I had 3 big problems with it, if you want some honesty.
1: Editing/sound mixing - Seemed like a rough cut to me, to be honest. Some of the editing didn't flow quiet right, and there was, what seemed like little to no sound editing. It really took away, and made it more 'choppy' if you will. Good thing is, you can still fix this.
2: Focus Issues - There were a lot of shots either slightly soft, or the focus pulling wasn't on que. This is most likely because the DP pulled focus instead of having an AC.
3: Lighting - There was some unnatural lighting in some parts, heavy shadows, ect. I didn't see a Gaffer credit, so this might be the cause. Something you should always take into consideration.
I'm glad that you have posted up more than one of your films, as you can really start to see your style coming through now. You can tell that a hell of a lot of work went into this.
I quite liked the heavily contrasted lighting, I think that it kept your attention on the main protaganists, without distracting too much.
You've done a great job finding good actors who can play the parts believably, and work together so well. I thought that the fight/argument scene was exectuted very well.
I liked it alot, especially the argument. There were a few minor problems in my opinion, like CDCosta said, with the focus and sound, but over all I really enjoyed it! Please post some more!
Hi guys, thanks for the good and bad criticism, we love it all so its great to hear it
Yep, this film needed a lot of work.. especially the acting, lighting and sound which had a lot of potential to be better. But we've taken note of all your feedback and going to make sure we keep it in mind for our next film so we can avoid some bad things such as sound mixing, lighting and focusing issues... we've already began filming our new one so it should be up in a couple of weeks time.. we will keep you posted.
Spoiler: The guy they where yelling at raped the girl that committed suicide.
I'm not going to read other people's replies, as to keep my opinions--which I jotted down while watching--pure and of my own.
I'll start off by saying it was really well shot, and overall the quality of production is refreshing--especially considering the micro-budget I'm sure this spawned from. Here are a few of my pros and cons...
* I believe the 180 degree rule was broken several times in dialog between the main girl and the dude she slapped...out back when they first began talking.
* The doorway two shot between the girls inside was all white...boring. Should have maybe put up a clock or a painting behind them. The continuety of performance and body movement was slighly off...the pacing was odd as well...didn't sit well with me.
* Although I liked most of the focus work and the DOF of the picture...I thought some of it was a touch sloppy. Another small detail that adds up when comparing films like this to their high budget counterparts.
* Watch your foley footsteps...sometimes they can be necessary, but if you over do it, or if the timing is off juuuuust a touch...it will come across as canned, and stand against the overall quality of the picture.
* The lead actor was above average for an indie...but I felt like she was pulling a Denzel Washington and doing--what we call here--'chewing the scenery.' She was just...too much at times. It's hard to describe. It's kind of like a good actor who's a ham. You know? I don't much care for it. The rest of the acting was solid enough by those that had dialog.
* I wasn't sure about the location. They said it was a funeral? When, earlier? Was this after the funeral? This obviously wasn't a funeral home. Also, this was at night...so this must have been after the funeral--but for some reason the way it was explained in the dialog was that they were AT the funeral. I'm not sure...
* The lighting was pretty good...I thought it was a little harsh in spots, but overall, it did it's job, and was a solid execusion.
* The camera work was nice. I liked the framing, and most of the movements were called-for and well executed. There was a gratuitous jib/crane shot which would have been cool if it was smoother...it was a little jerky in the tilt department. But I'm just being picky...nice camera work overall.
* I didn't like the ending.
The only thing that kept going through my mind was the reason she burnt the diary was because it had incriminating evidence against her in it...and she was totally playing it the way she did to keep everyones attention elsewhere. Maybe she was the reason she committed suicide. Maybe SHE murdered her and set it up like suicide?
Anyway...regardless, that is total speculation, and for the most part it was an ending that neither wrapped itself up, nor left you with rumination.
* I particularly liked the musical score. Nice work there. Fitting and professional...it lent itself well to upping the production value on the whole thing.
* This may be odd to say...and I'm just being silly here...but it was a touch strange seeing all black men and all white women...I mean, except for the one black girl you see twice or so...it felt odd. I know that doesn't mean a damn thing..and I'm far from rasicst here, I'm just making a social statement. The fact that I actually thought about that made me really think about society. But anyway...that's neither here nor there.
So that's that. I thought it was an above average micro-budget short that looked good, sounded good, and had some talent behind it.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm curious. Where did you find your talent? Are you guys all friends, or was this an audition based casting?
Hey M1chae1, thanks for your great review, i liked how it was very detailed and brokedown nicely into sections and i will definately keep in mind all of these mistakes for our next film...
I'm curious. Where did you find your talent? Are you guys all friends, or was this an audition based casting?
We usually find our actors through friends... most of them are friends of friends.. and no auditioning, we usually base the actors on the characters we see fit from their personalities and capabilites )
I feel like your camera isnt always in the right place. Dont be afraid to get close to the 180 degree line...and def decide the best line of action before you decide where to put the camera.
Besides that its good, def has its own style. The story could use some work, but I wasnt exactly looking into the story end of your project very much. The lighting isnt always the best, some hot spots and stuff falling off that can use work, but for a low budget film I enjoyed.
