Tuesday, July 07, 2009

MIFF 2009 Trailers

By day, I work as a technical business analyst and I'm reasonably well-paid for analysing how to make repetitive processes as streamlined as possible in a business environment. It comes natural to me, then, when using the MIFF website or going through MIFF procedures to see what works well and what doesn't. Each year, I take a note of what I feel could be improved, and this forms the basis of a document that I send after each festival as feedback. I also provide comments that I think are working well. I used to be self-employed and appreciated both kinds of feedback.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who complained about the repetitiveness of those bloody MIFF ads at each screening. Even worse was the one by Yalumba, who are returning this year as festival sponsors. Their ad is still running in cinemas and I hope to god we don't have to again hear that smug cunt telling us he knows what the fucking ending is... beware of the man in a hat. I felt like sticking a wine bottle up his fucking ...

Well, one of my suggestions last year was that if they're going to have ads, they run more than one for each sponsor. MIFF are this year rotating three "everyone's a critic" ads, and two of them previewed at the festival launch last night. One is a couple of astronauts in space discussing a film, being heard as their discussion is broadcast to mission control. Another is a couple of wrestlers fighting over their opinions.

OK, aside from the fact that this theme has been regurgitated from last year (there's a GFC after all, and everyone is cutting back), and ignoring some other arguments about the theme (the subject of another upcoming post), the problem I identified with these ads is they are both just way too long. You'll see what I mean when the festival starts. They're OK for the first time, but if you're going to see 20 films, that's roughly 7 times you'll see each ad. We're going to be sick of them by the second viewing. They need to be short and snappy. The wrestler one is full of yelling, and that is going to grate big time. And what to speak of if you're seeing 40, 60, 80 or more films (I'm aiming for a relatively modest 40).

You can check out all three trailers at the MIFF website. What do you think of them?

MIFF tickets go on sale on Friday, the same day that the program is distributed with The Age.

3 comments:

Rick Leathem said...

I totally agree, Paul. I saw 50 films last year at MIFF and I was literally having dreams about that Yalumba ad by the end of the festival. I am seriously dreading having to sit through it again this year.

Al said...

Thanks in advance for your brilliant work here in MIFF season Paul, it's really handy to have that "films with a release" list to do some prioritising. Your comments on "The Yalumba Cunt" made me laugh, please god don't inflict that one on us again. I'm afraid to preview the official trailers now as I'll get to see them way too many times, soon enough.

And finally... CLAIRE DENIS IS COMING!!
*genuflect*

Paul Martin said...

It looks like I've hit a raw nerve with the Yalumba cunt.

Claire Denis in conversation with Philippa Hawker and Agnes Varda in conversation with David Stratton. I'm marking them both in my calendar.