Well, the first round went a bit odd in a few ways... quick recap.
We had 14 peeps definitely in, according to the first poll, before Round 1 was jumped into. Realistically, of the 14 commited peeps, I expected roughly 4 finished entries. (Not including mine). Now, that wasn't the case, as it turned out. Poke & Goat turned in a very fine film which technically didn't qualify, being over 3 minutes longer than the maximum length allowed. My own entry didn't count either, per being organiser.
That created a curious situation. It's also the reason why two films (that shouldn't) are heating up in the polls. A 30 second clip of two people arguing over who farted in the elevator and a voiceover at the end announcing, "The world may never know" could have won this by default. Not because it had a better story... but because it met the rules.
Now to the new stuff...
____________
Things to discuss before (and if) a second round may start. Many of these are my own views, and I'll probably miss some things that needs addressing. Bring it up, either in a post or PM/E-mail.
Competition Duration
Currently at 6 weeks (start to finish), with a 2 week vote period.
That is a fair chunk of time for even part-time filmmakers to get something finished. With the additional vote period, that makes a "big thing" roll around the boards every eight weeks. I think it's long (and casual) enough.
Film Duration
Round 1 was set at 5 minutes, max. I think I was probably influenced too much by Channel 101's focus on concise, to-the-point writing guidelines when I made that choice. Extending it to 10 mins is probably a good idea. Not that there is anything wrong with really short submissions... it just allows more freedom with scripting.
A "Set" Topic
We started with six random topics. They were picked to be deliberately broad. Goat & Poke took advantage of that when they made their comedy-style mystery. I took advantage of that when I made my was-he-on-crack-style mystery.
I'm pretty happy with the current random lineup. However, there are some peeps (so I hear) that would rather have no assigned genre at all. Would replacing a theme with a required line of dialogue be a suitable/acceptable substitute? Or lower the challenge?
The Prop
Cheap, affordable... required. Maybe background, maybe plot-point... depending on how the writer makes it work into the story. Thoughts? Easily replaceable with a dialogue substitute... but same issue as above.
The Votes
This is the hard one. The current sytem is obviously flawed in many ways, for a comp like this. It's especially hard when, with relatively little feedback, a single vote can cause a wide margin. The day that the submissions went live was the same day that we changed boards, as well... so the old "1 to 10" ranking went out the door, too.
There have been some various suggestions in other threads regarding how voting could work better, including "critical vs. popular" dual awards, and issues that deal with duplicate/mistaken votes. I'm not going to recap all the details, but I certainly want to hear what you think may help in ensuring fair fights for top-dog. This will be especially important if we end up with a significant set of entries.
_____________
I would also like to hear from people that "definitely under no circumstances would ever enter this"... but have an interest in reviewing/critiquing submissions as a neutral. You can PM or E-mail me.
_____________
Depending on the amount of interest this generates, there may or may not be a Round 2. I would like there to be... but there are no guarantees in life.
Here are the things to think about, in short:
Obviously there will be thoughts and suggestions that do not fit with these topics... but are relevant to a fun competition. Post them (or PM/E-mail me), because I do want to hear what can improve this great IndieTalk challenge.
Rar!
We had 14 peeps definitely in, according to the first poll, before Round 1 was jumped into. Realistically, of the 14 commited peeps, I expected roughly 4 finished entries. (Not including mine). Now, that wasn't the case, as it turned out. Poke & Goat turned in a very fine film which technically didn't qualify, being over 3 minutes longer than the maximum length allowed. My own entry didn't count either, per being organiser.
That created a curious situation. It's also the reason why two films (that shouldn't) are heating up in the polls. A 30 second clip of two people arguing over who farted in the elevator and a voiceover at the end announcing, "The world may never know" could have won this by default. Not because it had a better story... but because it met the rules.
Now to the new stuff...
____________
Things to discuss before (and if) a second round may start. Many of these are my own views, and I'll probably miss some things that needs addressing. Bring it up, either in a post or PM/E-mail.
Competition Duration
Currently at 6 weeks (start to finish), with a 2 week vote period.
That is a fair chunk of time for even part-time filmmakers to get something finished. With the additional vote period, that makes a "big thing" roll around the boards every eight weeks. I think it's long (and casual) enough.
Film Duration
Round 1 was set at 5 minutes, max. I think I was probably influenced too much by Channel 101's focus on concise, to-the-point writing guidelines when I made that choice. Extending it to 10 mins is probably a good idea. Not that there is anything wrong with really short submissions... it just allows more freedom with scripting.
A "Set" Topic
We started with six random topics. They were picked to be deliberately broad. Goat & Poke took advantage of that when they made their comedy-style mystery. I took advantage of that when I made my was-he-on-crack-style mystery.
I'm pretty happy with the current random lineup. However, there are some peeps (so I hear) that would rather have no assigned genre at all. Would replacing a theme with a required line of dialogue be a suitable/acceptable substitute? Or lower the challenge?
The Prop
Cheap, affordable... required. Maybe background, maybe plot-point... depending on how the writer makes it work into the story. Thoughts? Easily replaceable with a dialogue substitute... but same issue as above.
The Votes
This is the hard one. The current sytem is obviously flawed in many ways, for a comp like this. It's especially hard when, with relatively little feedback, a single vote can cause a wide margin. The day that the submissions went live was the same day that we changed boards, as well... so the old "1 to 10" ranking went out the door, too.
There have been some various suggestions in other threads regarding how voting could work better, including "critical vs. popular" dual awards, and issues that deal with duplicate/mistaken votes. I'm not going to recap all the details, but I certainly want to hear what you think may help in ensuring fair fights for top-dog. This will be especially important if we end up with a significant set of entries.
_____________
I would also like to hear from people that "definitely under no circumstances would ever enter this"... but have an interest in reviewing/critiquing submissions as a neutral. You can PM or E-mail me.
_____________
Depending on the amount of interest this generates, there may or may not be a Round 2. I would like there to be... but there are no guarantees in life.
![Cool :cool: :cool:](/images/smilies/cool.gif)
Here are the things to think about, in short:
Competition Duration
Film Duration
Random Topics
The Prop
Voting
Obviously there will be thoughts and suggestions that do not fit with these topics... but are relevant to a fun competition. Post them (or PM/E-mail me), because I do want to hear what can improve this great IndieTalk challenge.
Rar!
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