Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Do Screeners (and Yourself) a Favor



People who screen films for contests, awards, grants, advice, etc. really, really want to see your film. Why else would they spend so much time screening films, usually for free? In this new age of technological democracy, however, there are sometimes a few glitches. DVD's recorded on your home computer can be finicky to play on someone else's equipment. And sometimes it happens 60 minutes into the film. By the time you've tried 3 different players and are calling friends to try playing the disc on their equipment and still have a stack of other films to watch (on top of your normal work life), you are wishing that you could just skip the bad spot on the disk and continue at the next chapter.

Chapter? Yes, it is really helpful if you put chapters on your disks. That way the screener doesn't have to fast forward through 60 minutes of film if they are actually able to find a player that will play through the bad spot. Or, it may make the difference as to their being able to watch the disk at all (sometimes you just can't get beyond the bad spot on the disc). Or if, they are interrupted by life while screening, they can easily pick up where they left off. Love the people who want to love you.

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