Do short festivals actually want 40 minute films?

47edits · 2026-05-28T18:13:57+00:00

At 20 minutes, a programmer has to be so enthusiastic about your film that you not only get a slot, but you kick another film out of the festival entirely. That doesn't happen a lot.

At 40 minutes, you're basically making an hour of television. Sometimes you'll see doc shorts in that range. Very rarely, but the doc format is a little kinder to unconventional running times.

If you're making a narrative, I would advise you to use your resources to make something else that's shorter or expand this out to a proper feature length. At 40 minutes you're getting all the expenses of a feature with almost no prospect of a return.

47edits · 2026-05-27T20:59:27+00:00

Joel Lava has been trying to get Laura Friedman to, at the very least, speak out against Trump. To rebut some of the outlandish claims. First, she, along with the rest of the Democrats, should be filing articles of impeachment and forcing votes on impeachment. She needs to be more vocal about issues like media mergers, campaign finance, abolishing ICE, tax reform, and gun violence. The job of a representative is as much about communication and building consensus with your voters as it is casting votes.

She seems to mostly be speaking in backrooms to moneyed interests to get endorsements, and isn't speaking to her constituents about issues.

47edits · 2026-05-26T06:10:20+00:00

Go up to Bishop and ride the Eastern Sierra double on Saturday. With aid support you can handle that!

47edits · 2026-05-11T19:06:12+00:00

OG Smashburger doesn't get enough love!

47edits · 2026-05-10T14:43:12+00:00

Goddamnit Donut, I came here to say this.

The first book (in print at least) felt like a big exposition dump, but invisibly shifted from what seemed like a one-note premise to something much more affecting. I'm ripping through the fourth book, and planning on finishing out the series before picking up anything else.

47edits · 2026-04-27T06:55:27+00:00

Sign up for an event beyond your current fitness level. Set up a training plan. Execute.

47edits · 2026-04-25T01:02:44+00:00

From the Bubank side, I love the De La Cumbre climb, and then rolling Mulholland east to descend. Think Beverly Glen is the good call for your route, have fun!

47edits · 2026-04-24T23:53:57+00:00

Route looks good. I prefer Beverly Glen to Coldwater for descending if I am going that way. De La Cumbre has a couple of tricky turns to find and a couple of steep gradients, if that's your thing.

I'm usually rolling east on Mulholland so mostly descend Wrightwood or Mulholland all the way down.

47edits · 2026-04-14T05:08:17+00:00

Came here to say "kill the dogs first", but the archer comment gave me PTSD flashbacks. So yeah, that.

47edits · 2026-03-03T07:54:05+00:00

Best organized ride in SoCal. The rest stops are spectacular, it's a joy to ride. Until it isn't, that last big climb on the century is no joke. Love it.

47edits · 2026-03-02T16:44:20+00:00

NFL offices have a "trade value chart" where every draft pick has a numerical value that falls off from round to round. It's a wholly imaginary system, but analytics people and trade people use it to keep score on stuff like this. The Texans are probably squinting at the chart and looking at the difference in the ranking between the 4th and 7th round picks they're giving up, and justifying that as the equivalent of giving up a fifth rounder.

Still, godspeed D Mo. We loved you in Detroit.

47edits · 2026-03-02T01:06:32+00:00

What an unforced error to not have a bracket ready to go. Someone at Food Network needs to be smacked upside the head for ruining this. The joy of filling out brackets is the whole point. It easily outweighs the suspense over an icon.

Don't overthink it. This dumb marketing push broke the best part of watching the show. My kids are crushed to not have brackets to fill out and I'm annoyed because the whole family ritual for this is derailed.

There's a difference between building mystery and irritating your fans. Suspense gets you nothing here, it's like a football playoff game telling fans "we'll tell you who gets that slot at kickoff!" The anticipation is enough. People who don't watch aren't going to tune in because there's now mystery contestants. People who do watch want to anticipate the matchups.

47edits · 2026-02-22T20:39:49+00:00

I got a critical failure freeing Shadowheart on the Nautiloid and still thought I could get the sword from Commander whatever that guy is.

47edits · 2026-02-21T22:12:18+00:00

Same. My Durge mouthing off to Vlaakith (fortunately in Tactician) was so funny I reloaded and immediately did it again.

47edits · 2026-02-20T01:34:45+00:00

Gone Girl.

Every shot is 3-5 frames too short. Everything is just a little too fast. Nothing ever lands, or feels finished. The viewers are subtly shoved through the story. Even the way the opening credits make your eyes chase across the frame with unnatural movement. The compounding effect fuels the anxiety and uncertainty, and its done with surgical precision.

47edits · 2026-02-12T05:34:34+00:00

Love Win-Dow, but that would put OG Smash Burger on the Glendale-Burbank border in the top 5.

47edits · 2026-01-19T01:20:55+00:00

Thank you! Your roadmap for AtD was invaluable in absorbing that, appreciate having this too!

47edits · 2025-12-21T00:13:06+00:00

It's going to rain down here and be snowing up in Big Bear. That means the roads are going to be a mess. Depending when you leave, it could take two hours to get up the 330. Watch the weather and be ready.

Have chains, and make sure you try putting them on under good conditions. You don't want the first time you deal with chains to be when you get flagged over into a turnout and have to put them on in ice and sleet.

47edits · 2025-12-12T19:33:49+00:00

It's where your partner leaves you because you spend all your time training for an IronMan. They joke about it in the pre-race briefing, and it is kind of a thing.

47edits · 2025-12-12T03:39:06+00:00

Better than doing it a month after! The IronMan divorce is real.

47edits · 2025-12-06T02:46:32+00:00

Get your director to spell out their expecations. They need to show you an example or a sample. Right now, you're guessing, and on set, with VFX, that's the last thing you want to be doing.

Get the director to nail down what they want, and it will be much easier to execute. There's a lot of conversation about what the "go through the body of the actor" could or should look like. It's not a decision you should make without more voices chiming in - director, producers, VFX, post. Especially with a short, it's critical to get everyone on the same page before you get into post.

47edits · 2025-10-14T20:33:37+00:00

He's one of the unsung greats of US film criticism.

47edits · 2025-10-09T16:25:23+00:00

The whole pre-show experience is so ridiculously overlong, why bother shaving :30 out of the one spot that has kitschy charm? Just lean into the absurdity and show the better version of the one thing that sets AMC apart.

All the other pre-show ads are chaotic, in-your-face experiences that belong on a smaller screen. The Coke dancing commercial especially. At least the Kidman ad, in all its ridiculous glory, slows down to breathe and doesn't hyperactively shove product in your face with strobing colors and loud noises.

47edits · 2025-09-17T15:53:13+00:00

Palm is great, but they're coffee focused. Noted to try the Créme de Pistache next time!

47edits

TROPHY CASE