48 hours, No Sleep, All Story with WPR’s Taylor Siolka and Casey Nolan

Watching people perform at the top of their game – athletes, artists, musicians – is the ultimate thrill. Our version at WPR? Cheering on two of our own, WPR associates Taylor Siolka and Casey Nolan, as they sprint through the Portland 48 Hour Film Project each summer.

The rules are simple: Teams have just two days to write, shoot, edit, and submit a short film based on a randomly drawn genre, character, line of dialogue and prop. Filmmakers compete in more than 200 cities across 45 countries for local prizes and the ultimate chance to screen their movie at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Since 2014, Taylor (writer/director) and Casey (videographer) have guided team Pending Films, rallying coworkers and friends to form a scrappy, sleep-deprived and wildly creative crew – one that has taken home the Portland grand prize multiple times. Below we talk storytelling under pressure, creative chemistry and the happy accidents that make great cinema.

Note: The films discussed contain mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.

Why They Signed Up in the First Place

Casey: For me, it was the chance to do something that was truly for ourselves with total creative freedom. It felt like Tough Mudder for filmmakers – something you’d never do alone, but with a team? Sure, let’s go.

Taylor: Exactly. Client projects have a point: you’re serving a goal, a brand, a campaign. The 48 is about fun. No constraints except the clock and prompts. 

From Six People to 25

Taylor: That first year, we were a team of probably six people. Now we’re around 25. There was an essential do-it-yourself attitude back then where the writer was also acting, and the director held the boom mic. There were literally not enough bodies to do all the jobs.

Casey: I still love that energy. We’ve since layered in more expertise and people. But that DIY spirit is still in the bones of it.

What 48 Hours Looks Like in Reality

Casey: At 7 p.m. Friday, every team draws their genre and prompts. Then we head to HQ – usually a borrowed office – and brainstorm as a team for hours.

Taylor: The longer we brainstorm, the less time we have to actually write. But the best ideas come from that chaos, so it really is essential.

Casey: We narrow it down to a few concepts, vote, and then hand it off to the writers. By morning, the rest of us start scrambling for locations based on the script. And that entire day is then spent shooting. Ideally, we wrap a good amount of it by Saturday night so editing can start. But sometimes we’re still shooting Sunday while our editors, designers, and motion graphics team are frantically working their magic. 

Taylor: It’s all about fast decisions and trusting your crew. Otherwise, you miss the deadline.

The Illusion of Planning

Taylor: We’ve tried to plan ideas in advance, but it never really sticks. You draw your genre and prompts (like “dark comedy,” “stapler” and “extreme sports enthusiast” in 2022’s “Hungry for Love”), and that is really where the work begins. The only thing we actually prepare is the crew. And even then, we don’t know who’s acting until after the script is written.

Cast of Characters

Taylor: Being on set always feels like summer camp. You reconnect with people you’ve worked with over the years and fall right back into shorthand. Our costumer and I have worked together so often, I can say, “Think 1970s suburban housewife, a little off,” and she’ll come back in an hour with exactly the right thing.

Casey: Same with me and Taylor. He’ll start with a prompt and I’ll already be switching lenses. That kind of quick collaboration matters when you’re working with minutes versus days.

Taylor: It also helps with morale. These are people voluntarily giving up their weekend because they want to be there. That collective energy pulls us through any sleep deprivation.

When Chaos Sparks Creativity

Taylor: One year, our lead actor broke his ankle as the script was being completed. So we rewrote the entire thing to take place in one room so he could sit the whole time. We added animated sequences to cover what we couldn’t shoot. It ended up being one of our most creative – and award-winning – films. (And it stars official WPR office pooch Booker, aka “Peaches.”) 

Tennis Courts and a Severed Head

Taylor: “High Strung” was our most recent film – a whodunit. We needed a tennis court for the murder scene, but on a sunny Portland weekend, that’s not easy. We had producers running all over town trying to find an empty, good-looking court that didn’t have graffiti.

Casey: And then there was the severed head. Our prop guy made it using a mannequin, a wig, a plastic bag and – I’m not kidding – chicken guts. It was … effective.

Taylor: Very realistic. Also very gross.

Inherently Portland 

Casey: “The First Pitch” was a favorite 48 experience. We needed a stadium and a locker room. Nothing was working out. At the last minute, we got permission from the Portland Pickles to shoot during a game! Full crowd, stadium lights, everything. It elevated the whole film.

Taylor: And our actor pulled strings to get us into a high school locker room that night. We had none of it the day before. It all came together in hours.

Casey: So much of Portland and the surrounding area is obvious and easily identifiable: greenery, Forest Park, bridges. We’re always striving to go a level deeper. The quirky Portland aspect of this competition always shines through. It’s a completely different vibe than the films that emerge from the 48 in other cities. 

Why They Keep Coming Back

Taylor: There’s always a point during the weekend where we ask, “Why are we doing this to ourselves?” But then the film screens, the audience laughs in the right spots, and it’s totally worth it.

Casey: That audience energy – it’s what keeps me coming back. We’ve been lucky to win the Audience Favorite Award many times. That’s the one we care about most.

Taylor: Honestly, we’re just having fun with our friends. We talk every year about trying a drama film and really pushing ourselves. But we almost always end up making comedies. That’s just who we are.

Watch a Selection of Pending Films’ Winning Entries

Bonus: Taylor and Casey’s Favorite WPR Projects

Casey: OHSU Doernbecher Freestyle. Meeting these kids, their families and their doctors day after day…we were constantly in tears. It was incredibly humbling and inspiring to hear their stories, and then capture all of the joy and wisdom they now carry. 

Taylor: OPB. I’m a big fan of public radio, so to work on a client that is integral to my everyday life made that one feel extra important. 

Illustration by bykarlee.com