Thanks Dean
As it turns out, none of our team (of four!) can make it to the Wellington finals to witness the spectacle this year. Can I make the humble request that someone who does go posts a full list of the Welly awards and winner(s) up here? I'm sure Dan S or someone intends to, but I can't remember whether it happened last year or not. I assume it did, but just want to make sure we're not left out of the loop

Good luck to all finalists! Do us proud in the Nationals!

Now I just need to figure out how to clean up next year

WELLINGTON HEAT 7:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Flock of Monkeys / Genre: Real Time / “Honest to God True Story”

Clearly a team that had all the technical gear and equipment set-up to do some pretty fancy stuff like pictures in pictures, but this genre was not a great fit for them. An Irishman tells us the story of his Grandfather and his adventures going from Dublin all around the world, where he took lions back from Africa. Never a dull moment but some jokes fell flat.

Story: 3 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Fluffy Cat Dolls ft. Tala & Mi / Genre: Parallel World / “A Slice of Time”

Really weirdly colour-timed for the most part, but I was entertained by the guy who looked like Elton John and did not drop his enormous grin for one frame that he was on screen. Having experimented with a lot of toast, Alex tells Flora how he is able to go through parallel worlds with his trans-dimensional rock. She however does not want him to electrocute himself alive and so tries to stop him. It got a bit confusing towards the end.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 4 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Gargantuan / Genre: Nature Run Amok / “Pace of Life”

Had some nice time-lapse effects as killer snails joined the ridiculous pantheons of the genre like frogs and rabbits; the film could also have fit into revenge with an underlying message that life is short.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3.5 / Overall: 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Glowing Squirrel / Genre: Horror / “The Abandoned” [Disqualified]

Having driven an hour to visit his friend, the main character is disappointed that it was to be shown footage of what looks like the wind rustling plants, but which his friend is adamant is something else. Knew and showed that it knew the genre conventions of horror really well which provided a few laughs, but payoffs were relatively weak…bar one scene in a bathroom with a lot of blood which got a terrific audience reaction.

Story: 1.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3.5 / Overall: 2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Golden Carrot Films / Genre: Romance / “I Love You This Much”

Essentially three short stories of people looking for love. A girl amputee, a guy amputee and a Japanese couple pretty much deliver the same lines but garner different reactions. I think it could have been better to settle down on one romance, such as the amputee guy; when the girl he was interested in entered to saucy music and some nice camera work the audience went nuts.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 3 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 2.5 / Overall: 2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Growler Box / Genre: Conspiracy / “Raising Cane”

Starting off in a bar where a woman avoided her co-workers sleazy advances and hears the outcries of a drunken Fijian when she goes to get a drink to get away, this was an excellent conspiracy film. The Government was embroiled in some pretty serious stuff, and it had a great paranoid Paralax View/Conversation-type feel to it. Well shot and well acted with some grit and drops of black humour.

Story: 4.5 / Acting: 4 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 4 / Overall: 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Grucy and Co. / Genre: Musical / “The Wrangler” [Disqualified]

Shame it was late as this was good fun; mainly black and white detective jazz opera with each character having a distinctive singing style and not afraid to break the fourth wall. The detective is onto the case of a dead woman having found the murder weapon. A woman tells him it was the slinking Wrangler. We then meet the Wrangler and lots of three-way singing ensues.

Story: 3 / Acting: 4 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Hammer Time Productions / Genre: Educational / “How to be an Original New Zealand Gangster”

This team used the LOOP music available to good effect, as we were shown several steps to becoming a gangster, such as having good threads, a posse (who follow you everywhere, literally) and a sweet ride. Fast-paced and funny, unfortunately their final gag after the credits had the sound turned off.

Story: 3 / Acting: 3.5 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Happy Puppy Productions / Genre: Politically Incorrect/Religious / “The Last Supper”

A preacher welcomes his Kapiti communion for celebrating Jesus’ last days. Through flashback we are shown the last supper and how somebody betrayed him by stealing his last cupcake and threw in a couple of bad taste jokes. This allows the preacher to deliver a life lesson for all.

Story: 2 / Acting: 3 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Donnie and the Darkos / Genre: Family / “Uncle Alfie and the Puddles”

Some kids are down in the dumps after their parents just died, only for their incredibly fast talking ‘Allo, allo’ uncle Alfie to suddenly appear on the scene. He does his best to cheer them up by taking them to the playground and buying them a lot of ice-cream. However from the start something doesn’t seem quite right about him but he’s family, right?

Story: 3.5 / Acting: 3.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5

WELLINGTON HEAT 7:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Flock of Monkeys / Genre: Real Time / “Honest to God True Story”

Clearly a team that had all the technical gear and equipment set-up to do some pretty fancy stuff like pictures in pictures, but this genre was not a great fit for them. An Irishman tells us the story of his Grandfather and his adventures going from Dublin all around the world, where he took lions back from Africa. Never a dull moment but some jokes fell flat.

Story: 3 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Fluffy Cat Dolls ft. Tala & Mi / Genre: Parallel World / “A Slice of Time”

Really weirdly colour-timed for the most part, but I was entertained by the guy who looked like Elton John and did not drop his enormous grin for one frame that he was on screen. Having experimented with a lot of toast, Alex tells Flora how he is able to go through parallel worlds with his trans-dimensional rock. She however does not want him to electrocute himself alive and so tries to stop him. It got a bit confusing towards the end.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 4 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

Thanks steel potato for your critique, our team of five (Bachelor of Visual Arts Students), had an awesome time creating this our first attempt, and have enjoyed the viewing of the other teams works immensely. It is impressive to see how much talent there is in New Zealand, which is one of the reasons I guess this competition has been created, and I reckon all competitors should take pride in their having the courage to give 48hrs a go. I believe that we shall be back next year for another go, for now though, good luck to those still in the running!! A shout out to the Fluffy Cats Team, well done for a great attempt and all the hard work, we should be proud of ourselves! - Elton look-a-like
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Gargantuan / Genre: Nature Run Amok / “Pace of Life”

Had some nice time-lapse effects as killer snails joined the ridiculous pantheons of the genre like frogs and rabbits; the film could also have fit into revenge with an underlying message that life is short.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3.5 / Overall: 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Glowing Squirrel / Genre: Horror / “The Abandoned” [Disqualified]

Having driven an hour to visit his friend, the main character is disappointed that it was to be shown footage of what looks like the wind rustling plants, but which his friend is adamant is something else. Knew and showed that it knew the genre conventions of horror really well which provided a few laughs, but payoffs were relatively weak…bar one scene in a bathroom with a lot of blood which got a terrific audience reaction.

Story: 1.5 / Acting: 2.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3.5 / Overall: 2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Golden Carrot Films / Genre: Romance / “I Love You This Much”

Essentially three short stories of people looking for love. A girl amputee, a guy amputee and a Japanese couple pretty much deliver the same lines but garner different reactions. I think it could have been better to settle down on one romance, such as the amputee guy; when the girl he was interested in entered to saucy music and some nice camera work the audience went nuts.

Story: 2.5 / Acting: 3 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 2.5 / Overall: 2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Growler Box / Genre: Conspiracy / “Raising Cane”

Starting off in a bar where a woman avoided her co-workers sleazy advances and hears the outcries of a drunken Fijian when she goes to get a drink to get away, this was an excellent conspiracy film. The Government was embroiled in some pretty serious stuff, and it had a great paranoid Paralax View/Conversation-type feel to it. Well shot and well acted with some grit and drops of black humour.

Story: 4.5 / Acting: 4 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 4 / Overall: 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Grucy and Co. / Genre: Musical / “The Wrangler” [Disqualified]

Shame it was late as this was good fun; mainly black and white detective jazz opera with each character having a distinctive singing style and not afraid to break the fourth wall. The detective is onto the case of a dead woman having found the murder weapon. A woman tells him it was the slinking Wrangler. We then meet the Wrangler and lots of three-way singing ensues.

Story: 3 / Acting: 4 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Hammer Time Productions / Genre: Educational / “How to be an Original New Zealand Gangster”

This team used the LOOP music available to good effect, as we were shown several steps to becoming a gangster, such as having good threads, a posse (who follow you everywhere, literally) and a sweet ride. Fast-paced and funny, unfortunately their final gag after the credits had the sound turned off.

Story: 3 / Acting: 3.5 / Elements: 3.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Happy Puppy Productions / Genre: Politically Incorrect/Religious / “The Last Supper”

A preacher welcomes his Kapiti communion for celebrating Jesus’ last days. Through flashback we are shown the last supper and how somebody betrayed him by stealing his last cupcake and threw in a couple of bad taste jokes. This allows the preacher to deliver a life lesson for all.

Story: 2 / Acting: 3 / Elements: 2.5 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 2.5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Name: Donnie and the Darkos / Genre: Family / “Uncle Alfie and the Puddles”

Some kids are down in the dumps after their parents just died, only for their incredibly fast talking ‘Allo, allo’ uncle Alfie to suddenly appear on the scene. He does his best to cheer them up by taking them to the playground and buying them a lot of ice-cream. However from the start something doesn’t seem quite right about him but he’s family, right?

Story: 3.5 / Acting: 3.5 / Elements: 3 / Technical: 3 / Overall: 3.5