Film Photographer of the Year 2020 Thought & Musings

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Without wanting to scare the bejesus out of people the year 2020 is fast approaching so I thought getting this out there might not be a bad idea.

I am happy, (ok maybe not happy but at least willing) to take over the role of FPOTY overlord from Janet for next year. Both Carl and Janet have done a fantastic job over the past few years and Mark before that and it seems only fair to share the burden.
I will, of course, have to purchase a top hat so that themes can be picked from it but that can come out of the entry fee.

If there is anybody else out there that would like to volunteer then please do shout out.
 
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Well done that man. Just an idea; instead of buying a top hat for the draw, why not try and come up to Cheshire for the locals Christmas day out (if we are having one this year?); you could use Andy's top hat then (assuming you are both free on the same day and Andy is willing to share his hat)? We could make an occasion of it then.
 
Well done that man. Just an idea; instead of buying a top hat for the draw, why not try and come up to Cheshire for the locals Christmas day out (if we are having one this year?); you could use Andy's top hat then (assuming you are both free on the same day and Andy is willing to share his hat)? We could make an occasion of it then.
Great idea, keep me informed of any festive film forays.
 
Without wanting to scare the bejesus out of people the year 2020 is fast approaching so I thought getting this out there might not be a bad idea.

I am happy, (ok maybe not happy but at least willing) to take over the role of FPOTY overlord from Janet for next year. Both Carl and Janet have done a fantastic job over the past few years and Mark before that and it seems only fair to share the burden.
I will, of course, have to purchase a top hat so that themes can be picked from it but that can come out of the entry fee.

If there is anybody else out there that would like to volunteer then please do shout out.
Can we just be clear that this is a 20/20 vision? :exit:
 
So soon Peter?
 
I'm thinking of picking a list of politically motivated themes, such as

Hell in a hand cart
The road to nowhere
The lights are on but there's no-one home
Lost
Follies and their creators

Any other theme suggestions are more than welcome :D
 
I'm thinking of picking a list of politically motivated themes, such as

Hell in a hand cart
The road to nowhere
The lights are on but there's no-one home
Lost
Follies and their creators

Any other theme suggestions are more than welcome :D
Brilliant!! :LOL:
 
Never ending story.
Ignore the people.
On the fence.
Chameleon.
Hidden views.
Waiting to pounce.
The indecisive moment.
Popularity decline.
Time wasting.
Borders.
Get on with it.
New horizons.
 
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On a slightly more serious note, here's some feedback from my time running it this year.

The scoring method probably needs changing. At the moment, points are allocated to the top 12. It's all automated on the spreadsheet that @Carl Hall (aka Dr Excel! :D) sent to me. However, the number of people entering this year has dropped quite considerably from it's peak and most months have had 12 or less entrants. Therefore, people are sometimes getting points for 0 votes. I would look at reducing the allocation of points to the top 10 (or maybe less).

If you're going to change it, it will need to be done before you post up the rules. Unfortunately, I didn't envisage the reduction in people entering and once it became apparent, it was too late to do anything about it.
 
However, the number of people entering this year has dropped quite considerably from it's peak and most months have had 12 or less entrants

Could it be the themes are more difficult, maybe the choice should be less difficult next year.....mind you I haven't looked at previous years to see if the choice was easier.
 
Could it be the themes are more difficult, maybe the choice should be less difficult next year.....mind you I haven't looked at previous years to see if the choice was easier.

Possibly, but the themes this year are all pretty straightforward, I think. "Things with faces / Found faces" is perhaps the most cryptic of the bunch. Last year's was similarly straightforward for the most part (with maybe "Fake" and "The Decisive Moment" being slightly more tricky to visualise).
 
Could it be the themes are more difficult, maybe the choice should be less difficult next year.....mind you I haven't looked at previous years to see if the choice was easier.
Actually, this years themes were largely the remaining ones left over from the previous years competition. The most unpopular suggestions had been removed twice by open vote, once in preparation for the 2018 competition and again in preparation for 2019 competition. I've already sent the remaining suggestions to @RaglanSurf at his request so they may well make another appearance in 2020 depending on what he decides to do.
 
On a slightly more serious note, here's some feedback from my time running it this year.

The scoring method probably needs changing. At the moment, points are allocated to the top 12. It's all automated on the spreadsheet that @Carl Hall (aka Dr Excel! :D) sent to me. However, the number of people entering this year has dropped quite considerably from it's peak and most months have had 12 or less entrants. Therefore, people are sometimes getting points for 0 votes. I would look at reducing the allocation of points to the top 10 (or maybe less).

If you're going to change it, it will need to be done before you post up the rules. Unfortunately, I didn't envisage the reduction in people entering and once it became apparent, it was too late to do anything about it.
If folks have bothered to enter then I think it only fair they get the points allocated to their position even if the reduced number of votes allowed because there were fewer entries meant they did not get a vote.
 
Well volunteered Nick, thanks for taking it on.

TBH I found this year's themes a bit too prescriptive and that's partly why I have struggled to get motivated about it I think. May be that’s my lack of imagination but it’s hard to put a spin on “Gardens” or “Weather”. What about themes based on something like Shakespeare quotes or song lyrics? “Loves labours lost” or “Blowing in the wind”

Also I have an issue with the way points are allocated in a tie but I’ll let that lie, there isn’t going to be a perfect system :)
 
I found this year's themes a bit too prescriptive and that's partly why I have struggled to get motivated about it I think
Me too.

“Loves labours lost” or “Blowing in the wind”
This would be just as bad for me.

I think there's nothing wrong with easy, non specific, themes that anyone could have a crack at with a quick google search. "Relationships" or "Looking Through" or (a favourite on my course) "Wabi-Sabi". Easier themes = more entries (presumably?) and cooler images as people try and interpret the theme with different perspectives.

I'm not bothered about scores. Luxuriating in last place of all the "entered-every-month" folks, it's easy for me to say it's not about the winning, but... it's not about the winning :)
 
:thinking: I had to google that and I'm still not sure that it is

It's film photography. Beauty in imperfection. I also use it to get people back to the dictionary/wikipedia to work out what they hell the words mean. It sparks ideas I find.
 
One plea! No mystery (misery) month this year.
It may still happen, but that’s the joy of a mystery, you just never know ;)
 
Look what turned up on YouTube today. :)

View: https://youtu.be/gyCumQ78ZoI
I enjoyed that (less so the advertising, but something has to earn a living for people who take the time and care to make inspirational videos like that, so that's not a criticism).

It's great to have wonderful quality and sharpness in a camera and lenses, but I think it's even better to know when that doesn't really matter, and better still to know how to use that to great effect.
 
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less so the advertising

[massive sidetrack]
I'm not a fan either, but I recently listened to a Ted Forbes podcast where he said that there was "no money" in the art side of photography videos. All his creative videos (esp the "Artist" series he did) got piffling views compared to his "here's a new Sony" and other gear videos. So he ended up ditching his artist stuff to focus on that. I thought this was quite sad because he had some really interesting things to say about the creative part of this hobby.

So for that reason, I too will put up with advertising to watch photographers who aren't trying to sell me a Sony sensor or tell me that I need super pin sharp images to be "good". Jamie Windsor constantly surprises me with quality, easy to understand, creative insight.
[/massive sidetrack]
 
I thought this was quite sad because he had some really interesting things to say about the creative part of this hobby.
[Continue-sidetrack :) ] I've watched some of his stuff and didn't realise he had ditched his artist series, it is a shame but then I wouldn't have thought there was a massive cost to him to continue doing it given that he already has the set-up form the more commercial videos.
 
If we are not having a Mystery month in 2020, what about perhaps having "My favourite photo" as the December round? This might prevent any weather-related issues and time pressures in the run-up to that festive event, and give us an insight into what has really appealed to the F&C crowd during the year. It would allow for creativity to run wild, so that would be interesting as well. Just a thought, mind. :snaphappy:
 
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If we are not having a Mystery month in 2020, what about perhaps having "My favourite photo" as the December round? This might prevent any weather-related issues and time pressures in the run-up to that festive event, and give us an insight into what has really appealed to the F&C crowd during the year. It would allow for creativity to run wild, so that would be interesting as well. Just a thought, mind. :snaphappy:
I take it you mean favourite of the year, i.e. 2019? If so I think it's a great idea
 
I take it you mean favourite of the year, i.e. 2019? If so I think it's a great idea
I was meaning the favourite shot taken during the 12 months of the FPOTY 2020 comp Chris, but which didn't fit any of the other 11 topics/themes. I'm sure we all take shots that we are pleased with and post them in threads such as "Show us your film shots", so the opportunity to enter one for December might work?
 
Are we going to vote to winnow down the longlist, Nick? Or is it just the top hat manoeuvre?
 
The 2020 FPOTY themes will be up soon.
 
I'm working on changing the voting system but this depends a little on proposed numbers taking part.

In my best Sergeant Walker voice "Would you mind awfully indicating whether you are likely to take part?"
 
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