Where to from here part 2

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col lamb
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by col lamb »

Good on you John
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TimStannard
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by TimStannard »

Great stuff John,

I look forward to learning more of these ideas and the ideas that these will no doubt generate.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
ned c
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by ned c »

Some thoughts. Any voluntarily managed organisation such as the IAC is fortunate to have people willing to devote time and energy to the jobs that seem to generate a lot of heat from people unwilling to take them on. I have been on committees and Boards and am not good at it so thanks to those willing to do it. The personal attacks taking place elsewhere serve no useful purpose and if I were at the receiving end my resignation would be in the mail with the suggestion that those delivering the attacks take over and run the organization they wish to see. There is a real risk that these attacks may end in no-one willing to volunteer and the IAC slipping into oblivion.

Although preparing the iAC for the future is not all about money it is an important part of the equation. To broaden the recognition of the iAC the BIAFF is the best launch platform; imagine a thousand entries and the enormous strain that would place on the IAC but also imagine the breadth of recognition it would bring. How? First a student section judged by academics/industry professionals with awards that would pay for tuition and free IAC membership for a year. Wide promotion of the Festival through Withoutabox/Film Freeway. No change to the n-c/ amateur objectives but access to a much broader world than the essentially word of mouth amateur world. By focusing on the Festival; raising its visibility and broadening its entry base then the IAC would be placed to represent a wider range of film makers. However, imagine the load on the management of the IAC particularly if few are willing to take it on.

I have written here and in F&VM about The Space Between; for about a year we fell into a period of little or no activity due to ill health of the key board members and this is when one becomes very conscious of the fragility of these types of organizations. Fortunately three young actors have taken over; yes they have their agenda and it is new, different, challenging and TSB is off in a new direction that the traditionalists find unnerving but it looks like an exciting ride.

Thanks to those who volunteer to run these specialist organizations, no thanks to those who have nothing better to do than attack them.

ned c
Michael Slowe
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by Michael Slowe »

Well said Ned. Will the people making the 'personal attacks' actually see his mail?
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Dave Watterson
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by Dave Watterson »

As moderator of these boards I am conscious of treading a fine line.

We are an organisation of volunteers, not paid staff.
Although we must allow ourselves to be open to criticism, we can be discouraged and angered as Ned points out, when negative comments are presented in a hurtful way. Only a couple of writers on these forums have offered comments in such a vein, so it is nothing that a professional organiser would worry about ... there are always some who are discontented.

Please do not let those be the only voices heard.

At the same time, it is actually helpful to know where the organisation is perceived as failing or not being as proactive and helpful as it might be. Just word such comments politely, please.
edin
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by edin »

John Roberts input is very welcome and I wish him the best in his endevours. Some input from myself is offered:

1. Taking the FMV issue first the current membership of the IAC, from the representative sample attending the AGM, is skewed to the over 65 age group, and as such will in the main prefer the print edition. Having said that why can't we initiate a trial period of sending out dual formats. The pdf version to those members who register for it and still send out the printed magazine to its full distribution, after a period of three months consult the members to see which version they preferred.

2. Competitions. As a barometer of the club situation, the number of video clubs taking part in our inter club film competition has continued to dwindle over the years and in a few years will not be viable. This is not due to whether it should be submitted in DVD, Blu-ray or on- line format, but to the demise of the film making club fraternity - it effects must also be felt within the IAC.
The younger people carry out their filmmaking via the Internet. The Filmmaker magazine reflects this aspect, in particular the use of DSLR cameras for filmmaking. The IAC competitions cater well for its current membership, but do they attract this other and younger sector of the filmmaker. I really do not know the answer to this, but it is an area that needs further investigation and discussion.

3. There may be a need to change the scope of the IAC to embrace other creative sources that contribute to the filmmaking process and become a more multi disciplined organisation. Theses other sources would be scriptwriters, actors, theatre groups, etc. A project to look into this may be of value to the future develop of the IAC, increasing its scope and membership attraction.

That's all for now.
Best wishes for 2015
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TimStannard
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by TimStannard »

edin, I agree with your points 1 and 3 but no so with 2.
edin wrote: 2. Competitions. As a barometer of the club situation, the number of video clubs taking part in our inter club film competition has continued to dwindle over the years and in a few years will not be viable. This is not due to whether it should be submitted in DVD, Blu-ray or on- line format, but to the demise of the film making club fraternity
agreed (although our own club's Inter Club competition goes from strength to strength)
edin wrote: The younger people carry out their filmmaking via the Internet.
also agreed, but ...
edin wrote: The Filmmaker magazine reflects this aspect,
I don't see that - and I'm not sure it is relevant
edin wrote: in particular the use of DSLR cameras for filmmaking.

I really don't see what that has to do with internet or competitions.
edin wrote: The IAC competitions cater well for its current membership, but do they attract this other and younger sector of the filmmaker. I really do not know the answer to this, but it is an area that needs further investigation and discussion.
I'd suggest advertising. On another forum, I saw an example of someone's work (and eastern European) posted for peer criticism and he mentioned it had won a couple of awards in festivals. I suggested he enter it into BIAFF and he was very grateful for the link I supplied, not having heard of the competition.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
Michael Slowe
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by Michael Slowe »

There certainly is no lack of willingness of film makers worldwide to enter films into competitions or festivals as they seem to be called. You only have to look on Withoutabox or Filmfreeway to see dozens of festivals inviting entry and, believe me, they get thousands (literally) of entries. These are not necessarily from professionals, although many are, but from keen film makers, young and old. Listing BIAFF with one of these agencies would certainly publicise our event but might result in poor old David Newman being swamped and being quite unable to cope.

I also don't follow Edin's point about DSLR's, films are shot on all sorts of equipment, both non commercial and commercial, the important thing is that they are being produced in profusion, especially as the technical obstacles of long ago have disappeared.
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TimStannard
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Re: Where to from here part 2

Post by TimStannard »

Michael Slowe wrote: Listing BIAFF with one of these agencies would certainly publicise our event but might result in poor old David Newman being swamped and being quite unable to cope.
You raise a very good point, Michael. At present, David (I take it "poor, old" is a term of endearment rather than an honest description) and the judges somehow cope with the number of entries, of which a very large proportion manage to be shown throughout the weekend. One complaint I hear from people entering many festivals is they pay their fee, send off the film and then only hear that it's not been selected - no critiques or comments from judges/panels. If we increased the number of entries and had to reduce the feedback as a result it would dramatically reduce BIAFF's appeal to me and, I suspect, may others.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
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