The results of this year's fantastic competitors' entries:
1st Place: Caveat Emptor (22)
2nd Place: Trick or Treater (20)
3rd Place: Witches Brew (19)
4th Place: Down the Drain (18)
5th Place: Man Without a Face (17)
Caveat Emptor - Flicker Pictures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmN6nZy3mDg
T:22, V:5, A:4, C:4, S:9
TSOTSS Needs more cowbell! Fantastic visuals and great editing. The initial dialog could have been a bit more nuanced in volume and presence as the actor moved away from the camera. The rest of the soundtrack was really quite well done. I honestly want to see a full length thriller from you in this style. It was a bit "Jumanji" meets "Murder of Crows" or "Secret Window" feeling… great vibe to it. Definitely creepy, even though it was so wonderfully bright and colorful. Good payoff to the gag for me.
The Trick or Treater - ChimpPhobia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVHW8spBOzo
T:20, V:4, A:3, C:4, S:9
Variation on a theme of the first one. I felt this one much was much more complete. There was more focus on our protagonist (although still quite a bit of POV that could have lingered on the face -- a bit much of the trail of wrappers). I liked the trick or treater and the greed that is being punished by the antagonist in this one, very seasonal. I think that one thing may have propelled this story as it gave a psychology to the antagonist. The picture seems that it could use more light to get you a less fuzzy picture, although for the light levels you're presenting, it's well lit (just not quite enough for your camera to grab well). Same critiques with the audio… the chewing and footsteps were off slightly. All in all, for variations on fundamentally the same short (Sound, Search, Scare), this one was better than the first. I may also be biased as I play a creepy clown at a local haunt sometimes, and I too like candy.
Witches Brew - VOODOOGMR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWeQObQDCMU
T:19, V:5, A:4, C:3, S:7
Nailed the look! Beautifully shot and post processed. 2 things bugged me in the audio, but they were relatively minor. The panned dialog between the two witches and the amount of echo on their dialog in their less processed voices seemed a bit much. I didn't find the mood that creepy, but it wasn't really that kind of film… the set design, costumes and makeup were really good though! Wonderful amounts of detail there. Story wise… simple device, but effective for this short a piece. A little more relationship between viewer and the victim may have added a bit more feeling of impending doom for me. As it was, the focus on the witches made me worry more for their plight, and that would have paid off better to have a fear of the victim escaping before they could finish their potion. That said… Ouch! (BTW, I'm quite proud to have someone spend that much time on set design for my little Halloween shindig)
Down The Drain - ChimpPhobiaFilms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSIsC61i-zk
T:18, V:3, A:3, C:4, S:8
Fairly well done. There are some audio issues with synch and sounds not feeling like they are in the same space as the visual. The footsteps (which I felt belonged to the main character due to their lack of echo) were out of synch with the foot falls. Watch the shoulders and hips to see when the weight shifts to each foot for cues as to where to place them. For the ping pong PoV shots down the hallway, Starting with the POV shot, then shifting back to the character and staying on them (I would personally rather see characters reacting to something than to see something in most cases -- gives more an indicator of their state of mind)… then let the breaking glass sounds lead the cut slightly to motivate it with the main character reacting to it. Staying on the main character and perhaps even pushing in slightly would lend a bit claustrophobia as well. Definitely creepy… found myself jumping with the sadden sounds just slightly and wanting to turn the camera to the POV (something to illicit from the viewer, certainly) which helped build the feel of unease in me. Story-wise, pretty decent interpretation of Poe's "The Telltale Heart" with a classic 80s horror pay off at the end.
Man Without a Face - DreadyLocks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFe-F_B5mvE
T:17, V:4, A:4, C:3, S:6
The one makeup was really fantastic! For a theme piece, it was a really well done trailer, not much time to develop the creepy. A little less low end on the audio may have provided more of that time period's distinctive sound (you were definitely headed in the right direction with it though). Film look wise, the grain size suggested super 8, but there needed to be slightly more contrast to read correctly there, or smaller grain size to emulate 16mm which the contrast seemed to edge closer to in many places… although it wanted less contrast for that. Definitely edging toward the feel of super8 for me. Story is low simply because it's only hinted at as this is a trailer. It is, however, something I would watch on purpose if it were a real film.
1st Place: Caveat Emptor (22)
2nd Place: Trick or Treater (20)
3rd Place: Witches Brew (19)
4th Place: Down the Drain (18)
5th Place: Man Without a Face (17)
Caveat Emptor - Flicker Pictures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmN6nZy3mDg
T:22, V:5, A:4, C:4, S:9
TSOTSS Needs more cowbell! Fantastic visuals and great editing. The initial dialog could have been a bit more nuanced in volume and presence as the actor moved away from the camera. The rest of the soundtrack was really quite well done. I honestly want to see a full length thriller from you in this style. It was a bit "Jumanji" meets "Murder of Crows" or "Secret Window" feeling… great vibe to it. Definitely creepy, even though it was so wonderfully bright and colorful. Good payoff to the gag for me.
The Trick or Treater - ChimpPhobia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVHW8spBOzo
T:20, V:4, A:3, C:4, S:9
Variation on a theme of the first one. I felt this one much was much more complete. There was more focus on our protagonist (although still quite a bit of POV that could have lingered on the face -- a bit much of the trail of wrappers). I liked the trick or treater and the greed that is being punished by the antagonist in this one, very seasonal. I think that one thing may have propelled this story as it gave a psychology to the antagonist. The picture seems that it could use more light to get you a less fuzzy picture, although for the light levels you're presenting, it's well lit (just not quite enough for your camera to grab well). Same critiques with the audio… the chewing and footsteps were off slightly. All in all, for variations on fundamentally the same short (Sound, Search, Scare), this one was better than the first. I may also be biased as I play a creepy clown at a local haunt sometimes, and I too like candy.
Witches Brew - VOODOOGMR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWeQObQDCMU
T:19, V:5, A:4, C:3, S:7
Nailed the look! Beautifully shot and post processed. 2 things bugged me in the audio, but they were relatively minor. The panned dialog between the two witches and the amount of echo on their dialog in their less processed voices seemed a bit much. I didn't find the mood that creepy, but it wasn't really that kind of film… the set design, costumes and makeup were really good though! Wonderful amounts of detail there. Story wise… simple device, but effective for this short a piece. A little more relationship between viewer and the victim may have added a bit more feeling of impending doom for me. As it was, the focus on the witches made me worry more for their plight, and that would have paid off better to have a fear of the victim escaping before they could finish their potion. That said… Ouch! (BTW, I'm quite proud to have someone spend that much time on set design for my little Halloween shindig)
Down The Drain - ChimpPhobiaFilms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSIsC61i-zk
T:18, V:3, A:3, C:4, S:8
Fairly well done. There are some audio issues with synch and sounds not feeling like they are in the same space as the visual. The footsteps (which I felt belonged to the main character due to their lack of echo) were out of synch with the foot falls. Watch the shoulders and hips to see when the weight shifts to each foot for cues as to where to place them. For the ping pong PoV shots down the hallway, Starting with the POV shot, then shifting back to the character and staying on them (I would personally rather see characters reacting to something than to see something in most cases -- gives more an indicator of their state of mind)… then let the breaking glass sounds lead the cut slightly to motivate it with the main character reacting to it. Staying on the main character and perhaps even pushing in slightly would lend a bit claustrophobia as well. Definitely creepy… found myself jumping with the sadden sounds just slightly and wanting to turn the camera to the POV (something to illicit from the viewer, certainly) which helped build the feel of unease in me. Story-wise, pretty decent interpretation of Poe's "The Telltale Heart" with a classic 80s horror pay off at the end.
Man Without a Face - DreadyLocks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFe-F_B5mvE
T:17, V:4, A:4, C:3, S:6
The one makeup was really fantastic! For a theme piece, it was a really well done trailer, not much time to develop the creepy. A little less low end on the audio may have provided more of that time period's distinctive sound (you were definitely headed in the right direction with it though). Film look wise, the grain size suggested super 8, but there needed to be slightly more contrast to read correctly there, or smaller grain size to emulate 16mm which the contrast seemed to edge closer to in many places… although it wanted less contrast for that. Definitely edging toward the feel of super8 for me. Story is low simply because it's only hinted at as this is a trailer. It is, however, something I would watch on purpose if it were a real film.
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