There Goes The Neighborhood

Nice play with colors.
Way to build a different "Edward Scissorhand" planet.
Acting was cool and it kind of freaked me out.
I was entertained.
It was odd in that fun kind of way that most people get wrong. You guys, however did a great job with it.
 
Conrad,

Great film, I loved Gary's expressions. Gary is ACE!
Funky bass and a good story what more could you want?

Damm that Dr Toxic...I could see you guys expanding on this.

I liked the visuals and pace, editing was smooth and the acting was great.
Thanx for giving me such a laugh.
Good work.
Jp
 
Other than reading your very first post, I wouldn't have known this was shot on a HVX ... I would have taken advantage of the 720P file that Jarred said the HVX crews could post up, would have looked even better.

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.
 
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!
 
conrad_johnson said:
Directed by a girl. Photographed by a boy.
Click to expand...
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.
 
I have watched this one about 5 times now. I even showed it to the folks next door. I found the story idea very clever. Kind of a twist on the Incredables, loved how everyone was a reporter. Using the special effects shot to serve the story, I wish the rest of the world would do that.

The only thing that I don't feel worked for me IMO was the reveal of the super villain. For some reason I already knew that he was the villain before he was revealed. I don't know if anyone else got that or not.

There was a lot of time in that shot which makes me think you want us to dwell on that., so that is the only reason I bring that up.

Doing comedy right, is one of the most difficult things to do. Hats off to your actors. Can't wait to see how you rock the horror fest. Thank you for sharing your art with us.
 
Very nice. I liked it even more after watching it the second time, all the Is were doted and Ts crossed. 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? But this is all a very tiny thing to focus on for the critique. Overall I like this one a lot. Its campy(appropriately so) and well thought out. The neighbors and Villain act so weird, but it all makes sense once you know the story. Nice attention to detail in nearly everything. I can't wait to see what you do next.

~Ian
 
Alex DePew said:
But I felt the short took a downturn after Tom gets kidnapped. The humor is neglected and the story becomes about wrapping things up. Tom being the villain worked and the for sale signs were a great touch (though I would have had either more or further apart or both). But I felt the tone got lost at the end.


Alex
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Thanks for the feedback. A lot of people don't like the ending to our short, so here's the requisite justification - we wanted to make this feel like a funny, lighthearted sketch about a man who is (unknowingly) out of place in a neighborhood full of covert superheroes - with a twist at the end where the "unknowing" neighbor turns out to be not-so-naive after all, and kills off his trusting new friends. We wanted this change to come abruptly, and for the good guys to be suddently and uneventfully annihilated. Boom - there goes the neighborhood. So that's the reason from a switch in tone from light-hearted humor to a flat and meaningless death scene.

The signs kind of became a pain in the butt. We couldn't find a more appropriate placement for them without putting them in the yards of neighbors who wouldn't have appreciated it. So we're glad that the point of them came across, at the very least.
 
Matthew B. Moore said:
Way to build a different "Edward Scissorhand" planet.

It was odd in that fun kind of way that most people get wrong. You guys, however did a great job with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks - that's quite the compliment!
 
Envision said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
WilderWorks said:
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!
Click to expand...

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.
 
Cryogenic Filmworks said:
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.
Click to expand...

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 :).
 
prezorg said:
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
Click to expand...

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