There Goes The Neighborhood

[conrad_johnson]

In the beginning I'm not sure if this was on purpose or not, but it almost looked like there was a bit of a comic book look to the lead's skin as he's talking to the realtor ... like a FX/CC look. But I don't see it after that.

I also think this could have stood to have some further CC, as some of the shots looked a little flat.

That said, I thought he camera work on this (dolly shot in the house, etc.) was absolutely great, and your lead actor was FRIGGIN' AWESOME. He pulled off that weird creepy thing so incredibly well. All of the talent actually did a REALLY good job in this film for it's genre. KUDOS to the entire cast!

Good crane shot at 1:52, but is that ADR in that room? Sound seemed a little off, but could be the compression.

Great VFX at 2:30!

2:43 was a good idea, but I think a little motion blur on that video track (assuming you're masking between the two) would have helped sell the effect better of her going so fast mowing the lawn.

Pretty good VFX at 3:06 until he was walking on the roof, then it looked a little off.

2:57 LOVED him holding the car up by the bumper ... cool.

3:35+ GREAT lighting & location. What a bunch of whack heroes though ... funny & over the top.

5:03-5:12 would have been SO much better using the dolly shot vs. the zoom, but otherwise it worked.

Good job to your team on this one.

Comic book thing at the beginning with the realtor - yeah, that wasn't on purpose. Not sure what caused it...

What do you mean by further color correction?

ADR in room - yep, that was ADR as was everything. When I was lining up the dialogue, I noticed some of it was a little off and kind of liked the way it looked - it made it look a little more cheesy and forced. So I left it.

Glad you caught the bumper thing - I didn't really like the way it turned out - didn't feel overt enough...

Thanks for your very detailed comments! I appreciate it.

[conrad_johnson]

This is another film in my top three. It's got a quirky tone and some great energy, particularly through the first half. The control of tone is excellent and consistant, the mark of solid filmmaking, particularly when that tone is peculiar like this.

Now, some have remarked that the ending doesn't entirely live up to the opening, and I think they're right about that. Unfortunately, I think you got sucked into the name "Toxic." You've got such awesome forward momentum in the beginning, a slow release and slow collapse from gas just doesn't allow you to keep it going. Had Toxic had another, livelier method to dispose of the heroes, the energy might have had a better chance at remaining high. At least, that was my reaction. Their death, and his reveal, needed the same bombastic spirit as the first half.

Great movie!

Thanks for the feedback! Glad to be in your top three.

I addressed the tone of the ending in a post above. We wanted it to be very abrupt and uneventful to contrast with the lighthearted feel of the beginning - almost like a let-down. So that's the reason for no big fight scene or anything more eventful at the end.

[conrad_johnson]

Ok, not sure what that's about but.... I really liked the movie, was very funny. My only problem was it was too bright in in some of the outside stuff and the guy walking on the roof. Overall though I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the feedback. I liked the outside brightness - difference of opinion!

The short was directed by a girl and photographed by a boy. Not much more to it than that .

[conrad_johnson]

Using the special effects shot to serve the story, I wish the rest of the world would do that.

Amen to that.

Thanks for the compliments.

[conrad_johnson]

I maybe would have liked to have seen some more close ups and tighter shots. It just sorta felt like videotaped theatre. Or maybe not closeups but more reverse shots?

~Ian

Thanks for the feedback. Can you name any places we could have added more of these (tighter shots and/or shot/reverse shots)?

[penfever]

Great effort.
Best gotcha ending of the fest, in fact the only gotcha ending that worked for me. The sudden shift in moods at the end gives you this unhappy, tingly feeling which is really top-notch. Good plotting.
This film was talk-heavy. Especially in the opening minutes, too much was said and not enough was done. When you did get to action later on in the film, it felt a little mistimed. We have to find out much sooner these are super-people, otherwise once they start doing super-things it's not easy to accept.
Once they get in costume and start doing their thing, this film really begins to shine. The set is fantastic, and the costumes get the point across very nicely. I would have preferred a bit more build-up before the heroes got beaten, but five minutes isn't much time to play.
Thanks for the film, and best of luck.
-Ben

[Rasquachemedia]

this film had a real high production value and some of the best cinematography in the fest. I really liked the lighting when the heroes are sitting at the table in garage.

as for the "flat" look, i appreciated the look you achieved. it was consistent with a suburban feel and no over cc'ing was a great decision.

Also i really liked the whole neighborhood thing, that superheros all live near each other.

Due to my personal taste, i didn't really like they way the heroes walked with that quirky motion in the wherehouse (last scene). it was overdone for me, but it i'm sure that's what you were going for.

if i recall correctly, you used the hvx. you really made it shine. there were some shots that, to me, looked like 35mm.

Oh, the lighting was great too. congrats on your film.