chris is correct. i posted the first inquiry on november 27 and am hoping to hear from as many interested parties as possible in a week-10 days, to see if there's interest. so far, so good! people have been contributing some very good ideas, which i'll incorporate as we move it along.


not everyone is the DVinfo addict that i am, so we have to give the more infrequent readers a chance to chime in. so you can expect a more formulated set of guidelines to appear next week.

there are two other questions i'll throw out there....

1) we need a "wall of shame" of sorts...what sort of consquences for those who sign up but don't follow through. i love the "wall of shame"--it's brilliant. it's this hideously terrifying threat which means next to nothing--and yet, it's mere virtual existence was often enough to kick me into gear. maybe it's my warped out upbringing, but it was motivation enough for me to complete the challenges that i signed up for, and also to think twice about signing up for the ones which i knew i did not have time for....

so, any ideas on this one, which would be appropriately UWOL-ish?

the tar pit?

the burning sands?

the steaming cauldron of losers?

any ideas? i'm much happier assigning prizes than shame. but it does seem to juice the competition a bit.

2) i think the hosting issue merits a bit more attention. on one hand, one location, a universal setting appeals. on the other hand, i can hardly stand what uploads to google or youtube look like...i mean, here we are trying to make footage beautiful, using all our latest toys, and then to settle for that quality offends.

any more thoughts on this?

a pillory will be nice Meryem :-) Maybe loosers could be banned for a period to sign in for the contest?

About the video, size and quality should be defined before the contest. I think most people shoot in DV some in HD. Some shoot in aspect ratio 4:3 others 16:9. Fileformat, -wmv, -mov, -flash. It's important to make rules for this.

In the DVC challenge, everyone formatted and posted films in the format they wanted. If they used only one type file, they risk not having other look at an appreciate their films... Point is, its all a part of our "craft", and we learn to live with various issues in each project. I vote to leave it up to the individual if he wants to do it in Flash, QT, or Windows Media, or provide links to all three.

A limit on running time is definitely warranted for the sake of the judge or judges..

I'm In!
 

I agree that there shouldn't be rules to posting finished product. Personally, I would post mine on YouTube - that way I KNOW everyone could see it, but then I'd post better versions in AVI and/or MOV on my website for people to be able to see higher quality.

About people disagreeing with topics - having to do a film about mountains but living in the flats is half the challenge, i think. Some contests would be easier than others for different people. As long as the topics weren't too narrow, I think it would be fun to figure out how YOU or I could give a different treatment to the same topic.

On the part of monthly/bimonthly/etc... Personally I think I'd only be up for every other month. however, that just means if it is a monthly contest I would only enter it every other month ;-)

Timing for the first one - well, Dec has already started now, but i guess if it was 2-3 week contest then there's still time to get it going. I'm still hoping that DVC happens in Jan and not Dec.

lisa makes a very good point. even if we centralize it, there is nothing to stop contestants from posting alternative better-looking links. we could have both--a required link to youtube or google and then the option of posting all the other options you want. that way everyone can view everyone's work, and viewers also have the option of viewing higher rez or better-looking versions.

her point also got me thinking that i should sign up one UWOL account, release the password to participants during submissions week and then change the password on the day submissions are due (so that no one tampers with the account). that way we could have hosting multiple submissions all in one place. one-stop shop for maximum ease of use. it would certainly make it easy for viewers.

what do you all prefer, google video or youtube? i have not used either yet for hosting my own work. i have my own websites and also use ourmedia/archive.org for public docs. the trouble with ourmedia is the lack of ownership over the product which is placed permanently in the public domain. there's no way to delete it, so i don't recommend it. what about the other, more popular public sites? any feedback on which is preferable?

I think this whole thing is a great idea Meryem. I just found this thread cause I was out of circulation earlier this week.

Of course, being in Texas I love the "UWOL Challenge" name idea because as Ken put it, it sounds like you're saying "You all". Hehe, clever.

I would likely participate since I love capturing the great outdoors in HD.

The idea of using a single account on a web video sharing site and then changing the password at submission deadline is brilliant. It would lock out late submissions as well.

And finally, I love this quote...

regards,

-gb-

look at the big fish we netted! welcome aboard, greg--it's good to have a go-to wrangler with an interest in our contest, to keep things civil....

i want to use my canon HV10 to do the "making of" version of whatever you produce, so that i can see how your XDCAM performs in the field. i'm curious about that camera, since discovery channel certified it....as i'm sure many others are as well....

Another suggestion for title

" Out the Window "

I'd love to be part of this as well. Sounds like allot of fun. Course, why couldn;t you have suggested this when the temps were about 50 degrees warmer here in Iowa. :)

ah, senor railsback...at last we meet! you're on my short list for potential judges! there's no backing out now....

of course, i'm more than thrilled to have you participate as well!

i am more and more liking the idea of enlisting a different guest judge for each contest. that way, we get the benefit of a range of input into our contest. and we spread the responsibility around. if we go with me + a celebrity guest judge format, with a certain weighting towards the opinion of the guest judge, then the judging stays fresh. no sedimentation of opinion. also, that allows our guest judge to be a participant when he/she is not judging.

brendan, i like "out the window" quite a bit. very promising and not climate-dependent. and so many interesting windows from which to choose. does anyone know where i can rent a submarine?

keep 'em coming and spread the word....

Name!
 

If your still looking for a name, how about:

"OVER & UNDER SHOOTOUT"

Using a picture of a camcorder where the lens morphs into the barrels of a double barrel shotgun, or the shotgun morphs into a camcorder. I'm sure we have some talented artists out there.

Mike

you're reading my mind, mike. i started working on a little animation for this last night. but there are definitely better animators than i am, so perhaps we should open it up....

what i discovered, though, in playing with the animation, was that i am getting attached to the name "The UWOL Challenge" because it allies our contest both with chris' work here and with the DV Challenge which came before it. and it covers the planet, which is our muse.

so the name is officially set. if there's anyone who wants to take a crack at an animated version, please do. if selected, it will be uploaded to our submissions page. there's no prize for the winner beyond the glory. we'll find a way to acknowledge you on the page as the artist. this isn't a contest, just a chance to show off your skills. the requirements are: it has to incorporate "The UWOL Challenge" preferably with some mention of "Under Water, Over Land" for clarifying purposes. it should also clock in at 10 MB or less in size because most title uploads seem bound by that parameter.

so, if anyone has any free time on their hands, have at it!

I'm confused, you thought of the shotgun/camcorder, camcorder/shotgun animation based on "The UWOL Challenge" name, or is it a different animation?

Come on animators, jump in here. We need a good one.

A possible name...

"Otherwise Hidden"

It has appearenty heen decided.

Mike