movie critique

[cjbruce]

i made this movie for my high school production class. so far it has been a succes and everyone has loved it, but all those people arent movie experts so i would like to know what you guys think of this movie. i hope to get into film production as a job and i hope this movie is a good example of large potential. tell me what you think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKOKN8qh-NE

thanks for your input

 

[Gohanto]

I'm incredibly blunt in my opinions.

It's an above average high-school film, but that really doesn't say a whole lot. The acting was aweful, really really awful. Everyone. I HIGHLY suggest reading this book...
http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Act...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211785111&sr=8-1

Even when you're working with friends instead of actors, it really helps communicate to get honest performances using a variety of techniques, which is good as bad acting WILL kill a film just as fast as a bad script.

You made the exact same mistake I did with a high school short (and several others I've seen). Lots of cool FX, big hilarious music cues, and a concept you and your friends believe to be hilarious. You may not see it now, but looking back you'll hate this film within a year if you continue learning film techniques (well maybe not hate, but certainly not think it's a good film). The FX are bad, the music is in countless other student films for the identical purpose, and the concept really isn't that funny.

Make me care about some interesting characters, and you can take the plot anywhere because the audience is watching the characters. You've made this, now watch some other student films (college-level) and you'll start seeing things your film was lacking. Sound quality, editing choices, lighting, custom-written music (usually free if you search the forums and have a good film).

The fast cut-ins at the end, the most brilliant moment in the film. Then you did it again, and again, and again. Fast cut-ins with the music once, maaaaybe twice, then end it. The cut-ins are super cheesy to begin with, but funny. By dragging it out you're killing any chance of it to by funny.

Yes, continue to make films. You had a lot of ideas here, but you have to practice to make your ideas start working together in a more believable way. (Few films are realistic, all good ones are believable within the world of the film though)

And I can say without question, try to do stories that MEAN something to you. Or at least part of the story means something to you. Funny action/comedy movies are fun to make, but I learned more about filmmaking creating a 3 minute drama that reflected a more interesting part of my life than I ever did on a 45 minute action/comedy similar to yours. (We had a dueling scientists, one good, and one evil trying to blow up the planet with a giant magnifying glass in space with a trained stuffed bear as his sidekick [we were amazed by blue-screen technology to remove the guy moving the bear on-screen].

Good luck on future films.

 

[cjbruce]

thanks alot for the advise

thanks alot for the advise

i am painfully aware of the necessity for good actors but they are hard to come buy seeing as no one wants to work more then 15 minutes on a movie but i blame myself for not getting a better performance out of them. also i was going for an over the top action comedy type thing with a more simplistic concept conceding my audience is a bunch of high school students who barely pay attention the the show that is put on in the morning so i figured a movie mainly working of music cues and gore effects would be more accepted. and even thou they all seem to like it i am already seeing many of its faults.

and i don't deserve much credit for the big cheesy Finnish. ive seen the some thing done some ware els so i simply copied it. i made it that long simply because that is how long the original song is and i guess it was just supposed to be over the top cheese. i think there is a saying some ware that says in show business steal everything you can, or something to that extent.

when originally coming up for the story i just tried real hard not to do any uninspired teen movie rip off like most of the class so i went with the most out there concept. but instead i probably should have given more thought to my original story idea and given it more meaning instead of going with instead of thinking "ya know what would be crazy, a killer robot going around killing everybody"

i appreciate the criticism emencely. every body else just thinks its awesome and the only thing my teacher can come up with is "bad acting". its good to have someone to help you see what you need to work on.

i have already given some thought tot eh things you mentioned but seeing your comment lets me know its not just me.

 

[Gohanto]

i am painfully aware of the necessity for good actors but they are hard to come buy seeing as no one wants to work more then 15 minutes on a movie but i blame myself for not getting a better performance out of them.

It's hard to direct good performances. That's just a fact of life. And I strongly believe some people just plain and simply can't while on camera. You had a few people there who have potential. Get the book I suggested by Judith Weston. It's standard reading in any directing class and honestly, my first school festival I entered I got comments for having the best actors out of all the projects. My actors were engineering students in a drama/thriller with no experience whatsoever. Other projects had theater actors who been in a few plays and had some idea what they were doing. The difference? I knew what to tell my actors to get what I wanted. If you know what you're doing and can spot bad acting, you can work with non-actors when you have to and get decent performances, at least so people can "buy" it while watching the film. Experienced actors are always better naturally as any decent one does his/her homework on the role and knows ahead of time what they want in each scene and why.

i think there is a saying some ware that says in show business steal everything you can, or something to that extent.

You're probably thinking of TS Elliot "Talent imitates, but genius steals"

Certainly a good way to go when starting out. Heck even before making Batman Begins Chris Nolan screened Blade Runner for the cast and crew and said "This is how we're going to make Batman". It's impossible not to steal other techniques. The tricky part (after watching a lot of movie and studying the techniques they use) is gaining the judgment to know what technique will be the most effective at any one time. B-movie directors make a fine living using the simplest techniques most obvious for every scene, while A-movie directors 90% use simple techniques and 10% use old techniques in new ways or think up new techniques.

i appreciate the criticism emencely. every body else just thinks its awesome and the only thing my teacher can come up with is "bad acting". its good to have someone to help you see what you need to work on.

I hear you there. Happens to everyone as it's basically impossible not to view students films through a "filter" of sorts to drastically lower expectations and not consider it a real film.

 

[shane89]

production biz

production biz

As a Producer for one of my batch’s films I have a lot on my hands. The Producer has to be there from start to finish mornings & night.. That means I’m there from pre-production and production to post-production. Right now we’re still honing the script so that puts us in development & will keep us rolling.

At this stage of the game I have to make sure the writer is finishing his rewrites and the director is starting to formulate his vision for the film. I also have to put together a schedule. This will inform the cast and crew when and where they will be needed and for how long.

We will have 12-hour days maximum. I never saw the point of having 24-hour shooting days. I’ve been on local productions where I was called at 6 a.m. and my scene was shot at 6 p.m. That was honestly the worst experience I ever had. I really don’t want to put anyone through that kind of torture.

If you want to know what happened just log in to my blog

 

[filmmakerone]

i would like to know what you guys think of this movie.

Read Film Directing: Shot by Shot.

http://www.amazon.com/Film-Directing-Visualizing-Concept-Productions/dp/0941188108

In particular, learn about camera placement and how not to "cross the line". Here is a wiki article on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180_degree_rule