Thoughts on TimeFest

Raptor365 said:
Thoughts on the fest (as a whole):

It's people wanting to tell short stories. Some do it as a hobby, others are more serious about. It's people sharing ideas and trying to help each other.

To me it's not the kind of fest, like, say, Cannes or the Toronto Film Festival.
This has more of a schooling atmosphere where people come here to learn and one of the ways to learn is to 'do'. And that includes the ones who can't 'do' that well yet and even the ones who havn't 'do'ne yet.

And to emphasize that, how many times have you heard 'Why are you still here? Why aren't you making features?'

So if anyone expects all of the entries to be feature quality, your in the wrong
place.

The crits are very important. Personally, I find it very hard to critisize areas I don't know much about, and through past experience I've decided to leave that to the guys that know. I will comment in a friends thread or if I see something that compells me to comment.
And I certainly don't care how other people critisize.
Some seem outright mean, others sound like ass kissing. I don't care.
It's none of my damn business how people choose to respond.

So far, I can say I've seen a lot of good in everything I've seen.
Maybe that's just me. A number of them still need work, ofcourse.

I think it's a pretty good fest myself. And if you've been around long enough to recognize people, you can see them getting better with each entry. So, I'd say the fest is doing what it's supposed to.

(whew, being serious is draining.)
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Nice post! I totally agree with you. For me, this fest is very nice. I have seen some wonderful (Hollywood grade) movies and some definitely need some more works. I've learned a lot from watching both the good and bad movies. I just can't wait to use what I learn from this fest for my next movie :engel017:
 
I didn't want to put in my 2cents as i've never done one of these fests. But the previous fests seemed to be better overall. I really think it may have been the subject matter this time. I didn't find the stories compelling overall, don't get me wrong there were some excellent shorts, but not as many as the previous fests. Again, i'm saying overall film making...great cinematography and technical aspects aside...the subject matter just felt lacking. Dustin Rogan's ass was a sight to behold...kudos to your ass sir!
 
I got a hard time choosing the vote. I mean, there was'nt a single movie that, after i watched it, made me think "this sucks". Everyone did a nice work :)

I did not comment each movie, as some others did... this does not mean that i did'nt liked it and got my own high score!

Plus i think that the vote and the feelings you got from each short really depends also from the moment in time you are living.... now you might appreciate more the love/family/small things stories rather than a fantasy/comedy/something else one or vice versa...
 
pauly_the_hitman said:
Well this is my first fest and I am also new to DVXuser.com, so it was a pleasure to see so many great films. What I tried to do was find the best qualities of each film and only post positive comments. Not that I didn't make a couple of construstive comments also. But limiting negative commentary helps me to see things sometimes overlooked by others. So based solely on this type of criticism I can get away from the flaws and focus on what was done well. Not that I am better then anyone or anything just my take on it. And I didn't want anyone to think I think I am better then anyone else. I was truly blown away with some of these productions and wondered why they would even submit here if they have so much to offer why not save it for something else. But I soon came to realize just how much of a community we have here and am happy to be a part of something so awesome.
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Sometimes I am a little bit slow, but I saw this message only now. I am agree completely with Pauli. Also I think after all this weeks there is a special compliment to do, because I found that the real moderator (after Barry the official one), who is doing a lot of possitiv things in this forum and hold it together, is Mark Johnson. I don't know how he is able to be always on every thread - I admit that dvxuser is an important part of his life - but he is doing a great work for all of us. Thank you very much Mark.

Susanne
 
I am truly touched Susanne. I think that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me here. It is my pleasure and my honor to help out here any way I can. My contributions pale in comparison to many of the real heavy lifters here. I just want to say that I value friendship above anything else in this world and this community has provided many of my very best friends. I'm looking forward to the day I can visit you wonderful German film makers, Susanne. Thankyou for making this such a wonderful festival this time around.
 
cinebuddy said:
I didn't want to put in my 2cents as i've never done one of these fests. But the previous fests seemed to be better overall. I really think it may have been the subject matter this time. I didn't find the stories compelling overall, don't get me wrong there were some excellent shorts, but not as many as the previous fests. Again, i'm saying overall film making...great cinematography and technical aspects aside...the subject matter just felt lacking. Dustin Rogan's ass was a sight to behold...kudos to your ass sir!
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sometimes you have to put your ass out there to get recognized...literally

Rogan
 
After reading this thread, I really don't know what to say.

I mean, this fest isn't supposed to be every other fest in existance. There is no pre-screening (other than to greenlight it), there is no panel deciding what film to choose, there are no restrictions to entries, there are no people turned away. It is a totally open fest. You can have an amazing constructed set, like O2, or you can shoot the entire film in a single room, like No Air.

I watched every single film. I think I commented on everyone that had a thread. I roll and review. I try not to be harsh - because what good does that do anyone. God knows, they (film maker) could have picked up the camera for the first time and shot a movie and was damn proud of it despite obvious flaws. To have someone be terribly harsh and kill it...that does nothing but limit the pool of film makers we have in our industry.

I got a few harsh reviews. I fully expected it. I half-assed my entry. Didn't plan it, didn't script it. Just shot it. And I had a blast so did my cast and crew. We all laughed all day...and really the film was second to the day...and general fun. We weren't in it to win. But to have someone tell me that I should have had better things to do with my time than shoot that. Not cool in my book. I have no idea who it even was...whatever. But I don't think that is the message we want to carry as DVXuser.com.

Everyone here is E-friends...(for the most part)...and many are true friends in real life. Fat Monster shows that daily. It's a tight group. Many of us are on first name basis too. It's amazing.

And sure, there were films that tanked. There were films that were great. I think here it is more about the fun and the learning than it is to shoot the next amazing short film. Unless you are Zak...then you make a sweet film that hits the festival circuit (without any showings near NYC...boo). But that is the exception, not the rule.

I mean, yeah - point out the issues. But I think most people know about the audio problems and what-not. Some film makers even state that in their posts. To have post after post telling people to watch and rewatch the audio DVD...how does that help?

Honestly, with the amount of people here, no one is a professional shooter (to my knowledge). No one has any major titles to their name. We are all learning, having fun, and more importantly actually putting the gear we have to good use. Making entertainment. Actually having something online that others watch and knowing you were behind it all.

So, to conclude...do many of the films here have their flaws? Yes. Do we sometimes default to general cliche? Yes. Do we have fun? Yes.

Can we review without killing the spirits of our fellow film makers? I think so. But we can also kill their self esteem and push them away. And DVXuser can be notorious for doing just that. People do get slammed here sometimes. It's to be expected. But I guess we have to keep the mentality that we are actually shooting.

Maybe this wasn't as good as the last fest, but its just like the stock market. There are quarters it is down a lot. There are quarters it is up. Film making is dynamic. Everyone can't have a hit. Yet we keep at it.

Maybe I am the only one who thinks this is more geared to shoot rather than be epic. I don't know. If that is the case, disregard my rant.

Best in film,

Matt
 
Matt,

I agree with a lot of your points, but there are different types of people. Me? The first time I got an anonymous, internet review slam my film, was the first time I started making films that were liked outside of people who didn't know me. Friends and family are the worst people for honest feedback on films.

To survive professionally, I think directors need to have a think skin anyway because lets face it, there's plenty of haters for even the most famous and talented directors in the world. Dead honest feedback is the hardest thing to find and also the most insanely valuable to an upcoming filmmaker.

Good feedback is always nice to hear, but you should work to get it and that makes it so much better to achieve.

And I'm a believer that once you understand how to make high quality films, it just gets more fun because then you have the joy of creating a product and not just having fun with each other. A fine line, but an important one. Knowing I got a shot that'll be awesome in the finished product and helps communicate the story can be way more fulfilling for me than simple stuff like actors flubbing lines and everyone laughing. The latter is what I remember of my earlier films, but things like actors finding character moments I didn't think about or a lit catching an actor's eyes in an unexpected, but beautiful way are the things I remember most about more recent films. Finding stories that are really worth serving well and putting everything you have into them is what I love.
 
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