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Stop Motion Weta Collectibles Contest Winners Announced!!!

The guy who made the winner... by DorkmanScott	Dec 9th, 2005 09:46:40 PM
Also made an Episode III thing with Legos back in the day. "Rise of the Empire." Very talented with stop motion. I loved it.
Honestly, I like #3 most, but that's really my favorite era by Lenny Nero	Dec 9th, 2005 10:01:23 PM
And the way the Obiesaurus walked cracked me up. I know. I'm weird.
Well done! by L.H.Puttgrass	Dec 9th, 2005 10:15:31 PM
Very nice, I wish the third place one was longer. I liked the look of it but it was just too short. We need more contests like this one.
#2 all the way! by invalid entry	Dec 9th, 2005 10:26:02 PM
#2 should have won! 1 is boring.
I liked the 2nd too. by Josh Town	Dec 9th, 2005 10:30:07 PM
Pretty damn good.
I didn't even crack a smile at #2 by Flaparoo	Dec 9th, 2005 10:30:53 PM
Well done and all, but I certainly didn't find it laugh out loud hilarious in the least
Congrats to all the winners, but IN MY OPINION, the real craftsm by Psalmolive	Dec 9th, 2005 10:44:21 PM
#3 animation and production value was fantastic given the short time frame of the contest. That's just my opinion- the other ones had redeeming values, but #3 was ace.
#3 was by far the best, there's no accounting for taste here by Blood Simple	Dec 9th, 2005 10:45:03 PM
By the way, King Kong is a fabulous film. I went in a PJ fan, but sick and tired of remakes. I was also weary of the "this is the film I've always wanted to make" routine, because, look at Spielberg's take on Peter Pan. All worries aside, this film blew me away. It was funny, moving and just goddamn cool. Don't trust people who say "it was too long" or "Jackson doesn't know how to cut a film" -everything is in there for a reason. Take some ritalin, make sure you piss before, and go enjoy the hell out of that movie like I did!
The 2nd one was funny. by RowanM	Dec 9th, 2005 10:55:22 PM

Number 2 was a good idea, but the voice acting is awful. by Orionsangels	Dec 9th, 2005 11:05:43 PM
I know it's probably done on purpose, but it hurt the film IMO. At the end when he screams, or should i say moans, Nooo. That was ho-hum sounding, beh. Number 1 was pretty amazing, considering all the trouble WETA went thru to recreate the look and feel of 33 stop motion. this kid or guy comes along and makes it look easy, although it was way to short. number 3 didn't deserve to win. well animated and very colorful, liked that, but i didn't much care for the octopus creature or the battle itself and not seeing kong was a letdown. so while i love number 1. i think 2 should win despite the annoyling bad voice acting. why? because it was the most fun to watch, i wanted to see what happens next.
oops i should a said. I numbered them by the order they're p by Orionsangels	Dec 9th, 2005 11:09:23 PM

I think this is the first time I agree with the places by 007-11	Dec 9th, 2005 11:27:22 PM
There is no question that 3rd place is extremely well executed(hell it made me go ahead and watch the rest of them rather than going to bed for my final tomorrow), but the other two just have more personality. I'm really impressed with the 1st place perspective. Very original stuff going on there. I've done some stop motion work so I know how much effort must have gone into these. Thanks for the effort guys.
Good job on all three! by DarthCorleone	Dec 9th, 2005 11:32:57 PM
Each had its merits, and I enjoyed watching them all. Thanks, guys!
Was the octopus.... by KaijuKiller	Dec 10th, 2005 12:12:02 AM
inspired by King Kong vs Godzilla? Just wondering since he fights one in the film.
#2 sucked balls... by El Scorcho	Dec 10th, 2005 01:29:53 AM
It looked like it was designed by a 4-year-old, and I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson should have a penis. #3 was well done but too short and didn't say anything. #1 was OK, I guess.
he chose poorly... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 04:51:26 AM
man, I really hate to play the sore loser here, but Quint... by letting those clips win (especially #2) you absolutely do not express any respect for someone like me, who invested two full weeks of his life into creating an animated short for this contest, trying to meet all your given criteria as best as possible. (anyone who cares, please check out my entry here: http://www.avi-film.com/videos /kong.vs.spike.wmv) you said "I will pick the winner based on creativity and execution of their creature as well as their eye for shots, character of their creations and overall execution of the stop motion." so, let me compare your #2 to my entry, with those criteria in mind. "creativity of the creature": ok, we both used existing creatures, so not much creativity on either side. "execution of the creature": this is where I'm beginning to feel seriously insulted. I spent pretty much the entire first week of the contest building that fully animatable Spike Tail Rabbit (with the express permission from Michel Gagn
my entry URL again by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 04:54:46 AM
http://www.avi-film.com/videos /kong.vs.spike.wmv
What, Ringbearer9 didn't enter? by DocPazuzu	Dec 10th, 2005 07:04:59 AM
How could he pass up such a golden opportunity to school us all in how to light and shoot real special effects?
skynetbauxi... by loafroaster	Dec 10th, 2005 07:36:43 AM
Don't be such a poor fucking loser. I bet there were at least ten more entries like your own; Kong fights with monster, Kong wins. The three winning entries were novel, and I daresay original. At least the top two made their own Kongs. And your 'lean and slick' Spike Tail Rabbit looked like a Pokemon. Go pimp your movie elsewheres if you're gonna piss all over the contest.
loafroaster... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 08:02:01 AM
you know, novel and original is great... but how would you feel if you entered, say, into a car race and you made one of the best times... and then the judges decided that the guys who painted their cars the funniest and did the craziest burnouts on the track and generelly behaved originally, would win, even though they finished minutes behind you...
loafroaster 2... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 08:07:15 AM
by the way, this is how Quint originally defined the contest: "I want you to come up with a new creature that Kong has to fight on Skull Island and I want you to bring it to life through the magic of Stop Motion Animation." so the contest was about the CREATURE, not about KONG. that's why I didn't make my own Kong.
skynetbauxi . . . by freak2thec0re	Dec 10th, 2005 08:18:34 AM
I thought the 3 winners were all better than yours. So there you go . . .
but like I said... by loafroaster	Dec 10th, 2005 08:21:17 AM
...there were probably a heap of entries like your own; the third entry got placed because it captured the spirit of the age of stop-motion, the second because it was novel and original (I'll bet no other entry had Kong fighting Peter Jackson, but a heap had him fighting a spiked/winged/tentacled monster), and the first because it was a unique take on the competition; a Kong's-eye view of the fight. The main point I was trying to make was to stop being a sore loser; do you hear anyone else complaining that their entry didn't win?
he's just obviously biased by freak2thec0re	Dec 10th, 2005 08:34:20 AM
if you ever pursue filmmaking, or enter any festivals or contests, you're gonna learn what everyone else already has. You will always have a strong emotional attachmant to a film you made yourself, and it will always seem more entertaining to you than to everyone else. It's not even a bad thing, it's just the way it is. So when someone with a completely obvjective opinion picks someone else's film over yours, you need to accept the fact, and quit whining, because your ruining this for everyone else. Seriously. I entered and didn't win either, but congrats to the ones who did
Kudos to all three of the winners. by DocPazuzu	Dec 10th, 2005 08:41:36 AM
Impressive work, for different reasons. I'd love to see all the other contestants' films. Any chance you guys could upload your stuff somewhere and post links?
loafroaster 3... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 08:45:31 AM
I never said a word about #1, it's a real nice little movie, and I don't have a problem with him winning. but #2... it IS a funny idea, sure... but what I'm saying is that the criteria for this contest were laid out by Quint himself, and they included things like "execution of the creature", "an eye for shots" and the "overall execution of the stop motion". if Quint says expressly that THAT'S what will be judged, than THAT'S what I put my work into. if Quint had said that the craziest, funniest, most unexpected movie was gonna win, then I would have tried to do THAT. as is, I tried to create a real 'cinematic' little scene, with editing and nice shot composition, I even had a friend compose and play a fine little score for it. because I was under the impression that Quint would evaluate based on the criteria he had laid out HIMSELF. it's just extremely frustrating when you try to meet the criteria of a contest and get beaten by someone who pretty much totally missed all those criteria. and what you define as "being a sore loser", I call saying my opinion. I might as well tell you to stop telling me what to do.
skynetbauxi by loafroaster	Dec 10th, 2005 08:56:11 AM
At the end of the day, MY opinion (and Quint's by the look of it) is that all three winning entries were better than yours. That's why they won. Deal with it. And that's all I got to say about that.
freak2thec0re... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 09:01:40 AM
what you're saying is true, but in this case it may not be entirely fitting... I am in "filmmaking", not theatrical motion pictures, but music videos and commercials... and I am convinced that I am able to look at the 3 winners and at my own movie with a professional detachment... in fact, I DON'T necessarily find my own film more entertaining than #1 and #2, and #3 definitely got the style of 1933's KING KONG perfectly... but I can only repeat what I have already said: those were NOT the criteria laid out by Quint for this contest, and therefore I can't agree with the decision to let those clips win over someone who DID follow the criteria.
loafroaster 4... by skynetbauxi	Dec 10th, 2005 09:12:34 AM
of course, everyone's entitled to their OPINIONS... and like I said, the three winning movies all surpass my own entry in CERTAIN AREAS... they may be funnier, they may be better re-creations of a certain style of filmmaking... but what I would expect from someone who hosts and judges such a contest, is the ability to judge the entries ACCORDING to the criteria laid down by himself... but it seems to me that Quint wrote down those criteria and then totally forgot about them while laughing about a naked Peter Jackson trying to protect his final cut of KING KONG... sure, like I said, that's Quint's prerogative... if he likes, he can give first place to a guy who shot 3 frames of an animated Coke can, because that's the most "avantgarde"... but it's not what I would expect from a serious contest.
Skynet, my critique on your film: by Monkey Butler	Dec 10th, 2005 09:36:26 AM
For starters, there wasn't any originality. That counts for a lot straight up (and Quint said in the original article that his decision was his own, and wouldn't necessarily strictly reflect the entries that best followed the guidelines) - if you see something cool that you haven't seen before, you're going to want to reward it. If you've seen it before, then what good is it? It was a well-made entry (although I didn't like the toy Kong, I understand you wouldn't have had time to make another model) but I really don't think you deserved to be in the top three.
Congrats, Mr Silva by Latauro	Dec 10th, 2005 09:40:07 AM
I saw yours a few days ago and thought, "Yeah, that's got it." Amazing, amazing animation. Still don't know how you did the bird flying past. For those interested, I felt compelled to enter. My entry can be found at: http://s27.yousendit.com/d.asp x?id=3E8GWHMSYBBXS0XQUQ51GS8IF
Dobler Kong! by DocPazuzu	Dec 10th, 2005 10:02:44 AM
Nice, Latauro.
My two cents....oh, and skynetbauxi, this is for you too. by RobinP	Dec 10th, 2005 10:11:33 AM
Of the three chosen winners, talented though they were, I would've definitely chosen the third placed as the overall winner. He caught the essence and spirit of the original perfectly. (I too loved the Obiesaurus walk. ) Skynetbauxi.....your entry should have been in the top 3 for certain. The smoothness of animation & technical expertise on display should've netted you a prize.
skynetbauxi by invalid entry	Dec 10th, 2005 12:05:05 PM
Im on your side. I think yours was way better than all three above. So don't feel alone.
Which brings me to the next thing by invalid entry	Dec 10th, 2005 12:06:05 PM
Hey show us the other entries. I want to see just how bad of a judge you guys are.
skynetsourgrape by blackwood	Dec 10th, 2005 12:28:33 PM
You have technical prowess - but that's all I got from your short. It had absolutely no emotional impact. Of the four (pip-pip to whoever said post them all), I think #1 is in the right spot, #3 should be bumped up, and #2 should be dropped entirely. But if I really cared I'd throw my own damn contest. Good work all around.
The only problem... by DorkmanScott	Dec 10th, 2005 02:27:52 PM
The only problem I have with any of them is third place. This contest was about creating creatures "Kong HAS TO FIGHT", and there was no fight in #3. Mostly it was Blair Witchy scrolling text. I'm not saying this as a sore loser (I didn't enter), just as someone who wanted to see some good throwdowns and feels gypped by one of them.
Latauro, nice one! by Negative Man	Dec 10th, 2005 03:24:43 PM

skynetbauxi- good work by Psalmolive	Dec 10th, 2005 05:41:13 PM
I agree, your work should have definitely been in the top 3. The monster was impressive, and the animation was very smooth. I guess now we know why Hollywood gets jammed packed with talentless hacks (not that the other contestants are talentless hacks). Just realize that Hollywood spends billions of dollars in R+D in keeping people out of the industry. They would much rather waste that money on keeping people out than making money off of potential new talent.
skynetbauxi - Cool movie by eclipsedman	Dec 10th, 2005 07:49:05 PM
Good stuff, but you lost because they wanted an original monster, not one created by Gagne. Although I loved seeing it come to life, would have been better in color though! Great job everyone
skynetbauxi by Silver777	Dec 10th, 2005 10:18:29 PM
Dude, very nice. Definately better than 3rd and 2nd place winners. That 1st was hard to beat though. His Kong had facial expressions for Gods sake!
Lat's and Skynet's kicked these other guys asses. 99% o by George Newman	Dec 10th, 2005 10:52:51 PM
I've never participated, I have always been just an objective observer, and harry's and quints choices suck scraggily hairy penis. No direct offense to the winners, but you have to admit that Skynet crafted something extremely beautiful and thrilling. Can someone please explain what is so amazing about a veloceraptor called an Obiesaurus that doesnt even fight King Kong? More than half of his film is text. He could have easily jammed that crap into 2 seconds and 'forced' us to use the pause button, leaving more room for animated action. he also used two monsters to win (pretty pteradactyl though it may be, not fair)! The judges seem to always pick either an entry by an artist so good (LOTR & HELLBOY contests)that he/she should not be participating in our amateur contests, or they pick something they call 'subtle' or guffaw-inducing, but which is actually SO ABSOLUTELY RETARDED IT MAKES ME WANT TO MURDER ( SW Poster contest http://www.aintitcool.com/disp lay.cgi?id=20241 every single runner-up in this contest should have beat the winner)........ QUINT, you have got a lot of growing up to do, buddy. Suck my balls.
Post them all! by tbrosz	Dec 11th, 2005 02:46:30 AM
I agree with others here. For those who didn't win prizes, the best reward would be to post all of them and give them some exposure. If there are only 30, it shouldn't be too hard.
skynetbauxi by s0nicdeathmonkey	Dec 11th, 2005 03:25:26 AM
while your movie isnt bad. the second one was a lot more fluid in its action and told a much more clever story. sure, yours was more techincally acomplished and had better set and character design, but it wasnt terribly fullfilling because the choreography was a bit mundane and the characters didnt seem to have any weight. which i feel #2 achieved. (and i make movies, so i know weight is hard to do, i cant quite get it right). your film was ok...but sort of hollow. you were showing off how talented you are, and you forgot to make us care. and as for your shot composition; it was not as extraordinary as you seem to think.
PS by s0nicdeathmonkey	Dec 11th, 2005 03:26:29 AM
dont brag about 'vertigo' shots (which are called trombone shots btw) they are ridiculously easy to do. i figured it out on my own the first day i got my camera, back when i was barely 13 years old.
contests, awards, opinions by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 05:59:50 AM
first of all, thanks to you guys who do like my film! it seems there are two totally different approaches to "judging" these clips... on the one hand, there are the people who just want a quick fix of "something that you haven't seen before", a cheap laugh you might say, regardless if it's kindergarten-looking and animated with 5 fps... on the other hand, there are those people who appreciate a different kind of quality, a certain professionalism and consistency of quality... I'm not saying that either of those approaches is the "right" one, but I think it's safe to say that the latter is the more objective, the more professional and the fairer one, and therefore the one that would produce a result that does indeed have any value that goes beyond "a matter of taste"... sadly, as it is, Quint obviously went by the quick-fix-cheap-laugh-novelty- approach, therefore reducing the "statement" or the "meaning" of this contest to one single thing: what Quint likes best. it's the at-a-whim opinion of one guy, and I daresay not a guy who has any more authority judging stop-motion clips than any of us does, probably less because I doubt that he has ever created a 60-second stop-motion short himself. and as a result, this contest can't be seen as an "award", simply because the only thing it "awards" is how well the winning clips managed to please one single arbitrary individual. and that is a real pity because it invalidates the whole thing for those who REALLY made something good. imagine how all the recent years' Best Picture Oscar winners would feel if FANTASTIC FOUR won the Oscar next year. what pride could they still hold in their own trophy? I think you get my point...
talking back by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 06:25:01 AM
to the two guys who said that my film had no emotional impact on them and didn't make them care... while I have to say that the only "emotional impact" #2 has on me personally is that it creeps me out (and not in a good way), the point I'd relly like to amphasize is this (and I hope I'm saying this for the last time because I'm beginning to sound like a cracked record): the evaluation criteria for this contest were defined by Quint himself as follows: "I will pick the winner based on creativity and execution of their creature as well as their eye for shots, character of their creations and overall execution of the stop motion." and objectively seen, the infamous #2 simply failed in pretty much all those areas! believe it or don't, but in the first days of this contest, when I was discussing ideas with the friend of mine who later also composed the score for my movie, there were two approaches we were considering. on the one hand, we were thinking about making a funny little clip, something with a punchline, something clearly non-serious. and on the other hand, we felt that it might be nice to create a real little movie scene, something with a cinematic touch, a bit of high fidelity you might say. it was a tough decision, because we were absolutely aware that a cute little animated joke quickly wins the hearts of most people. but ultimately we decided to take the more serious approach, based mainly on one deciding factor: the criteria laid down by Quint. we trusted that he would indeed judge the entries the way he had proclaimed he would... pretty stupid of us, I guess
shots by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 06:37:52 AM
s0nicdeathmonkey: I never said that a vertigo/trombone shot is very hard to do (though in stop-motion it did require some very delicate handling of the zoom and focus ring). but at least I DID it! the #2 clip has only the most standard shots, and they all look the same.
post them all! by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 06:48:23 AM
now, for something more conciliatory... I also think it would be nice to see all or some of the other entries, and I would be willing to host them on my webspace, maybe with a little download site to put them all into some kind of mutual context. of course, I would refrain from any kind of judgment there, I could post the clips in alphabetical order or any other way that seems neutral. just let me know if you're interested.
George Newman... by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 06:53:50 AM
oh yes! :-)
Cool Moray by DocPazuzu	Dec 11th, 2005 07:24:18 AM
Nice lobster claw crack 'n' suck action there. C'mon folks, keep posting the links or, as skynetbauxi offered, let him host them for you. This stuff must not go unseen!
Moray... by skynetbauxi	Dec 11th, 2005 08:05:14 AM
I'm not entirely sure what your point is... :-) since you asked, I spent roughly $100, mostly on materials to build my monster and the set... and I worked on it for 11 days, the last 45 hours before the deadline non-stop without a minute of sleep... I animated a total of 1320 frames, working the same way you did, letting the camera run and marking each frame with an acoustic signal so I'd find them quickly scrolling through the audio track in the editing software. about the bitchin'... I think I've said enough about why I'm a little pissed off... you're right of course, I do have a short that I didn't have before, and I always intended to add it to my showreel... I'm working on the color version right now... sounds silly, because I shot it in color of course... but for some stupid reason I made the Spike Tail Rabbit's hooves blue, knowing that I'd be taking the color out anyway (I could still punch myself for that :-)... anyway, now I'm keying out the blue again and making them gray, the way they shoud be... however, let's be honest, whom can you really impress (on a professional level) with a stop-motion short?
#3 was the best, but was too short by ATARI	Dec 11th, 2005 01:08:26 PM

skynetbauxi, your getting so full of yourself it's making me by freak2thec0re	Dec 11th, 2005 08:13:44 PM
seriously, yours was not that amazing. Get over it. And as for everyone freaking out over how #3 "captured the essence of the original king kong", I hope you realize the little "film scratches" are just a stupid effect you can add with final cut pro. I was gonna do it on mine but thought it would be too corny . . . guess I was wrong
Moray by DocPazuzu	Dec 12th, 2005 12:48:55 AM
Download VLC Media Player. It's free, Mac & PC compatible and will play ANY type of media file, including QT. It's my standard player these days. You won't regret it. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
freak2thec0re... by skynetbauxi	Dec 12th, 2005 06:02:49 AM
I never said mine was "amazing"... I just think it shoulda won :-)
Good grief, get over it - a lot people worked hard.... by Mooseboy	Dec 12th, 2005 07:51:06 AM
...and didn't win. I put many hours into mine, spent lots more money than I should have (in terms of taking time off work and use of supplies) and I lost. Whoopee do. I saw people complaining about the Obiesaurus not having Kong because the contest rules said there was supposed to be a fight. READ THE RULES AGAIN: Quint said it would be nice, but wasn't required. Sure, Skynetbauxi's entry was well realized, and in some respects original, but so were many others that I saw. There were a couple of directions this could have gone: have Kong fight yet another monster, or do something absurd. Quite frankly, the first option has been done again and again and again in remakes and derivatives like Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young. The only originality in those types of scenarios is the monster being fought. Yawn. (To be honest, though well realized, the Obiesaurus fits this category - it's just another raptor.) The winning entry had an original monster, an original take on the subject matter, and a blend of music and animation timing that would have made Chuck Jones and Carl Stalling smile if they hadn't gone and died already. I haven't seen all the entries, but I have no disagreement with the winner. Second and third place are tougher to judge because none of them really stood out quite like the winner. And though it would be fun to see all the entries, we'd have to set up two talkbacks: one talkback for people who want to enjoy the fun of it all and optionally provide constructive advice (remembering that there were only TWO WEEKS for this and that there is a rational limit to what can be accomplished), and a second talkback for whiners.
whiners by skynetbauxi	Dec 12th, 2005 08:48:00 AM
I find it a little poor that someone is labeled a "whiner" for saying his opinion... I mean it's not like I've been WHINING at any time... I was presenting arguments that were quite rational, I think... and on the emotional side of things, I never have a problem with losing against someone who did something worthy, something I can respect... but I've shown the #2 and #3 clips to a number of people by now, many of who are colleagues that I respect, who would never flatter me in any way and who have no attachment to this contest whatsoever, and the reactions are always the same... #2 is a grotesque, unfunny, style-less mess... and #3 is invariably followed by the same words: "what... THAT WAS IT??"... I mean, the first things those colleagues said about my movie were "it could have used a lot more sound design, some of the shots and motions are too quick, and the black-and-white doesn't make sense with the widescreen format"... so they're REALLY the last ones to flatter me or my work... but they did agree on one thing: there's a lot more to complain about the other clips.
"I mean it's not like I've been WHINING at any time" by freak2thec0re	Dec 12th, 2005 09:56:56 AM
I really hope your joking . . . You seriously have no ground to be making an opinion here when your OWN FREAKING ENTRY is the one in question . . and you were the one to put up the "question" in the first place. That's whining buddy, and you've seriously gone and ruined this whole thing, as the talkback has turned from a celebration of the contest to everyone arguing with your bitching about how great your entry was. Great job
what gives you that idea? by skynetbauxi	Dec 12th, 2005 10:21:35 AM
why wouldn't I be allowed to say my opinion about my own "freaking" entry?? what kind of stupid rule is that? I am very well able to objectively judge my own entry as well as any others.
by the way... by skynetbauxi	Dec 12th, 2005 10:25:47 AM
you may not have noticed, but several other talkbackers have said that my entry should have at least been under the top three, one or two even liked it better than the other three... so apparently it's not like I DON'T have a point
"I find it a little poor that someone is labeled a "whiner" for by Mooseboy	Dec 12th, 2005 12:34:19 PM
An offered opinion is just that - an opinion. Some supporting commentary is appropriate. Fine. Some people agreed with Skynetbauxi on where his should have placed. I gotta admit, I wasn't thrilled by the 2nd place winner. But the disagreement went on and on and on. Of the 10+ posts Skynetbauxi made prior to mine, the vast majority were complaints about the judging. Whining may not have been the best word to use (and given that I have 3 kids I do know how whining actually sounds). But this contest was just a lark, a throwaway, a fun little distraction for a big piece of plastic. Skynetbauxi seems to have taken it far too seriously. Sure, money was spent, meaning there was investment that potentially raises the "seriousness" of the venture. I took time off from work, which equates to hundreds of dollars. Granted, each year I have so much extra unused that I must use several days worth or I lose it, so this wasn't really that costly since I took it earlier and by choice rather than being forced to without purpose. But still, this was supposed to be fun. Sour grapes (gonna complain about that term, too?) in the talkbacks won't do anything to improve anyone's opinion of Skynetbauxi or kong.vs.spike.wmv, so beyond the initial commentary it's not clear what is to be gained by continued negative posts.
Wouldn't it be nice if it went like this... by Freakemovie	Dec 12th, 2005 04:55:52 PM
Skynetbauxi sees the winners, is disappointed that he is not among them, and then goes on the talkbacks and says "Hey, good job everybody, and by the way, here's the link to mine 'cause I worked hard on it." That's all you gotta do, buddy. You started off the complaining -- and rational or not, that's what it was -- by saying you didn't wanna play the sore loser, but that's exactly what you've done. It puts a damper on what should've been an honorable achievement. Keep your mouth shut, let others decide for themselves, and that way you keep your film's integrity.
IN MY OPINION: Freakemovie, people are entitled to having emotio by Psalmolive	Dec 12th, 2005 07:20:37 PM
If Skynetbauxi felt badly his didn't place, he is entitled to feel that way, much the same way you can show revulsion towards him for showing those emotions after he worked hard. Everybody works hard, and we shouldn't be lambasting people for feeling badly that they didn't place. They feel badly because they are human beings. You are entitled to your feelings, and I would not criticize you for them.
why wouldn't I be allowed to say my opinion about my own "fr by freak2thec0re	Dec 12th, 2005 08:03:25 PM
BECAUSE YOU MADE IT!! I don't care how objectively you think you can judge your own entry, it's a biased opinion. Just as worthless as if Moriarty wrote a review of "Cigarette Burns" for the site. The truth is that if yours was really so great, you could have posted a link and others would have fought for you. Out of the hundreds (thousands?) of people that post on this site, 3 or 4 agreed with you. There's a reason the others didn't say anything. And no, there's no rule that you can't offer opinions of your own work, but giving your own movie a good review only means it entertained yourself. If Munich got horrible reviews, but Spielberg whined at the Oscars that he shoudl have won best picture because "like, my colleagues, who know a lot about film said it was like the greatest thing ever", would you not call him a douchebag?
Freakemovie... by skynetbauxi	Dec 13th, 2005 05:36:04 AM
I'm sorry, but I'm just not the kind of person who smiles and nods to everything... especially not when someone is being treated unfairly, be it me or someone else
and freak2thec0re... by skynetbauxi	Dec 13th, 2005 06:09:47 AM
what you're saying is correct, but it doesn't really apply to this situation very well... of course Spielberg or any other director wouldn't start whining about losing at the Oscars, but that's because the Oscars, as an Award, make sense... if the Oscars were analogous to this contest, they would look something like this: fast forward a few months to Oscar night... everybody's nervously awaiting the decisions of that guy named Fred who decides which movies were the best every year... tonight, he will give the golden Oscar to his favorite movie, the silver Oscar to his second fevorite, and the bronze Oscar to the third... there are no nominees, every movie can win... of course, KING KONG and MUNICH are two of the favorites, and both Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are expecting to receive one of the three Oscars... now, Fred steps onto the stage and announces the winners... the golden Oscar goes to: MUNICH! Spielberg is happy, Jackson is thinking "okay, he deserves it, so I'll get the silver one, that's fine"... Fred goes on to announce the second winner... and the silver Oscar goes to: ROBOTS! while Chris Wedge picks up his silver statue, Peter Jackson is thinking "you have got to be shitting me", but he decides to stay calm and settle for third place... then Fred speaks again... and the bronze Oscar goes to: THE "YODA'S ARRIVAL ON DAGOBAH" DELETED SCENE FROM THE REVENGE OF THE SITH DVD! frankly, at that point, I could very well imagine Peter Jackson starting to whine and being a sour grape all over the place... but hey, it's Fred's awards, and if Fred liked ROBOTS that much because it made him guffaw, then that's his decision! and if Fred says that the ROTS DELETED SCENE was his third favorite movie, then that's the way it is! (just to clarify: I am NOT IN ANY WAY comparing myself to Peter Jackson, who is a much greater filmmaker than I'll ever be in my dreams. I just tried to make an Oscar-analogy to this contest and my feelings about it)
about those "hundreds (thousands?) of people that post on this s by skynetbauxi	Dec 13th, 2005 06:33:19 AM
freak2thec0re, there have been posts by exactly 31 different people in this talkback, including you and me... not exactly hundreds or thousands... and of those 30 people (me excluded), there were 6 who said that I should have been in the top three, two of those six saying that I should have been #1... only 4 people actually said that my movie doesn't deserve to be in the top three... so, of the 10 people who actually commented on my movie, a clear majority is on my side... and I bet if this contest had been decided similarly to the Oscars, with a big number of voters making the decision instead of one person (with the help of Harry), things might have been different...
"especially not when someone is being treated unfairly" by Mooseboy	Dec 13th, 2005 08:37:57 AM
That, I think, is at the center of all this. No one was treated "unfairly". We knew at the beginning that this contest was to be judged by an individual or two based on their opinions and what "moved" them, not decided by an emotionless committee weighing all possible factors scientifically in an attempt to ensure absolute evenness in award distribution. Read the rules again: http://www.aintitcool.com/disp lay.cgi?id=21869 Pay particular attention to these snippets: the monster could be "either serious or funny, ie Giant Creepy Monster or Giant Harry Knowles", "The only hardline rule for this contest is it must be animated using the Stop Motion technique.", and last, but not least, "The winner I pick is final and I can change the rules at any time. By entering this contest you agree to those terms."
rules by skynetbauxi	Dec 13th, 2005 09:01:18 AM
what you're saying is absolutely right, Mooseboy... but what I meant by "unfair" is the same thing that I've been repeating over and over in the last few days... namely that Quint also specifically told us the CRITERIA by which he would be judging the entries... I quote again: "I will pick the winner based on creativity and execution of their creature as well as their eye for shots, character of their creations and overall execution of the stop motion." ... so the thing that I find truly unfair is that he judged by totally different criteria than he said he would... yes, I know, he also said "I can change the rules at any time", but I mean, wouldn't you find it unfair if Quint had changed the "must be animated using Stop Motion technique" rule and given the first place to some dude in a silly monster suit trashing his living room, just because it made Quint crack up? after all, he told us "I can change the rules", so he could have changed that rule as well... but it would have been just as unfair as changing the evaluation criteria was.
Until we get a "judges report sheet" from Quint... by Mooseboy	Dec 13th, 2005 12:07:20 PM
...to see exactly why he favored one entry over another in all the categories we have absolutely no grounds upon which to claim he did or did not follow the rules. You are engaging in pure conjecture at this point. Creativity AND execution AND eye for shots AND character of creations AND overall execution...that's a lot of criteria, and as judge it was Quint's discretion how to deal with the obvious differences in how each area was addressed in the entries. Witout a report, it is impossible to say that there were violations of the rules, particularly since evaluation of each criterion you listed above is totally subjective. One example: how does one measure creativity? There were no required elements in the creature design or theme of the entry, so there was no meter that could be used as a starting point. A dream sequence in which PJ battles KK over the (presumed to be) movie neg is certainly more creative in some ways than fighting yet another ferocious monster. But on the other hand, a spiked rabbit thingy is a newer idea than PJ. Which do you pick? I pick the dream sequence; But your animation execution was smoother, though it was less dynamic. Neither entry used tie downs, so neither has an edge over the other in that aspect of "execution". The list of subjective inputs to the final judgement goes on and on. Demand a judges report, or move on. Continued unsubstantiated sour grapes will not change one thing.
ok by skynetbauxi	Dec 14th, 2005 06:31:17 AM
you're probably right. by the way, I never intended to change anything... except the views of some of the people here maybe. but it was definitely never my intention to try to change the outcome of the contest itself, which would have been a) unfair towards the winners and b) impossible anyway. one question: what's a tie down?
Skynetbauxi: tie downs and other fun stuff by Mooseboy	Dec 14th, 2005 06:57:58 AM
A tie down anchors the puppet's foot/feet/whatever to the set, keeping it in place and allowing it to stand on one leg while walking and not tipping over. If you've not been there and you're at all serious about animation, check out www.stopmotionanimation.com. It's a community of professional and amateur animators sharing tips and whatnot. Also, check out www.stopmoshorts.com. They have a collection of shorts and tutorials and other fun stuff. One particularly good one is about tie downs: http://tinyurl.com/asq3a Note that this shows only one type of tie down; people use screws, rare earth magnets, pins, and probably other things as well. Finally, check out www.stopmotionworks.com, a site that has information and links galore to other things, including books and other web resources.
Amazing! by Evil Chicken	Dec 14th, 2005 07:24:53 AM
Great stuff. They were ALL wonderful. This had to be a hard one to call.
thanks! by skynetbauxi	Dec 14th, 2005 07:49:33 AM
great tips, thank you! okay guys, I'm off to the first showing of KING KONG here in Salzburg, which starts in 40 minutes... man, I can't believe the moment has finally come... I feel like before the ROTS premiere... well, almost :-)
glad to see this could somehow all be resolved . . . by freak2thec0re	Dec 14th, 2005 09:02:57 PM
and for the record, even if I disagreed with just about everything you said in this topic, I did find your entry entertaining
IFilm.com by Oliviscus	Dec 14th, 2005 09:23:11 PM
all of the submitters should post their work to Ifilm.com. I am pretty sure they will all be shown with great enthusiasm.

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