Is that AI?
After two fast-paced days of planning, filming, problem-solving, and plenty of laughter, Gulf Coast State College’s Digital Media students completed their 2025 submission for the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) 48-Hour Film Competition. The annual event takes place each fall semester and was held this year from October 10 through October 12, 2025.
Following the success of past entries such as Cult Classic in 2024 and Sugarloaf in 2023, the Commodores pursued a new challenge for the program by entering the national competition with two production teams. Excitement gradually spread through the media hallway in the Charles Hilton Center as students began organizing and inviting others to participate. Both first-time competitors and returning students stepped up, helping build momentum leading into the weekend.
The growing sense of anticipation was hard to miss. With increased enrollment in the Digital Media A.S. program, classrooms were filled with new faces, and staff recognized an opportunity to bring students together in a meaningful way. Although many students were enrolled in different courses and had not yet worked alongside one another, they shared common creative interests and a strong desire to collaborate on a project that extended beyond individual coursework.
With a new year full of potential, fourteen interested creatives were divided between two team captains, each selected by faculty for their strong work both inside and outside the classroom. This year’s teams, Beach Bums and Urchin Emergence, featured a balanced mix of current students, recent graduates, returning competitors, and first-time participants.
Urchin Emergence
Led by Jeff Robb, a BAS Digital Media student, the Urchin Emergence team included Joshua Lake, Alex Kern, Sean Torres, Rebecca Starke, Joe Guetschow, and Savannah Garnsey.
Rebecca returned to the competition after participating in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, while Joshua followed his debut in the 2024 submission, where he appeared as Dax, a member of the Cult Classic trio. Having already navigated the demanding time constraints of the competition, both were eager to see how their new teammates would approach the challenge. The remaining team members were first-time participants, each bringing distinct strengths to the production, such as storyboarding, audio engineering, and other technical skills.
Team Leader Jeff (Center) breaks down the film’s storyboard to Joe (Left) and Sean (Right).
Urchin Team source backdrops for filming. Left to Right: Alex, Savannah, Joe, Sean, Joshua, Jeff.
Hey, James Henry! What are you doing?
Pre-production officially began on Friday afternoon, although the release of the prompts arrived roughly twenty-five minutes after the scheduled time. During the delay, students waited anxiously, eager to begin and buzzing with speculation about the possible genres they might receive. When the announcement finally came that Horror was the assigned genre, the classroom erupted with a collective cheer, setting an energetic tone for the weekend ahead.
As in previous years, essential creative elements such as the genre, a required line of dialogue, a prop, and a character name were randomly assigned, placing every team on equal footing and introducing an element of surprise. With two teams competing this year, students worked out of separate classrooms on opposite sides of the Digital Media hallway. This setup challenged participants to manage their own spaces and resources while also fueling a friendly, more personal sense of competition that extended beyond the national stage.
Behold, The Fruit!
Once the prompts were released, students wasted no time getting started. Day one extended late into the evening as teams gathered around a whiteboard for an open pitching and storyboarding session. Ideas flowed freely, with every member contributing to the discussion.
The Urchin Emergence team embraced preparation even before the prompts were announced. Each member arrived with potential filming locations in mind, and the team had even secured access to the official GCSC Commodore mascot costume as a backup option. Ultimately, they chose to pursue a theatrical-inspired short film set inside the Amelia Center Theatre on campus, allowing them to lean into both performance and setting in a creative way.
Jeff offers direction to Joshua on camera focus, while Alex, Sean, and Rebecca share a laugh between takes.
The Urchin Emergence Team take to editing on Sunday morning ahead of the competition deadline.
Down to the Wire
Filming wrapped just before 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, the final day of the competition, and the team transitioned straight into post-production. The effort was demanding for everyone involved. Anyone who could sit at a keyboard jumped in, passing footage back and forth as different members took turns handling rough cuts, sound refinement, and visual effects. Those not actively editing contributed in other ways by offering feedback, suggesting refinements, or stepping in with snacks and water when exhaustion began to set in.
Running on little sleep, the Urchin Emergence team finally called it a night around 3:00 a.m., only to return to the classroom roughly seven hours later. As the 5:00 p.m. deadline closed in, students pushed through the mounting pressure and successfully completed and uploaded their submission to the competition portal.
Although time constraints prevented the team from fully realizing some of their more ambitious visual effects, the group remained supportive and collaborative through the final edits. By that point, the Beach Bums team had finished their own project and shared the same workspace, offering encouragement rather than competition. The intensity of rivalry faded, replaced by a shared sense of pride and unity within the GCSC Digital Media program.
More information about the Broadcast Education Associations Film Competition and rules can be found here.
Daniela "Danie" Oestreich
Assistant Professor, Digital Media at GCSC
As a graduate student at the University of Florida and current Assistant Professor of Digital Media at Gulf Coast State College, Daniela often has her nose buried in a book. She is always looking for opportunities to practice her writing by covering student projects, and promoting collegiate collaboration.
