Your thoughts on LossFest so far?

Richard J. Johnson

Richard J. Johnson

Joystick Member
There were some good films here. The theme wasn't my favorite but some filmmakers nailed it.

I have watched 90% of the films and commented on almost all of them and strangely the comedies seem to be some of the best films.
 
jealous man, i'm stuck at work and have only been able to watch about a dozen. i want to devour these so bad.
 
Man I just watched every single movie and commented on 99 % in 5 hours exactly. I am dead tired and never want to see that dvxuser leader ever again.

There were some really good stories here. I need to watch some of them again. after I rest up. I have my top 3 right now but I need to check some out again.
 
filthrich said:
Man I just watched every single movie and commented on 99 % in 5 hours exactly. I am dead tired and never want to see that dvxuser leader ever again.

There were some really good stories here. I need to watch some of them again. after I rest up. I have my top 3 right now but I need to check some out again.
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yeah, the leader, i've taken to skipping passed it.
 
I've been through quite a few, including the entries from the forum members that I know and expect a lot from. Good Fest so far.

Not sure if it's the best yet though. Could be the theme that's hurting some for me.
I'll let you know when I'm done. :)
 
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I'm going through slowly. Watching, rating, then commenting. Unfortunately I'm playing Daddy-Day Care today, so I have my hands full of inquisitive 10 month old, who wants to bang on the keyboard and in two keystrokes, reset all of my keyboard shortcuts...

So watching slowly, but working my way through them, determined to comment on every single one.

So far, I'm loving it. In some cases, the theme seems to have been missed or glossed over, but pretty strong turnout so far.
 
I saw 90% and have 6 favourites.

What hits me is - even more than in the last fests - handheld-permanent-focusing-wide-open-style.

Some guys seem to be obsessed with super narrow DOF.

God knows I like DOF, but in some films it is quite on my nerves because the subject permanently jumps in and out of focus while my eyes try to adjust.
That, in combination with a shaky camera distracts me from the story.
Wich is a bad thing, cause offten the storys are good.

Also I found the use of "over the top" grading just for the sake of it, instead of using it to support the story a bit inflationary.

In my book there is still too much emphasis on the technical aspects of film making but storytelling.

On the other hand we saw some real gems. A lot of folks now produce pretty mature films - looks like everyone is learning a lot here (including me).

Frank
 
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Postmaster said:
In my book there is still too much emphasis on the technical aspects of film making but storytelling.

Frank
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I can't relate to past fests but I agree with this as far as the films I have seen so far. A good story will cover a multitude of technical mistakes, a poor story can look great, but it is still a poor story and hard to watch.
 
I've watched the full 100% started today around 1pm and finished around 11pm. No work so I got to sit here and stare at the screen of all these great filmmakers works. I was impressed with a lot of the films! I haven't done my rating yet. I will save that for tomorrow. My eyes are bugged out and I need some sleep. Oh and yes, the dvx leader did get on my nerves for a while there but I still watched it.

In the Exhibition section the film "The Things We Carry" IMO was the best out of the two exhibition films. Man if that one was cut down to the length and was in for voting that one would have definitely gotten my vote! Check that one out, if no one has seen it.

Everyone else... Great Job! Can't wait to see who comes down to the top whatever we will be having.
 
warau said:
I can't relate to past fests but I agree with this as far as the films I have seen so far. A good story will cover a multitude of technical mistakes, a poor story can look great, but it is still a poor story and hard to watch.
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people always under estimate quality writing. that is the back bone of every film. if it 'aint there, you really got to fill the void. and with anything low budget....well, good luck.

p.s. i do like the plethora of films submitted -- great fest so far! i'm still only 20% done...
tomorrow will be my day of catch up.
 
I'm really lagging behind in viewing because of life things but tomorrow should be a day where I can sit down and really dig in and start leaving feedback.
 
have only watched around 10 at this point, but so far I must say... lots of gorgeous actresses. Hah the films are great too. This is my first fest in watching and participating and I must say watching, rating and commenting is pretty fun.
 
orchidsofwrath said:
have only watched around 10 at this point, but so far I must say... lots of gorgeous actresses. Hah the films are great too. This is my first fest in watching and participating and I must say watching, rating and commenting is pretty fun.
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im with you...we had a pretty hot one in ours too. ha.

and this being my first fest participation, i'm also enjoying the watching, rating & commenting routine. some of these look so good, i can actually route my laptop to my TV and watch them on the big screen.

okay, one more then bed time.......
 
Originally Posted by Postmaster
In my book there is still too much emphasis on the technical aspects of film making but storytelling.

Frank
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Yeah look for people gushing over the all mighty RED and ignoring everything else. Right now Zak is rocking the D90, Armisano is kicking the shi* out of the DVX and people are still gushing over the RED. Like WTF? Look at the film as a whole and the experience, not what it was shot on.

One dude has a list of his top favorites and he lists the bloody CAMERA next to the movie, like it matters! urgh.

</vent>
 
warau said:
I can't relate to past fests but I agree with this as far as the films I have seen so far. A good story will cover a multitude of technical mistakes, a poor story can look great, but it is still a poor story and hard to watch.
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My first gripes were with sound. Music used to cover up a weak script/story/acting/whatever. Loud music! so loud and obnoxious that I had to stop watching!
many times no atmosphere sound at all, which is ok as a special element but not for a whole short film IMO.

then I found some obsessive DOF stuff too ;-)

but some of the films nail it!
 
I've gone through, maybe 14 films so far and really enjoyed most of them. I have to agree on the fact that in this fest, comedy is king. Its true the techie part of filmmaking cannot hold a candle to a good, well-told story, but you need really good actors to deliver it.

Story and actors are the columns that hold up the coliseum.

That DVXUser opening logo is playing on all the monitors in my house, but the scary thing is, that someone told me they are all turned off. Please shorten it for the next fest.
 
Quality is getting better each time you enter a new fest (would be scary the other way round).

Now most of us are able to pull a - more or less - solid and mature film, from a tech point of view. (yeah I know my audio sucks).

Next step for me is acting (maybe I should stopp to talk all my friends in front of the camera and get real actors) and story telling. I think that (audio aside) are the weakest points in my work.

Frank
 
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