"Nine to Five Ninja" by msconce

I mirror Shaun Patricks sentiments. I really liked the begining, not sure why others didn't, and I definitely see the Hero element. Great work. I laughed out loud at the Scot.
 
DarrenRyan said:
I mirror Shaun Patricks sentiments. I really liked the begining, not sure why others didn't, and I definitely see the Hero element. Great work. I laughed out loud at the Scot.
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I loved shooting the beginning and just building the base of who the guy was. I am glad you can see the hero in the Ninja Master and I am glad the Scot made you laugh! He had a blast doing this. Later on in filming I turned around and he was with the ninjas doing the intro rap to "The Fresh Prince" in his kilt and all! haha! :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
I can't wait for more of you to review the film! Woohoo! :)
I am happy with the feedback we have received so far, and think I have learned from it. "Only you.....can prevent fo-rest fire-s" hehe

:nads:
 
Gotta reiterate--

The beginning was actually the best part of this. The fights seemed to just be too much for the production, though I see the mass effort.

I'm jealous of you guys and everyone else whom did something. Great job, once more.
 
Shaun Patrick said:
I really dug this one. It had a great 80's Dolph Lundgren/Steven Seagal direct-to-video action movie look/feel to it--I mean that as a very high compliment. Great job!
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I love it!! Those were great old movies. They didn't take themselves to seriously and kicked major buttocks! Thankyou for the compliment and I hope to go up from here. I definitely want to get better each time I make a movie. Woohoo!:dankk2:
 
msconce said:
Thank you for your feedback. Could you clarify what you mean by this?
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The fights seemed to be beyond your actors, is what I meant. Not that they aren't athletic, but they didn't look like they were actually fighting as opposed to going through the motions.

That's just having people who know how, though. Learning how to throw a punch or a kick the right way, even reactions to punches and kicks.

Though I think every herofest short suffered from the same fate. It's just hard to really have believable fights without the cash anyway. So it wasn't meant in a bad way, just an honest opinion.

Though I do want to say that you have the best camera direction out of all the fight scenes in the fest. =D
 
Kholi said:
Not that they aren't athletic, but they didn't look like they were actually fighting as opposed to going through the motions.
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Bingo!! that's what I meant in my post about possibly speeding up the fighting. This way, it at least looks like they are moving a little faster instead of a choreographed sparring match.

Its definitely one of the best fights of the 'those with fights' :)

/j
 
Kholi said:
they didn't look like they were actually fighting as opposed to going through the motions.

That's just having people who know how, though. Learning how to throw a punch or a kick the right way, even reactions to punches and kicks.

Though I think every herofest short suffered from the same fate. It's just hard to really have believable fights without the cash anyway. So it wasn't meant in a bad way, just an honest opinion
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Ah, I see what you mean. thankyou for helping me understand. I think we need to work harder on the choreography next time and have an actual session where we practice it, instead of only a few hours before shooting. We only had two days to shoot the whole thing (The master was only available then), so we were a bit rushed. I appreciate the feedback and learn much from hearing it. I still really like the choreagraphy:dankk2:

Kholi said:
Though I do want to say that you have the best camera direction out of all the fight scenes in the fest. =D.
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Thanks, that means a lot. :dankk2:
 
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Edgen said:
Bingo!! that's what I meant in my post about possibly speeding up the fighting. This way, it at least looks like they are moving a little faster instead of a choreographed sparring match.

Its definitely one of the best fights of the 'those with fights' :)

/j
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Hey Edgen, thanks for the tips. Speeding up the fight could definitely help! :nads:
 
Okay guys, I have heard both sides to this question, and would appreciate your response. What was your opinion of the end with the kid, lighter and line "Only you can prevent forest fires"? Some people seem to love it while others hate it. I would like to know why you thought it worked or did not work. Thanks!
 
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I am excited because my father (who did all of the smoke) and the Scot ("Freedom"!) are both logging in later to check this out. They should have some good perspectives on seeing the final product and your comments. I am enjoying all of your films!
 
I personally did not like the "forest fires" line. I didn't hate it. I was more indifferent to it.

The Scot on the other hand was hilarious. That was one of my favorite parts in your film. That and the smoke, so your father must really be awesome.

I already turned in my ballot and gave this film pretty high ratings in all categories.

Another one of my favorite parts of the film was the music in the introduction. It was very Danny Elfman. I thought it was expertly composed and crafted. I felt very moved by it.
 
This is Master Johnson A.K.A. "Nine to Five Ninja" I would like to thank all of you for the great comments so far. It is very encouraging. It has been such an honor working with Matt Sconce. He is so gifted, talented, and professional. Not to mention a great Martial Artist in his own right. I look forward to working with him on future projects. See you at the movies!!
:dankk2:
 
Msconce, earlier you asked me why I didn't like the beginning. I've read some people actually like it better than the last half. My problem with it was it seemed so typical. I've seen a ton of student films where the protagonist wakes up, gets out of bed, brushes his teeth, etc. It just doesn't do anything for me, it doesn't feel like part of a story, it's like the loading screen of a video game almost. Plus, it didn't have any real dramatic lighting, just looked plain to me.

Keep in mind I still love this movie; I've sent the link to all my friends who aren't even into videography! I just want to share some critical feedback, because I know it helps.
 
DerrickTempleton said:
Msconce, earlier you asked me why I didn't like the beginning. I've read some people actually like it better than the last half. My problem with it was it seemed so typical. I've seen a ton of student films where the protagonist wakes up, gets out of bed, brushes his teeth, etc. It just doesn't do anything for me, it doesn't feel like part of a story, it's like the loading screen of a video game almost. Plus, it didn't have any real dramatic lighting, just looked plain to me.

Keep in mind I still love this movie; I've sent the link to all my friends who aren't even into videography! I just want to share some critical feedback, because I know it helps.
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It is a TREMENDOUS help to get feedback like this. I appreciate your honesty as well. It helps me see a different point of view which is hard to do sometimes as the Co-director/DP/Cameraman/Editor. Sometimes, being so involved blinds me to what changes need to be made. That being said, the reason we shot this opening was to make it seem ordinary and plain...to establish the "hero" as an everyday guy. I can see why some may find it boring or such, but I am glad some liked it. This was our first movie. so I am definitely pleased with the feedback we have received. I am also pleased with the noise free beautiful images in the opening.
 
"The Scotsman" here.

What can I say about "9-5 Ninja?" I got a call from msconce one day asking if I have my kilt handy, and the next thing I know we're filming a short. It was fun, and there are some things I'm sure we'd all change about it, but as a first effort I'm pleased.

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming. There will definitely be more films in the future, possibly with llamas. Or platypi; I hear they're non-union.





Where's my agent?
 
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Smoke was AWESOME... Yay!

Smoke was AWESOME... Yay!

Noct said:
I personally did not like the "forest fires" line. I didn't hate it. I was more indifferent to it.

The Scot on the other hand was hilarious. That was one of my favorite parts in your film. That and the smoke, so your father must really be awesome.

I already turned in my ballot and gave this film pretty high ratings in all categories.

Another one of my favorite parts of the film was the music in the introduction. It was very Danny Elfman. I thought it was expertly composed and crafted. I felt very moved by it.
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I'm glad you liked my smoke. I was 'smoking' literally all night. The funny thing is that I am a Military officer and was doing all the smoke production in my camoflage fatigues. I am also a Deputy.

Imagine... two ninjas attacking someone, a film crew, a 9 to 5 ninja hero in a $500 suit and tie, and a Captain in army cammies, and a big Scot in a kilt, all under bright lights in a parking lot, when another deputy pulls up...

He looked as if he thought he was in Area 51... Really wide eyes.
 
Freaking Rocks!!

Freaking Rocks!!

I was highly entertained! Everything about it was fun. Sometimes having a comical look on something can be more enjoyable than getting all serious and dramatic. Thanks for a comical time.
-Shanyetta:Drogar-Evil(DBG):
 
Highlander3751 said:
There will definitely be more films in the future, possibly with llamas. Or platypi; I hear they're non-union.
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LOL

First off. Nice work. The comments below are a bit nit picky, but I, like you, know that every little comment helps.

To he honest, when I saw the title of this, I wasn't expecting much. After watching it though I was wrong to do so.

I agree with the earlier poster about the wake up intro feeling a little student filmish. BUT, the camera work was great. Great dolly shots, transitions, and edits.

There were some cuts (2, I think) during the scene at the office of Master typing on the computer that felt a little jumpy compared to the smoothness of the others that surround it. I think the "rule" is to change the angle and depth from the subject by at least 20% to avoid this jumpy feel. This is being very picky, but your hard work deserves it!

The score was very good. I think the techno stuff toward the end worked fine with the style and scenes, but it didn't compare to the score at the beginning. Score over all was still great.

Impressive fight scenes with the limited time. I don't think many others could have pulled it off. The short part that was sped up worked well and I agree that a little more of this might have helped. I would be careful not to over do it though. Keep in mind this is coming from somebody who has zero experience with fight scenes.

The forest fires line at the end was funny, but maybe a little to cute in comparison to the rest. I had an idea of what was going to happen, but was expecting something like a throwing star to fly in front of the kid and knock out the flame... then maybe a wink from the Master or something.

Anyway, great work and GREAT attitude. Look forward to seeing more work. Some high scores on my ballot.
 
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