Should they allow a broader time period??

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darkrequiem1134

Active member
I don't know about anyone else, But I personally feel like there is to much of a restriction on this fest. The fact that so far it seems to need to be set in the old west time period is something only film makers of a more professional caliber, or have a ton of cash to throw at their entry will even have a chance.

Now if say we were able to open up the setting a bit, and be allowed to do a story set at any point in time, then i could see some possibilities. People would be able to do space or futuristic westerns (not unlike the hit series Firefly), or even do some modern day westerns, (something like No Country for old men)

Id like to see what everyone else thinks about it...in passing i know some other people share my thoughts on the matter.
 
There is no rules posted yet so you coming to this conclusion at this point is based on nothing... you and everyone else outside of Arizona (myslef included!) need to chill until the official rules are posted. If they say it has to take place in Old West of America, well then get out your soap box... but right now its all just gossip!
 
seanmcleod said:
There is no rules posted yet so you coming to this conclusion at this point is based on nothing... you and everyone else outside of Arizona (myslef included!) need to chill until the official rules are posted. If they say it has to take place in Old West of America, well then get out your soap box... but right now its all just gossip!
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Even if one were to take the 'official' span of the "Old West" (and there's a debate there as well...), but say between 1830 to 1910 (so "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"(1969) would still be a 'official' Western...), any place that has landscape that looks like any place 'west of the Mississippi", ranging from flat grass land, tree-ed mountains, to 'desert', to ocean coastal, could be used.

The only requirement there is to get scenic shots, if that's required, of 'untouched' landscape...

If the action of a film takes place in a "INT. <ROOM> -- NIGHT" there is only the period set dressing and costumes to worry about.

For those in England, recall that during the 19th Century the US looked to England for 'fashion', and so, in many cases old photos show people living in the West sporting bowler hats, waist coats with watch chain, and single and double breasted coats, as well as some long coats for riding in bad weather...

The 'style' of western wear that people now associate with 'Cowboy', actually was a development of the 1930-1950's.

For example here's a famous shot from the afore mentioned film...

bsposter.jpg



Here's a contemporary shot of Wyatt Earp and friends... note the flat brimmed hats and bowlers, as well as the lack of side arms...

wyatt earp.jpg
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Even if one were to take the 'official' span of the "Old West" (and there's a debate there as well...), but say between 1830 to 1910 (so "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"(1969) would still be a 'official' Western...), any place that has landscape that looks like any place 'west of the Mississippi", ranging from flat grass land, tree-ed mountains, to 'desert', to ocean coastal, could be used.

The only requirement there is to get scenic shots, if that's required, of 'untouched' landscape...

If the action of a film takes place in a "INT. <ROOM> -- NIGHT" there is only the period set dressing and costumes to worry about.

For those in England, recall that during the 19th Century the US looked to England for 'fashion', and so, in many cases old photos show people living in the West sporting bowler hats, waist coats with watch chain, and single and double breasted coats, as well as some long coats for riding in bad weather...

The 'style' of western wear that people now associate with 'Cowboy', actually was a development of the 1930-1950's.

For example here's a famous shot from the afore mentioned film...

bsposter.jpg



Here's a contemporary shot of Wyatt Earp and friends... note the flat brimmed hats and bowlers, as well as the lack of side arms...

wyatt earp.jpg
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Oh I agree anythings is doable, I was just pointing out that there is nothing set in stone yet so no point in getting worked up.
 
OK, this is NOT an official pronouncement. This is NOT meant to be taken as an indication of the way the rules are officially going, or even how the prevailing discussions are going. This is just a couple of thoughts, with no official weight whatsoever.

There's something to be said for restriction. It can make you dig down and come up with things you never would have otherwise. It can make you look at things from a perspective which never would have occurred to you. It can push you to use to your resources in ways you previously would never have imagined.

What's a movie generally about to begin with? Usually about someone overcoming obstacles, which get harder and harder along the way. If those obstacles are too easy, the movie is usually boring and unsatisfying. But overcoming something hard, even "impossible," in an ingenious and exhilarating way? That's worth watching. And you never get to that climax if the hero just gives up because he thinks he can't do it.

The filmmaking process (or pretty much anything else in life) can be very much the same way -- if you stop worrying about what you DON'T have and start finding ways to use what you DO have brilliantly.
 
The filmmaking process (or pretty much anything else in life) can be very much the same way -- if you stop worrying about what you DON'T have and start finding ways to use what you DO have brilliantly.
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Damn skippy! You don;t need some huge budget. the point is to MAKE a MOVIE! Not a documentary. The audience will believe what you say it is, if you do it convincingly enough.

Marlon Ladd didn't have a horse in "Lawless" but they talked about the horses and we believed them...
 
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. - Orson Welles.

Plus no rules have been posted yet.
 
I agree with the folks who are saying work with the restrictions and get it done.

Seems like a lot of griping going on about this fest is that normal?
 
Nemesis TS said:
Seems like a lot of griping going on about this fest is that normal?
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Totally normal. I remember one fest where the required element was there had to be a shot of a ball somewhere in it. It didn't have to be used as a prop or anything, it just had to be seen at some point in the film. Discussions on that, people trying to figure out ways around it, went for over a dozen pages, I think.
 
Yeah, and we'd like to see a little less of that kind of thing. :) Why not just embrace the theme rather than trying so hard to outsmart it? If all that creative juice went into the film instead of first trying to come up with rationales for getting around the rules . . .
 
Well, first off, I'm a guy who never has (and if I'm being completely honest with myself, probably never will) entered one of these fests, so maybe I should just STFU, but...

It's one thing to try and twist the rules to your own advantage once they've been posted. It's quite another to try and interpret the rules before they've even been posted.

That said, I have to ask--is it really a good idea to announce the fest before the rules are ready? If I may paraphrase myself: it's one thing to expect people not to try and twist the rules to their own advantage once they've been posted. It's quite another to expect them not to try and interpret they rules before they've even been posted. With this history of people trying to dodge the rules, why make it tougher by allowing this much speculation?
 
darkrequiem1134 said:
.....wow.....god i love ignorance... obviously none of you have read the wiki page that the administrators put up....i was told by the administrator himself to go to that for reference on what i could expect in the rules.. so excuse me all to hell for allowing my mind to dwell on what may be in the future of this fest ..less i forget thinking is a sin. the only reason i put up this thread was to see if anyone else would like to be able to do futuristic or modern westerns but obviously that thought didn't occur to all u feeble minded peons.



.........let the lashing begin......
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So, you read the wiki page, but missed this?

"Science fiction Western
These films introduce science fiction themes or futuristic elements into a Western setting. Examples include Bravestarr, Back to the Future Part III, Westworld, Wild, Wild West, Firefly, and the film Serenity based on it. "
 
None of us are doing any justice here.

Let's keep our cool and lashes in our undies draw.

It looks like everyone's just unpurposely antagonizing each other.

I'll be the first to admit I pointed out what the topic starter did when I heard 'WestFest'.

But why not all agree on something to chuck shoes at?

I heard the rules were going to be up the night before last. :)

But I'm not complaining about it, from someone whose not enterting. Again. ;)


Response Prompt:

Piss off Ki-Ki!!!
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David Jimerson said:
There's something to be said for restriction. It can make you dig down and come up with things you never would have otherwise. It can make you look at things from a perspective which never would have occurred to you. It can push you to use to your resources in ways you previously would never have imagined.
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I would agree with that. But I would add that Stu Maschwitz recommend that you make the movie for which you have resources.

I know what resources I have, but I dont know what the rules are. So I cant combine the two and make a film.

I dont understand why there are no rules yet. For all the other fests the rules wre up withing a day or two of the anouncements, this has been over a week!
 
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