Join us for a fascinating exploration into the world of film festival judging with our esteemed guests, Farah White and Hally Leadbetter. Ever wondered how independent films gain recognition at festivals? Farah, a seasoned pro in the judging arena, reveals the significance of celebrating diverse film genres and the transformative power of festival accolades on a filmmaker's career. Meanwhile, Hally, who brings a fresh perspective from sports broadcasting, shares her unique insights into evaluating action sports films.
Learn what it takes to judge a film with precision and care, from maintaining a consistent viewing environment to the choice of devices for the best experience. As Farah and Hally discuss, elements like sound quality and music composition are critical to a film's storytelling prowess. We also delve into creative techniques that filmmakers use to captivate audiences, such as simple setups that convey complex narratives. Our chat offers a deeper understanding of the art of storytelling and the behind-the-scenes magic of film festivals.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you don't have a huge budget, how do you know
where to put your extra money?
And just as a viewer, I thinkit is.
If you happen to go back andyou know you're watching things
and you're like, oh, that youknow, whatever that moment maybe
the lighting was off, maybe theyou know, I didn't hear what
that person said and it pulledyou out of it then maybe that's
a sign that you need to put theextra budget towards that.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
This is the Cinematography for Actors
podcast.
More than a podcast,cinematography for Actors is a
vibrant community devoted tobridging the gap between talent
and crew.
Each week, our show offerstransparent, insightful
conversations with industryleaders.
We unveil the magic behind thescenes, from candid discussions
about unique filmmakingprocesses to in-depth technical
exploration.
Join us in unraveling theintricacies of filmmaking, one
(00:48):
episode at a time.
It's more than just cameras andlenses.
We aim to inspire, educate andempower as we peel back the
curtain on the art of effectivestorytelling.
Now on to the episode.
Hi, everybody, welcome back toanother special episode of
Cinematography for Actorspodcast.
Here at Mammoth Film Festival,indiana and I, hayley Royal, are
(01:09):
seated together with two of ourjudges here this year we have
Farrah White and HallieLedbetter.
Hi, hi, guys, good to meet youboth.
Welcome, thank you.
So the first question I want toask is to find out if this is
your first year judging a filmfestival of all time it is mine,
yes.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Farrah.
I think Farrah is like very OGat this stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
She knows a lot about this kind of thing.
That's a polite way to say.
I've been around the block, no,but I got to be in a judges
panel with her and I was.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You know, I was just like, candidly, this is my first
time doing anything like this.
I did it to the best of myability and I was like I was
taking notes.
And then she's like I tooknotes too and I was like, ok,
good, so now I fair did that, Idid something right.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I felt like I did the right thing.
Yeah, amazing.
So are you judging the samecategories?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm doing action sports, so I have a sports
background.
I'm a sports broadcaster Cool.
So I think that's why TannerBeard brought me in for that.
So yeah, that was my category,fantastic.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And I'm doing the shorts and the features.
You got to do both, so Ioriginally was going to just do
the shorts and then I don't know.
I'm not sure what happened, butmaybe he knows also.
I just am a fiend when it comesto watching movies.
Oh, so I just am a fiend whenit comes to watching movies.
So yeah, I got the.
I had the privilege.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
He knew you could handle all that work.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, there you go.
Okay, I love it.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Wow, that's fantastic .
And so what are the rules forfor, like, a veteran judge, what
are the rules going in, like,do you, what is your workflow?
Do different festivals havedifferent kind of rules around
what they want from you out ofit?
Like, talk about that so youknow what.
That's interesting, that youask that.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
So every festival is different, right?
So sometimes there will be lesscategories to choose from.
It's really nice.
That's.
One of the great things aboutMammoth is that there are so
many different categoriesbecause there are so many
different types of films here,that it's nice to be able to
then spread some of the love andreally be able to give people
credit where they deserve it andwhere they've earned it, and
(03:10):
get you know they get recognizedfor it.
Because this business is toughand independent film in general
is tough.
So you know, and these laurels,these wins at festivals, even
getting accepted to a festival,is so hard.
So the fact that they'reactually getting that and then
getting to show that also youknow they've been nominated for
(03:33):
something, is huge, becausethose are laurels and then you
know winning something, that'sjust.
I think it helps them get moreattention.
It helps different buyers andpeople looking in the market to
be able to have immediately theyjust stand out right.
Oh well, this one won blah,blah, blah, and so it just
always helps.
But it's nice to be able to bea part of that and help films
(03:54):
get you know recognized.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
Yeah, the platform they deserve, yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
How are you breaking up your watch time?
Did you guys do it the same?
So I only had.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I had much less to watch than fair.
I only had, I believe, ninesubmissions okay okay, so I um,
I believe there were also likefour shorts and then five
features, so I split it up overa couple days and just sat there
with my laptop and just youknow, I really loved this about
this, you know, wasn't a hugefan of that and then, just sort
of like you know, maybe wentback and watched a few if I
(04:25):
needed to, or went back tocertain parts, um, so, yeah,
that's, I divided up a coupledays, but I tried to watch them
as as as close together as Icould because, again, having to
choose, like your favorite, yeah.
I didn't.
I didn't want to be like, ohyou know, have like my memory of
one affect it.
So I tried to watch them kindwithin two or three days.
But I don't know, was that Paul?
(04:45):
No, you answered the rightthing.
Oh, is that?
Okay, that's fantastic.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Yeah, you split it up and then you know we have to do
that around whatever else we'reactually really doing right in
life.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So I like to watch.
For example, if I'm going towatch it on my television or if
I'm going to watch it on mylaptop, I try to do whatever
that category is.
All on that, so that I can keepthat uniform.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
I mentioned it during our panel yesterday.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
My whole, my whole Virgo comes out of you know I
have certain things that I haveto check off, but I also watch
things multiple times sometimes,or we'll rewatch a part.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Or if.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I get to a certain point in the movie and think,
well, wait, I don't, let me justdouble check how they got there
.
I'll go back and think did.
I miss something.
But in this day and age also,it's like you know, did I?
Did I glance at my phone.
Did I also because nothingbothers me more than, as a
filmmaker and an actress, goingto a festival and seeing
(05:39):
something and wondering how didthey?
They didn't, did they watch iton their phone?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
These jurors.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Like I really hope that they, they, you know go
ahead and do, do the thing andwatch it.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
You know and enjoy it .
So I'm a.
So cinematography for actorsHaley's the actor side, I'm the
cinematographer side, and so itis interesting because now you
know, even as a DP, you'reconstantly reminded as, like,
the majority of people areprobably going to watch this on
their phone or their laptop, andand so it.
It's become this thing where,yes, we make it for the big
screen, we make sure everythingis perfect, we try and color
match as much as possible, butthen we're like, but then we
(06:12):
have to leave it to the audienceto just like hope that the
story carries it along right andthat's all we can do, and so I
think it's so great to have umto hear that there's like some
uniform in watching it, like allthe shorts will be on the
laptop or all of you knowfeatures will be on TV or vice
versa.
But I think that's so, that's sowonderful.
And what are some of the likecharacteristics of films or like
shorts or features that takeyou out of the story, that you
(06:34):
kind of that pull you back?
What are, what are those things?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I think the number one thing for me, which is
something that people never Ifeel like people never really
put as much money into the soundbudget and the music that they
should.
I feel like that's always thething that's thought about last
and it's so important.
If I can't hear or understandwhat is being said, that is a
(06:59):
I'm, then I'm immediately.
If I'm struggling, then I'm.
It pulls me out of the storyand then it makes me sad because
I, you know I don't want to bepulled out of the story.
I am 100% wanting to escapefrom this world.
Yes, I want to be invested inthat, but I would say that you
know, yeah, sound andcomposition is huge.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
We have some exciting news.
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(07:40):
quote and then honestly everyother aspect.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I feel like, and especially here, everyone's just
such pros.
Right, I'm seeing such greatstuff that I didn't have.
I didn't have any, nothing thatI filmed that I saw here, short
or feature.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Did.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I get pulled out.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
Oh, great yeah Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's a testament to the best of both worlds.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Good news, good job, guys, that kind of programming
they do.
Yeah, no-transcript.
(08:30):
And I think, vera, was it youthat had the example of the
friend that had the like 12minute long short where that was
reading a lot of complicatedpieces and maybe you can just
elaborate on that, but I thoughtthat was super interesting
because they made the decisionthat, hey, if we tried to go
shoot all these reallycomplicated scenes, it's
probably just going to take youout of it, because we can't get
(08:51):
the quality to where it needs tobe.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, right, and it's thing where I mean.
So in theory, you know,technically I guess almost like
a princess bride, right, becausehe's reading the story and then
, and then you go and you seeall of these things.
But no, it's actually DavidLowery, a filmmaker, also from
Texas, that had done the shortfilm and it literally is a
father reading to his son andhe's reading about all of these
(09:14):
major adventures that arehappening, but you're just
literally seeing the father'sface, the kid's face, and then
the lamp yeah, this shade that'sturning on the wall and the
lights and how they'rereflecting and bouncing, but
you're still hearing that storyand I'll be damned if you were
just not glued to Scree.
And now he's directing hugebudget things.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
As opposed to being like all right, we got to find a
pirate ship and a spaceship.
Whereas you'd be like.
This is taking me out of thestory, so I think that's maybe
something just to think about,Like okay, what budget
constraints do we?
Speaker 6 (09:49):
have Bigger doesn't always mean better.
Yeah, no, but as far as themoney, other than feeding your
people really well right andmaking sure that everyone's
happy.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Safety on set.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Safety on set feed your people, and then every
other dollar you should be ableto see on the screen.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Yes, yes, able to see on the screen.
Yes, yes, I love that.
Thank you for saying that.
It's the first thing.
I think that's such a thing Iadvocate for all the time is
just like, yeah, treating yourcrew with respect, safety and
yeah, and just making sure thatthey are really does make all
the difference.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I remember the first set I ever went on in la like a
year ago.
I was just like, oh my god,they have so many snacks and I
mean I like indiana is awesome.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Why else do we want film, except for the free food?
Speaker 4 (10:27):
No, that's what I was saying, and I mean Indiana is
not just blowing smoke.
I've been on a set where Indysays my crew doesn't work until
you feed them lunch.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Yes, we're not working past six hours right now
.
This is not how it works.
Yeah, no.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Yeah.
So I have a question then.
I want to know about ranking.
Did I want to know aboutranking?
Did you have to choose onefavorite or did you choose a few
favorites?
What were the rules around that, and how are they tallying up
these?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
points.
So for me I had to choose mytwo favorites and you know it
was interesting.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
What at least the the gauge that I gave myself was
because you're looking at, youknow action sports category,
everything from biking toskydiving, to this sport called
ice cross.
I had never heard of, but I'mnow like we're interviewing them
next.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Okay, incredible stuff, yeah, and so for me they
were all shot so beautifully butvery different stories and very
, also very different types ofathletes.
You had these two guys who werebest friends, who were just
like two regular dudes, and thenyou had these professional ice
cross, you know, just jackedguys that are traveling around
the world.
But sort of the through linefor all of it was they were all
(11:32):
so passionate about what they're, what they were doing, and I
just found myself rooting forthem so much.
So, kind of what I judged it onwas like, okay, how clear is
the goal of these characters?
Is it?
Is it coming across?
And then, how much like am Ifinding myself rooting for them?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
so yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So that's kind of.
But it was very difficultbecause even as I was watching
and I was like, okay, right nowthese are my top two favorites
and then watch another one, I'mlike, okay, well, now that maybe
yeah, and then I was just like,yeah, just trying to figure it
out, but no, it's definitelychallenging because they were
all so good and so and and alsoso different yeah, so it's it's
very difficult to choose likeokay, what?
What are the?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
best, yeah, but that's obviously just you.
You do your best yeah yeah,yeah so and is it the same
system for shorts and features?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
so it it's the same.
There are a few like there's abest genre category, but then of
course, best actor, bestactress yes uh, you know best.
There's a lot of short uh, butthere's a cinematography award
uh this year, and yeah, there'sso it's yeah, there's, there's
lots of uh.
They've taken uh the time toactually uh break it down
(12:42):
because there are and there's somany films yeah and what's nice
is there's so many um that.
I think one of the reasons it'sit's important to do that is
there are actually buyers atthis festival I know, yeah, we
were talking to tanner aboutthat.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean, and I sold three this year, I think so
far.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Oh see, incredible and I know five last year and
I'm a juror at some festivals.
You know that have been aroundfor 20 years and they still are
not a marketplace.
Speaker 6 (13:04):
Yeah, like your't get sold there, which is what
festivals kind of should be, ina way of like the longevity of
your career, sustained by theplatform in which they give you.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
It would be wonderful if there were a few buyers or
distributors at all festivals.
I don't know why, as a buyer ordistributor, you wouldn't have
a presence there, because itseems like it would give you.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Undiscovered talent too because even if you weren't
actually going to buy anythingright, you would be potentially
looking at talent rightabsolutely, yeah, absolutely
festival is a gold mine of time.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yeah, right, and and buy them when you want, when you
can get them cheap you knowwhen the hype is there.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
Yet You're like, yeah , just finding out the roots,
yeah, some festival.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
It's like a coupon.
You should come.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yes, exactly 40% off of this one, and we love a
coupon, so this is good, yes.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
We're so excited to hear fromthe judges' perspective, because
it's something we rarely reallyget.
We get to interview is normallylike filmmakers or like
festival heads, and so thejudges are the integral part of
you know how this festival runs.
So thank you so much foranswering these questions.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, yeah thanks for having us.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Ladies are fun well, we can't wait to hear your picks
tomorrow at the awards ceremony.
So thanks, we'll see you then,guys.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Bye everyone join us in bridging the gap between
talent and crew.
Start by subscribing on yourpreferred podcast platform.
Sign up for our newsletter tostay up to date on vendor
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It all starts atcinematographyforactorscom and,
if you like this episode,consider leaving a review to
(14:37):
make it easier for otherlisteners to find us.
If you don't have a huge budget, how do you know
where to put your extra money?
And just as a viewer, I thinkit is.
If you happen to go back andyou know you're watching things
and you're like, oh, that youknow, whatever that moment maybe
the lighting was off, maybe theyou know, I didn't hear what
that person said and it pulledyou out of it then maybe that's
a sign that you need to put theextra budget towards that.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
This is the Cinematography for Actors
podcast.
More than a podcast,cinematography for Actors is a
vibrant community devoted tobridging the gap between talent
and crew.
Each week, our show offerstransparent, insightful
conversations with industryleaders.
We unveil the magic behind thescenes, from candid discussions
about unique filmmakingprocesses to in-depth technical
exploration.
Join us in unraveling theintricacies of filmmaking, one
(00:48):
episode at a time.
It's more than just cameras andlenses.
We aim to inspire, educate andempower as we peel back the
curtain on the art of effectivestorytelling.
Now on to the episode.
Hi, everybody, welcome back toanother special episode of
Cinematography for Actorspodcast.
Here at Mammoth Film Festival,indiana and I, hayley Royal, are
(01:09):
seated together with two of ourjudges here this year we have
Farrah White and HallieLedbetter.
Hi, hi, guys, good to meet youboth.
Welcome, thank you.
So the first question I want toask is to find out if this is
your first year judging a filmfestival of all time it is mine,
yes.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Farrah.
I think Farrah is like very OGat this stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
She knows a lot about this kind of thing.
That's a polite way to say.
I've been around the block, no,but I got to be in a judges
panel with her and I was.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You know, I was just like, candidly, this is my first
time doing anything like this.
I did it to the best of myability and I was like I was
taking notes.
And then she's like I tooknotes too and I was like, ok,
good, so now I fair did that, Idid something right.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I felt like I did the right thing.
Yeah, amazing.
So are you judging the samecategories?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm doing action sports, so I have a sports
background.
I'm a sports broadcaster Cool.
So I think that's why TannerBeard brought me in for that.
So yeah, that was my category,fantastic.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And I'm doing the shorts and the features.
You got to do both, so Ioriginally was going to just do
the shorts and then I don't know.
I'm not sure what happened, butmaybe he knows also.
I just am a fiend when it comesto watching movies.
Oh, so I just am a fiend whenit comes to watching movies.
So yeah, I got the.
I had the privilege.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
He knew you could handle all that work.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, there you go.
Okay, I love it.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Wow, that's fantastic .
And so what are the rules forfor, like, a veteran judge, what
are the rules going in, like,do you, what is your workflow?
Do different festivals havedifferent kind of rules around
what they want from you out ofit?
Like, talk about that so youknow what.
That's interesting, that youask that.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
So every festival is different, right?
So sometimes there will be lesscategories to choose from.
It's really nice.
That's.
One of the great things aboutMammoth is that there are so
many different categoriesbecause there are so many
different types of films here,that it's nice to be able to
then spread some of the love andreally be able to give people
credit where they deserve it andwhere they've earned it, and
(03:10):
get you know they get recognizedfor it.
Because this business is toughand independent film in general
is tough.
So you know, and these laurels,these wins at festivals, even
getting accepted to a festival,is so hard.
So the fact that they'reactually getting that and then
getting to show that also youknow they've been nominated for
(03:33):
something, is huge, becausethose are laurels and then you
know winning something, that'sjust.
I think it helps them get moreattention.
It helps different buyers andpeople looking in the market to
be able to have immediately theyjust stand out right.
Oh well, this one won blah,blah, blah, and so it just
always helps.
But it's nice to be able to bea part of that and help films
(03:54):
get you know recognized.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
Yeah, the platform they deserve, yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
How are you breaking up your watch time?
Did you guys do it the same?
So I only had.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I had much less to watch than fair.
I only had, I believe, ninesubmissions okay okay, so I um,
I believe there were also likefour shorts and then five
features, so I split it up overa couple days and just sat there
with my laptop and just youknow, I really loved this about
this, you know, wasn't a hugefan of that and then, just sort
of like you know, maybe wentback and watched a few if I
(04:25):
needed to, or went back tocertain parts, um, so, yeah,
that's, I divided up a coupledays, but I tried to watch them
as as as close together as Icould because, again, having to
choose, like your favorite, yeah.
I didn't.
I didn't want to be like, ohyou know, have like my memory of
one affect it.
So I tried to watch them kindwithin two or three days.
But I don't know, was that Paul?
(04:45):
No, you answered the rightthing.
Oh, is that?
Okay, that's fantastic.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Yeah, you split it up and then you know we have to do
that around whatever else we'reactually really doing right in
life.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So I like to watch.
For example, if I'm going towatch it on my television or if
I'm going to watch it on mylaptop, I try to do whatever
that category is.
All on that, so that I can keepthat uniform.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
I mentioned it during our panel yesterday.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
My whole, my whole Virgo comes out of you know I
have certain things that I haveto check off, but I also watch
things multiple times sometimes,or we'll rewatch a part.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Or if.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I get to a certain point in the movie and think,
well, wait, I don't, let me justdouble check how they got there
.
I'll go back and think did.
I miss something.
But in this day and age also,it's like you know, did I?
Did I glance at my phone.
Did I also because nothingbothers me more than, as a
filmmaker and an actress, goingto a festival and seeing
(05:39):
something and wondering how didthey?
They didn't, did they watch iton their phone?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
These jurors.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Like I really hope that they, they, you know go
ahead and do, do the thing andwatch it.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
You know and enjoy it .
So I'm a.
So cinematography for actorsHaley's the actor side, I'm the
cinematographer side, and so itis interesting because now you
know, even as a DP, you'reconstantly reminded as, like,
the majority of people areprobably going to watch this on
their phone or their laptop, andand so it.
It's become this thing where,yes, we make it for the big
screen, we make sure everythingis perfect, we try and color
match as much as possible, butthen we're like, but then we
(06:12):
have to leave it to the audienceto just like hope that the
story carries it along right andthat's all we can do, and so I
think it's so great to have umto hear that there's like some
uniform in watching it, like allthe shorts will be on the
laptop or all of you knowfeatures will be on TV or vice
versa.
But I think that's so, that's sowonderful.
And what are some of the likecharacteristics of films or like
shorts or features that takeyou out of the story, that you
(06:34):
kind of that pull you back?
What are, what are those things?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I think the number one thing for me, which is
something that people never Ifeel like people never really
put as much money into the soundbudget and the music that they
should.
I feel like that's always thething that's thought about last
and it's so important.
If I can't hear or understandwhat is being said, that is a
(06:59):
I'm, then I'm immediately.
If I'm struggling, then I'm.
It pulls me out of the storyand then it makes me sad because
I, you know I don't want to bepulled out of the story.
I am 100% wanting to escapefrom this world.
Yes, I want to be invested inthat, but I would say that you
know, yeah, sound andcomposition is huge.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
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(07:40):
quote and then honestly everyother aspect.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I feel like, and especially here, everyone's just
such pros.
Right, I'm seeing such greatstuff that I didn't have.
I didn't have any, nothing thatI filmed that I saw here, short
or feature.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Did.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I get pulled out.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
Oh, great yeah Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's a testament to the best of both worlds.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Good news, good job, guys, that kind of programming
they do.
Yeah, no-transcript.
(08:30):
And I think, vera, was it youthat had the example of the
friend that had the like 12minute long short where that was
reading a lot of complicatedpieces and maybe you can just
elaborate on that, but I thoughtthat was super interesting
because they made the decisionthat, hey, if we tried to go
shoot all these reallycomplicated scenes, it's
probably just going to take youout of it, because we can't get
(08:51):
the quality to where it needs tobe.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, right, and it's thing where I mean.
So in theory, you know,technically I guess almost like
a princess bride, right, becausehe's reading the story and then
, and then you go and you seeall of these things.
But no, it's actually DavidLowery, a filmmaker, also from
Texas, that had done the shortfilm and it literally is a
father reading to his son andhe's reading about all of these
(09:14):
major adventures that arehappening, but you're just
literally seeing the father'sface, the kid's face, and then
the lamp yeah, this shade that'sturning on the wall and the
lights and how they'rereflecting and bouncing, but
you're still hearing that storyand I'll be damned if you were
just not glued to Scree.
And now he's directing hugebudget things.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
As opposed to being like all right, we got to find a
pirate ship and a spaceship.
Whereas you'd be like.
This is taking me out of thestory, so I think that's maybe
something just to think about,Like okay, what budget
constraints do we?
Speaker 6 (09:49):
have Bigger doesn't always mean better.
Yeah, no, but as far as themoney, other than feeding your
people really well right andmaking sure that everyone's
happy.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Safety on set.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Safety on set feed your people, and then every
other dollar you should be ableto see on the screen.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Yes, yes, able to see on the screen.
Yes, yes, I love that.
Thank you for saying that.
It's the first thing.
I think that's such a thing Iadvocate for all the time is
just like, yeah, treating yourcrew with respect, safety and
yeah, and just making sure thatthey are really does make all
the difference.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I remember the first set I ever went on in la like a
year ago.
I was just like, oh my god,they have so many snacks and I
mean I like indiana is awesome.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Why else do we want film, except for the free food?
Speaker 4 (10:27):
No, that's what I was saying, and I mean Indiana is
not just blowing smoke.
I've been on a set where Indysays my crew doesn't work until
you feed them lunch.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Yes, we're not working past six hours right now
.
This is not how it works.
Yeah, no.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Yeah.
So I have a question then.
I want to know about ranking.
Did I want to know aboutranking?
Did you have to choose onefavorite or did you choose a few
favorites?
What were the rules around that, and how are they tallying up
these?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
points.
So for me I had to choose mytwo favorites and you know it
was interesting.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
What at least the the gauge that I gave myself was
because you're looking at, youknow action sports category,
everything from biking toskydiving, to this sport called
ice cross.
I had never heard of, but I'mnow like we're interviewing them
next.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Okay, incredible stuff, yeah, and so for me they
were all shot so beautifully butvery different stories and very
, also very different types ofathletes.
You had these two guys who werebest friends, who were just
like two regular dudes, and thenyou had these professional ice
cross, you know, just jackedguys that are traveling around
the world.
But sort of the through linefor all of it was they were all
(11:32):
so passionate about what they're, what they were doing, and I
just found myself rooting forthem so much.
So, kind of what I judged it onwas like, okay, how clear is
the goal of these characters?
Is it?
Is it coming across?
And then, how much like am Ifinding myself rooting for them?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
so yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So that's kind of.
But it was very difficultbecause even as I was watching
and I was like, okay, right nowthese are my top two favorites
and then watch another one, I'mlike, okay, well, now that maybe
yeah, and then I was just like,yeah, just trying to figure it
out, but no, it's definitelychallenging because they were
all so good and so and and alsoso different yeah, so it's it's
very difficult to choose likeokay, what?
What are the?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
best, yeah, but that's obviously just you.
You do your best yeah yeah,yeah so and is it the same
system for shorts and features?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
so it it's the same.
There are a few like there's abest genre category, but then of
course, best actor, bestactress yes uh, you know best.
There's a lot of short uh, butthere's a cinematography award
uh this year, and yeah, there'sso it's yeah, there's, there's
lots of uh.
They've taken uh the time toactually uh break it down
(12:42):
because there are and there's somany films yeah and what's nice
is there's so many um that.
I think one of the reasons it'sit's important to do that is
there are actually buyers atthis festival I know, yeah, we
were talking to tanner aboutthat.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean, and I sold three this year, I think so
far.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Oh see, incredible and I know five last year and
I'm a juror at some festivals.
You know that have been aroundfor 20 years and they still are
not a marketplace.
Speaker 6 (13:04):
Yeah, like your't get sold there, which is what
festivals kind of should be, ina way of like the longevity of
your career, sustained by theplatform in which they give you.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
It would be wonderful if there were a few buyers or
distributors at all festivals.
I don't know why, as a buyer ordistributor, you wouldn't have
a presence there, because itseems like it would give you.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Undiscovered talent too because even if you weren't
actually going to buy anythingright, you would be potentially
looking at talent rightabsolutely, yeah, absolutely
festival is a gold mine of time.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yeah, right, and and buy them when you want, when you
can get them cheap you knowwhen the hype is there.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
Yet You're like, yeah , just finding out the roots,
yeah, some festival.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
It's like a coupon.
You should come.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yes, exactly 40% off of this one, and we love a
coupon, so this is good, yes.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
We're so excited to hear fromthe judges' perspective, because
it's something we rarely reallyget.
We get to interview is normallylike filmmakers or like
festival heads, and so thejudges are the integral part of
you know how this festival runs.
So thank you so much foranswering these questions.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, yeah thanks for having us.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Ladies are fun well, we can't wait to hear your picks
tomorrow at the awards ceremony.
So thanks, we'll see you then,guys.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Bye everyone join us in bridging the gap between
talent and crew.
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(14:37):
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