Your thoughts on LossFest so far?

I tried to watch every one from start to end.
Thou I have to say it was not always easy.

But to give halfway decent review scrubing thru is not a propper way.
I think every entry deserves a propper review, to alow the filmmaker to rethink his strategie and develop his art.

In some cases I spoke out some mayor chritic (Model/Photographer) but even that was apreciated.

The bar for the WOW factor was set by Fat Monster at Timefest - and in my opinion it will take quite a while til someone will rival that (Where the hell is Mark anyway? Haven´t seen any comment on the entrys from him so far.)
Most of us can´t afford professional actors, equipment set and thelike, like they did.

And yes, I think the ammount of money and professionals you throw at a film reflects (in most cases) the quality (get what you pay for).

Of course there are examples of super-low-budget-shot-with-handycam shorts that are still outstanding somewhere out there and a lot of high budget films are simply crap, but having professionell actors makes day and night differences, mor than any equipment.

I found it somehow hard to rate films because of that.
Should I give a film 10 stars beause the acting was supreme, but let it loose 5 at the same time, because the actor was a pro?

Should I give a film 10 stars, despite the acting was only mediocre, but the actor was the filmmakers room mate, who never stood in front of a camera, but gave his very best?

How to rate the visual quality?
Nobody likes noisy, low res pictures - but discounting points just because the guy can´t afford a RED? Probably not, but the overall visual quality of a film get´s us biased while rating.

I caught myself liking entrys shot on RED better than others (tried not to look at the camera used in the first place). So I have to ask myself if I liked it the same if they would have shot on a DV Handycam. So discount points for using a RED?

Same goes for every other position and equipment on the set.

I found it the hardest part to take this things in consideration.

Frank
 
i've finally watched all of them and i found it hard to make it through a majority of the films. i dont know how many of them were shot on RED, but to be honest the one(s) shot on RED actually weren't my favorite. i just downloaded the batch of mov files so i dont know what films were shot on what, unless i liked it and then went back to manually search to see what it was shot on, which was kind of cool because i went into every film with a blank slate not knowing the type of cam or anything.

i think its pretty obivious at this point which films were done well and i think everybody put forth a good effort. this stuff aint easy. for those that dont place or win, keep up your craft and keep entering contests like these and learning from your previous work. you will only get better.
 
timbook2 said:
I am trying to leave out negative comments as much as possible and be constructive in my criticism, If I only have negative things to say, I simply dont say anything...
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I think it's all in HOW you say it. To me, constructive criticism doesn't include all the compliments, because how is a filmmaker going to get 'better', when all they here is what worked for someone. At the very best, all they can do is repeat the same thing next time, or possibly take it to another level. However, if they here was DOESN'T work, those are the very things they can leave out next time, improve upon, etc. to take their entire film to another level the next time out.

So negative comments are okay, as long as they're mixed with at least SOMETHING positive about the film (because, let's face it, even finishing something in the first place can be seen as a positive)... again, it's all in the delivery, and how the comment is meant to be taken....and hopefully never comes across as anything personal.
 
Norm Sanders said:
I think it's all in HOW you say it. To me, constructive criticism doesn't include all the compliments, because how is a filmmaker going to get 'better', when all they here is what worked for someone. At the very best, all they can do is repeat the same thing next time, or possibly take it to another level. However, if they here was DOESN'T work, those are the very things they can leave out next time, improve upon, etc. to take their entire film to another level the next time out.
.
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Well said. I totally agree that it's all in how you say it. I believe that constructive criticism is the only way we can get better. Most of us here know what we did wrong and if no one points those mistakes out, We may be doomed to repeat them because we though no one noticed.

The compliments help greatly as well. No one can say they don't like getting them. But generally everyone here knows how to conduct themselves, Except maybe Rogan and Puck (:Drogar-Dum(DBG): KIDDING) and they are all really helpful.
 
Norm Sanders said:
So negative comments are okay, as long as they're mixed with at least SOMETHING positive about the film (because, let's face it, even finishing something in the first place can be seen as a positive)... again, it's all in the delivery, and how the comment is meant to be taken....and hopefully never comes across as anything personal.
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This is my first time leaving a variety of comments, and I felt that some of my comments could have been more tastefully done. I found myself sometimes over compensating my negative remarks with kind words. I am harder on the more polished filmmakers in this group, because I know nothing could be more rewarding than getting someone to dig deep into your film and commenting on it. I want them to make bigger and better films.

We all strive to be better at our craft. The analytical comments are appreciated, positive or negative. If you have only a couple of words to say. You might as well not post. "That's cool," or "that sucks" will not help any filmmaker. You can leave your shout out on Twitter.
 
That's cool.



sorry.:)

Sprocketboy said:
This is my first time leaving a variety of comments, and I felt that some of my comments could have been more tastefully done. I found myself sometimes over compensating my negative remarks with kind words. I am harder on the more polished filmmakers in this group, because I know nothing could be more rewarding than getting someone to dig deep into your film and commenting on it. I want them to make bigger and better films.

We all strive to be better at our craft. The analytical comments are appreciated, positive or negative. If you have only a couple of words to say. You might as well not post. "That's cool," or "that sucks" will not help any filmmaker. You can leave your shout out on Twitter.
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I like the whole idea of people from every corner of the world watching our films, and us watching their films. It is like a sampling of the planet.... well maybe not all areas, but enough. The prizes are great too!
 
Yeah definately the international exposure is great - and i really hope this leads to a cross pollination of ideas. It's important that we learn from each other - because there are too many differences that we take as a 'given'.

While we represent elements of our own culture/country we kind of implement them into our version of what we see as independent film (from the types of film we want to make to business practice itself.)

The divisions between national and cultural boundaries I think are something that if we could overcome and learn from each other - would result in an independent film industry as it were (or however you wish to define it) that is stronger.
 
I agree whole-heartedly with Lawrie here. The divide among nations in the film industry has always been a subtle one (or not so subtle depending on which periods and which countries we examine) since most filmmakers DO borrow from other sources of inspiration, but certainly not all. I think we should all attempt to branch out now and again. It's good for the mind in so many ways!

Personally, I was trying to achieve a few specific aesthetic points that are very much prevalent in certain types of European filmmaking in our entry this festival. I obviously drew a lot from Godard and the French New Wave in some ways, but I also feel that I've grabbed a lot from various neo-realist movements from multiple countries. I should also mention that, once again from the French New Wavey, Jean-Pierre Melville's films have had a profound effect on me (some might see some of the inspiration in Tiny Dancer if they're familiar with his work). I try to be as ecclectic as possible in the films I see and the inspiration they have on me because I feel like it will not only allow me to explore new options in film, but will allow me to appreciate more films along the way.

These are just a couple reasons why I feel it's important for some people to seek out inspiration internationally. You never know what you'll find unless you take a look. :thumbsup:
 
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Are you sure you are 22?:beer:

Lawsuit_Boy said:
I agree whole-heartedly with Lawrie here. The divide among nations in the film industry has always been a subtle one (or not so subtle depending on which periods and which countries we examine) since most filmmakers DO borrow from other sources of inspiration, but certainly not all. I think we should all attempt to branch out now and again. It's good for the mind in so many ways!

Personally, I was trying to achieve a few specific aesthetic points that are very much prevalent in certain types of European filmmaking in our entry this festival. I obviously drew a lot from Godard and the French New Wave in some ways, but I also feel that I've grabbed a lot from various neo-realist movements from multiple countries. I should also mention that, once again from the French New Wavey, Jean-Pierre Melville's films have had a profound effect on me (some might see some of the inspiration in Tiny Dancer if they're familiar with his work). I try to be as ecclectic as possible in the films I see and the inspiration they have on me because I feel like it will not only allow me to explore new options in film, but will allow me to appreciate more films along the way.

These are just a couple reasons why I feel it's important for some people to seek out inspiration internationally. You never know what you'll find unless you take a look. :thumbsup:
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