Future challenges

[jeroeno]

Perhaps this has already been mentioned somewhere but is there a list of countries eligable for next month's Caribbean challenge?

[sol]

I would say Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica etc and all the island nations (in the zoom rectangle below) down to Trinidad and Tobago. Probably also Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana since they are sometimes considered to be Caribbean too - including in the Caribbean Classics list (which the mods are considering for adoption) and with their language backgrounds, those three probably fit in better with the Caribbean than Latin America. But that's just my two cents.

[blueboybob]

A copy/paste list (Have I missed any?)

Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Virgin Islands, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saint Barthelemy, Montserrat

[blocho]

Wouldn't Guyana and Suriname fall in the South America challenge (I know we split that challenge into two, though I don't remember the exact distribution).

[blueboybob]

I went by this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_C ... population

[sol]

A copy/paste list (Have I missed any?)

Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Virgin Islands, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saint Barthelemy, Montserrat

That looks about right to me. I would have thought to include French Guiana too since I always mentally group Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana together, but maybe that's an incorrect assumption.

Wouldn't Guyana and Suriname fall in the South America challenge (I know we split that challenge into two, though I don't remember the exact distribution).

Under Ferg's suggestion (seconded by a few others), we are going with "Latin America minus Mx, Ar, Br and Uy" and "Argentina/Brazil/Uruguay" as the two options. As English and Dutch speaking countries respectively, I am not sure how well Guyana and Suriname fit under the Latin American banner. They are certainly considered to be Caribbean nations according to some sources - and the Caribbean list that the mods are considering adopting has films from those two countries. I do not, however, pretend to be an expert on the region though and I am happy to hear other views on the matter.

[blocho]

A copy/paste list (Have I missed any?)

Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Virgin Islands, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saint Barthelemy, Montserrat

That looks about right to me. I would have thought to include French Guiana too since I always mentally group Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana together, but maybe that's an incorrect assumption.

Wouldn't Guyana and Suriname fall in the South America challenge (I know we split that challenge into two, though I don't remember the exact distribution).

Under Ferg's suggestion (seconded by a few others), we are going with "Latin America minus Mx, Ar, Br and Uy" and "Argentina/Brazil/Uruguay" as the two options. As English and Dutch speaking countries respectively, I am not sure how well Guyana and Suriname fit under the Latin American banner. They are certainly considered to be Caribbean nations according to some sources - and the Caribbean list that the mods are considering adopting has films from those two countries. I do not, however, pretend to be an expert on the region though and I am happy to hear other views on the matter.

That makes sense. Suriname and Guyana have to fit in somewhere. And French Guiana will be in the Latin American challenge because it's a French speaking country.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

French Guiana is not a country, it is a department of France.

[blocho]

Quite right, though I dare not offend any French Guianese nationalists lurking about these parts.

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

The split into countries and regions would allow for non-country inclusions for challenges. I'm not 100% sure whether French Guiana is thought to be part of the Caribbean, but I recall that Hawai'i was included in the Oceania challenge (at my suggestion).

[sol]

Host recruitment time. Less than a week away from December. These are the Official Challenges for next month:

Caribbean Countries

Documentary

1980s

I would be okay to host any, I guess, but without fun stats or fun bonus challenges. So, same deal as this month for me.

[shugs]

I can do 80s.

[sol]

Thanks, shugs.

Looks like the saddles me with either Documentary or the Caribbean... unless we have two enthusiastic potential hosts put up their hands.

Of the remaining December Challenges, I would probably slightly prefer the Caribbean. I mean, it's annoying have to remind participants to include country of production, but I would be curious to track Cuba vs non-Cuba in the leaderboard and I could of course whack together one of my amazing pie charts (hey, why not upsell myself?) for all of the nations in the region. But whatever. I could just as easily do Documentary too.

[tourdesb]

I can host Documentary.

[blueboybob]

For people who may hosts, what are the rules/requirements? Can I go crazy and say im counting minutes instead of watches? Can i say 100% tv is fine?

[sol]

For people who may hosts, what are the rules/requirements? Can I go crazy and say im counting minutes instead of watches? Can i say 100% tv is fine?

I'm confused. If you are volunteering to host the Caribbean, by all means step in.

(if nobody else volunteers to host the Caribbean, I'll put an OP together some time in the next 20 to 30 hours)

As host, you can track minutes as bonus challenge, but the leaderboard in the OP still needs to state points.

This year, hosts are able to make their own decisions about TV episodes. We are currently in discussions to get a more consistent TV episode approach for all hosts to use for 2021 and beyond. It looks like we will be using 80mins of TV episodes = 1 point for 2021 unless there are serious objections.

Adjusted Caribbean Map for the Challenge

[sol]

Hope everyone's having a safe Christmas break, regardless of whether you celebrate the occasion or not.

Can you believe it? At this time next week it will be 2021. So, with one week left, it's time to think about Challenge hosts for January.

These are the January Challenges:

Latin America - excl. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay?

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

1000<400

Here's a link to max-scl's post regarding Paraguay: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5121&start=120#p679950 . It might indeed make more sense to lump it with Br, Ar and Uy in November.

Eligible Latin American countries (if we exclude Paraguay)

Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
French Guiana
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Venezuela

(am I forgetting any?)

Belize, Guyana and Suriname are covered in the current Caribbean challenge and as English/Dutch-speaking countries, they don't quite fit Latin America

...

So, who wants to host next month?

I'd prefer not to host Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Could host either of the others but I also don't mind taking a break.

[zzzorf]

I would be happy to do 1000<500 but as usual would be happy to step aside if someone with more enthusiasm wants it.

[blueboybob]

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Guatemala, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Suriname

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Ame ... _countries

But I think those were just in the Caribbean challenge. Any harm in just doing them for another month?

[sol]

I think those were just in the Caribbean challenge. Any harm in just doing them for another month?

I can edit the title of next month's challenge and call it Latin America - excl. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and the Caribbean since I am aware that the Caribbean is sometimes considered part of Latin America despite many English and Dutch speaking countries. That's a really long title for a Challenge and I would prefer something briefer, but maybe a lengthy title is the only way to get the gist of the Challenge across. Noted.

In any case, I don't see the point of including a handful of Caribbean countries twice. Between Chile and Colombia alone, there is no shortage of available stuff to watch in the next month's Latin American Challenge as is, and the whole idea of separating the world into 24 regions for challenges was in order for everywhere to be visited once over a two-year cycle.

[sol]

I would be happy to do 1000<500 but as usual would be happy to step aside if someone with more enthusiasm wants it.

Thanks, zzzorf. I'll bump this thread a couple more times before we nail anything in since I know a lot of folks are busy this time of year and may not have seen this thread yet.

[sol]

Current hosts plugged in for January:

Latin America - excl. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and the Caribbean - maybe sol?

Sci-Fi/Fantasy - maybe sol as well?

1000<400 - maybe zzzorf?

Would prefer not to host Sci-Fi/Fantasy but could do so if we have someone really keen on hosting Latin America instead. I also don't mind hosting 1000<400 if there are other interested in hosting for both Latin America and Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

[Kublai Khan]

I'd like to volunteer to host the Sci-Fi/Fantasy challenge.

I've not hosted a challenge before, but I'd like to attempt to give back to the community. Is there anything you feel all challenge hosts should know/do?

[blocho]

I'd like to volunteer to host the Sci-Fi/Fantasy challenge.

I've not hosted a challenge before, but I'd like to attempt to give back to the community. Is there anything you feel all challenge hosts should know/do?

Good show! We need more hosts.

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

[sol]

I'd like to volunteer to host the Sci-Fi/Fantasy challenge.

I've not hosted a challenge before, but I'd like to attempt to give back to the community. Is there anything you feel all challenge hosts should know/do?

Thanks, Khan.

I generally find Word fine for keeping track of scores. Just copy the code into a Word document. But others do like Excel.

The only real advice I would offer is to keep the leaderboard regularly updated. Every 48 hours is good. Once a day is even better if it is a busier challenge like Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but understandably that's not easy for everyone to keep up with. I wouldn't go more than three days without a leaderboard update.

[flavo5000]

I'd like to volunteer to host the Sci-Fi/Fantasy challenge.

I've not hosted a challenge before, but I'd like to attempt to give back to the community. Is there anything you feel all challenge hosts should know/do?

Some of the best challenges often have creative bonus challenges that encourage people to post more than just a list of movies. Examples for Sci-fi/Fantasy could be:

• *have the forum collectively watch as many movies on the They Shoot Aliens Dont They list as possible in the month (Link
  *do a Post the Best Screenshot challenge
  *have a scavenger hunt with stuff like "Post a fantasy film featuring a mermaid/unicorn/dwarf/etc." or "Watch a Sci-fi film that's a thinly veiled political commentary and explain what it alludes to".
  *Sci-fi/Fantasy film from each year/decade challenge"
  *Sci-fi/Fantasy by country (most unique countries)

[flavo5000]

Current hosts plugged in for January:

Latin America - excl. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and the Caribbean - maybe sol?

Sci-Fi/Fantasy - maybe sol as well?

1000<400 - maybe zzzorf?

Would prefer not to host Sci-Fi/Fantasy but could do so if we have someone really keen on hosting Latin America instead. I also don't mind hosting 1000<400 if there are other interested in hosting for both Latin America and Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

If you don't want to, I could attempt to host that Latin America challenge if you want. I've never hosted a country challenge before. Not sure how to generate those pie charts though.

[sol]

If you don't want to, I could attempt to host that Latin America challenge if you want. I've never hosted a country challenge before. Not sure how to generate those pie charts though.

Okay, cool, I might take you up on that. January's going to be really busy for me so I could definitely do with one less thing on my plate.

[Kublai Khan]

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

Yeah, I wondered about that. Do you have a generic template or anything?

Some of the best challenges often have creative bonus challenges that encourage people to post more than just a list of movies. Examples for Sci-fi/Fantasy could be:

• *have the forum collectively watch as many movies on the They Shoot Aliens Dont They list as possible in the month (Link
  *do a Post the Best Screenshot challenge
  *have a scavenger hunt with stuff like "Post a fantasy film featuring a mermaid/unicorn/dwarf/etc." or "Watch a Sci-fi film that's a thinly veiled political commentary and explain what it alludes to".
  *Sci-fi/Fantasy film from each year/decade challenge"
  *Sci-fi/Fantasy by country (most unique countries)

I wholeheartedly agree, but I think for my first hosting I just want to make sure I can run a basic one to completion. Once I've got the idea of how much time commitment goes into doing it, then I can add on bonus challenges (and extra info tracking) in the future.

[blocho]

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

Yeah, I wondered about that. Do you have a generic template or anything?

Unfortunately, no. I change it up each time because of different stats/bonus challenges. But here's an example of my sheet for the 1970s challenge if it helps. The main goal here was to track totals as well as stats for each year. Columns C-M were summed into Column B.

[maxwelldeux]

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

Yeah, I wondered about that. Do you have a generic template or anything?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3887

[flavo5000]

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

Yeah, I wondered about that. Do you have a generic template or anything?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3887

I was about to link to this. Max's template has been super helpful for me and is what I've used when I've hosted.

[Kublai Khan]

My only suggestion is to use an excel file or google spreadsheet to keep track of things. Although it won't be necessary if you're not including any bonus challenges or compiling stats (definitely optional for such a popular challenge).

Yeah, I wondered about that. Do you have a generic template or anything?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3887

Cheers!

I've gathered that there were a few Excel fans around and I figured there'd be something.

[zzzorf]

Need to apologise to my fellow Aussies band those also in our neck of the woods. I forgot to post the 1000<400 challenge today so won't be able to do it till it is officially January here. Don't worry your watches still count.

(Also due to the restrictions on how many movies we can choose from can I do 1 point per watch, regardless of length?)

[sol]

(Also due to the restrictions on how many movies we can choose from can I do 1 point per watch, regardless of length?)

I wouldn't. Last time the challenge was run, non-movies needed to be added up to 60 minutes; this time they will need to add up to 80 minutes.

There aren't that many shorts in the 1000<400 list, are there? We had plenty to choose from to watch last time the challenge was run.

[zzzorf]

(Also due to the restrictions on how many movies we can choose from can I do 1 point per watch, regardless of length?)

I wouldn't. Last time the challenge was run, non-movies needed to be added up to 60 minutes; this time they will need to add up to 80 minutes.

There aren't that many shorts in the 1000<400 list, are there? We had plenty to choose from to watch last time the challenge was run.

I guess it shouldn't make much of a difference, was probably just giving myself a reason to watch shorts, lol

[flavo5000]

I had planned to get the Central American/Andean Challenge up sooner, but I forgot we were going out of town. I'm getting it up now. Once I post it, somebody take a look and make sure the countries included are correct. From what I recall, basically Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are being excluded from South America as well as Suriname and Guyana since they were just in the Caribbean Challenge.

[sol]

Would you believe it? Less than five days to go and it will be February in some parts of the world. Time to think about challenge hosts.

These are the Challenges lined up for February:

- Benelux

- Experimental/Avant-Garde

- Run the Director

As usual, I could host any of them but again as usual, I'm happy for others to volunteer. February will likely be busy for me with work.

The Challenge that I would be most interested in hosting is Benelux, but it might be nice to get a local to volunteer instead.

I am somewhat apprehensive about hosting Experimental/Avant-Garde because I have no idea where to draw the line re: eligibility.

And I would really rather have flavo host Run the Director again, but it's up to him if he is still up for it...

[flavo5000]

Would you believe it? Less than five days to go and it will be February in some parts of the world. Time to think about challenge hosts.

These are the Challenges lined up for February:

- Benelux

- Experimental/Avant-Garde

- Run the Director

As usual, I could host any of them but again as usual, I'm happy for others to volunteer. February will likely be busy for me with work.

The Challenge that I would be most interested in hosting is Benelux, but it might be nice to get a local to volunteer instead.

I am somewhat apprehensive about hosting Experimental/Avant-Garde because I have no idea where to draw the line re: eligibility.

And I would really rather have flavo host Run the Director again, but it's up to him if he is still up for it...

I've been mentally waffling on whether I want to host the Run the Director again... Let me mull it over.

And yea, that Experimental one is gonna be tricky. You can't rely on IMDB genre tags and while we have the Anthology Film Archives and Amos Vogel lists that have a lot of avant garde stuff on them, they aren't exclusively (unless you count movies like City Lights and Some Like It Hot experimental...). I can already see people arguing things like The Room or Fateful Findings are actually avant garde masterpieces...

[Lonewolf2003]

Since the Directorial debut feature poll is running simultaneous I would love a Debut feature bonus challenge in the RtD challenge. In which you simply get a point in that BC if you watched a debut feature. Might encourage people to seek out some.