72 hours, a temporary tattoo, and one brief phrase. That’s all that film major Edwin Baca was armed with when he set out to make something great with his team. And just one month later, Baca proved on the big screen that it was more than possible.
Green Room Films was founded by a handful of students that took a Fresno City College Cinematography class (GRC-32) with Craig Polanowski in the fall semester of 2024. There were originally nine founding members, but the team has only gotten larger.
“I felt I had kind of an imposter syndrome at first, like, ‘I gotta pick it up to get to where they’re all at,’ so there was a real rivalry there,” Baca said. “By the time the class ended, we were all really good friends and we were just like, ‘we can’t stop. Let’s keep it going.’”
As of Aug. 25, GRF (Green Room Films) has published 26 videos on their Youtube page, complete with several short films of all genres, behind the scenes compilations, plenty of green screen and even a spiritually charged food review.
“If you had an idea, and you pitch it to the group, you’re probably going to be the one directing it because it’s your vision. Everyone’s gonna have a chance of being the director,” boom mic operator and GRF founding member Zeus Mendoza said.
But their latest project is different from what came before. “The Glitch” or “Το Σφάλμα” is an ambitious science fiction short film that was written, scored, produced and edited for the annual CMAC 72 Hour Film Race, where groups or individuals are given prompts and props to create a film within 72 hours.
“If you’re making any art without every detail in mind, then it’s gonna be a flawed vision. And that’s what’s perfect about this film is that it really was all hands on deck,” Baca said. “Our team was able to make something that felt like the big leagues without being in the big leagues.”
There were 27 entries in total, and they were all screened on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. in Maya Cinemas. By 6:30, the line for this special screening was out the door, every team of filmmakers was bursting with anticipation. But Green Room Films was the only team with a poster. More than one, in fact.
The tangible marketing for “The Glitch” didn’t end there. Spencer Byers was the director of photography for the film, and he also designed the practical effects. But his dedication to “The Glitch” went beyond the screen, where he made physical movie tickets for attendees and even a custom VHS tape and box for the film.
To get this done, Byers, Baca and Alex Spring, another member of the team, bought several VHS tapes of “The English Patient” and “The Nutty Professor” from thrift store Mad Monk. They then rewrote the tapes with a screen recording of “The Glitch,” and even included bonus features like behind the scenes footage and many of their previous films.
“I love taking things home from the movie theater, I love getting my poster and stuff. So you know what would be cool? If we had it on tape,” Byers said. “No one has a VCR. I know this is just for me mostly, but for the few people that thought it was cool, I really wanted to make it happen.”
As attendees began to file into auditorium eight, Maya’s largest theater, it became clear how big of an event this really was. In a theater that can seat up to 365 people, about 90% of the seats were filled.
The screening was two hours long, and the creativity of the central valley was on full display. There were tense thrillers, uplifting dramas and some amazing comedies. Almost every film wore the low-budget sensibilities like a badge of honor, and this worked especially well for films like “Burn the Map,” where a found-footage camcorder style of horror makes sense for the 72-hour constraint. But “The Glitch” acts as though there were no constraints.
“The Glitch” follows Hal, an obsessive computer scientist played by Christian Gonzalez “on the brink of finishing his life’s work,” according to the VHS box description. The scientist struggles to make time for his girlfriend Eden, played by Lydia Ewalt. The phrase given to the team that they had to write off of was “Say that again, I dare you.” This phrase repeats itself twice in the film with a surprising thematic depth. Once from Hal, as he wasn’t listening to something Eden said, and once again from his computer, taunting him to finish his work.
“The Glitch” is unique in that every aspect of the film was complete. The set was small but authentic and custom-made to suit the story. The atmosphere was thick with fog, the color correction was thoughtful and well-executed to balance Hal and Eden’s worlds. The blending of digital and practical effects was seamless, the way older analog televisions are used is really quite impressive. But the cinematography is what steals the show, there are no two shots that feel the same, and that’s especially impressive when you remember how small this set is.
“The Glitch” did not win any awards at the end of the night, but it didn’t dampen the mood of Green Room Films one bit.
“Sure, there are gonna be projects that you’re not gonna be too keen on that you made. But it’s the fact that you progressively make yourself better, that’s all that matters,” GRF founding member Alexander Spring said.
According to the team, this opportunity was a dream come true. It was a labor of love that couldn’t have been made possible without the help of Fresno City College.
“A lot of people say college is where you make connections. I took a big gap from college, and I always heard that until I came back to college and it literally is true. I would have never imagined having a group of people to make stuff with and eventually have something in the theater, it’s so awesome,” film editor and GRF founding member Preston Sisana said.
