actors,” reveals John. “We need to see some substance. Can they tell a story and have it make sense.”

John laid out for me the typical process of making the shorts. The writers from different teams will meet on Friday night and get a noun and an adjective. They spend the night writing for three men and one woman to act in the story. By 8 am the next morning they hand in their copies of the script. Directors then randomly pick the script they are to do and randomly pick their cast. The rest of the Saturday is spent filming the project on digital video. By 7pm Sunday the teams must submit their completed project to screen that night at 8pm. However, not all people get their project in by 7. “We have directors running in at 8:30 at the screening with their film” chuckles John.

What all this insanity allows for is no egos, no preconceived notions, and no second-guessing. A lesson many have learned from doing this admits John is “Your first idea and your ninety ninth idea are your best.” They have now had eight festivals and want to do one every six weeks. Instant Films recently signed an option with Dick Clark Productions to develop a TV show. They are also offering classes, especially for actors who want to get some tape and learn how to do some on camera stuff. One of the goals of the classes, John explains, is it allows actors to get an idea of what it’s going to be like to work on an independent film and be expected to nail their part immediately.

John’s advice to filmmakers starting out is, “Do your first thing and go for it. Go for it and don’t edit it so much. The technology exists to make your movie. Make some short films. My advice, don’t make a feature film first; it’s a waste of money. Build up to it. Learn by doing.” With the affordability of DV technology he suggests not to raise 10 grand for one feature film, but instead use that money to make ten short films. “For three thousand dollars you can buy a 3 chip DV camera like a Canon XL1 and edit on an iMac.”

At the end of our conversation, John remembered some advice a friend once gave him when he first got out of college and thought about starting a theater. “If you wait until you know enough to start a theater you will never ever start a theater.” To take that one step further John says, “If you wait to know enough to make a film you will never ever make a film.”

You can check out Instant Films at http://instantfilms.com.