dmanthei
263 Reviews
Reviews
Tongue Tied
Some of what I enjoyed: Great voice-over work, nice voice acting. Interesting take on the "liar" aspect with the curse. Great costumes/swords/etc. Loved the subtitles/explanation scene and the reactions from the two boys. Great fighting/choreography.
#girlgonecrazy
Laughed a lot at the intro. Marvelous. Cool shots of the dialogue back and forth. Audio was kind of rough/hard to hear. Super good job of making the girl creepy/obsessive. Nice use of the sun to light up her face. Super cool... RC quadcopter shot?? lol at opening the car door and great scare/jump when she slams her hands on the back of the car. Probably best line connecting the movie to the intro, and everybody laughed when he opened the door.
Lionel Fantasy VII
An amazing animated masterpiece that touched on a bunch of different genres. I absolutely loved this one. The animation was superbly done in a stylized manner, and it's clear that you guys knew what you were doing. I loved the over-arching theme of parodying classic RPGs. I laughed pretty hard when the skeleton kept asking the guy to retrieve the ball over and over again. Really well-written dialogue and clearly-recorded audio. The 8/16-bit music was superb. I laughed at the watch dropping sequence. I pretty much laughed nonstop through the whole thing. The battle with the father-in-law-to-be was amazing and the spirit of hate leaving him was amazing as well. This is the sort of film I'd share with my friends if I stumbled upon it online. Loved every minute of it. Things to work on: Bigger/faster/better/stronger man, I don't know. You guys rocked it. I eagerly await what you'll do next.
Sibling Rivalry
Some of what I enjoyed: Loved the intro. One of my favorites. Pretty amazing that Laser Strike let you film inside the venue let alone run around with their gear and potentially get it wet on the jet skis. Looks like you guys probably had a ton of fun making this.
The Ex
Some of what I enjoyed: Great performances by the two leads. Big laugh at the hand-motions for "Want a drink?" Probably my favorite part. Impressive backwards singing. Crazy concept and great execution. My only gripe is that the subject matter hits too close to home for me, personally.
Pretty Boy
Good effort by the lead actor. Death was a convincing character and the vocal effect worked well. Lots of good concepts so hopefully next year you can take those ideas and pull them off just a bit more tightly.
The Deal
Some of what I enjoyed: Great work by the sinister property baron. Great lighting on him. Great work selling the atmosphere of uneasiness and doubt. Fantastic reveal at the end of the board game. Great short. Fun.
B is for Bash
Nice title effect with the blood reveal into the shape of Australia. Loved the sock puppet intro. Nice sound effect with the card throw. Loved the cordless drill scene. Great sound effects when the guy is having rampant flashbacks. Clean your lens ;-P Loved the car start-up sequence. Great edits there. Gratuitous black was gutsy as hell. Cool credits. Confusing story. Not really sure what was going on at all.
The Reality Gamer
Funny intro. Great music and I loved the SOMS graphics/introduction. Creepy guy looking around was great. I loved the green pyramid prop. That was excellent. Loved the dad coming in to complain about bed time. All too familiar. Great music at the death notice scene. Grim reaper was amazing. Great ending. Very nice timing on it with the edit.
Azanti
Great intro. Really cool stop-motion effect. Great use of the crosswalk sound effect to cut. Really enjoyed the stop motion feet (no) movement thing. Awesome chalk graffiti. Super cool shot on the pier. Worth the effort. Not entirely sure how the ending wrapped up, but very well done and a heck of an achievement.
The Choices
Great opening music. Rough audio during the weird boyfriend (?) confrontation. Nice piano music. No idea what happened on the phone call. Confusing. Liked the split-screen ladies. Though I have no idea what it was about. In retrospect (i.e. after talking to my wife), I liked the message driving the film (few 48hours films have messages or good ones, in my experience), I just feel like it was slightly dampened by a confusing presentation. However, my wife seemed to follow along perfectly, so maybe it suffered from being the last film I watched of the night.
CGI: Cyber Grinder Insomniacs
Loved the opening music. Presumably Vault 502 from last year. Gunning for weirdest movie again. Nice Christian Bale look-alike. Loved the bar breaking when the guy was banging on it. POV of the door?? Armor flying onto the dude was amazing. Smoke effects: amazing. Birthday card: amazing. Didn't really understand what was happening with the guy twitching. Some cool shots with the dude aiming the gun from below. The animation bits at the start and end were great. Enjoyed it a lot, bizarre as it was. Good job, dudes.
WANKSY - Graffiti Grime Artist
This was a tale of madness in a mad world and it was fantastic. I liked the title sequence. The main actor was far and away the star of the show here. He did an amazing job of being a totally manic cleaniphile. I would love to see some behind-the-scenes footage of what he was like before and after a lot of those shots. The cleaning sequences were great, and the motion-tracked effects were well done. I really liked the sequence where he started making art in the dirt of the car windows. The pen drawings were great, too, as you must have had someone with some good traditional artistic chops on your team. I loved the music in the cleaning scene. The audio levels were all over the place during the "bleeping" scene, but it was hilarious regardless. Great music during the credits, and excellent ending. Overall the concept for this was very clever and well-done. Mighty impressive for a 48-hour stint, especially out of Timaru! (I keed, I keed). Things to work on: There were a few technical glitches: a few odd fade to blacks, and some weird auto-focus stuff a couple of times, but it was overall really solid. The credits were really hard to read as they zoomed by, but I liked the effect/style you applied to them. Awesome work, guys (and/or gals?)!
The Appointment
Great zoom opening. Great vocal work as the doctor. Digital zoom got to be a bit much. Nice work nailing the focus when pulling up in the car. Loved all of the images in the car. Super sharp. Loved the gentle spin in the doctor's office. Great work running down the street. Superb and engaging short.
A Dress to Impress
"The house was quiet for once" funny line. Lots of cool stylizied shots. Great scene in the car. Believable. Bummer about the weird cropping on the video. Really cool/well-composed POV shot. Liked it a lot. Great job setting it in the 50s or whenever. Rock solid design choices. Cross-dressing scene was funny. No sound at the end left it a little bit flat unfortunately. Great performances and a great short.
Disturbed
When it was on point, you did a great job with the sound effects and sound design. I hope you guys stick with it and come out swinging even harder next year.
Drama Queen
Nice lighting on the opening shot. Nice audio on the dialogue. Reporter did a great job. Hilarious "And then she said to me" bit. Waiting for a mate bit was excellent. Did not expect that ending. Pretty funny. Credits were excessive but somehow funny for that reason.
New Horizon
I liked the title sitting on the bench/pier thing. Nice music during the opening. I liked the shot from the camera's viewfinder... nice use of the POV. Very meta. Cool shot with the sun and the shadows in the graveyard. I didn't really pick up on the fact that they were younger and older, but it really tied together by the end. This was the most touching short I've seen in the entire competition so far. Very impressive.
The Blind Date
The villain did an amazingly creepy performance and I'm surprised that the woman didn't pick up on the fact that he was deranged. Great work.
Call Me, Maybe
Dialogue gets lost in the music a bit. Like the sound effects/slide cuts, but they're so fast I can't tell what's happening. Love the hamburger phone. Great dialogue between the male phone operator and Lois. Though again the dialogue gets a little lost in the audio. lol @ "don't be a dick" card in the background. "Steve" did a great job as the inspirational dude. "Dear God you're firm" part was amazing, with the dialogue right after it.
Incarnate
Lots of laughs at the fart "did you hear that" scene. Hard to hear the audio in the bar. Nice punch sound effect and lol at the camera caught in the shot at the back. Fight scene was brutal. Music was a perfect match. Cool style on the POV running away shot. Cool shot of the eyes looking around. Crazy vocal sound effects. lol @ the cans of V being the exchange price. Great effort.
Promises
I'm reviewing my own film the same way I'm reviewing all the others: without reading any of the other reviews, just going off the notes I wrote during the screening. I just thought I'd leave my own thoughts here to let others know what I think we did right and wrong, without reading other opinions first. ;-) The audio was good for the opening dialogue, but the "flashback" scene needed some boosting that never happened. I wanted to do some color-grading as well but that never happened either, so the opening scenes are a bit flat. The shot from behind, dollying into the parking garage was great. The audio in the parking garage isn't great, and the dialogue was mediocre, though the actors performed well. The fight scene wasn't quite as clear and exciting as I'd hoped, but the slow-motion worked decently. The slow-motion escape scene is probably my favorite shot of the whole thing, and worked really well (though I don't know if anyone other than me caught the stuck green pixel! :-D). The music throughout this part is amazing. Our musician/composer did an awesome job on the whole score. The sniper scene at the end is a little flat (yes, clearly not a sniper rifle), and there's nothing that ties it into the beginning to any satisfying degree, leaving the story a bit thin (though at least fairly clear). A dying Nicky muttering "I did it" shows acutely just how unlucky he (and us) was. Things to work on: Put more effort into making a more engaging story. We were so focused on "keep it simple" that it meant a down-played story. Remember to increase the mic gain levels when filming a quiet scene. Make double/triple/x-ple sure we get the required elements right next time.
Bearly: A Revenge Movie
Some of what I enjoyed: Lots of great camerawork/cinematography. Great sound effects when Mrs Bearly was getting disemboweled. Super creepy scene. Got a bit dark, but overall a great short. Nice final shot. Funny. Nice work.
A Dress to Impress
"The house was quiet for once" funny line. Lots of cool stylizied shots. Great scene in the car. Believable. Bummer about the weird cropping on the video. Really cool/well-composed POV shot. Liked it a lot. Great job setting it in the 50s or whenever. Rock solid design choices. Cross-dressing scene was funny. No sound at the end left it a little bit flat unfortunately. Great performances and a great short.
New Game: The Reunion
This was my pick of the heat. It pressed all my buttons. Very stylish intro. I liked it. Nice logo. Very nice title sequences, with the video game theme. Loved the sequence with BMO (Adventure Time) and the hero, running and playing. Sound effect with the tooth paste was gross and amazing. Putting the bear to bed was hilarious. Great music during the school hallway scene. I liked the subtitles. Line of dialogue was kind of wedged in... could have used a bit of aftermath. Great music during search sequence. Fight sequence was great, loved the graphics. Great music again and good sound effects. Loved the Me vs Me sequence. Thought it was hilarious, though the music fit the somber mood. Loved the color grading differences when without and with the gamie. Loved the resolution and final music. Very well done.
Furious Filmmaking
Having lived in Lyttelton for many years, I felt your pain of the guy going 30k though I'm amazed that you had the balls to pass him in the tunnel. I have only ever dreamed of such foolishness. Good effort otherwise.
Birthday Bummer
Amazing intro. Hilarious, loved the "And I'm over 18." Fantastic. Cool logo/sound effects. Great opening music. Loved the "You're joking" part. The cat poking its head out was a really cool shot. The fireworks/lady face too. Great performance by the "crazy mom". Loved the over-the-top music during the room tidying. The stop motion stuff was superb. Perfectly fit in the movie. The "tricking the neighbor" scene was great. Amazing ending. Pita Bol did an amazing job with this. Especially amazing that it was done with such a small/"basic" amount of gear.
Continuum
Some of what I enjoyed: Sweet effect of the guy exploding at the beginning. Nice camera work. Another film around cards/drinking/tomfoolery? Am I getting you guys confused with Les Cousins Dangeroux? The car dying while going into gear was a funny touch, and even better if scripted. Loved the sonic t-shirt. The gun with the bookie was a nice subtle (imo) touch. Great VFX during the robbery. Everyone looked like they had fun. lol @ the Time Police. Credits???? It just ended...
Saint Lyricals
Some of what I enjoyed: Fantastic singing, great music, great lyrics. What a fun film. Great set. I loved the concept. Singing the man out of being a liar? With some sort of sciencey writing to back it up? Love it. Loved the back-and-forth to test the drug. Great singing, Kate! Loved the rap treatment. This was one of my favorite entries of the entire competition. So delightful and so much fun.
Channel Changer
Great intro. Loved it. Lots of laughs from the audience. Nice throwback to Nicky Brick. Nice work with all the stuff filmed for the TV channels. Great graphics. First film I've seen done totally from a POV perspective. Nice work combining the card, line and character all in one blast. Impressive number of bits of footage in the TV thing. Seriously impressive. Loved the Laser Tag bit. Great credits. Not much of a story, I guess, but entertaining.
Fallen for You
This was a fun and interesting film. I really enjoyed the opening music. Excellent use of the prop off the bat, and interesting story-line woven into it because of it. Excellent music choice throughout the film. Good composition on the shots, and good lighting. The footage was rich and looked great. Funny circumstances with the fiance getting clobbered all the time, and clever writing with the brick jokes thrown in after each one. Some of the voice audio wasn't completely clear. Overall it was a great story, great ending, and great use of the line. Things to work on: If you didn't use an off-camera mic, get one for next year, or if you did... get a better one? You guys have a pretty diverse skill set (and apparently know enough people to get access to a medical room!) so with some fine-tuning you could do great things.
Is Love Enough?
Fantastic intro. Amazing use of the switch to digital TV bit. Terrible shot of the crotch. Very cool VHS cover and hilarious inserting VHS scene. Amazing "is love enough" intro music. This is amazing. So amazing. Holy crap at the encounter and repetition of dialogue. Holy craaaaap. OMG I died laughing at the bit after the credits. You guys killed it. Grand Finals. So yeah, my notes pretty much devolved into me screaming and crying with laughter and delight. Thanks guys, this thing ruled so hard.
Rising Tide
Some of what I enjoyed: The voice over was so rich. Awesome recording. Loved the color effects on the title. Working out on the beach was amazing. Loved the fumbling out of the car and the brutal beating. lol @ "That's my knees, man" Great acting by the two leading lads. Very well-shot. Awesome BBQ flyer. Y'all got some design chops. Loved all the zoom/cut editing sequences, especially towards the end. Such a shame that it went in late. Gutted for you guys. :-(
Prey: A Tale from the Future
My keyboard died halfway into this movie, so powerful were the 3D effects. Fantastic intro. Great costumes. The 3D effects were cool when they were obvious, but there were a number of scenes where it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Loved the VFX shot of the girl's eye when the twist is unleashed. Great work and an incredibly ambitious short.
Scindo
Some of what I enjoyed: The creepy guy in the distance had a fantastic costume. Great shooting. The dolly shot to the cane was excellent. Great work by the young man with the cane. Convincing shadow stabbing. Excellent back-and-forth between the two leads. Great work all-around.
Time and Location
A gritty film with an unlikely superhero. I really liked this film, and you guys totally rocked it on a technical level. Sweet opening dolly shot, sweet dolly shots throughout, great color-grading, great use of light for the night shots, great effects, and great cinematography all-around. Really neat gimmick with the guy going back in time to stop the crimes. A bit brutal with all the head shots, but that seems par for the course with something like this. Disappointing that it was late, as this was an otherwise very strong showing. Things to work on: Get it in on time! (I've turned in two out of the last three late, so I know that pain) Work on making the story about more clear as well, as I didn't understand what the superhero wanted from the hostage (though I kind of liked the "anti-hero" flavor you wove into it). Very nice film. Pressed my buttons pretty doggone well. :-)
Lost Property
I liked the noir-esque grading style. "Not exactly how I'd like to get a girl under the sheets" nice line. Great dialogue in that scene. The "crazy brothers" bit was amazing. Voice over work was great. Nice editing with the gun cam going back and forth and the guy appearing. Kind of confused on the whole story side of it, but great production and some great one-liners throughout.
Headline Hunters
Very cool steadicam/dolly/stabilized shots at the beginning. Nice use of lights. Newspapaer was great. Nice special effects. Amazing singing when the guy gets stabbed in the back. Nice contrast of cheery tone with dark lyrics. "Vic Meyer, Bitch" into the rap was amazing. Great acting by everyone. The rap battle was hilarious and disturbing. Super messed up ending, dudes. :-/
Inzombnia
Great intro. I liked the editing/end of it. Great sound effects when the title is revealed. Great opening shot behind the guy's head. Loved the transition from eating cereal to everything going dark, music end/sound effect. Nice audio recording, very clear. Where did the gun come from? Nice special effects with the gun. Nice transtion from day to night when the hero is walking and getting tired. Good creepy atmospheric sound effecst/music, too. Super solid effort and pretty amazing considering you're all still in high school. Keep at it and you'll be a force to be reckoned with.
Damages
Great acting on the opening scene, but no music or dialogue made it kind of weird. Loved the portrayal of "ECQ". lol @ you can hack into them. Music would have been a nice addition for the first part of the movie. Great concept of riffing on the EQC. Then the music kicks in. Guy's voice was a bit too loud. Not over, just begun... great way to end it. I'm sure there are many in Christchurch who know this feeling exactly.
Ball Bearing
I couldn't really get my bearings and then it was over. I liked the shot of the bus, and the close up of Morgan. The lead did a good job of acting.
Breath of the Gods
Goofy intro. Very fun. Amazing interpretation/subversion of techno thriller. Great costumes and selling the primitiveness of it. Nice music, I particularly liked the drums. Confused about the ending... did he have the god's breath? Did he use it up? Shrug?
Ad Infinitum
Well done intro. Nice effects/props. Cool effect on the walkie. Audio levels when yelling were harsh. Very cool work with the security cameras and overlays. Kind of bummed that it wasn't resolved or went anywhere, really.
An idea is born
Some of what I enjoyed: The robber looked amazing with his orange hat, and his take-down was awesome. Great ideas and the goat was a show stealer. I wanted more goat. The audio level disparity was insanely ruthless, though. Painful on the ol' eardrums. It would behoove you to be a little more vigilant with levels next year, but please do come back next year and make the goat a bigger part of it. Please.
An Inconvenient Hoof
This film was a real treat. The team intro was simple, funny and brilliant. The shadow puppet scheme worked brilliantly and to really fantastic effect. The script and story were both superbly written. The audio and dialogue were both really well done as well, which is crucial for this sort of thing. The sound effects were spot-on too. I was laughing through most of this. I really liked the characters, too, as they were all interesting and unique. I was a little perturbed when the octopus pulled out a vibrator, as it didn't really match the tone of the rest of it. I really liked when the dynamite went off and the effects employed there. Clever use of the prop with "Leaf oil". Surprisingly touching and emotional scene after the dynamite goes off, which was brought back to the main theme of humor by the shark coming along during the credits. Really great production all-around, and I enjoyed it immensely. Things to work on: I'd like to see a vibrator-free sea. ;-P Other than that, it was stellar. I hope you guys win a heap of awards.
The Shirt
Some of what I enjoyed: Great work undertaking an animated film. Nice voice acting work. The lead dude was jacked as hell. Funny ending with the short not being that big of a deal after all.
WANKSY - Graffiti Grime Artist
This was a tale of madness in a mad world and it was fantastic. I liked the title sequence. The main actor was far and away the star of the show here. He did an amazing job of being a totally manic cleaniphile. I would love to see some behind-the-scenes footage of what he was like before and after a lot of those shots. The cleaning sequences were great, and the motion-tracked effects were well done. I really liked the sequence where he started making art in the dirt of the car windows. The pen drawings were great, too, as you must have had someone with some good traditional artistic chops on your team. I loved the music in the cleaning scene. The audio levels were all over the place during the "bleeping" scene, but it was hilarious regardless. Great music during the credits, and excellent ending. Overall the concept for this was very clever and well-done. Mighty impressive for a 48-hour stint, especially out of Timaru! (I keed, I keed). Things to work on: There were a few technical glitches: a few odd fade to blacks, and some weird auto-focus stuff a couple of times, but it was overall really solid. The credits were really hard to read as they zoomed by, but I liked the effect/style you applied to them. Awesome work, guys (and/or gals?)!
Duty of Care
Really good acting job by the American lead. Very well shot dialogue scene at the beginning. Great sound. Interesting closing scene. Uncomfortable story. Great technical execution, but a story that didn't appeal to me personally.
On following strange dogs
Loved the logo plate. hilarious. Working with animals is tough. Good job making it work. Creepy voice work with the dude in the shower. Nice work playing split personalities. It was truly creepy in the house and when the guy pops up out of the floor when the girl is hiding. Great acting by the creepy dude. The girl played a believable scared lass, too. A bit harsh with the pitchfork in the throat, oof. Kind of a gross/gratuitous end. Liked the dog licking up the stuff though...
Clock
Unusual intro, but I liked it. Nice use of the building sound to build/release tension. Cool quick edits in the kitchen, and interesting colors over the dark kitchen room. Men fighting in the sewer was weird and kind of funny. Well lit, though. Nice post-production/color work/etc. Disturbing content... not really a fan of it. Not sure what to think of the end. Cool music in the closing credits.
The Twins
Some of what I enjoyed: Nice camera work/composition and a lot of good lighting, too. Great sequence when the dude is calling and having flashbacks. Good effort!
Behind the Seen
Some of what I enjoyed: Lots of good close-up shots, like the ball bouncing, the eyes, the lips, etc. I liked the device of going down the stairs and zooming into the pictures leading into vignettes. The music did a great job of setting the mood. Nice work getting Nick Frost to make an appearance. I wasn't quite sure what happened at the end, especially when we see the film being played back on the computer. Nice work all-around!
Undertaking
Some of what I enjoyed: Another Mrs E Movie with excellent performances by the female leads. I really liked the bouncing ball persisting through the entire film, as it set a sort of uneasy backdrop to the thing, knowing that it would be involved with the reveal but not quite knowing how. Grisly ending, but that's to be expected with this genre. Good show.
Morg
Some of what I enjoyed: The murder scene was pretty grisly. Nicely done with the practical effects. First use of "selfie" in the movie in the comp. Crazy scene after that… brutal sound effects. Interesting concept: man pretends to die to take revenge on autopsy doctors. One critique: too many V can placements.
The Red Room
This was a weird one. Great opening sound effects on the opening scene, with the dialogue. Really creepy and cool effect. Excellent make-up on the people at the beginning. Great editing and cuts during the rapid-cutting part near the beginning. I really liked how you linked in the character and the line in a sort of one-two combo. Fantastic use of the leaf prop with the fake web search page. I liked that a lot. Awesome effects and sequence after the phone call into the end. I really liked the error dialogue after the credits too, which was a nice touch. Things to work on: For as great as the sequences were at the beginning and end, the middle part was a little flat. The composition of the shots wasn't very strong, and the overall feel of the middle part wasn't very polished. I would suggest practice and experience to get comfortable and figure out what works. Good film overall!
Something New
Some of what I enjoyed: Great intro. Coming out swinging with the amazing flower macro shots. I loved the balloon proposal scene. The back and forth through the bathroom door seemed super genuine. Very well written and acted. Very realistic. The family scene was fantastic. Great ending. That was probably the best film as a total package I've seen so far. Strong finalist contender. Great music.
Lend me a Vein
Really cool opening shot/dolly. Fantastic make-up/costume. Loved the lyrics. Rare to see a compassionate vampire. lol @ hemoglobin line. Nice shots in the parking garage. Great shot of the "blood donors only" sign and lol @ licking the blood drop. lol @ the guy covered and then winking and blowing a kiss. Blood bath was intense. Great ending. Excellent. Solid work.
Pronoia
A film about an odd girl and a glimpse into her life. Good music during the beginning parts. Great shot of the street after the opening scene. What the heck was the girl doing leaving the food behind?? I would have cleared the spray bottles and junk from behind the window on the shot from the outside looking in. Great sequence with the water dripping. Ahh... my previous question about the food is answered: Jim, the neighbor, brings the food that was dropped. Good audio, clear dialogue. I liked all the little pick-up shots between the scene with the neighbor and the next scene. Creepy dialogue between the neighbor and Nicky re: "brick". Very clever use of the prop. Some of the dialogue seemed to pan a bit unusually. Great music and editing during the sequence between dinner being served and the neighbor arriving. But... she hung herself? What the eff. Unsatisfying ending, though I guess I don't know how you could have done it differently. Good performance from the main "Nicky" actress. Things to work on: A more engaging story? Pretty well done from most of the technical standpoints, I just didn't find myself connecting that much with what was going on onscreen.
158
Great music on the intro. Cool title design. Super cool set/props. Cool edits when the wires are getting pulled out, though it was a bit gruesome. The wire in the wall was a cringeworthy affair. Cool floor dolly shot. Really liked the editing bits. Super cool closing music/credits music. Not entirely sure what was going on, though. He was trying to improve/fix himself?
Grey Falling
How do I review this? It was a fun, bizarre, crazy mess which is the legacy of the Vault teams. Even though it was confusing, I loved the build-up at the end with the zoom in and all the text on screen. Good times, friends.
Polaroid
Great short. Lots of beautiful shots. I was particularly engaged by the "chase" scene while the husband tried to catch his wife. In talking about it after the viewing, could it be that the child went back in time and planted the box because she hated her father, preferring him to die over the mother? Or perhaps the child didn't survive the crash and it was someone else who went back in time to plant the box to make sure the child was killed in the crash? Lots of questions when you take it to weird extremes...
With Sympathy
Love the logo plate. lol @ the rat-b-dead and death. lol @ the half empty bottle of scotch and creepy dude. Nice super slow zoom/dolly. lol @ the ipod scene where the girl wasn't listening. Great time lapse with the dolly in. Great writing. Everything was solid. Great bit with the creepy mouthing "call me" while walking out. Confused by the ending, though.
Exam
Tough to read what's on the board. Good lighting/exposure on the shots. I found the V guzzling to be funny for some reason. Great POV shot. Very funny. lol at the middle finger guy. That was great. Movie carried itself pretty well with only the sound effect for driving audio, which I found particularly impressive. lol at the cards being thrown in the guy's face. Great building of annoying sound effects. Really sharp/nice. This is like every exam nightmare ever. Amazing bit with the guy writing small and getting Vic to look over. This was a fantastic short, so it's such a bummer you got DQed.
Strange Times
This was a fun, kind of silly film. Nice use of the prop. Great music choice during the rocks laying, which ended up being a sweet shot with the sun backlighting the guys sitting in the rocks. Great shot/moment when the guys went outside and everything was "frozen" in place. Great music choice when the mayhem begins and the guys start running around doing whatever. Kind of dodgy/gross when it's implied the guy gets peed on. Excellent visual effect with the guy stuck mid-swing on the swingset. I enjoyed the overall use of music in this. Good ending. Things to work on: Credits were impossible to read, though that's not a big deal (or a bug deal). There were a lot of little details that could be tightened up with experience and practice. Overall it was a great film, though.
REaD
Great shooting and I liked the way you went back and forth from the story to the woods but I didn't really follow it that well otherwise and I was confused about how the ending tied it tighter, particularly when the girl was gone. I thought it was a bit cheeky to use Little Red Riding Hood as the main vehicle for the story.
Supernova
This was my favorite out of the out-of-towners heat. Fantastic intro sequence. Great story that was clear and engaging. Nice color-grading and cinematography throughout. Great voice-over work and the music was excellent. I really liked the shots of the guys walking along the train tracks, and the shots that made it look like a desert/wasteland. The re-commissioned Nerf gun looked super-sweet. Great performance by the lead (who it looks like wore many hats during the production!). I really liked the music in the scene where he "found the sea". Great ending and a nice tie in to the beginning. Things to work on: Some of the gun "blow back" stuff wasn't completely convincing, and it would have been neat to have muzzle flashes instead of having it out of frame. Some of the later color-grading wasn't quite the same as the earlier, but this is an incredibly nit-picky gripe considering how awesome the color-grading was throughout. That's it... it was a fantastic film that I'm hoping gets into the finals!
One Man Army
Some of what I enjoyed: I loved this one. Great set-up and hilarious all the way through. Truly an amazing theater experience with the solid several minutes of gunfire/killing. The thugs who gave their lives must have walked away with a plethora of bruises to show for it. If you keep your sharp wit, some polish could easily result in a mean-as film in the future.
Quarrelsome Heat
Amazing use of the line. Great title sequence. "Sent to Australia" line was amazing. Nice editing. lol @ the ankle. Loved the zoom in during the sandman meet-up. Great effect with the sleeping powder. lol @ the ankle exposure at the end. You guys are so good at making fun, entertaining, hilarious shorts. Please get someone to give you all a bunch of money to do this stuff on the regular.
Verge
Nice use of the line. Good dialogue/chemistry between the two ladies. Believable strife. Nice back and forth dialogue shots throughout. Good compositions and lighting, too. Cool armor/costumes in the arena. Lots of laughs at the yelling... probably unintentional. :-/ Not sure what happened with the card/anger scene? Cool shots at the funeral... nice use of DoF. Good job on the music. Cool credits sequence, too.
Faulty Goods
Cool-looking logo. Great shots outside, particuarly the back-lit one. Great sequence of loneliness. Fitting music, too. Nice voice over work. I liked the "chapters" with the logo-style stuff. Nice editing with the cleaning sequence into bed scene. Great acting by the lead. Convincing robot acting, too. I noticed you did a zoom seemingly with a DSLR, which is awkward and tough to pull off smoothly. lol @ David has a problem. Awesome ending. Well done.
Hannah Repus
What an amazing short, on so many different levels. Coming off their amazing "Grindin'" from last year, I had high hopes going into this, and I wasn't disappointed. The first half of the movie was interesting, and the "fast forward/rewind" gimmick worked really well, but it felt a little off, and there were a couple parts that weren't entirely clear. However, that all cleared up once the second half kicked in, which resulted in an absolutely mind-blowing sequence of backwards-acting played in such a way that it attempted to look normal. It wasn't perfect, but it was sooooo good that it didn't need to be, and I especially liked when they didn't try to do it on the sly (the pasta back into the plate, for example). All the eating and drinking backwards was weird to consider, and I was blown away by the backwards music playing. I still can't come to grips with it. The butler was fantastic and the brick costume was brilliant (probably made easier by Christchurch's state!). Exceptional acting all-around. Superbly brilliant production start to finish. Things to work on: The only gripe I have is that the footage wasn't as "rich" as the rest of the production was. Not really a legitimate gripe, but it was kind of like listening to an awesome song through laptop speakers. I feel bad mentioning it, but it's the only thing I could think to improve.
And So, To Sleep...
Nice lamp. Loud car noise was too loud. Nice music in the background. Nice sound effects in the drinking scene, as it made it seem quite full. Nice way of linking the sound back to the beginning. Confusing ending, though. Not sure how they came together.
Oranges
Cool shot of the guy's eyes up close. Nice work with his name on the answering machine. That's one I haven't seen yet. Too much wang, though nice repositioning of the coffee mug on the next shot. Well shot and a good, solid story, though a perplexing ending. Was the dude's mom not the lady who was calling? Perhaps she was an impostor, but the guy didn't know which way was up so he didn't act terribly surprised at the news? Was she calling beyond the grave? Did she die in that very narrow window between calling and the guy showing up at the door? Why did I have to see so much of that man's body?
Rant!
Loved the intro. Could not understand more than a few words during the opening song, though the music was great and intense. Cool close up shots. It looked like you guys may have zoomed with a DSLR, which is tough to make smooth. lol @ the portaloo line. I liked the uplifting woman caller at the end. Great singing. Funny music in the end credits. Nice story.
A Rift In Time
Some of what I enjoyed: I liked the playful intro. Great interaction with the youth and the older gentleman. The close up shot of the guitar being played was really cool. Good effort by the young leading lady. She did a great job. Did you guys actually drive around with lights in your eyes, filming? Haha, awesome. Cool slow-motion shot to end it. This was the first film I saw that seemed like it had finalist potential.
True.
Holy smokes, where do I start? This was really something else. A "director's commentary" on a movie that was made a decade ago, so you really are only hearing the "commentary" on it, with only a few intrusions of the "movie" itself. I wondered if they botched the main movie and resorted to this, but my out-loud wonderings caught the ear of one of the team, who assured me it was planned like this from the start. Excellent use of voice-over throughout. Really interesting and compelling. SO MANY SHOTS! I can't believe they got all the various shots in during the competition. I was told that the "movie" in the movie was a full story, too, so I have no idea how they managed that feat. They must be a solid team that really knows how to work together. Awesome cinematography throughout. You guys clearly know what you're doing from a technical standpoint. Nice shot transitions synched up with people walking by. Nice focus pulling. The outdoor scenes looked amazing, and the crane/jib shots were fantastic. You guys clearly weren't fumbling with your equipment. I laughed a lot at the dialogue that followed the "gratuitous 17-minute sex scene" and I loved how the people commenting were getting mad at each other and having their own drama off-screen. Great color-grading throughout (you guys NAILED the technical stuff on this). Super impressive start to finish, and I was becoming more and more impressed as it rolled on. Probably the most interesting/unique concept I saw in the three heats I sat through, considering the meta-ness of it and the drama occurring both on and off screen, practically interwoven. Things to work on: I can't think of anything. I hope you guys win a solid gold boat on which you can sail around the world, winning the hearts of beasts and men alike.
Stop 32
Very cool opening shot going backwards. Not sure how you did the above shot, but that was sweet. Great showing that the house was deserted with the bathroom door open during poopin. Nice color grade of blue/desat/sad. Pretty clear story of the guy going and picking people up and making mince out of them, I guess. KO with a water bottle? He just left the guy in the room, to get up? Kicking the door down was cool, as was smashing the mirror. Very cool shot with the smoke/fog and the guys running back and forth. Blood getting splashed was funny unintentionally. If that was an original score, it was fantastic. I liked the credits.
The Ball Thief
Some of what I enjoyed: Really cool animation style, though it was weird having the two animation styles co-existing. Pretty incredible that you guys used Hitler's balls at all, but unfrigginbelievable that you would have a kid eat Hitler's balls at the end. It's like one of those awful websites from the 90s came back in 48HOURS form, in regards to the "ate my balls" phenomenon.
Incubus
Some of what I enjoyed: Great team intro with the stop motion. Weird, fun and awesome. I wanted him to open the box straight away, so prolonging it made me crazy. Cool weird little "episode" of the people shaking their heads at night. PERFECT shot of the apple flopping out onto the floor. I wonder how many takes you did. I liked all the little schizo "episodes" you put in. Great suspense building after he gets the third message. Great editing.
The Narrator
Some of what I enjoyed: Loved your intro music. That tea party looked amazing. Fantastic story line. Awesome writing. Great performance from Morgan and his brother. I liked the effect of having the full-screen text. Great audio throughout, great music. lol @ the "meeting the girl" scene. Cute ending. Very well done entire film. Very impressive.
Fine Dining
Hilarious intro. Newspaper was hilarious. Cool music during first chase scene. Sweet GoPro POV shot with the bow. lol @ "vic meyer" introducing herself. Weird cheerful music during the pillaging scene. Lots of cool shots of the food prep. Great twist with the dog. You can't kill a dog.
Calling John
Nice intro (music/gimmick). Opening interview could have been nice to see the interviewer, but very well lit and clear audio. Very nice composition on the cropped shots. Good music in this section, too. Very cool shot with the blue eyes and loved the BSOD. Loved the scene with the washer. Hilarious. Cool style in the petrol drinking scene. Cool POV scene, nice graphic of "John". Cool way of showing of Vic as an Android without hitting the audience over the head with it. Nice use of the prop, too. Loved the closing "confidence" scene and the way it ended. Very nice overall.
R.A.R.O.
Amazing intro. Loved it. Seems you had some interlacing artifacts in the film, which was a shame. Love the picture of the fire place. Audio is a bit rough. Great writing. Laughs at packing up the bag with prank stuff. Great song strutting down the street, though hard to understand. Great music throughout. Big lols at the reveal of what RARO was. Great acting by the boy. Great work with a tough genre. Great singing by the female. Funny and great ending. A bit of a discrepancy between VFX and not so tight cinematography. Room to grow next year.
Birthday Bummer
Amazing intro. Hilarious, loved the "And I'm over 18." Fantastic. Cool logo/sound effects. Great opening music. Loved the "You're joking" part. The cat poking its head out was a really cool shot. The fireworks/lady face too. Great performance by the "crazy mom". Loved the over-the-top music during the room tidying. The stop motion stuff was superb. Perfectly fit in the movie. The "tricking the neighbor" scene was great. Amazing ending. Pita Bol did an amazing job with this. Especially amazing that it was done with such a small/"basic" amount of gear.
True.
Holy smokes, where do I start? This was really something else. A "director's commentary" on a movie that was made a decade ago, so you really are only hearing the "commentary" on it, with only a few intrusions of the "movie" itself. I wondered if they botched the main movie and resorted to this, but my out-loud wonderings caught the ear of one of the team, who assured me it was planned like this from the start. Excellent use of voice-over throughout. Really interesting and compelling. SO MANY SHOTS! I can't believe they got all the various shots in during the competition. I was told that the "movie" in the movie was a full story, too, so I have no idea how they managed that feat. They must be a solid team that really knows how to work together. Awesome cinematography throughout. You guys clearly know what you're doing from a technical standpoint. Nice shot transitions synched up with people walking by. Nice focus pulling. The outdoor scenes looked amazing, and the crane/jib shots were fantastic. You guys clearly weren't fumbling with your equipment. I laughed a lot at the dialogue that followed the "gratuitous 17-minute sex scene" and I loved how the people commenting were getting mad at each other and having their own drama off-screen. Great color-grading throughout (you guys NAILED the technical stuff on this). Super impressive start to finish, and I was becoming more and more impressed as it rolled on. Probably the most interesting/unique concept I saw in the three heats I sat through, considering the meta-ness of it and the drama occurring both on and off screen, practically interwoven. Things to work on: I can't think of anything. I hope you guys win a solid gold boat on which you can sail around the world, winning the hearts of beasts and men alike.
Double Check
This film was pretty fantastically produced, start to finish. Great opening scene at the docks, though it was a shame the seagulls decided to barge their way into an audio cameo. Good performance by the old man. Great performance by the lead "hero". The story was clear and straight-forward, and the twist was great (especially with the letter box). You guys did an amazing job with the technical stuff, and I was really impressed with how good this looked. Color grading, focus pulling, shot framing, all excellent. The music didn't quite feel like it was good enough to match, but it was oh so close. I would have liked to hear more varied sound effects when the blows were being delivered, but it was better than the weak-as sound effects we used in ours, haha. Great title sequence and credits. I wouldn't be surprised if you guys did this stuff professionally. Very entertaining short. Things to work on: I felt like the action sequences went on too long with not enough action. The editing of the hits didn't really sell it for me, though it was really close. I think it would have worked better if they had been shorter, with the same style, or, at their current length, perhaps a more dynamic style with either more cuts and more angles, or... just a clearer fight.
Lobotomy
Creepy opening scene. "Gonna do this or whinge all day" hilarious. Knock out right after was great, too. Smoke bomb was marvelous. Special effects/hand chop/dog was amazing. Violence was hilarious, special effects and all. Pretty gruesome/messed up ending with the throat slit and head shot, which left me a bit disgusted.
Exposed
Cool close up/macro shots of the stuff. Pretty steady for handheld. Nice long shot. Good music choice. Pizza drop was way loud... lots of laughs from the audience. Audio levels were killer. Cool racking focus shot when she was running towards the bush. Kind of a bizarre ending, and never really knew what was happening.
Aftermath - A documentary
The end of the world isn't all it's cracked up to be. This was a fun film, and it got better as it progressed. I enjoyed the music and sound effects in the opening scene. Good efforts by the leads, especially the ginger bloke, though I feel like he kept looking at the camera, which was distracting (though I suppose it was a documentary, so they weren't supposed to be actors). Did you guys actually break a lens filter when the camera tipped over during the "loan sharks attack" scene? Great effect, regardless. Lots of laughs throughout this, especially at the amazing "I'm pregnant" scene. Great reaction from the actor. Extremely funny and well-timed ending, and a perfect cut to the credits. Things to work on: The audio was pretty thin throughout the film. I don't know if you used an external mic, but if you did, it needed to be closer to the actors or... just... done better next go-around. Practicing the workflow would be a benefit. Again, I know it was a documentary, but some better camera work would improve the product too. Overall, though, I enjoyed it despite the few technical flaws.
Repute
Some of what I enjoyed: Great bit with the news caster exposing Morgan. Loved the USA vignette and the American accent. So good and so hilarious to me, as an American. Great acting by the Prime Minister.
B.A.
Nice security camera shot. Cool computer graphics-looking stuff. Great shot with the android silhouette. Great music during the scene with the red lights. Cool and stylish short. I would have preferred he walk straight into the camera at the end, but it ended well as it was. Great 80s-ish action movie feel.
The Choices
Great opening music. Rough audio during the weird boyfriend (?) confrontation. Nice piano music. No idea what happened on the phone call. Confusing. Liked the split-screen ladies. Though I have no idea what it was about. In retrospect (i.e. after talking to my wife), I liked the message driving the film (few 48hours films have messages or good ones, in my experience), I just feel like it was slightly dampened by a confusing presentation. However, my wife seemed to follow along perfectly, so maybe it suffered from being the last film I watched of the night.
Acceptance
A bit of a quirky tale of "Zombies Anonymous" of sorts. First off, I was pretty upset at the intro you included. Totally uncalled for and it was clear you weren't considering your audience at all, as it was a complete abuse. It tainted the film, which is not ideal for an intro. Anyway, you guys had some great make-up on all the various "zombies". The audio for the dialogue was clear and strong, which was great. The lead actress did an excellent job, though some of the other performances weren't as strong. I really liked when she leaned her head to the side and pointed at the "spiders" sign. Clever and funny "death" scenes. The audio levels seemed to shift about halfway through, making it a lot harder to hear what was going on. Strong ending and a great way of tying into the title. Things to work on: Lock down your post-processes to prevent audio from doing a runner on you. Some of the shot compositions needed a bit of work, but it's tough getting those right with a big group of people. The story was pretty clear, but it was more "fun" than engaging. Not a bad entry, but keep the hand-drawn goatse nonsense out of the competition.
'Love Grinds'
Good film. Clear story that made sense and was enjoyable. Well shot. Audio was clear, and the subtle background music in the cafe was great. The various lovers were all over the show. The "horse lover" was hilarious and horrible. The second guy was funny, too, without being quite so "what the heck", while the third (the hunter) was even more awkward than the first. Things to work on: Dialogue was only out of the left channel, which was weird. Otherwise it was a great showing. Very nice overall. That's a great cafe that makes a mean eggs benedict! ;-)
Split
A guy in a tenuous relationship has an even weirder relationship with his phone and then some stuff happens... or does it? This was a bit of an odd film. I really liked the intro, which was substantially more polished than most of the other intros I saw. The cinematography on this was excellent, with one shot in particular standing out in my mind (the guy crumpled on the ground, with the legs of a baddie straddling the frame). I liked the music you chose to use when the guy wakes up. The blood effects were well done. I really liked the office sequence. Overall, though, I was kind of confused as to what the heck was going on. There seemed to be two different story lines transpiring, but then they also seemed to intermingle and I wasn't sure which was which. The music for the fight scene was pretty thrilling, though the fight scene itself was a bit brutal. Things to work on: I don't know how clear the plot was in the script, or if it was muddied in the edit, but I didn't have more than a general grasp of what was going on more often than not. You guys have some great technical chops, so with a more coherent story I'm sure you would be a force to be reckoned with!
Axiom
Some of what I enjoyed: Great camerawork and beautiful cinematography. Good acting by the young folks. Really cool night scene in the rain with the body. Moving ending. Great work by everyone. I thought for sure it'd be a finalist contender.
Fart Man
Funny banana bit at the beginning. Poop tube was uncalled for. Nice work with the business card. The underwater toilet shot was cool. Tough to hear what was going on in the car when the radio and dude were talking at the same time. Great job with the editing, and a pretty funny gimmick, though gross beyond what's acceptable with the licking/eating poop stuff. Disappointing in the face of all that talent.
Blood Buddies
Super cool logo plate. Cool dolly shots as the guys walk across the wilderness. Great nature sounds/foley. Super meaty sound effect when the guy takes the shot. Great use of silence surrounding the compulsory line. Ambitious to redo all of the dialogue afterward, but it sounded great even if it didn't match up to the mouths. The hand held stuff was a bit rough, unfortunately. Puke shot was so unnecessary... everybody groaned. Awesome bow and arrow scene. The blood was amazing/hilarious. You guys must have had access to a super sweet location for that water processing stuff. Amazing work with driving so close to that dude's head before stopping, holy crap. So... the celluloid burned up at the end? No sound to the ending left it a bit dry. Solid effort, though.
Prey: A Tale from the Future
My keyboard died halfway into this movie, so powerful were the 3D effects. Fantastic intro. Great costumes. The 3D effects were cool when they were obvious, but there were a number of scenes where it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Loved the VFX shot of the girl's eye when the twist is unleashed. Great work and an incredibly ambitious short.
The Lollipop Thief
This was fun and silly. Great costumes. Great use of slow-motion. Good composition on the shots, though the white balance seemed to be all over the place (auto?). Nice work mounting the camera to the outside of the car, those shots were neat. The ending was a little bit morbid but I laughed. Things to work on: The story wasn't terribly compelling, though it made for an easy villain and a fun chase. The technical side was good, but with a little extra attention to detail it could be great (make sure stuff is locked down!). Good production.
Joker
Cool opening shot of the card. Super bizarre editing/sound effects/etc. Great job making it weird as heck. Cool effect of the ocean receding/backwards video. Totally bewildering. Contending for best worst film for sure, just for how outrageous and amazingly confusing it was. Wonderful.
Immune
Cool opening shot of the guy running towards the camera. Nice portrayal of the earthquake. I particularly liked the smoke outside. Lots of laughs at the "yep" response to "Did you hear that?" Nice. Lots of cool color grading effects/style. Nice creepy music during the coughing scene. Nice exciting music when they're running through the fog...? Mist? Deadly junk? Cool visual effect with the neck thing pulsing. Very pretty sunset at the end.
The Way Forward?
Tough to hear the voice over on the intro. Pretty looking, though. Liked the opening text, but it was a bit much/fast to read. Nice opening shots of the guy walking up. Audio was a bit rough. Scooter scene was funny. Scene with the lady lawn mower was creepy and funny. Nice. Nice POV shot of the door opening and the lady looking intense. Nice color grading on the... doctor? scene. Sleep scene with the woman lit up/vacuuming was brilliant. Guy who played Vic did a good job acting. Montage of intense scenes was great, with great sound effects behind it. Close up of the fingers/hand was awesome. Weird ending but intense and awesome. Very nice film. External sound recorder would be killer for next year, as you guys have the technical prowess to do super well.
Hannah Repus
So amazing that I accidentally double-tapped on the "Save" button and gave you two for the price of one!
Life, Wife and Child
Cool intro. Cool title. The doctor character was great/amusing. Cool effect when the doctor reaches down, and a creepy/cool sound effect of the gloves. Cool POV shot. Nice work with the GoPro... that stuff's tough to nail the composition as well as you did. Kind of confused about what happened, though.
The Gutter Song
Some of what I enjoyed: I liked the visuals in your intro a lot. Fantastic singing. Loved the interpretation of how becoming a pop star works. So cheeky of Morgan to rub the song in the face of the other girl. Very nice titles. Great effort with a tough genre.
Tight Package
Some of what I enjoyed: Lots of cool macro shots. Loved the throwing of the curtain across the window. Good job by both of the leads. Great back-and-forth bit with the package. Excellent ending and tying everything back together. Probably the best script so far. This was a very fun and entertaining short. Great work.
Good Samaritan
Cute intro. Very Dinosaur Comics. I liked how you worked in the insomnia bit "God doesn't sleep and neither do I" Cool church location and very interestingly/well-lit. Convincing bondage costume. Very cool. Nice work with getting clear audio out of a very poor acoustic environment. The guy getting thumped with a Bible ? was funny... maybe unintentionally. Great work with the ol switcheroo trope. Kind of terrifying ending, but nice work linking it back in to the photo at the beginning.
Best Served Cold
Great intro. Very cool opening shot. Great close-up of the clock. I liked the wipe and the dutch angle. I liked the classic phone ring noise. lol @ the hat outline. Nice, clear dialogue. Excellent. Nice dolly shot when they're talking. Her audio isn't quite as nice as his, sadly. Loved the Noir one-liners. Great, fitting music. Great acting by the girl and Vic. The tapping on the table was painfully loud. Great alarm clock. Much nicer than all the awful digitals. Nice twist ending. Very stylish.
through the looking eye
"lol what is this" is pretty much the over-arching theme of this one. Really bizarre and trippy throughout, though it was entertaining all the while. Good visual effects. Great voice acting and a great performance by the lead. I will admit I didn't really know what was going on most of the time, but the timing and edits were done well and they made me laugh (which was hopefully the intention). I really liked the fight sequence. The head chopping part was amazing and hilarious. That was the realest severed head I done ever did see. The eye-gouging scene seemed a bit over-the-top in terms of gore. The burning scene was hilarious, and the ending did a good job of tying it back to the beginning and making some sense of the utter madness. Things to work on: I don't even know what to say. It was such a bizarre film that it pretty much did its own thing start to finish. Well done, and well done driving all the way down to Christchurch to get to witness it!
Fostering Lies
Some of what I enjoyed: Great effects with the news intro. Hilarious how you did the meta ("he's filming in Christchurch") thing. The Max character did a fantastic job of selling his character. Great bit at the end with Max going unwound.
Another Day, Another Dance
Brilliant on so many different levels. You guys have some serious chops, from every angle. Acting, editing, effects, camerawork… all great. Hilarious concept and some amazing writing. The lead gave an absolutely brilliant performance. Well done. One of my favorites of the comp.
Honeymoon
This was an interesting and somewhat uncomfortable film. I didn't really predict where it'd go after the opening scene of the blokes goofing around. The scene where they're deciding what to do with the DVD was funny. Did you intentionally color-grade it really warm, or was the white balance off? Good shot composition and great cinematography throughout. I really liked the reaction shots of the guys as they were watching the story unfold. Those shots were superbly crafted. Great interpretation of the "found footage" genre, and a nice effect of it playing out on the TV. Super creepy ending (to both the found footage and the film itself) and pretty dark. Things to work on: Make sure your white balance is locked down, or, if you're doing it for effect, maybe color grade it a bit to make it obvious you were doing it on purpose. Is this nit-picky? Absolutely. You guys did a pretty awesome job all-around, so all I can pick at are the nits! ;-) Personally, I would have preferred a story that wasn't so dark, but that's me.
Second Skin
Lots of nice shots and camera work throughout. Great deadpan stare by the girl when the veil was removed. I didn't really understand why the Japanese was used, but it was different and interesting. Overall I found it pretty confusing as I wasn't quite sure which bit was "real".
The Other Side
Confusing dialogue sequence with the girl on the phone at the beginning. I saw the words "Confidential test results" and "kidney" on the medical form… it went too fast to read otherwise. Bummer about the black bit in the video. Cool job editing the park bench with day and night. IT looked really cool. Not really sure what happened in the story, though. Vic and girl have troubles and then meet each other and become friends?
Nicky + Eve 19/5
This was so good I could hardly stand it. Everything TBALC touches seems to be gold. I loved the set, and the beginning of the "one shot" had me guessing what would happen next. The script on this thing was absolutely out-of-control good. It was a little awkward/cringe-worthy when the main actor was doing his hip thrusting in that all-too-short pair of shorts (the stubbiest stubbies). I laughed at the slow-motion sequence. The dialogue was so well-delivered and well-written. The timing! The timing of responses and general actions was incredible. Utterly superb performances by all the actors. Amazing use of the line. Incredible everything. I hope you guys win Masters of Earth awards. Things to work on: It's like, when nuking and salting the Earth don't quite achieve a level of destruction sufficient, what do you do next? Some sort of demented molecularly-mutating bio-weapon that turns the very fabric of reality into a force of wanton destruction? Whatever the appropriate analogy is here for TBALC's film-making prowess, apply it liberally. You guys press my buttons something fierce.
Nicky's Girl
This was a powerful and beautiful film. I was immediately struck by how superb either the lighting or the color-grading (or both!) were during the beginning scenes. It wasn't very clear what was going on until the war scene, but the story moved along really well for how sparse the dialogue was. The "war" scene was really well done, with great effects (visual and aural). The music was really nice throughout and matched the various tones well. The black and white effect was very effective after the supposed death scene/sequence. The cinematography was superb throughout. Whoever was directing really knew what s/he was doing. It got really heavy/emotional during the repeated trips to the war monument, though it lightened up a bit at the end with the dancing and joy between the two people. I wasn't quite sure whether the guy was the same as in the beginning, or just had the same handkerchief or what. Things to work on: I almost feel like it was a little bit too emotionally-heavy, as the war and monuments and loss really hits close to home for Kiwis, especially with ANZAC day in such recent memory. That being said, I doubt that you were intentionally trying to emotionally manipulate the audience, it was just a heavy film for a good chunk of it, so please don't take offense. Other than that, it was superbly crafted start to finish.
Nicky's Holiday
This was a really fun film. The use of sheep puppets with various costumes and "make-up" was hilarious. The "lipstick" taped onto one sheep in particular cracked me up. Good audio for the dialogue, and good creepy background music for the parts that called for it. Fantastic use of the line and a great conclusion. I loved the sheep exploding out of the ground at the end. Things to work on: There was a bit of green screen spill noticeable on some of it, so investing in a more powerful chroma key plug-in would be a benefit if you were to do this again. Some of the technical aspects would have benefitted from some tightening up, but the story and sheep were so charming that it really didn't detract from the production. Great film.
Cell Bound
Some of what I enjoyed: Super cool shot of the plate sliding with the title. Great lighting on the brick set. Very convincing. Great set… looks like a legit jail. Probably is? Really liked the cut from out on the dock to back in the cell. Morbid ending. Bummed me out. Well-made film all-around, though.
the rewrite.
What I liked: Beautifully shot, edited and graded. Serious quality all-around. The sound design was incredible, and the score was exceptional. Auckland must have had some outrageously good films for this to not receive any accolades. Great acting by the two female leads, with the young one doing another fine job this year. I loved how you got the dog to walk through the scene before launching into it. I don't know if you planned that, but it was an amazing detail. Great typeface used throughout and very fine credits. What I didn't like: While it was a good vehicle for demonstrating that Morgan was facilitating cheating, I'm never a fan of sex scenes in 48HOURS entries, non-explicit as most of them may be (yours included). The ending was unsatisfying, particularly after such a lush story and build-up to that point. I guess that's the way it goes with a lot of 48HOURS films, but it's sad to see in a film that was otherwise super on-point. Great work all-around, though.
Sleep on a clothesline
Nice editing/shots on the intro. Creepy music/sound effects. Nice work doing the dolly shot and focus pull in one go. Great music/song during the shadow puppets. They looked great, too. Great performances by the vocalists and great music. Great work on the shadow puppets, they looked fantastic. Really liked the duck attacking the bear and winning. Cool close-up shots of Vic. Throwing the car onto the bystander was great. Not totally sure how the ending slots in, but the editing was once again pretty cool.
the rewrite.
What I liked: Beautifully shot, edited and graded. Serious quality all-around. The sound design was incredible, and the score was exceptional. Auckland must have had some outrageously good films for this to not receive any accolades. Great acting by the two female leads, with the young one doing another fine job this year. I loved how you got the dog to walk through the scene before launching into it. I don't know if you planned that, but it was an amazing detail. Great typeface used throughout and very fine credits. What I didn't like: While it was a good vehicle for demonstrating that Morgan was facilitating cheating, I'm never a fan of sex scenes in 48HOURS entries, non-explicit as most of them may be (yours included). The ending was unsatisfying, particularly after such a lush story and build-up to that point. I guess that's the way it goes with a lot of 48HOURS films, but it's sad to see in a film that was otherwise super on-point. Great work all-around, though.
A Mothers Rose
Even if it was a little cliche, this was one of the few films that had a great message. Nice audio quality in the car scenes, as it was quite clear and I could barely hear any background noise. Very well shot; great cinematography throughout. Good use of music, too. Things to work on: Get it in on time! (I know that game, two of my last three were late X_X) Maybe work on a "meatier" story which is more of a departure from convention. Great film, though.
Nightmare on Curletts Road
A creepy good time. The opening music on this one was great, and I particularly appreciated the rap music/lyrics that appeared to be crafted specifically for this film. Nice technical work on the opening sequence/edits/effects/etc. The first scene where the body is getting stabbed like crazy in the alley was kind of nuts. Great music choice when they were running for their LIVES. Excellent timing and moment when they pause (and everything pauses) at the crosswalk. I loved that part. The neck-breaking/head-snap was convincingly done. It was a pretty brutal and vicious ending. The final shot was a bit of an oddity amongst the heats I saw. It was an excellently composed shot, but it kept going on and on and on... to the point that it practically entered some of that Family Guy territory where things get so ridiculous they become hilarious. I don't know if I felt it was hilarious, but I heard pockets of laughter throughout the audience, and it was definitely a gutsy (and, I'd say, effective) aftermath-ish scene. Things to work on: There really wasn't a whole lot of story going on that I could tell, beyond "get drunk run around omg there's a killer wtf" or something like that. You guys looked like you probably had a lot of fun doing this, but there was enough skill involved that I'll bet you could really produce something awesome if maybe your genre focused you a bit more or you didn't totally go overboard with V or something like that.
The Red Door
Great music in the intro. Amazing title effects, holy crap. Really nice color grading. Super creepy/well done goth get-up. Loved Vic giving away CDs when he was getting mugged. Loved the red door as a gateway. Great work with the balloons leading him onward. Cool mix of locations. lol @ the old lady "get stuffed". Amazing job editing the train to collide with the door. Nice twist ending. That was superb.
We Can Help.
Nice opening music. Set the tone well and carried it through the next bit. Ouch with the green screen leftovers. Cool/creepy idea having the unknown caller and the weird sound effect. Cool shot out of the window. Creepy business card, and nice music use right after. I liked the "There is no turning back" in the POV shot. That was cool. Fantastic shot of the cereal box falling onto the floor. Omnious final note.
The Practitioner
Not a lot happened in the meat of the movie, which left me constantly wondering what was going to happen. I thought it was funny how awkward the plumber was with the home owner. Not too much of a surprise ending considering how obvious all the signs were that something was up, though the editing sequence at the end was pretty intense and interesting. The final shot was unnecessary and I think it detracted from the otherwise enjoyable film.
Lionel Fantasy VII
An amazing animated masterpiece that touched on a bunch of different genres. I absolutely loved this one. The animation was superbly done in a stylized manner, and it's clear that you guys knew what you were doing. I loved the over-arching theme of parodying classic RPGs. I laughed pretty hard when the skeleton kept asking the guy to retrieve the ball over and over again. Really well-written dialogue and clearly-recorded audio. The 8/16-bit music was superb. I laughed at the watch dropping sequence. I pretty much laughed nonstop through the whole thing. The battle with the father-in-law-to-be was amazing and the spirit of hate leaving him was amazing as well. This is the sort of film I'd share with my friends if I stumbled upon it online. Loved every minute of it. Things to work on: Bigger/faster/better/stronger man, I don't know. You guys rocked it. I eagerly await what you'll do next.
Son & Moon
Another superb Picton Pictures offering. Great paper cut-outs and animation. Great story, great pacing/editing/etc. Fantastic audio as usual. I loved when Morgan got burned the hell up. Great short.
HACKER
Super cool scene with the abductions. Love the close up eye shot. Very nicely done. Kind of hard to hear what the baddie on the phone is saying. Great music choice during the tense "hurry up" scene. Nice work in single user moder/Terminal. Legit "hacking", which gets major points from me. Nice crane shot when the car is coming into the forest. Cool color grading at that point. Nice trigger discipline with the gun. Cool crane shot at the end, though unsure about how it ended...
Trigger
Fantastic intro. Great, exciting music at the start. Liked the editing/cuts with the playstation. Audio is a bit rough... sounds like it was recorded on a phone or something. Liked the editing/sound effects of the guy getting dressed/ready. Nice throw back to Nicky Brick on the birthday card. Loved the scene of opening the trunk and firing thrice. Fantastic cereal eating to back to playstation sequence. Loved the throwing the phone down every time she finished talking. Not sure about the ending.
The Lovatory
Some of what I enjoyed: Superb opening music. Very nice for setting the mood. Great revelatory moment upon noticing the "feminine product disposal unit". Suuuuper dubious that a lady would give her number to a dude she met in the bathroom...
CGI: Cyber Grinder Insomniacs
Loved the opening music. Presumably Vault 502 from last year. Gunning for weirdest movie again. Nice Christian Bale look-alike. Loved the bar breaking when the guy was banging on it. POV of the door?? Armor flying onto the dude was amazing. Smoke effects: amazing. Birthday card: amazing. Didn't really understand what was happening with the guy twitching. Some cool shots with the dude aiming the gun from below. The animation bits at the start and end were great. Enjoyed it a lot, bizarre as it was. Good job, dudes.
A Prank Too Far
Some of what I enjoyed: Great animated team intro. Very cool. I thought the portion of poison was hilariously huge. The pranks were great. Great shot of the dude squeezing the ball and glaring at the wall. Cool shot of opening the toolbox. I did a prank war for the very first 48hours competition I entered (in the USA, in 2007) so it was fun to see someone else do a take on it. Very fun film.
Photobooth
Funny intro. Super cool title sequence. I liked the EQ work on the music (low pass when in the booth). Nice use of the prop. Really nice back and forth dialogue, lots of funny lines. Some of the yelling got hard to hear/understand. Loved the noise Vic made after chugging some momma moon shine. lol @ the bees or shotglass bit. Great ending. Fantastic. Very nice design on the end credits, too. This had one of my favorite endings of the entire competition. Brilliant entry as usual.
Slumber
Some of what I enjoyed: Great color grade. Cool shots abound. Great singing from the young leading lady, and a great performance all around. Amazing ending. Could have even worked with the "Shock ending"! Awesome.
Hush
Great intro. Very funny. Nice opening sound effects... creepy atmosphere. Cool scene with the stabbing. Well shot. Well paced edits for the coffee sequence. Very nice job depicting the insomnia. Flashback scene was great. Nice color grading. Music choice during dog fetch sequence was great. Great use of the prop. Nice editing/music for the dog flashback scene. All the handheld shots were a little bit too much for my tastes. Excellent ending. Great sound effect to end it, too.
Ball Date
Some of what I enjoyed: Your intro looked like it would have taken ages to make. Good effort. The dinner scene ended up feeling really creepy. Nice work if intentional. The extended family laughing scene was super awkward and weird and awesome. The editing after they got to the ball, with "ball of a time" over and over was hilarious to me. Well done. Only critique is that audio levels were really low.
B.A.
Nice security camera shot. Cool computer graphics-looking stuff. Great shot with the android silhouette. Great music during the scene with the red lights. Cool and stylish short. I would have preferred he walk straight into the camera at the end, but it ended well as it was. Great 80s-ish action movie feel.
Rob
Cool use of going behind the teacher to cut with blurring it to make it less noticeable. Nice. Shame the voice over dialogue was a bit fuzzy. I liked the robot dialogue. lol @ staring at the TV and the sequence of Rob not knowing what to do. Autofocus in the darkness "hunts" and goes into and out of focus, sadly. Cool silhouette of the cycle. The android did a really good job. Loved the arm iron scene. Point blank gun blast was harsh. Great link of the opening to the ending. Bubbling blood. Great.