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watch First 1-minute short film "Isolation"

Unfortunately I could not discern the dialogue in the end.
 
Hi and welcome.

Well done on telling a story in 1 minute! Tough to do, but for me you did it.

The overall idea for the short is great. However, what lets it down,t as Indietalk stated, is the dialogue is really hard to make out. I'm no sound engineer, but it might have been good to use lapel mics on your actors there. I would imagine that would cut down on a lot of the noise. Or record the dialogue again. There's not much of it. Lapel mics are about 20 quid.

Some of the audio transitions are a little harsh from shot to shot. Maybe look at those.

Your framing on his face during the flash backs is really nice, however the framing of other shots feel a little flat. For instance, when he's throwing stones into the water, You could have him a lot smaller in the frame. I'd probably put the camera lower to the ground and move back a way. Really frame him as alone for the initial shot. Then, perhaps a slight pan from that position to reveal his friends, then cut to closer in. Just a thought and how I'd approach that. Feel free to ignore me :)

The colour grade feels a little bright for the subject matter. Look at films that deal with depression and be guided by that.

Also, and I see this a lot, but the titles are not good. Really look at titles and credit design. Why is 'Directed by' so much bigger than the name? Again, this is subjective, but really like at movies with great titles. Sometimes just a very unfussy font is all you need.

Hope these comments help.

Again, well done.
 
Being one of the resident sound-for-picture people I have to echo Indie and PaulRightly; the dialog sounds terrible. The rest of the sound is only fair.

So, I'll give you my standard spiel…

Your project will only look as good as it sounds, because
"Sound is half of the experience"

If your film looks terrible but has great sound, people might just think it's your aesthetic.
If your film looks great and has bad sound, people will think you're an amateur.
Sound is the first indicator to the industry that you know what you're doing.

You should most definitely read "The Location Sound Bible" by Ric Viers; it's a good introduction into production sound.

Sound is the easiest (technical) thing to get wrong and one of the hardest to get right. You only get to influence two (2) of the five (5) senses; great filmmaking is about using both sound and visuals to best advantage.
 
When you know what the dialogue is because you wrote it or you were there when it was recorded, you always know what they are saying, and it's hard to "unhear" it any other way. Basically it can trick you into thinking it's intelligible.

It even happens on major TV shows, and I rewind and turn the titles on, and then, I can hear it because I know what it was...

So often times objective opinions are great, even with crystal clear, pro recorded audio.

But this is traffic noise/music over soft/fast talking and an abrupt cut. Best of luck, you will only get better!

It's a good first project, can you clean up the dialogue?
 
I can’t believe someone let their name be in the credits as a sound mixer on this, or that they were happy enough with the job they did of it.

There’s some nice shots in this. There’s a weird short pan at 29 seconds followed by a full one a few seconds later. I get this was a tripod being tight thing, but shoot another take? Or just don’t do the pan, because it’s way better as a static shot.

The lead actor isn’t good and is off-putting from the story, especially when he takes the note. There’s another tripod knock at 52 seconds. The fade at the very end was way too quick and left the film with no breathing room, especially with how loud the music was. Ideally would have had a static shot of the three of them looking out over the bridge to let the idea settle in.

There is a lot good with the directing and shot types - it’s just other technical things, including the editing need tightening up.
 
I can’t believe someone let their name be in the credits as a sound mixer on this, or that they were happy enough with the job they did of it.

There’s some nice shots in this. There’s a weird short pan at 29 seconds followed by a full one a few seconds later. I get this was a tripod being tight thing, but shoot another take? Or just don’t do the pan, because it’s way better as a static shot.

The lead actor isn’t good and is off-putting from the story, especially when he takes the note. There’s another tripod knock at 52 seconds. The fade at the very end was way too quick and left the film with no breathing room, especially with how loud the music was. Ideally would have had a static shot of the three of them looking out over the bridge to let the idea settle in.

There is a lot good with the directing and shot types - it’s just other technical things, including the editing need tightening up.

yeah I noticed the same tripod knocks, but those are nothing compared to how much the audio needs to be revisited
 
Okay, we answered - where are you?

I don't understand why some people upload their content here and ask for feedback, then won't reply at all or post anything else. Many people have done that here. What are they hoping to get out of this? Are they mass promoting their content or are they looking for producers or funding, and when they realize nobody likes to fund their projects they leave?
 
I don't understand why some people upload their content here and ask for feedback, then won't reply at all or post anything else. Many people have done that here. What are they hoping to get out of this? Are they mass promoting their content or are they looking for producers or funding, and when they realize nobody likes to fund their projects they leave?

Annoying too, as I usually comment on stuff but very rarely get feedback on what I post. :shocked: ;)
 
My guess is he's too embarrassed. I would be.

If people are going to try to make films, they should try to learn ALL of the mechanical basics before they even switch on the camera. Otherwise they'll end up with a nothing film. And they'll get a lot of criticism that they didn't want.

Just sayin'.
 
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