In CMAC’s 72-Hour Short Film Race, speed is of the essence for the creators of ‘The Glitch.’ Here’s their whirlwind story.

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Ready, set, go.

It’s Friday, and the teams are rolling into CMAC roughly one hour before packets are dispersed. Friendly chatter echoes throughout the room, most often about which genre they hope to get or which one they are most nervous for. The countdown is displayed on the screen as the members wait. Green Room Films is the first to arrive.

Its members are Edwin Baca, Preston Sisana, Spencer Byers, Christian Gonzalez, Zeus Mendoza, Alex Spring, Alexis Lucero, Kevin Arroyo and Ian Vasquez.

“I’m really nervous, but the whole team’s gonna get here soon, so I gotta bottle it up and use that to keep pushing,” Baca says. “I think I’m as prepared as we possibly could be.”

After what feels like a small eternity, the coordinators hand out the packets, and the team’s results are as follows:

Title: “The Glitch”
Prop: Small tattoo of a van
Quote: “Say it again, I dare you.”

The energy in the room is squirmy as the group tries to get their thoughts together. I am tilting my head a lot and asking (probably nagging) questions.

“I think they gave us a large playground to play around in,” Baca says after seeing the pre-destined contents of their film. In a matter of seconds, “The Glitch” is born, and the team springs into action.

Anahid Valencia / The Munro Review

Between takes: Christian Gonzalez, left, and Lydia Ewalt discuss a scene in “The Glitch.”

The team decides that Gonzalez will be the main character, Hal. Sisana and Aroyyo will be in charge of editing and graphics. Mendoza will help with the set. Baca and Byers will direct. Vasquez will be in charge of the music. They decide to call in an actress, Lydia Ewalt, to play the part of Hal’s girlfriend, Eden.

“I’ve done little short films here and there, but I feel like this is going to be definitely a big step,” Gonzalez says. He describes his role as a “Frankenstein“ situation. You could say Hal and Victor Frankenstein, the star of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, would get along just fine.

This is all decided in about three hours, and after they deliberate, they go prop hunting in local thrift stores and at their houses, gathering all of the materials that they can find. They also decide to make the official name of the film “σφάλμα,” which is “The Glitch” in Greek. (We’ll stick with the English version for this story, thank you very much.)

To my surprise, the night doesn’t end there. Baca and Byers “dress the set,” which is Byers’ grandparents’ garage, for hours in preparation for filming day. Everyone is pitching in to help the vision come together.

“Obviously this isn’t our house, so we don’t know the stuff here, so Ian brought literally his entire music studio here,” Byers says.

The film

“The Glitch” is a sci-fi, over-exaggerated example of very real dilemmas. It follows the story of a mad scientist, Hal, and the conflict between his work and his lover, who fight for the top role in his life.

The film opens with a scene of Hal typing intensely on his computer. Then his girlfriend, Eden, comes to pick him up for lunch – but he initially forgot about their date. In a wave of disassociation, Hal fails to listen to her — exactly what every woman wants in a relationship.

“20 minutes– we’re 20 minutes late, Hal,” Eden said in the film. Her cries didn’t travel very far.

Despite her efforts, Hal succumbs to his work and allows it to consume him. His code glitches and the contraption that he built ultimately swarms and kills him.

The film closes in a screaming frenzy, with Eden discovering Hal’s death and mourning her lover, though she lost him long before he died.

Saturday

Baca told me that they would start filming early on Saturday, so I assumed this would be around 9 or 10 a.m. The team arrived at a shocking 6 a.m., and I followed shortly after at around 8 a.m.

In order to get the full experience of filming a short movie, I’ve decided to stick with the team and immerse myself on the set,. It’s 3:24 p.m. on Saturday, and I feel not only immersed in the world of filmmaking, but also in sweat (how lovely).

It’s just below 100 degrees, and the crew has been working since the early hours of the morning. I’m huddled in the corner of the sauna (the garage), slowly kissing my fresh blowout goodbye. There aren’t enough electrolytes in the world.

When I was approached with this story idea, I was anticipating a group of bored college guys and a whole lot of iMovie editing. I was wrong. The only thing missing from the scene in front of me is a big Hollywood director and probably Jenna Ortega, since she seems to appear in everything. I just heard a car door; it’s probably her, right on time.

Photo by Anahid Valencia / The Munro Review

Behind the scenes: Zeus Mendoza, left, Preston Sisana and Edwin Baca in a scene from “The Glitch.”

The boys managed to turn an empty garage with a walker leaning against the wall into a mad scientist’s lair – complete with bookcases shoved together, three old TVs buzzing, two (surely haunted) lamps and intentionally placed wires galore. Ian brought what must be his entire music ensemble from home, which includes three guitars and several other multi-buttoned contraptions.

For the sake of smooth shots, they built a tripod dolly– wood planks stationed on the floor with metal poles connecting them for the tripod to glide over. I’m impressed.

The team is halfway through filming at this point, and they’re in a time crunch. Ewalt has to leave in an hour, and without her, the entire operation could join the rest of us in our gradual evaporation. Though the film was scheduled and planned wiin a matter of hours, Ewalt took it like a champ.

“For this set specifically, it was definitely the timing [that was difficult] for me because I did get reached out to last minute,” Ewalt said.

Achieving the perfect shot, as I’ve learned, comes down to the smallest details. First, they practice their lines and Preston gets the framing to its sweet spot, then they do a few “test” scenes, then at last, they film the actual scene. I can almost taste when they’re going to get it.

“I think framing is everything because, I mean, it’s what you’re going to see,” Sisana said. To my surprise, he told me he plans on sleeping tonight.

It’s almost time for hair and makeup – they have to increase Christian’s disheveled look as his character’s sanity decreases.

Saturday night

I’m committed to fully understanding the magic of filmmaking. It’s 9:55 p.m., and the crew is still at it – relying on each other to make it through the hours, as they explain. They’re waiting for Ewalt, who had to leave earlier to go to the Good Company Players production she’s in, “Frozen.”

Though her departure wasn’t ideal, the team decides to “let it go.” The moon is shining and the world has calmed down; all eyes are on The Green Room.

I don’t get out of there until past midnight on Saturday, and filming had to be continued into the next day, but the team remained positive and hopeful for their submission.

After they finish filming, the team braces for the daunting task ahead: editing. They tell me that it is to be done and communicated via phone call between Baca and Sisana that night, and then the month of anticipation begins.

FINAL CUT: ‘THE GLITCH’

The screening

It’s nearly a month later, and the team nervously awaits their big break. At the Aug. 22 screening, the squad shows up in matching outfits with green ties. I think it is so clever.

Before they go in, some of the members express nerves and anticipation to me, since they had poured their hearts into these mere five minutes of screentime.

“I don’t think it’s actually set to me yet that our film is actually being on the big screen,” Gonzalez says.

Courtesy of Green Room Films

Christian Gonzalez answers the door in this image from the Green Room Films production of “The Glitch.”

“It feels like it’s flown by from the time of completing production in the 72 hours to now,” he said.

The audience piles in, and off they go. I feel like a proud mom; after all this time, they are finally seeing their creativity come to fruition.

They don’t win. (That honor goes to a team called OZM for their film “Three Words”).

The team, though not dressed in gold medals, celebrate anyway and go to Applebees.

Happy hour is looking good. “The Glitch era” is complete, and I am feeling strangely sentimental about it all.

I think Mary Shelley of “Frankenstein” fame would feel proud, too.

Anahid Valencia is a freelance reporter for The Munro Review. She is a Fresno State journalism major and is news editor of The Collegian, the campus newspaper.