Tim Tyler Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 The Off-Topic Forum was created to allow for discussion that doesn't apply to cinematography. Some users feel that there's no reason to have non-cinematography discussions on a "cinematography" forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Rodriguez Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hey Tim, I can relate to the sentiment here. Off-topic is good and necessary to keep these digressions off the threads of cinemagraphic thought but perhaps some parameters should apply; the same parameters that have always existed in international diplomacy. We must bear in mind that we are a global micro-culture held together by a narrow common interest. Parameters like: no extended commentary of other peoples's politics, religion or mothers. These debates, throughout history, have never come to painless resolution. I've always considered the off-topic catagory to be things like: Production design, art direction, screenwriting, dramatic performance etc. But all film related subject matter. Anything outside of that, however vital in another arena, is misplaced on a finite amount of hardrive space dedicated to our very specific, common purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ultra Definition Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I have not voted, only checked the results, and this thing counted me that I already voted and there were just "no" votes. I assume that if you peek at the results it counts yours as "no" vote and does not allow you to vote at all afterwards. Leon Rodriguez and another member appear to be af conservative political thinking while others are quite liberal. The conservatives do not like the liberal opinions. If you'd run a poll on all the forums , you may find that majority may not want most of them. So you cancel them. That chases 1/2 the people away. Then later you do another poll and find that some of the polls don't get majority vote. You cancel them........ I say, if it is as popular as that forum is, keep it. Add other forums and always cancel only the ones that are the least popular, or move them somewhere to the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tyler Posted March 20, 2004 Author Share Posted March 20, 2004 > and this thing counted me that I already > voted and there were just "no" votes. Hence the button you clicked - "Null Vote". > and another member appear to be af conservative > political thinking while others... Please don't start branding or labeling other forum users. Everybody has different views on different subjects. This is not just a forum for conservatives, or a forum for liberals, or a forum for Americans, or a forum for tall people. It's a forum for people to discuss cinematography, regardless of their other interests or beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinko Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I say you should make this into a special effects forum. People can talk about techniques and the like. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 20, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hi, Well, I think that's exactly the idea - if you want to talk about something that's to do with special effects and absolutely nothing to do with cinematography (although that might actually be tricky!) then this would be the place. I'm not so convinced it's a good idea to enter into heartfelt political debate here, although it is always a good idea for people to exchange ideas, particularly internationally. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Pingol Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I agree with most of the people here regarding the purpose of the off-topic forum. I feel that the off-topic forum should consist of general discussion geared towards all aspects of filmmaking or anything cinematography-related (still photography and so forth), and less or no discussion about current events, politics, cheeseburgers, etc. I have yet to post there, but I'm sure I will find the need to sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Davidson Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I am a new guy on the block. Just got my green card. I don't feel as if I even have the right to vote as I have not demonstrated, in any reasonable way, a proper grasp of things 'cinematography.' That said, it just kind of goes against my protestant sensibilities to subject or imply censorship. Even if by void. Then again, in keeping with my protestant sensibilities, one must make provision for allegiance to well ordered principle and discipline. I do believe truth ultimately has its final say. So whatever y'all decide is just fine with me. Jacl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Belics Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I used to visit another forum that had a "worldly affairs" forum. It degenerated into more mud slinging and anti-everybody than I have ever seen or heard in my life. If you need an off-topic forum it should be cinematography related with no political/religious/etc. topics allowed. To do otherwise can and will create ill-will among members. We've already seen some evidence of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeSelinsky Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I've rarely peered into here, actually. But there's an old Russian expression that my great grandmother used to use in a case like this, "It doesn't ask for food". If this Off Topic forum doesn't tax the forum's resources and cause serious problems, I see no reason not to keep it around. Granted it's tough to police this section and if discussions in this category were to go into extremes, there are two options, 1) do not moderate it, which could lead to problems potentially - although I don't see any right now developing (I mean, it's not a war of neo-nazi's versus weathermen, or one member posting nude pictures of some other forum member's wife), or 2) delete it if things do get out of hand. It's obviously not Tim's job to be policing this section (I mean, it's terrific he's hosting and running this site - for free!), and if this section gets ridiculous then its time to call it a day. Usenet anarchy belongs in the usenet. I voted for keeping this section alive, but it really should be at Tim's discretion. It's really up to all of us to keep all communications, on and off topic, respectable. That's one of the things I like about this forum, people tend to show respect and they become friendly. If they want to talk off topic that should be okay, as much as it would be okay if I sat down with these people in person and we had such a discussion. - G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Brad Grimmett Posted March 21, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 21, 2004 I've always considered the off-topic catagory to be things like: Production design, art direction, screenwriting, dramatic performance etc. But all film related subject matter. Anything outside of that, however vital in another arena, is misplaced on a finite amount of hardrive space dedicated to our very specific, common purpose. I agree with this. It seemed like common sense to me that "off topic" meant topics peripherally related to cinematography, but it seems that other people thought that it meant "post whatever you want about anything". I think if you keep it you should create some parameters for that particular section. But it won't bother me a bit if you get rid of it either. People will post something in "general" if they really have a legitimate question. Unfortunately, some people will continue to make non-related posts whether you have an "off topic" section or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted March 21, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 21, 2004 My only thought is that if someone wants to talk about things other than cinematography, there are probably better sites for those other topics. So while one could keep the off-topic category, I don't see much practical value in it either, not for the reader nor the poster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulgencio Martinez Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 As i see it this cinematography forum is about cinematography. It is a great tool since you can share "Knowledge" with other people interested about the same things. Although cinematographers use to be precise talking about their working methods i don´t think the politics debates on this forum to be so interesting, knowledge spreading and precise. you can do whatever you whant. some talked about a special effects forum. I think that´s a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tyler Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 It seemed like common sense to me that "off topic" meant topics peripherally related to cinematography... This seems to be the prevailing interest here, so let's go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozgur Baltaoglu Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 It seems that the decission has already been made... anyway, here's what I think: even though this is a cinematography forum I believe there may be issues other than cinematography to discuss or info to share that with which we may not wish to occupy other forums. If we stick to the true sense of the phrase "off topic" we'll make better use of this forum. SFx is as much off topic as politics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Pacini Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 I think as long as everyone agrees to behave themselves, and stop calling names, it should be left fairly open, particularly since I don't think it's reasonable to expect Tim to have to babysit us all to see if people are getting overly rude, etc. However, I think it's naive to say there is clarity in what is, or is not related. I mean, let's take discussion about Blockbuster editing it's videos, or the MPAA discussions for instance. Is that a filmmaking subject, or a political one? Both. I think it's pretty easy to trace the posts that get out of hand. Usually it starts fairly innocently, like "congratulations to Michael Moore on winning at Cannes", which is fine, then someone chimes in with something resembling "yeah, Bush is a fascist and the US deserved the 911 attacks" or whatever, and that usually gets people jumping in defense mode, and a full-scale war of words starts. So maybe everyone can agree to keep the flaming down to a minimum, and we can all play like adults and be able to talk about anything we want to, as long as it's "somehow" related to filmmaking. Matt Pacini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Michael Nash Posted July 20, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 20, 2004 The discussion forums here have also become a bit of a community, and the off-topic forum allows a place for users to pose questions to a group of peers. Sometimes you know the other users on the forums will have the answer to your question, although the question may not have anything to do with ciinematography. Consider this the "parking lot outside the meeting hall." ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Well, it may not be anything to do with cinematography. But, what hark is it doing staying here? I asked a question about speaker cabinets, it had nothing to do with cinematography but people still knew. And I got my asnwer. Just keep it here, isn't doing any harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 And I suddenly can't spell.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Anthony Gonzales Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 I agree with Mr. Nash. I think an off-topic category is actually a good idea. If the term "off-topic" is off-putting to some, maybe you should change the name to something like "community forum" or something. We can all discuss the various aspects of cinematography in the meat of the forum, but it's nice to be able to talk about things other than cinematography with cinematographers. We all can't gather each week for drinks, so this is like the next best thing. John G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 I think that part of being a good cinematographer means being a well rounded individual and therefore interested by all aspects of life. On the other hand this is a cinematography forum. Why not more opinions about painters, photographers, comic books, etc. These are all things that have an enormous influence on my cinematography. Music has had a huge influence on my work as a cinematographer to the point of certain directors giving me just a music cd to illustrate the "psycho-emotional" climate of the film we are working on. IMHO, a good cinematographer knows how to do something, a great cinematographer knows how and WHY they are doing it. Is it not more "evolved" to be a human being than just a human doing? So many films have camera moves just for the sake of moving the camera. Very often these moves show technical ability for no reason. The film gains no momentum and no emotional impact is created. It's like the majority of those riffy heavy metal guitar players. It's just masturbatory libido stroking and nothing more. Perhaps when people will be able to fly in wedding DVD's, Hollywood will wake up and realize that there is more to life than Playstation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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