The good news: Digital technology is now available to everyone. The bad news:
Digital technology is now available to everyone.
There was a time not too
long ago when if you wanted to make a short film and submit it to film festivals
you had two choices. You could choose between shooting it in 16mm or 35mm. The
people who made these films were either film students from universities or
serious film makers who were confident risking their money (or someone else’s)
to create their vision. For the most part, these people had a story to tell and
a plan. Simply “experimenting” or “dabbling” in film was (and still is) a costly
endeavor.
Enter the digital age. The cost of playing with visual images
today is virtually non-existent thanks to inexpensive camcorders and simple
desktop editing programs. Technology has created a way for anyone of any age to
experiment with moving pictures. As film festivals grapple to keep up with this
changing technology, many have begun to accept submissions made in digital
format. This has created a challenge as festivals everywhere are now being
inundated by home spun amateur material more suited for MySpace or YouTube. The
sheer volume of these submissions is causing concern to many in the festival
circuit. Polished film makers fear that quality films are being overlooked
because the viewing staff simply can’t watch every submission. Other film makers
worry about festival staff risking burnout, because the overload might cause
them not to be able to recognize a good film when they finally get to one.
Festival directors and coordinators are also feeling the pinch.
According to Mark Felicetti, a member of the board of directors of the Valley
International Film Festival near Los Angeles, “We once had 50-100 submissions.
This past season we had approximately 500, give or take a few. Of the short
films submitted, fifty percent were disturbingly poor.” He continues, “The stuff
we receive might have one clever idea or include a funny bit, but you can’t make
a movie out of a bit. These things may be hilarious at family gatherings, but
they don’t belong in a film festival.” The solution for some festivals has been
to simply accept films only shot on traditional film format, which has proven to
be effective in weeding out the dabblers and those less serious. For other
organizations who accept digital formats including festivals/ showcases on line,
they might have to re-define their criteria for acceptable submissions.
About Author
Brian Ochab is an Emmy nominated director. He is developing a feature film
called FRAME BY FRAME. He currently has a short film in consideration for the
Steven Spielberg/Mark Burnett reality show ON THE LOT. It can be seen here:
Watch Brian's Latest Movie Here
Source: ArticleTrader.com |
