I wonder what the next fest will be?

Trailerfest would be great! Because it would give all of us something we could do further after they've been in this contest. You can shoot a trailer for a movie idea, or script you have, and use it as pitch material to studios after the fest!
 
That was the idea I had for last fest.

Although I called it PitchFest. You do a trailer and a talking heads portion or another one pitching the feature length version and submit them as one video.
 
Barry_Green said:
Restrictions promote creativity. Nothing stifles creativity like freedom.

Not saying we'll see better films, necessarily, but the more restrictions that are placed on you, the more creative you have to become in order to overcome them. Just a thought...
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I think it depends on the restrictions. I agree that having certain requirements like the glass of red wine are good. For one, it lets you make sure all the films were made within the same time period. I also like the themes. I think those are great. However, I think requiring a certain number of shots of certain length shots is too restrictive. That's what I meant.
 
Defcon said:
I think flmmkrs time limitless idea is valid, but not practical for this site. its hard enough to download the movies, write reviews and vote etc. as is.
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I wasn't really going for it to be really time limitless. I'm just asking for more time to do something more compelling and little more complex. Given 10 or 12 minutes I would have entered my latest short into All Hallows Fest, but I didn't want to compromise the integrity by cutting it down to 5 minutes. We did shoot it with the glass of red wine even. It was just that during the production process we came up with some additonal things for the story that really enhanced the film and made it longer than originally intended, but a much better film. Just looking for some extra time to do those things.
 
I know two things I can count on every fest:

The "What's next fest?" thread

and

The fight for more time.

The latter of which I look forward to less and less each time.
 
It's interesting how so many are against even trying a fest with a longer limit. Everyone assumes that a longer short film is just going to be bad. It takes time to develop characters and a story. More time would allow for that. Will you get some bad longer shorts? Of course. But you'll get some really good one too And there's plenty of bad shorter shorts so it's not necessarily the length of the film that makes it bad. Remember, the highest grossing film of all time is over 3 hours long and it also happened to tie for the most (or be second highest, I forget exactly) number of Academy Awards.

I also disagree that restrictions promote creativity. McKee's book is great and I've read it a few times, but I'm not going to agree with that statement just because he said it. Sure, you'll get people doing different things with those restrictions and that makes it seem creative, but you give someone a blank page to write on and say "write something" the ideas will be just as varied and creative.

Don't get me wrong... I'm all for the themes and certain restrictions. The themes make it all fun and interesting. The restrictions like the glass of wine and the logo makes it so that everyone is on a level playing ground as far as time to make the film. I think those are enough restrictions to place on everyone. Let them go with those and see what their best work can be. Let them use all the resources available to them so they can make the best film possible.

For the time issue, it's definitely more difficult to make a longer film... more time, more resources, better story, etc. Wouldn't it be great if DVXuser sprarked the creation of a really fantastic longer length short film? I think that would say something for the talent here overall. If increasing the time is a request being made after every fest as Kholi says then apparently there's multiple people that would like to see that happen. Why not give it a try? We'll never know how it would turn out unless we try it.
 
Why do you want to remove all restrictions? It seems to me that those are the point of these fests, it kind of enhances the sense of community. If you want to do something that's completely your own thing at the length of your choice, make it, post it, and submit it to other film festivals. Or to the fest for exhibition only, if you want to be involved in the communal experience.
 
flmmkr said:
It's interesting how so many are against even trying a fest with a longer limit. Everyone assumes that a longer short film is just going to be bad.
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I don't think that's what people are assuming at all - although now that you bring it up, I will say that generally at least half of the entries are not exactly 'good' for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with length.

People haven't been saying longer short films are not good - people have been saying that longer films will make these fests a bit too bloated for this site. As many have pointed out, its already difficult to find the time to download, watch, and review all the entries. And, I would add again, nothing is stopping anyone from creating a longer entry - it simply won't be eligible for prizes (ie. Jack's film for HallowsFest).


Will you get some bad longer shorts? Of course. But you'll get some really good one too And there's plenty of bad shorter shorts so it's not necessarily the length of the film that makes it bad.
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I couldn't agree more - length is not what makes most films bad.
Bad films will always be made, whether the limit is 5 minutes or 15 minutes.
And I also know that I'd rather watch a short bad film than a longer bad film.


McKee's book is great and I've read it a few times, but I'm not going to agree with that statement just because he said it.
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Just to clarify, it was T.S. Elliot that wrote it, not McKee, and I wouldn't expect anyone to agree with anything based on who said it.
I think McKee used it in the introduction to his book, which is where I think I read it originally (that's all I was referring to). Didn't mean to give the impression that the quote was McKee's originally.

If increasing the time is a request being made after every fest as Kholi says then apparently there's multiple people that would like to see that happen. Why not give it a try? We'll never know how it would turn out unless we try it.
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I'll be honest - that is the first argument for an increased timelimit that makes any sense to me. If the community overwhelmingly wants longer films...then maybe it should be considered. Though at the end of the day, this is Jarred's house... and I guarantee you it's probably already been discussed amongst the mods ad nauseum
 
flmmkr said:
I never said I wanted to remove all restrictions. Read my posts again and you'll see that.
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Yeah my bad. Seems like the only way to both fit all the films on the server and lengthen the time restriction would be to limit the number of entries and have the mods decide which ones don't make the cut. But that's not really what we're about here, y'know?
 
Purly hypothetically speaking of course...

How would you feel if the time limit was laxed, but the file-size limit remained the same? Eg: 10min, 15min.. more? But you still only get 50MB for the final file.

Basically you would be trading TRT for resolution and picture quality.


- Mikko
 
mikkowilson said:
Basically you would be trading TRT for resolution and picture quality.

- Mikko
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Even worse resolution and picture quality? No way! I would immediately start throwing up.

At 5 minutes and 50mb there were only a few to deliver really good resolution and picture quality. How will it be at 10 minutes? Make sure there will be a tutorial about how to compress their entry :D
 
I like the idea of paying a small fee to be able to upload a longer film with a larger file size. Still allow free entries at 5 mins with 50MB, but allow the option of paying for longer/larger films. It helps support the site too.
 
Hey guys, keep the ideas flowing--I always keep track of these threads when I'm planning future fests. As far as the time limit goes, I understand completely that some of you would like longer run times, but we run into a couple of issues. For every minute we add, it translates into roughly 45 additional minutes of viewing time. So adding another 5 minutes (for 10 min total) would add another 3:45 of viewing time. My *single* biggest concern about the fest is the number of voters; I'd like to get the numbers up without opening the floodgates of friends/family/internet begging. I'm concerned that when the aggregate viewing time gets too high, it discourages viewers and voters.

If you start making a DVXFest film and you find that you're going to have a killer 9 minute film, I think we've succeeded even if you never enter. Keep in mind that the less restrictive the entry criteria, the more restrictive the screening process has to be. It doesn't take too many 15 minutes films before we need to have a pre-screening/jury process--and to me, that's the antithesis of what this fest is about.

As always, we're open to ideas and I appreciate any constructive suggestions.
 
I think there's a couple things to consider.

1) If you think everyone is watching every second of the films during voting right now you're crazy. I'm guessing if most start watching a film and they aren't enjoying it within a couple minutes they're moving on to the next one anyways. I could be wrong, but I've read hints of this in other posts. So if the films are longer and this is happening then the viewing time isn't really increasing unless the films are actually good.

2) If the films are good, then people will watch them no matter how long they are. Ever watch a 3 hour long movie that seemed like it was half that length? How about a 90 minute movie that seemed like it was 4 hours long and would never end? If the films are good then people will watch them and vote, no matter the length.

Basically, it's not about the length of the film that's determining whether or not they get watched or whether or not they're voted on. It's about the quality of the film in general, the story, the characters, the visual style, the sound, etc..

To be honest, I watched every film for All Hallows Fest and can't decide how to vote. I didn't think any of them really stood out except for "A Little Mouth To Feed", which was the longest of them all and isn't eligible for voting. And I could tell that many of them were hurt because they had to be cut down to 5 mins. Some of them would certainly get my vote if I could see the entire film, but right now I can't justify those votes with the way they are in the fest.

Perhaps a poll asking the question "Was your All Hallows Fest entry cut down because of the 5 minute limit?" is in order. And a second poll asking those people who say yes: "Is the full length version of your All Hallows entry better than the short fest version?" You can even ask that for the other previous fests as well.
 
flmmkr said:
Perhaps a poll asking the question "Was your All Hallows Fest entry cut down because of the 5 minute limit?" is in order. And a second poll asking those people who say yes: "Is the full length version of your All Hallows entry better than the short fest version?" You can even ask that for the other previous fests as well.
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That's kind of backwards thinking, no? I mean, basically, the rule, and ultimately the "challenge", of the fest is to make a film that is five minutes or less in running time. That, for the most part, is going to come in the form of a script. And I don't think I'm talking crazy when I say that if you've written a ten page script, you're not going to make a five minute film.

Five minutes? Heck, I'd shoot for no more than five pages. If you are an extremely visual filmmaker, then more like two or three.

Why is everybody caught up in "cramming" longer films into short time limits?

Here's a grand word of advice for those struggling with the time limit thing...

Divide the time limit by two. There's your script length. Five or six minutes? Write a three page script. That's probably a good start in the right direction.

Just my two cents. Personally, I'd love to have ten minutes. :laugh:



Cheers!:beer:
 
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