What are your thoughts on Betrayalfest overall?

Because-
A) writing holds so much gravitas for me (as does acting)
&
B) I have expressed my feelings on the overall lack of energy spent on solid stories for BetrayalFest
(in favor of pretty pictures)
-why would I bother writing/posting reviews for them all?

Said reviews will fall on deaf ears due, in part, to all the artificially-inflated sunshine that has been blown up so many asses.

Case in point, I did respond to 3 or 4 entrants who asked my via PM for feedback, which I obliged. What I got in return from all but one of them was a version of "well, no one else saw/thought X, Y or Z was wrong with my film...", implying that I must be waaaay off base.

If I had the time to review them all (which I did not), I wouldn't have bothered. You know, what with my frankly bluntness and bluntly frankness and all...
 
CallaghanFilms said:
Case in point, I did respond to 3 or 4 entrants who asked my via PM for feedback, which I obliged. What I got in return from all but one of them was a version of "well, no one else saw/thought X, Y or Z was wrong with my film...", implying that I must be waaaay off base.
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Who was that one who took your feedback into consideration? Seems like a good stand up guy.
 
Come on Richard, you know Callaghan: he's a Festie! Out to support us for every fest and makes sure his vote is heard loud an clear. Guys like him keep the rest of us honest.
 
Lol. I got it. His top five is important in the fest.

I'm gonna make that list one day dammit! : )

And I need a callaghan review! And I will be pm'ing yo a$$.
 
GoodLuck said:
Well I think it's fair to say stuff like this but why not be frank and just give some examples on which films and why?
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Great answers here:
Blaine said:
Because this isn't the place to start a "pissin' match." No need to single out films here. Those critiques should be saved for their respective threads.
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Rodney V. Smith said:
Damn straight. This will tuirn into a flame war and so far discussion has been civil and very enlightening. The longer this goes on and delves into specifics. the closer we are to someone throwing and insult and someone else being called an Nazi... its the law of averages on the internet.
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Deepfocus88 said:
No stones @ you Ryan, I just want to raise a point:

In some of the post-mortem threads I see words & phrases like "bad lighting, painful to watch, crap, terrible, bad acting, etc."
Some of the comments seem flippant, especially when we can't reference them with a specific film. Leaves a lot to the imagination.
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Comments like those are not helpful at all- I completely agree. All they are doing is asking for a fight, which is not helpful for the filmmaker or the poster. Specifics, and examples are helpful, for the filmmaker, and artist to improve their craft- but that involves people actually taking the time to invest in a meaningful dialogue with thoughtful insights- which on the internet, is not the norm, as it is much easier to be vague, and throw stones from far away. But, even still- this festival has been better in terms of the overall positive feedback- there doesn't seem to be the pissing match, or flame wars going on like has happened in the past. So that is an improvement over past festivals here.

Deepfocus88 said:
Just to all reading, keep in mind: Not everyone who enters these fests are "professional". Yeah, I want to elevate my craft, but I'm also happy with my station in life. So aren't the "amateurs" welcome as well? I'm here to learn, but also to have *some* fun in the process. I think some discretion should be considered before making sweeping statements/posts.
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Great point- amateurs are always welcome, and I do not think that it should turn into a fest where only the "pro's" can play. There are enough of those fests already. Maybe it would be helpful to have away to differentiate those who want meaningful & helpful, constructive criticism from those who just came to have fun, and do not want, or need the same level of feedback? That would also allow the reviewers a way to see where they could invest their time giving feedback. Giving in-depth analysis for 10 films, feels much more manageable then 60- and that way everyone wins. Just a thought ...

Deepfocus88 said:
(tee hee hee hee you said "turd")
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;)

GoodLuck said:
Well I think maybe he should have the courage then to do like you said, go to their threads and post it. That's the respectable thing to do versus casting a wide net bashing everyone who shot on an HDSLR.
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I am sorry if I came across as bashing everyone who shot on DSLR's- that was not my intent at all. I was commenting on the general sentiment that I have seen posted several times that this festival has been better then all the previous festival, and how much the DLSR's have contributed to that effort. I disagree with that statement, and actually think the opposite. It seems that there is support for my position, in that several other people have posted in this thread that they found that the stories in this festival were lacking. So how can both be true- how can this be the best fest yet, and people be stating that the stories were not very good? To me, that is a mixed message ...

Those people that work with me know that I am camera agnostic. I could careless about which is best. It is about having the right tool for the job. Yes, I love my Red- but that does not mean that it is the best camera for every job. This month alone, I have one project I am shooting on the Red, another that is on the Sony Z1U, another that is on the Panasonic HPX300 ... each camera brings something different to the table that makes it the right fit for that project. There is more to creating a great looking image that serves the story then just choosing "the best" or the "coolest" camera.

Unfortunately, I think that Norm's comments (below) ring true, and as I was not a "filmmaker" in the festival- rather just a cinematographer, I would hate for my comments to have a negative effect on AJ's film. I can offer up specific comments after voting has ended. There are filmmakers on this board that do a good job at separating the feedback from their voting- but that is a tough thing to do, even for professionals ...
Norm Sanders said:
2.) Are afraid that person may come back and rate THEIR film slightly lower, out of retaliation, even if not intentional. Meaning, they may not be actually thinking "I'm going to rate this guy low because...", but if you're pissed at someone because of their review, it's difficult to separate those negative feelings from that person's own project ... kind of like if you can't stand a particular adult, you're just going to assume the kid is a brat as well (if you don't know them), etc.
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dougspice said:
I think you might be viewing the past through rose-colored glasses, Ryan and Blaine.
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That is a fair critique, and dully noted- I think there is an element of truth there. Additionally, I might add that because of all of the festivals and films that I have seen over the years, I could very well just be lumping them all together into one general feeling, rather then remembering each one on it's own. Good point.

Rodney V. Smith said:
So we should all chill.
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Great advice Rodney. I think I've made my point, and it is on the edge of going from a helpful conversation to less then helpful ... signing off.
 
Blaine said:
Well, it's an opinion, isn't it...:happy:
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Yes, and so is mine. I'm sure there are others who share both opinions.

Useful rule of thumb for everything in life: the supposed "Golden Age" never existed.


--

Now. This thread seems to have ceased being constructive, so I'm gonna mosey on along and stop posting in it.
 
dougspice said:
I think you might be viewing the past through rose-colored glasses, Ryan and Blaine.
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Blaine said:
Well, it's an opinion, isn't it...:happy:
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Perhaps, I should actually expand on this because it might otherwise come off as flippant.

I use three folders when view the entries: Good, Average, Bad

While is stand by the fact that nothing blew me away in this fest, I feel the overall results are better than past fests. I only have one film in the bad folder after watching half the movies. Than in itself is a HUGE improvement. And I already have more in the good folder than any past fest. Again, a HUGE improvement. The difference for me is that in a few (certainly not all) previous fests, the top two or three were remarkable. After those, there was a steep falloff. This time, while there are none that strike me as remarkable there are some VERY GOOD entries this time around. My favorite film in this fest is a very close call to remarkable but just doesn't quite hit that mark. After that, are the very good films. Not all the top ten were in my "Good" folder, three were in the "Average" folder. But that's okay because they were by no means bad films; just others thought more of them than I did.
 
Ryan E. Walters said:
I am sorry if I came across as bashing everyone who shot on DSLR's- that was not my intent at all. I was commenting on the general sentiment that I have seen posted several times that this festival has been better then all the previous festival, and how much the DLSR's have contributed to that effort. I disagree with that statement, and actually think the opposite. It seems that there is support for my position, in that several other people have posted in this thread that they found that the stories in this festival were lacking. So how can both be true- how can this be the best fest yet, and people be stating that the stories were not very good? To me, that is a mixed message ...
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I see now what you're saying. I can agree with that. I wasn't quite sure what some of you guys were talking about. I agree some of them were visually beautiful but lacked some heart. I said that on one of the first two pages of this long thread that I thought that. There needed to be more backstory and character development. I think that lends itself more to the theme though, wouldn't you agree? Kind of pushes people more in that direction.
 
Blaine said:
Perhaps, I should actually expand on this because it might otherwise come off as flippant.

I use three folders when view the entries: Good, Average, Bad
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I totally thought you were going to say...The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
 
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