How long should an amateur movie be?

[Michael Slowe]

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

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

Of how many amateur films has it been said,
that they were too short? Very few.
Of how many, too long? Very, very many.......most?

Albert....veryly I say unto you!!
http://www.retinascope.co.uk/index.html

Congratulations for your mini-cinema, Albert. I enjoyed your animation films.
I agree that many films are too long. Your "Button Ballet" for instance
is excellent. Length of your film = 1min45 seconds. Imagine that the length
is 5 minutes. Then it would be too long. Imagine that my documentary about
the history of Ireland is 7 minutes. Then it would be too short. Such a
short
length of time is not enough to tell the eventful history of that country.
But once more ... I agree. It's better that film makers always do their
utmost
to limit the length of their films. I will think about it more than ever.

Well said Willy, it depends on the type of film but most of all if it is
any good. Albert's brilliant animation is ideally suited to the short format
but he really should try and appreciate what others are trying to do - whether
they are succeeding is another matter!

[Dave Watterson]

You say that they showed a 40 minute extract at the Festival of Nations,
yet have official time limits of between 5 - 30 minutes ! - also, they showed
late night screenings of long movies. Does this mean entrants ignore these
rules in the hope of getting a screening ? I know rules are made to be broken
- but, who decides on the screening of a film too long for the competition
rules ? in other words, how do they get away with it ?

Peter Rouillard

Short answer = I don't know details of how Austria's Festival of Nations
operates behind the scenes.

Longer answer = a panel of (?) ten people are sent copies of all 742 entries
and rank them. They get together for what must be a very difficult meeting
to choose which will be selected for the festival. They choose more than
can be screened so there is always some flexibility. If a film maker (author)takes
the trouble to attend the festival they usually show his or her film if it
is up to standard.

That panel may take the decision about what constitutes an exceptional cases
warranting a break of the rules. But do note that these exceptions are not
elegible for awards. I suspect that veteran organiser, Erich Riess, has a
lot of influence in deciding what is included.

And as for entrants obeying rules ... do they all do that for the Guernsey
Lily?

It can sometimes be hard for people without the relevant language to understand
the rules of a festival properly. For those events like the Festival of Nations
which do not charge an entry fee people are perhaps less bothered about the
fine print.


Dave (puzzled) Watterson