blarg1's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Messiah of Meat]

Weird but cute

I wouldn't call this sacreligeous... just very odd.

It was cute, but the audio was excruciating to listen to, (the reversed voices are irritating), and the pacing was slow. Fixing those two things would make this much more watchable.

dravalanche responds:

I had 2 days to make and mix the audio I tried redoing the audio but I really like the way it was done originally plus there was filesize issues.

cheers

[new man]

Style, but no substance

This definitely had its own colour and a certain frisson.... but it didn't really have a whole hell of a lot to say, did it?

[MR Imaging]

ow.

Who was the client? Or did you build this site just for personal interest?

Times new wasn't the best font, and red is an awfully strong colour, but I would have to see the animation in the context of the site to see how it works.

When you create a text button, don't forget to edit the "hit" frame by putting a solid box behind the word, so you don't have to click exactly on the letters to make it work.

[The Return Of Cloud Ep.1]

Ooooh I know who you are!

You're the guy who translated Zero Wing, right?

"Captain, They are set up us the bomb." I gave you a 10 for humour.

[Sin and Repentance]

Thoughtful, but clunky.

That was a thoughtful little film, and you were certainly courageous posting it to a site like this one. Kudos for that.

However, the pacing was slow enough to make it difficult to watch. You might also have shortened up things a little with Jesus' summary of the law:

1) Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy soul, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and all thy strength.

This is the first and great commandment... and the second is like unto it

2) Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

I'm sorry to say that I couldn't sit through all 10 commandments. I kept wishing that Jesus would talk a little faster.

[Legend of Legion: Ep. 1]

Good beginning; needs work

You made an ambitious beginning, but you need to do some work.

You had asked for some constructive criticism, so I'll leave you with some comments and ideas.

I work in the corporate world, but many of the core principles apply both to fine art and commercial art.

First off: pacing is everything. I found this animation painfully slow paced, and I think it would make a great improvement if the pacing was just a little more taut. More on this later...

Secondly: Show an establishing shot first, and with every change of point of view.

I noticed other reviewers who complained they couldn't follow what was happening, and I had the same problem. Many of your shots were from extreme points of view. That's okay, but first you have to establish who or what you are looking at. I spent a lot of time looking at reaction shots of eyes. "Who's eyes?" I wondered, "What were they reacting to?"

In plain English, every time you change your setting, or the direction you are looking, or the person or thing you are looking at, you should always start with a wide shot so people can take in what it is they are seeing.

and Thirdly: Audio can make or break a film faster than anything else. The audio quality was poor, and this really detracted from the experience. I have posted elsewhere about how to create good quality audio in Flash, and I won't repeat it here, but there are many resources on the web. Three simple rules for audio: 1) always use a spit guard 2) never pipe a microphone directly into a sound card, and 3) always monitor your sound levels so you don't get peaks, (which cause distortion).

I had mentioned that I would talk briefly about pacing. The best way to address that is by using a tool that will also help address the problems you had with your point of view: a storyboard.

When you are going to build an animation, first write a script, and then plan the animation out on paper. Draw little boxes for each shot, and sketch in little stick men, or whatever to show what you will see in the frame.

Your storyboard should be large enough that you can actually spread it out on a wall or on the floor, and see the whole plan at once.

If you start by actually planning things out on paper, you will notice an immediate improvement in the quality of your finished animations.

As you work on your storyboard, try "acting out" the scenes out loud, (I know this sounds silly, but believe me, it works). As you do this, you will get an idea of how long each shot and each movement should last.

I hope this helps you in your next animation.

TeamKholdstare responds:

Thanks for the advice, i did use the idea of the storyboard but i added too many ideas so it didnt work too well.

[ink]

Very polished.

I don't think that I agree with your statement, but I admired the quality of your work.

[French Erotic BIRTHDAY!]

groovy

Did you make this card for Colin Mochrie - or did you just shamelessly exploit him in your erotic animation?

I liked this. Extra points for the Andy Warhol tribute art.

TmsT responds:

Both. ^_^

[.FACELESS.]

Oh look! Spawn, with a happy ending...

the storyline had far too many resonances with Spawn for it to really be considered original. However, I thought that the art was superb and the animation was competent.

I think an original soundtrack might be more interesting than canned music. You might want to look into gettin a loop editor like Acid music - you certainly have the artistic sensibility to make a success of it.

[The Sad Toy Puppy]

Very sweet

Well executed on the whole. A touch maudlin, perhaps, but what children's story isn't? The only thing that grated with me was the Postman who walked like a wounded duck.

This was a welcome change from the stream of filth I have seen over the past while.