I'll toss my hate into the ring.

Let me first justs ay that Chris works very ahrd on this site and trying to make sure it is a creative and constructive tool for film makers. of course he cant always read EVERY review. I will say a simple e-mail to him will get any non constructive and blatenly bashing reviews removed. Just bring it to his attention.

That being said i like the idea of registered mebers info (particularly forum screen name) Being linked automatically to reviews. I ahve always posted my e-mail address and have no problem doing so. I say nothing I am ashamed to discuss.

Alowing only registered members review however I disagree with. Lets say Im a Hollywood producer or Director or catering service owner.. and I find this site. I see a few films and decided to toss in my expert opionion. My years of experience can provide simply invaluable insight that will most assuredly aide these film makers in the future. I click "Write Review" and a registration form pops up. "WTF? Im not giving out my personal info! Ima famous caterer!" I leave the site dissapointed and never return.

You see what Im driving at? There is the story of Chriss friend who was at a party with Tim Burton, whom approached him because he was wearing a Studentfilms.com shirt and commented o it. Has he ever come to the site? Who knows.. maybe. Heck maybe he has posted reviews. Its hard to say.

Ive said before and still contend that bad reviews can be more constructive then "This movie rocked." If nothing else it teaches you that most viewers and reviewers have no idea what they are talking about and 99% of any possible viewing audience are infantile in their knowledge and understanding of how films are made. Water off you back my friend. Ignore and move forward. Good luck.
R. Michael

"Luck, is when opportunity, meets preperation." "There are 3 sides to every story. Yours, mine, and the truth, and none of us are lying" -Robert Evans
Tizzy Entertainment "Redemption" Hi-Def trailer

Tizzy makes a good point that I never really thought about before.

That said, if what Gerdals says about criticism is correct, how people should be willing to take responsibility for their opinions or else that opinion is useless, then explain to me why elections are held using secret ballots. Why do newspapers use unnamed sources? And what's the point of pseudonyms? That someone doesn't have a valid opinion because they want to stay anonymous is bull.

Sometimes you know your opinion is going to be unpopular and the threat of backlash is enough to make you hold your tongue. Which is great for maintaining a power structure, but when someone is looking for raw uncensored criticism it's a hinderance. I'd rather have honest anonymous critcism than false praise wit contact information. That said, the only use of taking credit for your criticism that I wholeheartedly agree with is that you can judge whether the criticizer is someone whose opinion you respect and want to take to heart.

ok...so now that we know who left that review, lets go bash HIS film....BIG FISH!

TIM BURTON HAD IT COMING!!!!!

Oh, wait....he only commented on the site.

-TacoWagonProductions

quote:

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I'll toss my hate into the ring.

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I have got to start using that expression.

...And now my perception of Tim Burton has dropped somewhat. You mean to tell me that Tim Burton, bigtime Hollywood director, is attending t-shirt and jeans parties? come on man. He should be going to schnazzy events with tuxedos and ice sculptures. lots of ice sculptures.

--alan

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http://www.alandenton.com
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.

As far as Music, there are many aspiring composers who are willing to work for free (me for example) Let me know if you want me to work on an original score. I have to be honest, I've never written a film score, but I write my own songs and I've been a musician for over 15 years. I've been in a few bands as a keybordist, but what I would really like doing is Scoring Films.

I attended two events with tim burton. --I just had to say that. And both times he was the only one wearing a t-shirt ...and those ratty combat boots he's always seen in.

Did I just comment on another man's shoes? I've got to get out of LA.

"That said, if what Gerdals says about criticism is correct, how people should be willing to take responsibility for their opinions or else that opinion is useless, then explain to me why elections are held using secret ballots. Why do newspapers use unnamed sources? And what's the point of pseudonyms? That someone doesn't have a valid opinion because they want to stay anonymous is bull."

Elections are held with secret ballots to allow people to support a candidate freely without others influencing their vote. Newspapers use unnamed sources only when the information the source provides could put that person in danger of retribution. Usually unnamed sources are used for whistleblowers and the like. Pseudonyms are just an alias a person uses, but can usually be tracked back to that person. I don't feel the examples you cited have anything to do with an anonymous review system.

And for the guy who said he could do free composing, that would be awesome. Maybe I'll contact you next time I get around to doing a film.

Excluding those few bad apples, anonymous reviews tend to be more honest (in my opinion).

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quote:

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Originally posted by Gerdals:
Elections are held with secret ballots to allow people to support a candidate freely without others influencing their vote. Newspapers use unnamed sources only when the information the source provides could put that person in danger of retribution. Usually unnamed sources are used for whistleblowers and the like. Pseudonyms are just an alias a person uses, but can usually be tracked back to that person. I don't feel the examples you cited have anything to do with an anonymous review system.

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Oh come on! You don't think there's a reason someone might feel more free to reveal their honest opinion in an anonymous review? What if they're afraid that they'll be considered mean? What if they think they'll be in danger for expressing their honest opinion? In this thread alone we have a guy talking how he thinks the anonymous reviewer should die because of what he wrote. A negative review, constructive or not, can anger even a tenured filmmaker. Now take into account that many of the people that submit to this site may be new to the creative process and still have thin skins.

A possible scenario about your anonymous reviewer:

The anonymous reviewer thought your movie was the worst thing he had ever seen. That was his honest opinion. Now he had nothing constructive to say, he only knew he hated your movie and wanted to express this.

Afraid that you would react negatively, he chose to make his review anonymous so you could not make direct contact with him. Since he doesn't know you he didn't want to chance the possibility that you might track him down and hurt him for maligning your work, which for all he knew you cherished like your own child.

Now this reviewer could have avoided that all together by falsely praising your work, but instead he chose to be truthful. Yet he didn't want to risk your wrath so he made his review anonymous.

End scenario.

Too outlandish you say? Maybe. Maybe the anonymous review just didn't feel like getting an e-mail from you defending your work, belittling him for his opinion, and then suggesting ways to prevent him from ever being allowed to express his honest opinion in a review.

Another problem with only allowing registered people to review: someone who has a valid opinion about your work and doesn't mind taking the time to express that opinion but doesn't want to take the time to register. You know it happens.

Alright, I really don't think I need to clarify anything but I guess I do. I said what I said, mostly out of anger at the world but really, because the guy posted anonymously; not because it was a negative review. No one should have to feel they have to hide their opinion of something. I bashed a movie on this site and I left my e-mail address, it's that simple.
I dunno, newgrounds.com knows how to do things. Anyone can watch their cartoons, but, if you want to comment, vote, or submit your own work you need to be a registered user (the one problem is that their free submission of anything allows for a lot of crap stuff, paying for hosting here is the one thing I think this site has going for it.) Really, there's no need to be scared about sharing your own opinion, don't be a pansy, leave your e-mail, face up.

-Elliott

It's good you can admit how your anger clouded your judgement, and I never really thought you wanted the guy dead. But can you understand how your statement could create an atmosphere of hostility towards negative reviews that would encourage someone to hide their identity when posting a negative review?

Yes I see that, still, it's not about negative reviews, it's about anonymous reviews. Even good reviews shouldn't be anonymous, how're you ever supposed to thank the guy?
Point in short:
--Good or bad reviews = Okay
--Anonymous reviews = Not okay

-Elliott

Yes, but I'm trying to point out that anonymous reviews can be a reaction to the response to negative reviews. And that the reason we should allow anonymous reviews is to allow those who would like prevent backlash as a result of their opinions.

Ultimately if a reviewer doesn't want to tell you who they are I don't see why we can't respect that fact. If they find it beneficial to be anonymous in order to express their truthful opinion then so be it. Unless you need to know who the reviewer is to respect the input that the review contains then there is no reason to know who writes a review.

quote:

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Oh come on! You don't think there's a reason someone might feel more free to reveal their honest opinion in an anonymous review? What if they're afraid that they'll be considered mean?

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In an anonymous, consequence free environment, people will do just about anything. It would be great if all that did was allow people to express honest opinions, but that's not always the case. Why do people loot stores in times of crises? Why did people commit lynchings under the hoods of the KKK? If these people's identities were freely known, I seriously doubt they would commit these acts. I know, these are extreme examples, but they are good examples of the underlying psychological concept.

I think most people who are expressing honest opinions already leave their own email and name. If not, I don't think most would mind if they are expressing truly honest opinions.

first off, has anyone checked the review section lately? the guy apologized...kinda
and secondly...there are a LOT of films on this site, and a lot have biased reviews of friends and family writing one sentence reviews, "OMG ITS SO GOOD!!!!!11" and just plain unhelpful scathing reviews such as the one mentioned here. But, bottom line, it shouldn't bother you (you not being anyone here in particular) too much. It's one person's opinion, deal with it. If they left an email adress would you really want to get into contact with them and have a constructive discussion of your film? Do you think THEY would want that? Its a group of words, on a website, deal with it. Anonymous reviews allow people to hide behind a cover and express their true opinion without fear of coming in direct contact of the filmmaker: it shows yes, they are cowardly, but honestly, if its their true opinion be grateful and either acknowledge it or ignore it....either way...move on. We shouldn't change our entire review system because of this.

I think allowing only registered users to review films is pretty much out of the question.

In my personal and non-site-connected opinion, anybody who reviews a film has the right to choose whether or not they want to do it anonymously. We can discourage it, but we can't take away the right.

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I hope you guys have taken what I've said personally, because my intentions weren't to offend or attack anyone. I have my views, and I stick by them, but I respect your opinions as well. I've enjoyed this lively debate.

Plus, this forum has drummed up a bit of interest in my film, whose audience I believe had dwindled before this topic.

And Bob Saget, thanks for the somewhat apologetic second review. I will now discontinue my boycott of watching Full House.

I also have a commercial I made on the site, maybe you'll like it better than Lysistrata.


Becker Homes Commercial

Yeah, that's the good thing about this site...you have this forum to address responses to your film, discuss what your intentions were, what hardships you encountered, why you chose one path over another, etc.

And it's great that the moderators/owners of the site make themselves accessible and willing to consider removing any crap reviews by knuckleheads.

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"I didn't do it/That wasn't me/It won't hold up in court"

alex c, do you mean old bridge, nj? cuz i live in westfield, i'm pretty sure thats pretty close, and bob saget **** you