Crime Pays

A "nice guy" who is sick of being screwed over in life experiences a change of luck and lives it up, with a lesson learned. This was the highlight of Heat 19 for me, and I was disappointed (along with most of the audience judging by the 'awwwws' at the end) to discover that it had been disqualified. My guess was the use of copyrighted music? Anyway. For what was essentially a one-man team, this was a monster effort and managed to do far more than a lot of films I have seen produced in the history of this competition, proving to the haters and doubters of the competition's integrity that top-notch equipment and large experienced crews does not a good film make. The mix of POV and objective camera shots made for an interesting disposition of the character's journey, and it worked well. The biggest problem visually was the lighting in a few of the scenes, and a bit of a hiccup at one point which may have been to do with faulty rendering somewhere along the line. The narration was used well and didn't feel lazy or forced, which can sometimes be the trap with that storytelling technique. And what made this film stand out in this heat was that I CARED ABOUT NICKY BRICK! I wanted him to succeed, I wanted him to get lucky, I wanted him to turn his life around. The writing is what made this film, and would receive a higher rating if it weren't for some minor technical deficiencies and the uninspired soundtrack (which was the only let-down). 8/10

Hilarious and well done! I think it was the use of copyrighted music that got you disqualified though, I was a bit disappointed. But oh well, there's always next year!

Like the other reviews, it was a pity that this was disqualified. Great concept, acting and writing. Nicky Bricks is an unlucky guy who goes over to the the dark side in an awesone Bentley. The POV in the car was well done except it seems the lens of the camera was dirty. Possibly because it was a Gopro with no chance to review? Something to consider if using them in the future. Sound wasn't that great but shows that a good concept and acting shines over technical drawbacks. Would love to see this as a fully realised short. Also wondering if they were disqualified because of using copyrighted material, anyone know or care to comment? Amended: for some reason the review database posted this twice and downgraded the rating.

Like the other reviews, it was a pity that this was disqualified. Great concept, acting and writing. Nicky Bricks is an unlucky guy who goes over to the the dark side in an awesone Bentley. The POV in the car was well done except it seems the lens of the camera was dirty. Possibly because it was a Gopro with no chance to review? Something to consider if using them in the future. Sound wasn't that great but shows that a good concept and acting shines over technical drawbacks. Would love to see this as a fully realised short. Also wondering if they were disqualified because of using copyrighted material, anyone know or care to comment?

Thank you everyone for the reviews. I had some bad luck making this film. First the go pro fell off the car when I was racing through the streets and it was run over by a Land Rover (hence the scratch on the screen) - not bad considering!. Then at 6pm on Sunday I was outputting my film and it said 2 hours to go and sadly it didn't make it in time. I actually had all the rights to use the Steriogram music, Brad Carter the writer gave me permission. Anyway, I will definitely do it alone again next year..

A "nice guy" who is sick of being screwed over in life experiences a change of luck and lives it up, with a lesson learned. This was the highlight of Heat 19 for me, and I was disappointed (along with most of the audience judging by the 'awwwws' at the end) to discover that it had been disqualified. My guess was the use of copyrighted music? Anyway. For what was essentially a one-man team, this was a monster effort and managed to do far more than a lot of films I have seen produced in the history of this competition, proving to the haters and doubters of the competition's integrity that top-notch equipment and large experienced crews does not a good film make. The mix of POV and objective camera shots made for an interesting disposition of the character's journey, and it worked well. The biggest problem visually was the lighting in a few of the scenes, and a bit of a hiccup at one point which may have been to do with faulty rendering somewhere along the line. The narration was used well and didn't feel lazy or forced, which can sometimes be the trap with that storytelling technique. And what made this film stand out in this heat was that I CARED ABOUT NICKY BRICK! I wanted him to succeed, I wanted him to get lucky, I wanted him to turn his life around. The writing is what made this film, and would receive a higher rating if it weren't for some minor technical deficiencies and the uninspired soundtrack (which was the only let-down). 8/10

Thank you everyone for the reviews. I had some bad luck making this film. First the go pro fell off the car when I was racing through the streets and it was run over by a Land Rover (hence the scratch on the screen) - not bad considering!. Then at 6pm on Sunday I was outputting my film and it said 2 hours to go and sadly it didn't make it in time. I actually had all the rights to use the Steriogram music, Brad Carter the writer gave me permission. Anyway, I will definitely do it alone again next year..