A big update - hurrah!

[Dave Watterson]

Congratulations Atta on a great update of the IAC website - I do like the
fact that you have taken articles from two of our major film makers, Michael
Slowe and Ken Wilson, from the pages of FVM magazine where they have a devoted
but restricted readership out into the world.

On this forum we have comments from the USA and Belgium now and then but
I believe there are also readers in Australia, Germany, Austria, Netherlands
and probably many other countries too. Now they and all the UK people who
are not in the IAC can enjoy and learn. Whee!

I'm looking forward to the next instalment of Alan Colegrave's article too.

The only way a website can grow and be helpful to its readers is for folk
to contribute. Well done those who do ... and to those who have not yet
done so, why not consider it?

Oh - and did you spot among the forest of *new* flags on the website homepage
that there is a site with Albert Noble's funny pictures and animations?

Dave (Impressed) Watterson

[AnimatioN]

"Dave Watterson" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Congratulations Atta on a great update of the IAC website - I do like the
fact that you have taken articles from two of our major film makers, Michael
Slowe and Ken Wilson, from the pages of FVM magazine where they have a devoted
but restricted readership out into the world.

Oh dearie, dearie me, why don't they set up their own web sites
and become less restricted then?

Told M I had a site hit from The Virgin Islands (and some ol'
men need that kinda thing!) but even that hasn't done the trick.

I am at present, writing an article for FVM about setting up
web sites, so maybe that will do the trick.
Albert....very tricky.
http://www.retinascope.co.uk/index.html

[Willy Van der Linden]

"Belgian beer and chocolates are best" ! That's what Dave Watterson has written,...
"And the Belgians also have good films". Perhaps I'll have to believe him.
The Belgian film " The Child", a movie by filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc
Dardenne, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Their
teen drama "Rosetta" took the main Cannes prize six years ago. Like earlier
films from the Dardennes, "The Child" deals with social issues involving
Belgium's struggling poor. ('Belgium' written with 'iu' ... !) It's about
a young pretty crook suddenly faced with the responsibilities of fatherhood
... I haven't seen the film yet, but there's no doubt ... it must be an excellent
film. A French journalist wrote : "This may be one of the best Cannes Film
Festivals in recent years ..." But, oh god, again a social drama ! I have
the impression that nowadays it's easier to score a great success if you
choose heavily laden themes. Films about death and destruction, about mental
anguish, illnesses and drugs, about marital infidelity, about ... My question
is ... : Is it easier to make people cry than to make them laugh ? Once
I saw a film about a boy who was singing a song at his daddy's death-bed
from the beginning till the end... The filmmaker won the first prize at an
amateur film festival. I'm sure the man was all smiles when he heard the
results. It appeared that I was not the only viewer who was disappointed.
I could also give other examples.
No, ... my friends, ... laughing, smiling, giggling and grinning ... that's
what people need nowadays, ... pure entertaining films ! But alas ! If you
are ambitious, please take something more profound then. Time passes very
quickly. Bourvil, Louis de Funès, ... those were the days, weren't they ?
It's a pity you cannot win a festival with a "Mr Bean" film ? That's what
I think. Or am I wrong ? I love Mrs Bouquet. And you ?

[Ned C]

"Willy Van der Linden" <vanderlindenhig@telenet.be> wrote:

A French journalist wrote : "This may be one of the best Cannes Film
Festivals in recent years ..." But, oh god, again a social drama ! I have
the impression that nowadays it's easier to score a great success if you
choose heavily laden themes. Films about death and destruction, about mental
anguish, illnesses and drugs, about marital infidelity, about ...

The above list is of the eternal themes shared by all cultures and understood
regardles of language.

My question

is ... : Is it easier to make people cry than to make them laugh?

Yes, humor tends to be national and doing it well is extremely difficult,
very few amateur comedies wotk.

Once I saw a film about a boy who was singing a song at his daddy's death-bed
from the beginning till the end... The filmmaker won the first prize at
an
amateur film festival. I'm sure the man was all smiles when he heard the
results. It appeared that I was not the only viewer who was disappointed.

If this is the Australian film that I have seen recently then I agree. The
reason it won anything was due to the very high quality of the production.
It looked as if it was judged on the technical quality, which was excellent,
and none of the judges actually registered the content which combined absurdity
with cloying sentimentality. Perhaps it was an Australian comedy?

Ned C

[Dave Watterson]

One of my correspondents recently described most award winning British amateur
videos as "... vanilla flavour, the adjectives 'nice' and 'lovely' being
very applicable, very smooth and competent but lacking in bite, nothing dynamic..."

I know exactly what he means.

As a rule of thumb, from the British perspective, the further East you go
the darker the movie subjects, the further West you go the more trivial.

It is extremely rare for a British film maker to express something which
is really important to them: comic or tragic. There are occasional documentaries
on topics which are important to the maker but which are handled in a remote,
distant manner. People seem to believe that documentaries have to be balanced
and 'scientific' -a piece of nonsense often attributed to Dr. John Grierson
... who actually made many intensely emotive movies on factual subjects.
Don't tell me 'Drifters' was pure objectivity!

The best of Hyacinth Bucket or Mr. Bean really ARE pieces of serious social
commentary and really do express powerful emotion.

Of course there is a place for a well-made, instructive documentary. I learned
more factual stuff from movies and tv than from school and university.

But we have a tool which is capable of swaying hearts and minds, of granting
us catharsis, of rousing righteous wrath, of shining light on the mysteries
within ourselves.

How sad if we never venture beyond the jolly, the amusing or the educational.

Dave

[Cinema For Thurso Group]

There was a thing in the news just last week about how Britain doesn't laugh
as much as it used to. Have we become a nation of misery gutts.
Thankfully I still retain the abilty to laugh even when I'm annoyed, angry
or sad, it's very easy for people to make me laugh. I find loads of things
about this world are so ludicrus. I see the silly side in almost everything.
e.g. al the reasons people give when objecting to planning applications especially
where wind turbines are concerned!

[Fraught]

"AnimatioN" <Animation@btopenworld.com> wrote:

"Dave Watterson" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Congratulations Atta on a great update of the IAC website - I do like the
fact that you have taken articles from two of our major film makers, Michael
Slowe and Ken Wilson, from the pages of FVM magazine where they have a
devoted
but restricted readership out into the world.

Oh dearie, dearie me, why don't they set up their own web sites
and become less restricted then?

Told M I had a site hit from The Virgin Islands (and some ol'
men need that kinda thing!) but even that hasn't done the trick.

I am at present, writing an article for FVM about setting up
web sites, so maybe that will do the trick.
Albert....very tricky.
http://www.retinascope.co.uk/index.html

I'm new to surfing this site... and my impression are that it is in major
need of updating! Its not just new articles, i was surfing looking for details
in my area, etc... and noticed that it hadn't been updated since 2004! I
was also looking for details of all the latest competitions... but didn't
find much. I'll give it another butcher's hook now that some updates have
happened.

[Dave Watterson]

I'm new to surfing this site... and my impression are that it is in major
need of updating! Its not just new articles, i was surfing looking for details
in my area, etc... and noticed that it hadn't been updated since 2004! I
was also looking for details of all the latest competitions... but didn't
find much. I'll give it another butcher's hook now that some updates have
happened.

I'm not sure where you are looking!

Check the "Events Diary" link at the top of the home page for info on competition
dates etc.

A lot of people seem to miss the "Resources" section in the links on the
left. This is packed with articles about film making and film makers.

Looking for a club near you is trickier but start with the "IAC Regions"
link on the left and click on your area. Then look for a link to the "Club
Listing" - often at the top of the regional page but sometimes elsewhere.
All the club information was revised and updated earlier this year.

What would you like to see on here?

Dave

[Fraught]

I'm not sure where you are looking!

Check the "Events Diary" link at the top of the home page for info on competition
dates etc.

A lot of people seem to miss the "Resources" section in the links on the
left. This is packed with articles about film making and film makers.

Looking for a club near you is trickier but start with the "IAC Regions"
link on the left and click on your area. Then look for a link to the "Club
Listing" - often at the top of the regional page but sometimes elsewhere.
All the club information was revised and updated earlier this year.

What would you like to see on here?

Dave

Thanks for that Dave, i'll check that all out.

I know that i'm part of the SoCo region... but the biggest news there refers
to the SoCo Weekender 2003!
Surely it can be updated more often? Even once a year would make it more
up to date than it is! LOL!

I was really into the Youth Side of film making when i was big on film making...
i wrote tons for the FVM Youth Column back in the early 90s. I'd like to
see a youth section on the site... had a look, didn't see anything.

How about a review section for people who have rented from the Film Library?

[willy Van der Linden]

"Ned C" <ned@ampsvideo.com> wrote:

"
If this is the Australian film that I have seen recently then I agree. The
reason it won anything was due to the very high quality of the production.
It looked as if it was judged on the technical quality, which was excellent,
and none of the judges actually registered the content which combined absurdity
with cloying sentimentality. Perhaps it was an Australian comedy?

Ned C

Yes, indeed, Ned. It was an Australian comedy with some "flash backs" in
it.

It was a pure melodrama. The boy could sing beautifully. I do not remember
the
technical quality, but in my opinion film was very static.