Hey Guys and Gals!
Sorry, I've been trying to catch up with editing, and pre-production on a couple projects, and have just been swamped. I'm still swamped, but I'm itching to do DVC4 (as are many of you I'm sure).

Let's start off with the date. Everyone needs at least two or three weeks of notice (heh, especially yours truly!) which puts us at December 1st. I'll be sad to abondon the horror theme (unless you all want it). I'm tempted to make a theme announcement much earlier with a Chrissmassy theme in mind (yes I know what it is).

I'm so far behind in stuff that I'm putting myself on the Wall Of Shame for not getting my DVC3 film up by now.

So far everyone has been pretty happy with the DVC shirts. I'm mostly happy, but not totally. I need suggestions on the following. 1) I'm not printing on a cheap shirt no matter how much money it saves. Those cost about double what a basic shirt does and I'd still like something even better, but for around the same price. If anyone out there knows much about shirts, and where to get sexy high quality ones at a reasonable price, please let me know. 2) There will be a slight logo update, and possibly one on the front, although I'm not sure. 3) There are online places that will do all your printing and sales for you, if anyone has experience with one, please LMK. Packing and shipping takes more than a little bit of time, as you might imagine.

The format/rules, etc... Seems like the changes we made from DVC2 to DVC3 were well recieved, how did you guys like the extended time limit? I think it worked. I was very glad that you all had titles this time. :)

I've had some very generous offers for help from some of you, which I'd like to accept, for those of you who have, please give me a shout and let me know what you'd like to do.

Umm... thats enough to get the ball rolling anyway.

Feel free to drop in any other thoughts/suggestions/criticisms!

D

Please don't do a Christmas theme.

Not a Chrismas theme, but a holiday/seasonal related theme.

I like the Christmas theme. Never miss a chance to dress up in my elf costume!

A Christmas theme that goes Horror-bly wrong theme. j/k

My first thought was to do something fun that will draw a huge distinction between film makers above the snow belt and film makers below the snow belt.

If the theme is released on 1st decembre, I will not be able to participate. I would like to suggest you the decembre 15th. We will have to finish the movie for the 23, which is just before everyone party. We will be all in the christmas mood!

I don't mind having the theme early and a little more time to work. I have exams once a week in december so it will be tough but it's all a matter of priority... and well.. I know what my priority is :) Having it finished by the 23rd sounds perfect.

I don't mind a holiday/christmas theme. I doubt that we will get any snow here since something weird has happened with the weather. Nowadays, if we get snow, it snows in the morning and is all gone by the afternoon. So anything that gets me in christmas mood is cool.

Whatever the theme is, I'll work with it. Bring it on!

But my opinion differs from the previous two posts on the timing. The week before Christmas is a busy time for a lot of people as they prepare for the holidays. If we do a DVC in December, I'd rather see it earlier in the month.

The week before Christmas is a busy time for a lot of people as they prepare for the holidays. If we do a DVC in December, I'd rather see it earlier in the month.
I ment that it would be nice to have the theme earlier and maybe complete it over 2 or 3 weeks... :)

i agree that earlier in december is better. if the entries come due the 23rd, who will want to be judging films on christmas eve or christmas day? which would push the whole judging/critiquing/sharing thing into limbo.....

i like a holiday theme and already have an idea which would fit my style and also just about any holiday theme......get us in the mood....

Part of the challenge of The DV Challenge is the time limit. Dylan has already relented once and increased the time to shoot a 3 minute short to 8 days. Perhaps he will offer us a Christmas present and extend the time, but I wouldn't count on it! Besides, I'll bet I'm not the only one who would simply procrastinate if given more time!

If it was just me, I wouldn't care...if a particular Challenge happens when I'm not available, I'll just skip it and wait for the next one. I skipped the first two. I just think that putting the deadline close to the holidays will be a bad time for many -- if not most -- videographers, actors, judges, and impatient family members. For that reason, I'd rather see DVC#4 either in early December for the same 8 day duration, or failing that, wait until early January (but that's too long to wait, eh?).

I wanted to say a word about the time limit. A longer one would be nice. those who are prone to procrastinate can do so if they wish. After all, time management is an impotant filmmaking skill.

Personally I attend school full/part time, work forty hours a week, have a wife and two children under the age of five. I can do a movie within the time frame- I've done two of these so far- but I have no time for reshooting, and if the script takes me more than the first 24 hours, as it did last time, I am screwed. I never procrastinate. I'm already late on everything.

However, I understand that many, if not most of the participants are not in a situation like mine, and I do not expect the challange to cater to my needs.
I will say, though, that a longer time period might well lead to some more refined films, and a more pleasant viewing experiance for everyone involved.

Making a film in a week or three weeks, or three years is still a massive challange. I think the longer time limit might actually make it more of a challenge in some ways. For instance, if you put off starting your film for two and a half weeks and your competing against someone who utilized every available minute, there's a good chance you'll suffer for, and learn a valuble lesson as a result:
carpe diem.

Hmmmmm 7 days, or 8, I think that's why it's called The DV Challlenge and not The DV Whenever I Get Around To It Film Fest. It's about staying up way too late and editing until your eyes bleed. It's about calling in any favor you can and making promises that you know you'll dread repaying. It's about fighting off interventions and getting off your @$$ and producing something. I don't think I got more than 4 hours of sleep per night during DVC #3 (my cherry) and in retrospect I loved every minute of it. Dylan don't change a thing, you're money baby.

Another vote not to change it.
I'm a perfectionist. If you give me three weeks, I'd spend three times the hours in editing. I don't want another divorce, since I am very happy with my current wife. Taking one week away from my wife and three kids (six and under) is about all I can commit to the project!
I can't do 48 hour contests, so the one week timeframe is perfect for me.

I'm all in favor of it staying like it is. I understand the pressures in wanting to make sure everyone can do their best if they only had one more day. Well, we've done OK so far and the quality of the entries has gone up significantly with the last minor change. Give us too much time and we'll simply drink more. I think we've got a track record for that too.

Anyway, I like it the way it is but will be involved no matter what. Looking forward to a "Creepy Christmas" theme. You guys know by now that no matter what the theme, I'm going to find the dark side of it.

Bring it on. Full speed ahead.

I do have to note that I am going to see a surgeon next week to consult on my torn rotator cuff surgery. (no set date for the surgery yet) I may be shooting this one from the hospital but I'll be editing no matter where I am. Heck, the anesthesia just might bring on a few ideas.

Sean McHenry

the mchenry household sure sounds loaded with christmas cheer. pass the toadstool casserole, please. daddy needs a new chainsaw, dear.

(sorry, sean, i could not resist....)

my constructive suggestion is to put some long hair and boobs on one of these shadowy characters on the back of this t-shirt.

keep the current time frame. no one ever made anything good without deadline pressure. i made my last one from start to web delivery in the *one day* that i was able to eke out of my own schedule. it was completely improvisational. it was far from the best work i possibly could have done, but it wasn't bad at all for what it was, either.

A week challenge is perfect for me, 48 hours too short, 3 weeks too long.

Dont care on the theme, just bring it on !!!!!!. Just because its Christmas, it doesn`t mean it has to have that theme. When we had the "cameras" theme, where we celebrating the birth of the camera ?

Anyway, I`m in on the next one what ever the theme :-)

Meryem, no problem. Perhaps I look on the dark side because my life has been pretty tame over all. It's a chance to look at the other side of how things can go wrong or stuff I can't explain.

So it's Friday and this is WAY off topic but you guys might like this web site:
http://www.eugenemirman.com/

Waiting for Godot (and DVC4),

Sean

Okay, Dylan, I think you need to take Posts 13, 14, and 15 (Jason's, Dick's, and Sean's) and post those to your DVC challenge website. Those three have captured the essence of what it takes to be a serious contestant! :)

.............

Personally, I am all for keeping it like it is...for me right now, I think it works perfectly - even if it stresses me out somewhat. I'm learning stuff and getting stuff done and enjoying it all the time. With my schedule, and skill level, I am not ready for a 48 hr yet, and more than a week might force me to procrastinate...and even if I don't start the week long DVC till half-way through like last time, it is still a time frame I can wrap my head around and accomplish something I am proud of.

I am pretty sure at this time that I won't compete in DVC 4 unless some miracle happens. Thankfully, my business is taking off somewhat more rapidly than I was prepared for and I expect to be quite swamped and overburdened until the end of January (at least)....but work is work, and work sometimes means pay also.

So even though I don't think I will be able to to compete (doggone it, and I am 3 for 3 also), I still want to cast my vote for keeping the week-long time frame.

BTW: If by some chance I can stave off clients for a couple extra days and find time to focus on a DVC in December, I have to keep my promise to my wife by making sure it is not dark, scary, twisted or any of that.....'something light hearted' or fun or something, I guess has to be the call of the day.

Catch y'all later.
-Jon

I've got a great twist on "Grandma Got run Over by a Reindeer" in my head...

Hey, could be light hearted. Then again, payback is hell.

Huh, huh....?

Just before every silver lining, there's me.

Sean

So Dylan?

We are exactly 2 weeks before the 1st decembre. Are you still looking to start the DVC4 at this date?

December 1 works for me!

Bring it on.

Sean McHenry

A quick reply for Dylan, hope he doesn't mind. Dylan seems to be a tad busy
at the moment. I've taken on the role of updating the DVC website so expect
some (minor) updates this week.

Dylan should get back to all your thoughts (thanks!) shortly. Hang in there :)