Animation Source Forums

Has anyone else noticed the vast amount of projects that seem to have absolutely no thought put into them? For example:

Title: Balto 4
Description:
Nothing else. Do these people understand how long it takes to make a movie, or the amount of effort and that dedication goes into it? Movies don't come out overnight you know. If you're really serious about something like that, you have to be specific, organized and willing to put more in than just a simple sentence.

The same also applies for various contests I've come across. For example:

Title: Design *random character*'s pups.
Description:

No rules, no references to said character, no prizes and no thought at all. There is nothing there that will capture anyone's interest at all.
That being said, the entries to such contests and and projects are no better. I've seen 'entries' such as other people's art, Balto screenshots, and even advertisements for Disney movies such as 'Eight Below' or 'Snow Buddies.'
And the worst part is, even on contests that HAVE had time and effort put into them, I still see such entries. It is unbelievably ignorant.

The next time you create a contest, tell us more on what it's about, what the prizes are and the rules. If you're doing a project, show us some of the material you already have, and draw up a list of what you need. It just makes much more interesting, and more likely to be a success.
And if you are going to enter something into a project or a contest, make sure it is:

(a) Yours
(b) Relevant to the contest/project
(c) Abiding by the contest/project's rules.

If it doesn't qualify, please do not enter it. It is no help at all to the person who started the project/contest, and it shows that you obviously don't care enough about it.

Agreed,a whole lot more should be told about the contest,but if not,the contest topic should be locked.

Agreed, Sounds less of a rant sounds more like an Advice giving topic for members and maybe should be moved to the introduction area because people will use the tips and keep the advice in their projects in mind after seeing it

Agreed on this. It practically spams up the section and they have no use to them. The point of making a project or contest is that you plan to finish it, have thought about it beforehand and haven't made it just for the sake of making a project/contest.

If you do come across projects or contests like this then report them to the mods and we'll deactivate them.

Agreed, but there are still gonna be spammers who'll do this for the fun of it >>

I agree as well. But there's more than will and motivation needed to complete a movie. You need a whole team full of people, who are there to help you, also besides that you have to be a very good Director and Producer. And not start a 10% out of the whole production and leave it behind cause you technically "get bored of it". More it's about the desire you have for it. And as you said on the Topic, you need the "love" for it and you can't come up with it in one night.

And to get a bit detached from the title, besides the rant, what debate have you thought of?

What do you mean?

I meant if have you thought of an actual debate. A way to stop this.

That's gonna be a lot of work to do this project

What are you talking about? Do you even read the posts? :/

I think that reporting such content is the only way we can really stop this. Unfortunately, there's always going to be people like this around here.

I agree absolutely. I also think there should be an option to report entries that are suspected to be stolen art.

There are project and contest moderators, and they check the submitted projects and contests regularly.

If you find one with stolen art as submitions, vague content, or it doesn't make sense to you, report it. A moderator can't always know if a contest submition is stolen or not.

As for vague contests... Many are deactivated, but logically, some are on the brim. Take for example 'let's make a Balto movie'. It makes sense, has a purpose, yet lacks structure obviously. Still, it is understandable, and has quite a few participants.

Quite a bit of this problem could be solved if members were told how to create a project or contest. Simple guidelines would include an explanation, purpose, organizational structure... They're going to be worked on.

Yet, something like 'let's make a Balto movie' might need a group formed who would then develop the project... So, superficially, without stricter guidelines, the best moderation would be to let it be open in public for a while, and see if any updates arrive. After that, obviously, ask for them, and if nothing happens, then deactivate.

The example is one of the controversial types... Although specific and vague at the same time, it fuels public interest and might actually develop into a successful project once members join.

Obviously, there are quite a few projects and contests that simple do not classify as such, and are deactivated once they hit the market, so you do not get to catch them.