AMPS 77th Festival

A forum for sharing views on the art of film, video and AV sequence making as well as on competitions, judging and festivals.
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Ned C

AMPS 77th Festival

Post by Ned C »

Gentle reminder that the closing date for this year's AMPS Festival is September
1st. Rules & Entry Form at www.ampsvideo.com

Thanks

Ned C
Dave Watterson

Re: AMPS 77th Festival

Post by Dave Watterson »

"Ned C" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:
Gentle reminder that the closing date for this year's AMPS Festival is September
1st. Rules & Entry Form at www.ampsvideo.com

speaking of festivals ... you might care to take a sneak peek at
http://www.fvi.org.uk/central/festival_ ... pared.html

where you will see the answer to the age old question: How different are
the festivals really?"

Cheers

Dave
Michael Slowe

Festival Judging Variations

Post by Michael Slowe »

Dave makes a very good point and one that I have always felt - a good film
will be recognised wherever it may be shown. I reckon I can guage what level
any entry I submit to a festival will achieve almost precisely and I have
been entering films and videos for over 30 years. There have been one or
two pleasant surprises but almost no disappointments. I find the judging
very consistant and, as I said in a recent post, it is not a great mystery
nor is it all that difficult to see whether a film is any good or not. Mind
you I have just sent two to AMPS but I'm not publicly expressing any views
on them!! Of course some festivals sometimes catch all the best films around
whilst others may miss some and that does make forecasting rather more difficult,
but Dave's chart is the first time I have seen direct comparisons set out
like this.



"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsoc
speaking of festivals ... you might care to take a sneak peek at
http://www.fvi.org.uk/central/festival_ ... pared.html

where you will see the answer to the age old question: How different are
the festivals really?"

Cheers

Dave
Willy Van der Linden

The Yellow Jersey

Post by Willy Van der Linden »

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:
"Ned C" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Gentle reminder that the closing date for this year's AMPS Festival is
September
1st. Rules & Entry Form at www.ampsvideo.com

speaking of festivals ... you might care to take a sneak peek at
http://www.fvi.org.uk/central/festival_ ... pared.html

where you will see the answer to the age old question: How different are
the festivals really?"
An interesting comparison, Dave. It's a bit like the Pro Tour in cycling.
Perhaps you do not know what it is. I'll explain. Cycling is the most popular
sport in Belgium. We have the World Champion ! In Western Europe there are
a number of important cycle races like the Tour of Flanders (Belgium), Paris-Roubaix
(France), Milan - San Remo (Italy), etc. Each time the winner gets 30 points,
the runner-up 25 points, the third 20 points, the fourth 19 points, etc...
The racer who has won most points after all the races at the end of the year
is the winner of the Pro Tour. Perhaps the comparison is a bit exaggerated.
In the first place we make films for fun. Festivals, however, give you the
opportunity to hear what other people may think about your film(s). The offer
the opportunity to make new friends, etc... We've already talked about this
one hundred times. But imagine that there is a Pro Tour in film making. After
AMPS, Ebensee, Biaff, Guernsey, The Cotswolds ... the participants get points.
The film maker who has won most points after all the festivals is the winner
of the Pro Tour. Film makers may be encouraged to take part in all/most international
film festivals in Europe or in the world. The winner may wear the yellow
jersey for one year ... Of course, I'm joking now, but anyway, the general
idea is not bad I think, Dave.
Willy Van der Linden

Re: AMPS 77th Festival

Post by Willy Van der Linden »

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

speaking of festivals ... you might care to take a sneak peek at
http://www.fvi.org.uk/central/festival_ ... pared.html

where you will see the answer to the age old question: How different are
the festivals really?"

"The scoring looks remarkably similar." That's what you tell us in your message,
Dave. I think that scoring is not so important. The "father" of the new Olympics,
Pierre de Coubertin, said "Taking part is important, not winning !". However,
it's a bit ridiculous. It's always pleasant to be the winner. Urbain Appeltans
was extremely happy when he won "The Maily Dail Trophy" in April. I think
he deserved it. Also because he's not a money maker. He's made his "Hannah"
and "Cinemascope" for fun. The best film must win the competition, not an
other one ! Once again he had the best film ! Urbain had tears in his eyes.
I must admit, I would not have tears in my eyes, but I understand his reaction.


I sometimes wonder if an outsider does not have a bigger chance of winning
a festival or winning a top award. I don't mean 'an award'. I mean 'a top
award' ! People need new names after some time. I'm writing this because
this morning I had a chat with a film maker who told me this. He even thinks
it's better to stop taking part in national and international festivals for
some years. Choosing a pseudonym would also be interesting. I remember that
some years ago "a regular" on this forum said something similar. You have
your own style of making films. After a couple of years people immediately
recognize your way of editing, your choice of music, etc... I think I would
recognize Ken's style and Urbain's style. I'm not sure about Michael's style.
Would you recognize my style ? "It's time for a change", critics and judges
often think. It's like that in everything. I remember that it was even a
political slogan in Britain some years ago. It's like that in politics, in
sports, in music, but also in filmmaking. It's human. Let's take tennis.
The William sisters were the best in the world for years and years, but after
some time it became wearisome and people wanted to have new winners. It became
too monotonous. The organizers and the audience hoped that the William sisters
would not win anymore. In fact that's unfair. Eddy Merckx won The Tour the
France five times, but in his last year fanatics along the road tried to
sabotage him. Lance Armstrong had the same problems. The French started hating
him. What do you think about this phenomenon ? I won't feel offended if
you think that all this is ridiculous. Every year my club organizes a Gala.
I'm the best in my club. It does not sound very modest, but "In the kingdom
of blind men the one-eyed is king". This year Samuel Faict, our youngest
member, will show one of his films for the first time. It's a horror film
that won a "very highly commended" at the Guernsey festival this year. "That's
very good", one of the members of my club said. "Don't be angry" she said
to me, "but then we can show a quite different film at our Gala. Your style,
Willy, has become a bit monotonous.", she added. I was not angry with her
at all. She's a very kind lady who always says what's on her tongue. I like
that. And she was not aggressive. She hates hypocrisy and so do I. I could
understand her. In fact I have the same feeling as Yvonne. She was right.
Perhaps it's better to be a judge at regional and national festivals for
some years. I enjoy making films, but I also enjoy watching them. I could
start a new chapter in my life. A judge instead of a filmmaker !
Willy Van der Linden

Re: AMPS 77th Festival

Post by Willy Van der Linden »

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

speaking of festivals ... you might care to take a sneak peek at
http://www.fvi.org.uk/central/festival_ ... pared.html

where you will see the answer to the age old question: How different are
the festivals really?"

"The scoring looks remarkably similar." That's what you tell us in your message,
Dave. I think that scoring is not so important. The "father" of the new Olympics,
Pierre de Coubertin, said "Taking part is important, not winning !". However,
it's a bit ridiculous. It's always pleasant to be the winner. Urbain Appeltans
was extremely happy when he won "The Maily Dail Trophy" in April. I think
he deserved it. Also because he's not a money maker. He's made his "Hannah"
and "Cinemascope" for fun. The best film must win the competition, not an
other one ! Once again he had the best film ! Urbain had tears in his eyes.
I must admit, I would not have tears in my eyes, but I understand his reaction.


I sometimes wonder if an outsider does not have a bigger chance of winning
a festival or winning a top award. I don't mean 'an award'. I mean 'a top
award' ! People need new names after some time. I'm writing this because
this morning I had a chat with a film maker who told me this. He even thinks
it's better to stop taking part in national and international festivals for
some years. Choosing a pseudonym would also be interesting. I remember that
some years ago "a regular" on this forum said something similar. You have
your own style of making films. After a couple of years people immediately
recognize your way of editing, your choice of music, etc... I think I would
recognize Ken's style and Urbain's style. I'm not sure about Michael's style.
Would you recognize my style ? "It's time for a change", critics and judges
often think. It's like that in everything. I remember that it was even a
political slogan in Britain some years ago. It's like that in politics, in
sports, in music, but also in filmmaking. It's human. Let's take tennis.
The William sisters were the best in the world for years and years, but after
some time it became wearisome and people wanted to have new winners. It became
too monotonous. The organizers and the audience hoped that the William sisters
would not win anymore. In fact that's unfair. Eddy Merckx won The Tour the
France five times, but in his last year fanatics along the road tried to
sabotage him. Lance Armstrong had the same problems. The French started hating
him. What do you think about this phenomenon ? I won't feel offended if
you think that all this is ridiculous. Every year my club organizes a Gala.
I'm the best in my club. It does not sound very modest, but "In the kingdom
of blind men the one-eyed is king". This year Samuel Faict, our youngest
member, will show one of his films for the first time. It's a horror film
that won a "very highly commended" at the Guernsey festival this year. "That's
very good", one of the members of my club said. "Don't be angry" she said
to me, "but then we can show a quite different film at our Gala. Your style,
Willy, has become a bit monotonous.", she added. I was not angry with her
at all. She's a very kind lady who always says what's on her tongue. I like
that. And she was not aggressive. She hates hypocrisy and so do I. I could
understand her. In fact I have the same feeling as Yvonne. She was right.
Perhaps it's better to be a judge at regional and national festivals for
some years. I enjoy making films, but I also enjoy watching them. I could
start a new chapter in my life. A judge instead of a filmmaker !
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