five minutes and voice-over

I must apologize, but I'm going to get ready for bed now. I don't want it to seem like I'm abandoning the ruckus. I'm just gonna let it rest overnight.
 
wcs said:
You're statements could all apply to 'seven minutes', also, do you agree? It's certainly not a long time.

But, in the morning, jarred could wake up and go

"What is all this racket. Five minutes was official. Sorry man."

This is not under the assumption that the rules are finalized.

Sure but... if the rule stands at 5... then go be creative with that! :) I think a great story can be told in a minute, or two, or 90... it is all about writing something creatively, and telling a story that has a beginning, middle, and end. I am not arguing that 7 min. would be nice :) I'll take all the time I can get. But, I say it's 5 now... so don't sit around wishing it could be seven, but go write something and shoot something that tells a entertaining story in 5 minutes. (I don't want this to come off as harsh at all, and I hope I am not missing the point)
 
Brandon,
Everytime I see your avatar, I keep expecting Ben Affleck to come creeping around the corner. :shocked:
 
briceman said:
But, I say it's 5 now... so don't sit around wishing it could be seven

I think this is where people misinterpret my initial post. I'm not wishing it could be seven, I'm making an argument why it should be.

There's a thin difference, but it is in my assumption that the rules are not cemented, and that jarred will accept reason from a relative newbie like myself. The moment the rules are officially stated, debating them becomes useless, I agree, and I will be fine if this thread is locked and forgotten.

Sorry, said I was going to sleep, but I popped in for a final check.

You weren't harsh at all. You were concise, and clear. I agree with everything you said, the moment the rules become final.
 
wcs said:
I think this is where people misinterpret my initial post. I'm not wishing it could be seven, I'm making an argument why it should be.

There's a thin difference, but it is in my assumption that the rules are not cemented, and that jarred will accept reason from a relative newbie like myself. The moment the rules are officially stated, debating them becomes useless, I agree, and I will be fine if this thread is locked and forgotten.

Sorry, said I was going to sleep, but I popped in for a final check.

You weren't harsh at all. You were concise, and clear. I agree with everything you said, the moment the rules become final.

Sounds good. Thanks for being very congenial with this conversation, and we'll know more about the rules soon I am sure.
 
wcs makes a lot of sense to me on this one - I agree with his viewpoint.
It goes without saying that this ain't a democracy and Jarred is the boss, but five minutes does seem a little short to develop a superhero piece, what with all of the necessary conventions of the genre, i.e., unique superhero with backstory including origin and explanation of powers, introduction of nemesis as well as climactic battle and/or possible sidekicks and love interests. :) (Of course I know that this will not all fit into five minutes, so I'm kind of joking.)

Obviously a really well developed superhero movie won't really fit into 7 minutes either, more like 90...BUT, if this WERE a democracy :) I would still be with wcs in voting for an increase to 7.

This is all just rambling conjecture.

I'm going to bed.
 
Last edited:
jaustere said:
but five minutes does seem a little short to develop a superhero piece, what with all of the necessary conventions of the genre, i.e., unique superhero with backstory including origin and explanation of powers, introduction of nemesis as well as climactic battle and/or possible sidekicks and love interests. :) Of course I know that this will not all fit into five minutes, so I'm kind of joking.

I must disagree... I think it gives ample time to set up the story my friend. Be creative, find ways to give a lot of info with a very short bit of time. It's the challenge I love!
 
Hi wcs :happy:

I agree with you, but I also see how it's challenging it to limit the timeframe. If you gave me voting power, I'd vote for 6 or 7 minutes for just a bit of breathing room (and six minutes wasn't easy!) -- I'm not a huge fan of being told stories by voice-over, and I'd love to see everyone have the breathing room to avoid it as much as possible -- I know WE have no plans on using voice-over.

We working with the 5 minute time-frame right now in our planning and think our concept will fit... how well a job we do and whether we get the ideas across to everyone else, that remains to be seen :laugh: -- and I'd certainly argue on your side for another minute or two -- Maybe Jarred will consider it :happy:
 
It's the challenge I love!

Challenges are good, no doubt.

But for a genre with, as I stated, numerous relatively specific conventions, I think we'd be seeing a higher percentage of good entries from a story standpoint if there were a slightly longer time limit.
 
Last edited:
jaustere said:
Challenges are good, no doubt.

But for a genre with, as I stated, numerous relatively specific conventions, I think we'd be seeing a higher percentage of good entries from a story standpoint if there were a slightly longer time limit.

Fair enough :) I am sure Jarred will take what's being said into consideration... that having been said... he may still choose the 5 min. limit. We shall see.
 
Briceman-this is a complete non sequitur, but how do you include part of someone's post as a quote so that it says "originally posted by _____"

I'm picking on you because you're obviously reading this right now. :)
 
jaustere said:
Briceman-this is a complete non sequitur, but how do you include part of someone's post as a quote so that it says "originally posted by _____"

I'm picking on you because you're obviously reading this right now. :)

You should see a small "quote button" under someones original post... to the right hand corner.
 
In college, I took a course called "Pre-producing the Short Film." It was an entire semester dedicated to taking a script from one sentence log-line to animated story reel, with audio. And that script had to be three minutes long. Three pages. With a beginning, middle, and end. With characters and premise and all. We saw many short films that worked in that time, and it was an amazing learning experience. I love that these contests demand the same. If you can make something work in three pages, of five minutes, you're ready to add another five pages...

If you want an example, look at the "Donut Shop" scene in Boogie Nights. We see she's a pregnant white woman, he's a black man. His car is a wreck, and we know everyting from that first shot when they drive up. When they drive away again, five minutes later, everything has changed... You have a short film, and an amazing scene.
 
Back
Top