So... I Made A Movie

[the2ndevil]

About three years ago, I wrote a short film that was filmed and then spent the intervening time being edited by the director in his spare time.

The movie is finally ready, and would love to get you guys' feedback on it.

I also show up in it, in an uncredited cameo.

blip.tv/Joseph-Observer-Presents/how-to-destroy-a-superhero-6602977

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

I'll put my thoughts in a spoiler tag for those who haven't watched it yet.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Hm... I think the best way to be constructive is to be honest, and to be honest... it's not very good. The concept is pretty clever, but the execution is very lackluster. I can look past the low production value and questionable acting as it's obviously a non-professional work, but there are some blatant mistakes that did not need to be, like when Fatale shoots her gun and she is very obviously just putting her hands together (sorry, the framing isn't fooling anybody). I mean, you can find pretty convincing airsoft guns for 20 bucks, and even without that, there could have been techniques to avoid showing it, like having Fatale walk into the shadows and suddenly pull a vaguely gun-shaped object and shoot from a distance, with possibly a cut if you can't or don't want to show the muzzle flash. Heck, even better, have the camera zoom in on the defeated Alpha during her speech about how you don't need weapons to destroy a superhero, and then out of the blue we hear a gunshot from off-screen and see him drop dead from the shot. That would have been shocking and unexpected. But to be honest, I didn't really like the fact that she shot him after going on so long about how she does not need to kill him to destroy him, which was an idea I really liked.

And it's unfortunately not the only mistake. The editing, especially early on, tends to be too quick and rely too heavily on filters and special effects (this seems to be a problem with low-budget productions in general. It's like they're trying to overcompensate by adding as many effects to their shots as possible, it's almost never a good idea), which is a shame as this is a work that would have benefited from a minimalistic approach. The fight scene was actually pretty good and I think it would have been even better without any effect, even sound-wise, just simple shots and natural sounds (or maybe very slight sound effects).

The framing is also often pretty weird and doesn't seem to be intentionally so. It's especially jarring during some conversations; I was often not sure if Fatale was supposed to be looking at Alpha (but then why was it not shot as if they were facing each-other), at her camera (but then why does she look at us like it's the camera at some points?) or simply staring at nothing for dramatic effect. Keep in mind most of the time, it's better to keep things simple.

There are some awkward pauses in the dialogue, which makes me wonder if the actors sometimes had a hard time remembering their lines, which is understandable, but a few cuts here and there would have been nice. Pacing is very important in any movie, but particularly so in a short.

There are also some some serious audio issues, with characters' voices going from quiet to loud seemingly at random and often being drowned by the music or sound effects.

So again, I think the concept is good, but the movie could be a lot better than it is.

[the2ndevil]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}I agree with a lot of that, actually. Unfortunately, I didn't really have much involvement outside of writing it, but I'm looking at this mostly as a tool to see what steps to take to improve upon it for next time.

Thanks for watching it, and being honest about it.