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Author Topic: General Chatter  (Read 229203 times)

MartinTeller

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #330 on: June 03, 2011, 11:00:47 AM »
It seems that our group energy is going into Pantheon projects instead of more innovative ones.  If we didn't have so many lists we were keeping up on, at least so frequently, perhaps we'd have more group or partnered marathons.

I agree.  It's so secret that I love making lists, but all the different Pantheon lists are starting to feel more like work than fun (I'm actually kind of dreading putting together my cinematography list).  "I'll list my stuff and you list your stuff and then we'll smoosh them all together into one big list of stuff" doesn't really leave much to discuss.

I'm with Bondo, I like the themed marathons where anyone can jump in.

1SO

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #331 on: June 03, 2011, 11:08:29 AM »
I'm one of the biggest supporters of the Marathon Thread. First of all, tiny nailed it when she wrote "I get to know how other people on this forum see and think about movies in a much more clear manner than I can on the "Write about the last movie" thread." I wish flieger had a thread for his Jerry Lewis marathon rather than it being scattered all over the Movie Talk board.

The marathons focus my movie watching time on a particular project, so I'm not just wondering what to watch next. That focus has also increased my ability to watch more movies because I know what I want to see next. The group marathons are a lot of fun. I'm already anticipating Bill, me and whoever else will be a part of this Shocktober. I do think something about the group projects has become lost to individual ambition though. It's become very clear with the recent Satyajit Ray discussion.

Here is a filmmaker who can and should be part of a group marathon. I've read individual posts by people who plan to watch, but I'm the only one planning a S. Ray marathon and it's wedged in amongst 50 other directors. I had hoped a group marathon would guide me and I would arrive late to the party with a handful of great recommendations by the lot. Instead it looks like 3 or 4 months from now I'll be checking out a couple based only on Martin and w@w's recommendations.

MartinTeller

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #332 on: June 03, 2011, 11:18:37 AM »
I'm one of the biggest supporters of the Marathon Thread. First of all, tiny nailed it when she wrote "I get to know how other people on this forum see and think about movies in a much more clear manner than I can on the "Write about the last movie" thread." I wish flieger had a thread for his Jerry Lewis marathon rather than it being scattered all over the Movie Talk board.

The marathons focus my movie watching time on a particular project, so I'm not just wondering what to watch next. That focus has also increased my ability to watch more movies because I know what I want to see next. The group marathons are a lot of fun. I'm already anticipating Bill, me and whoever else will be a part of this Shocktober. I do think something about the group projects has become lost to individual ambition though. It's become very clear with the recent Satyajit Ray discussion.

Here is a filmmaker who can and should be part of a group marathon. I've read individual posts by people who plan to watch, but I'm the only one planning a S. Ray marathon and it's wedged in amongst 50 other directors. I had hoped a group marathon would guide me and I would arrive late to the party with a handful of great recommendations by the lot. Instead it looks like 3 or 4 months from now I'll be checking out a couple based only on Martin and w@w's recommendations.

The problem with a group marathon for Ray is that his films aren't easy to get your hands on, especially if you like things like decent translations.  I know the Ray thread is very me-me-me right now, but I'm hoping it will be a resource and a discussion thread as his work gradually becomes available.

Bill Thompson

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #333 on: June 03, 2011, 04:36:33 PM »
The problem with group marathons is that often times people drop out, sometimes wholesale. The Disney Marathon was eventually just me for a stretch of about 30 films. To be honest, it's tough to put together a group marathon, and after my experience with the Disney one I don't want to do it again.

MartinTeller

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #334 on: June 03, 2011, 04:42:36 PM »
Another problem is that there's only about 20 people who post here on a regular basis :/

tinyholidays

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #335 on: June 03, 2011, 04:49:20 PM »
Glancing at the member list, I'd say it's more like 50.

I do try to wrangle other people in, but a message board is kind of a commitment!

MartinTeller

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #336 on: June 03, 2011, 04:52:04 PM »
Glancing at the member list, I'd say it's more like 50.

Yeah I guess it is closer to 50.

Clovis8

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #337 on: June 03, 2011, 05:31:33 PM »
We need to have a member drive and get the word out?

Ideas?

ses

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #338 on: June 03, 2011, 05:32:46 PM »
I thinks it's more about getting members to post more, we've had over 3000 people post, but not everyone is regular or sticks around.
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smirnoff

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Re: General Chatter
« Reply #339 on: June 03, 2011, 06:21:44 PM »
When group marathons were the only thing going the primary motivation behind them was to dip your toe in the water. Also, they sort of operated in conjunction with the podcast and you were motivated because you wanted to be in tune with the coming discussions. On top of that they were only five films long. You knew if nothing else you'd get to hear Adam and Sam/Matty talk about something you just watched, and if you didn't like it it wouldn't go on forever.

Things are more free-form now. You don't necessarily have the podcast to anchor the discussion and I can't remember the last time a marathon was only 5 films. So that's one motivator gone, and a bigger commitment required (due to length). Also just the general purpose of marathons has shifted it seems from introduction to completion. It's hard to find even two people interested and inexperienced in any one thing let alone finding two people who want to dive in that deeply.

In hindsight I kind of feel like the solo-marathons were, perhaps, inevitable. The logical next step. I think people here are pretty experienced in their viewing, they've had a taste of just about everything. Now they're deciding what to pursue further. Fulfilling personal obsessions.

Also, what everyone else said. :)



But yes I would like to see and be a part of a good old fashioned group marathon. The Harry Potter one was really enjoyable.

Do we need to separate individualist marathons to give the group ones room to breath? That subforum can get pretty busy and maybe new members and infrequent members take one look and leave because, well, look at it! It's kind of chaotic, all the crazy names and such. No biggie if you're a regular, all the names make sense. Daunting I imagine if it's your first time (and it might end up being your last).

One way to revitialize the group marathons perhaps (on top of separating them for organizational purposes) is to reign ourselves in a bit. Right now we fire up new marathons willy-nilly and it can be a challange to keep tabs on the progress of all of them (let alone participate). If we limit ourselves to one group marathon a month and only 5 films or even 3 films per marathon, that might focus the existing potential enough to produce a solid turnout. Themes would be suggested and then voted on before each month, similar to how the MDC is handled, and just ONE would be selected. Selecting the films for the marathon could work in a similar fashion. The inherent simplicity of a monthly marathon is something everyone, including those people who are new to the boards, will understand immediately. That seems like a critical thing in getting people on board. Make it simple and easy to jump right in, and not a long commitment.

Just an idea.