Grimhilda -

Thanks, and yes, the 48 Hour Film contest is ... umm, challenging. Of course, that's true for the live action teams (in Houston, all the other 50 or so teams), but in a different way. They have to contend with the real world (team members that can't make it after all, shooting sites that they thought they had approval but did not - and got thrown out, police showing up about the guns, etc.) In fact, my first contest was on a live action team years ago, with a couple of dozen team members. I was nominally the "writer", but in fact the script was a group effort, I just had the software to format it as a script for the actors. I did a "making of" you can see here if you have some time to kill (uploaded by the producer):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd7Hvn4FtQg

With animation, its a whole different challenge. You still need a good story for the random genre (the prime item IMHO), but then you can't rely on directors, actors, camera persons, set designers, etc. As I've said before, the good news is you have complete control over every detail. The bad news is you have complete control over every detail. But if you get more than token applause at the screening, its all worth it. Or even better, you hear a 20 something audience member, as the sad ending takes place, go, "Awww ...."