Its quiet in the fest forums!

did someone say 48 Hour Film?

Sorry I;ve been away guys: webseries and now this feature is taking all of my time. I'm on location in Barbados now doing location scouting and casting so you can imagine my schedule between Toronto, New York and now here.

I love the idea of a 48 hour challenge. Sometimes I feel the need to shoot something quick just to blow off some steam and doing it with you guys would totally ROCK! do it!
 
Jason Ramsey said:
I think the idea of potentially announcing multiple fests up front, each with different dates set in the future is something worth considering...

But, a simpler thing to do would be to try to have some of the mini-fests going at any given time... smaller things where people can jump in, get their feet wet, not feel as intimidated, etc...

Once we get a more automated back end, I think these kinds of options will be able to be discussed more readily... right now, mini-fest, full fest... it's all about the same amount of work for larry for the time being... but, with a more robust back-end in place, things like the smaller fests would not increase the workload in the back-end... also, they could kind of run themselves, and be as community driven and controlled as folks wanted to make them as far as I'm concerned...
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Thanks so much Jason! Thank you for even considering my humble idea. I know that doesn't mean you WILL do it...but to even be considered is wonderful. From my perspective, as long as you keep doing them, I'm happy. I know you'll work to improve them...and we'll all see what that is....you try one thing, see how it works, try something else...it's life. Thanks again for all you do and for sticking with it so that we can all benefit. YOU DA MAN JASON!!! Cheers!!!!
 
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Barry_Green said:
So -- if you've entered before, but aren't entering now... why not? What's changed? And what would make you more likely to enter?
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I've entered two fests so far, but that was quite some time ago. What has changed since then? The amount of available free time. Too busy to enter another fest. Personal life often stands in the way of finishing an entry. And the last time I tried I caught a bad cold. But that can't be the reason for everybody. I am actually baffled as well by the low amount of entries. Judging by the amount of DSLR threads there should be like 500 entries :D

Regarding the categories:
I always thought it is really cool to compete against the top tier filmmakers on this site. It pushed me to give everything I could. And the fest Winners didn't win because of their top notch cameras, they won because they made good films. Just think about Jasons "Remember When". Man, that film was so simple, yet so brilliant. Everybody can win. I also think that the threads of the really skilled filmmakers attracted quite some people just to follow along. Fat monster threads e.g. were already an attraction on their own.

My suggestions would be:

1. I'm also for announcing all three fest for the next year. So we have more time to prepare and plan ahead.

2. BTS should not be mandatory. It is often hard enough to finish the film alone.
 
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Another thing that I think I recall was a banner that said whatever fest it was that would appear at the top of the page. Maybe it kept it on people's minds, I don't know.
 
So I just went through the old fests, and I couldn't find anything from "Fat Monster." I also couldn't find any members by that name (under the member search). Did FM change his name or something?
 
Mark Johnson, Tim Hyten (Slimothy)... Also Ted Arabian was involved in some dvxfest projects with them for a time... And, lots of other guys. They were always huge on collaboration and networking (part of why they have been so successful).

With those guys, they typically had other plans for their films after dvxfest, and we would remove their films from public viewing upon their request (i.e. they were seeking a distribution deal, etc)... Something we will do for anyone. Of course, we love to keep a full archive of all the movies, but sometimes it is necessary for the filmmaker to not have their film available for public viewing at some point post-fest, and we always oblige those requests. So, that is why some of the films may not be on the server still... threads are still there though, I'm sure... and you might find the film you are looking for with a polite request to the owner of said film.
 
I did sound for Fat Monster's O2, and also for First Time Long Time... which had a mostly FM crew, but was the baby of Bosindy... I also did location sound for their war project shot at Blue Cloud (same set as used in the original Iron Man).

FM is kind of an enigma... with Johnson at the helm... Luis being the muscle... and Hyten having the keen eye for direction and quality standards. I was honored to work with them... and expect I will again at some point in the future. They were going at these fests big... like big-big... and to see the level of commitment behind the scenes showed how much of their lives they were putting into it. Some people may have wrongly assumed that they had something others didn't... but mostly, what they had was that huge commitment to make the best entry they could.

I think you'll see those names again...
 
Hi Barry, let me answer for myself. I entered a fest a while back and had a BLAST, the camaraderie and discussions between all the filmmakers gave me a sense of community that I don't normaly feel as a filmmaker who's a bit compartmentalized in my location.

Lately I have been working on a lot of corporate work, shooting and editing (it's all i do for a living) and it leaves me little time to compete in fests.

Everyone once in a while when I do have a few spare minutes, I drop by DVX user to catch up and also see if there is a fest coming up. usually I have just missed
one, or there's no info on the next one coming up

SOLUTION? How about anyone who;s ever entered into a fest, or who wants to is on a list that gets mailed out a month before a fest starts, so that those of us who do have the time
can start planning at least to have a small opening in our schedules, in case we like the theme of the fest. Hope that helps!

In the end, BIG THANKS to you, DVXuser and all of the wonderful filmmakers on this site!
-Tommy Merry

Barry_Green said:
Well, I for one would be very interested in knowing why more people aren't entering. It's a little puzzling when we have a totally free fest that gives away thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in prizes, but participation ends up being so low. Why is that?

So -- if you've entered before, but aren't entering now... why not? What's changed? And what would make you more likely to enter?
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Just to reply that simple economics is also a reason. Food/gas for cast & crew when so many people's wages have been cut or had to change jobs or lost jobs. The economy was different 3-4 years ago. Lot more entries. People were not losing jobs or being displaced from their homes. That's just one factor.
 
Barry_Green said:
Well, I for one would be very interested in knowing why more people aren't entering. It's a little puzzling when we have a totally free fest that gives away thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in prizes, but participation ends up being so low. Why is that?

So -- if you've entered before, but aren't entering now... why not? What's changed? And what would make you more likely to enter?
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Hi Barry,

Responding just because I've left a message elsewhere asking about the fest.

As an outsider on here, I have difficulty understanding when it's taking place. It's not clear to me what's going on at any given time.

There's old threads in the dvxfest forums which seem redundant and I can't really work out what's current and what's not.

It's quite possible I'm being incredibly stupid here, but it feels more down to luck, rather than design, that I stumble on something.
 
DecadenceFilms said:
Hi Barry,

As an outsider on here, I have difficulty understanding when it's taking place. It's not clear to me what's going on at any given time.
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I have to agree with you, there's a lot of threads and unless you know which is which, it's not easily clear to me at first glance. perhaps the current festivals
should always be at the top of the page by default and a different color or font for their heading "Title of fest_________ Date______"

I guess I don't visit here often enough to easily figure out which fests are current or upcoming
 
When i visit the forum home page I currently see a banner ad for the hvx bootcamp dvd. Why not put a second oneunderneath with a nice banner and a link to the current active festival.
Include the name of the fest and the running dates.

As I said before, including a line at the bottom of the banner "Check back xx/xx/xx for the next fest announcement" would also nail the returning visitors.
 
Also, I think there's been just a handful of comments in the second round. Activity always drops off to nothing after the first round.
I would extend the length of the first round by a couple of days and end it there. It's just dead now.

Best to keep the momentum going. This just kind of kills it IMHO.
 
Just a thought I had while talking to one of the other dvxers here, but (And I don't know how possible this is) what if the first place entry into the fest was given a free "in" into a large film film fest like Cannes. I should imagine that would bring back quite a number of entrants, and would be good promotion within itself.
 
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