Nice job! This is a very solid animation, and I'll admit it did make me laugh. Make sure that your camera movements feel natural. The animation was great but the way the camera moved around made me feel dizzy. Plus, try not to end your video with an empty frame, it gets rid of any closure.
They trailer felt a bit disconnected. I know the feel that you were going for, but it honestly would have been better if you had just had blackness with narration and then the flashbacks intermixed. The whole wondering down the path thing got very repetitive very fast, and it didn't seem to contribute anything to the preview as a whole.
The first episode started kinda silent. While silence has merits in film, keep in mind that there is never an occasion in your life where you experience complete silence. Thus in a video it can seem a bit weird. Speaking of weird sounds! The voice-over for Henry had some weird bass static going on. In the line of sound design, make sure there is balance between your sound effects and voices. You don't want the sound effects to overpower your actors. From an acting point of view, I don't think that he fit the archetype of a barman very well. When portraying characters with popular stereotypes, its important to keep in mind that people expect certain behavior from them and if that isn't present the character seems fake. To use the bartender as an example, they are often very busy so they want to get you your drink and move along to the next person, stopping to chat only when there seems to be a lull in service. Generally they only listen because they think it will help them earn more money; Henric seemed waaaaaay to interested the in shady figure for such a character. The fight was surprisingly bland for the amount of creepy music leading up to it. Give us some sparring of words! The ending music also seemed very inappropriate for what just transpired. Something with similar instrumentation but a minor key would have fit a lot better and would have set up your audience for further interest in the story. Plus, its sort of implied with the whole "Episode 1" that there is going to be an episode 2.
The establishing shot for the second episode was quite bland. There was so much you could have done with the juxtaposition of the bright sun and the dark mountain side, but the half and half shot with the subject in the middle was just boring. After the intro, the picture was so dark that I could barely see. I'm sure you seen it in film in your life, but whenever a filmmaker wants to show darkness, instead of just turning off the lights and hoping that the camera picks up something, they switch to a different set of lights, often with a cool tinge, like blue or purple. Obviously this is a bit more complicated in Minecraft, but always keep the view-ability in mind. In Henric's conversation with Liana, Henric seems remarkable come for someone who just lost literally everything he had. As individuals, the actors do a decent job, but there are trains running between the cues. Try having one on one conversations like this recorded simultaneously to have that synergy that you get when two people talk to each other. If you have any logistics questions about this, feel free to send me a message. When Henric and Liana finally arrive at Giden (I think thats what it is. As a side note, make sure that your town and character names have some linguistic congruency) and Liana shouts at the guard to "Open the gate" which at that point the audience has not even seen, it seems a bit silly in the next shot where this gate is already up. In addition, the guard has absolutely no reaction. Whether this is because lack of voice actor or simply lack of character, you must always remember that to create an immersive experience for your audience, so having a mute guardsmen whose only purpose is to open and close the gate on command makes the whole universe feel a bit flat. Also, throughout the whole ending part the position of the sun keeps changing. This is sort of a nitpicky thing, but if you want to include the sunrise as part of the scene, you have to make sure that it isn't rising and then setting and then rising again every other shot. Lastly, abrupt ending is abrupt. The first episode was far better in terms of outro.
Moving on to episode three, OH MY GOD CONTINUITY. Okay it wasn't that bad, but make sure your characters are doing the same thing from shot to shot. This is something that even professionals struggle with, so don't feel too bad, but that is just something you want to remind your actors of every time you film. The encounter with the guard in the market was very jarring, but this has more to do with the actor synergy I talked about earlier. The General's (which I think is a very strange title to use as it implies militaristic association but unless this is a military dictatorship that sort of person should not be in charge of a small town) house, as I assumed it was (instead of an office), had a weird layout. I think you were just trying to fill space, but having a bed in the middle of an office is either very strange or very suggestive, and I don't think you were going for either. Speaking of things strange and suggestive! This might be just me, but I think that the relationship between Henric and Liana could of had more sexual tension. I know you're probably thinking that this is a very freudian suggestion, but honestly it would have made them seem far more real. Other than that...the last shot was very nice. Again, a form of outro or credits would be nice. Some people avoid doing this every episode because they think that it is repetitive, but it gives credit where credit is due and adds a finality to the video instead of just an abrupt ending. Plus, the people who think it is boring don't have to watch it, they can just skip to the next episode.
The fourth episode started differently :/ I was getting used to the whole title screen thing, and was expecting it. So when the title popped up at the end my first thought was "Wow that was a bit of a longer intro." Try to stay consistent. The opening shot was neat, but I would have liked to have seen more about how they joined the army. Was there any resistance to Liana because she was a girl? Did the general hold a grudge because of their "prank" earlier? Also the journey at see that is described as long by the characters seems jarringly short. There are cinematic ways of showing the passage of time, utilize them, otherwise we get to the mountains thinking that Henric spent the short cruise staring over the railing the relationship between him and Alba comes flying out of left field. I like Alba as a character, but I wish I could have gotten more from him. The snow effect was nice but didn't change when the camera angle changed so it felt like a layover instead of being part of the shot. Yeeeeaaaahhh the General knows what I was talking about.
Sorry for being so long winded, but it's only because I think you and your series have massive potential! Keep working at it.
Amusing, but the effect was lost when you pressed F1. Instead of trying to get the whole video in one in-game shot, make your own overlay in a video editing software and use that instead.
Not bad! I'll it admit, it made me and my little cousin laugh more than once. Your first example was quite funny but the comedic value was lost after about 10 seconds. Switching to the heavy breathing sooner would have increased the laughs. A good goal with satirical videos like this is to keep your audience laughing the whole way through, don't let it lull. This carries though to the third part, you made your point after three seconds, there was no need to continue as long as you did. Perhaps switch to another example of boring footage like swimming through the ocean?
In your second example you said to have music very loud, however the music that was played was even quieter than your talking in the first example. If it had been placed somewhere else in the video, it would probably have a better effect.
The door was hilarious. Actually though, laugh out loud hilarious.
When you have more than one person make sure that the levels are balanced (even if its supposed to be a joke). The quiet voice started and I turned up the volume only to be scared the death by the louder. Also, I was confused for the greater part of that section because I associated one voice with the first person perspective, and I think during that section they actually switched? I could be wrong, but the continuity was a bit confusing.
All in all a fairly good video. Please don't follow your own advice XD
The music is veryveryvery quiet. When the voice kicked in, I was startled because I turned up the volume to hear the music.
In a video where the music is such an integral part of the feeling of the whole thing, make sure that the video editing reflects the music as well. The sudden cuts to black were powerful by themselves, but they were at a discord with the music so it was a bit jarring. Also, right after you showed the death of spot, there was a shot of spot alive and well, so I was under the impression that he was merely injured or whatever.
The narration was decent, but at some times it felt like he was just reading off a script, and I know that's what was probably happening, but you want to make sure that the character is telling their own story, not just you reciting it.
For only about a week, it was fantastic work. Try integrating a little more plot so you have more to play with next time.
As general time-lapse advice, its good to always have a clear point where your audience knows that the build is over and that you are now showing the final build. It was a bit ambiguous in your video. Also, while the revolving gave some interest to the building process, don't be afraid to have some still camera shots as well! With all the rendering going on in the background it was hard to focus on what you were building. When building something tall like pixel art, filming from a perspective on the ground can also be interesting too.
As a first time viewer of your work, I have to agree with EngelBV on the plot aspect.
The one thing that left me a bit confused was the continuity with the stairs. He goes down one flight. Two. Then the emerges into the new room coming up the stairs? Perhaps he went half way down the next flight and then stopped because he smelled the breakfast? If so, you should show the character when that type of realization happens.
Also, make sure that your actor knows which direction they should be going, and if they run into a wall, don't be afraid to run another take! If the lack of coordination was intended, make sure to give an apparent cause, otherwise it just looks sloppy.
Don't be afraid to try something a little bit bigger next time!
Not bad! The transitions in the first episode were a bit funny, but the second was fine. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled to little continuity errors, like the cakes on the counter in the second episode. Also make sure that your settings always match your story and dialogue. In the first episode when they were trapped in the pit and Victor was complaining about having to dig through stone, there was dirt right behind him.
The audio for the voices was a bit rough, but I imagine that is more of a hardware issue. The overall voice acting was decent, but make sure to avoid the whisper yell. Recording yelling can be a bit tricky, but its better to edit out a peak or two later than to sound like you are simply whispering. Make sure you don't make fun of your characters. It is often a trap that young actors fall into where they try too hard to portray their character. You want the audience to hear your character, not you pretending to be them. The other aspects of sound design were nice, but make sure to watch levels when using sound effects.
The setting and story were pretty simplistic, but for a work made and produced by only two, it was quite fantastic!
Oh my goodnees! I love your idea! It's very creative and original approach to the conventional let's play. You definitely a good idea there. I would love to participate if you are still looking for people, my skype is ewallis2 and I am on PST (GMT-7) time. I hope that this actually happens, it sounds fantastic ^^
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The first episode started kinda silent. While silence has merits in film, keep in mind that there is never an occasion in your life where you experience complete silence. Thus in a video it can seem a bit weird. Speaking of weird sounds! The voice-over for Henry had some weird bass static going on. In the line of sound design, make sure there is balance between your sound effects and voices. You don't want the sound effects to overpower your actors. From an acting point of view, I don't think that he fit the archetype of a barman very well. When portraying characters with popular stereotypes, its important to keep in mind that people expect certain behavior from them and if that isn't present the character seems fake. To use the bartender as an example, they are often very busy so they want to get you your drink and move along to the next person, stopping to chat only when there seems to be a lull in service. Generally they only listen because they think it will help them earn more money; Henric seemed waaaaaay to interested the in shady figure for such a character. The fight was surprisingly bland for the amount of creepy music leading up to it. Give us some sparring of words! The ending music also seemed very inappropriate for what just transpired. Something with similar instrumentation but a minor key would have fit a lot better and would have set up your audience for further interest in the story. Plus, its sort of implied with the whole "Episode 1" that there is going to be an episode 2.
The establishing shot for the second episode was quite bland. There was so much you could have done with the juxtaposition of the bright sun and the dark mountain side, but the half and half shot with the subject in the middle was just boring. After the intro, the picture was so dark that I could barely see. I'm sure you seen it in film in your life, but whenever a filmmaker wants to show darkness, instead of just turning off the lights and hoping that the camera picks up something, they switch to a different set of lights, often with a cool tinge, like blue or purple. Obviously this is a bit more complicated in Minecraft, but always keep the view-ability in mind. In Henric's conversation with Liana, Henric seems remarkable come for someone who just lost literally everything he had. As individuals, the actors do a decent job, but there are trains running between the cues. Try having one on one conversations like this recorded simultaneously to have that synergy that you get when two people talk to each other. If you have any logistics questions about this, feel free to send me a message. When Henric and Liana finally arrive at Giden (I think thats what it is. As a side note, make sure that your town and character names have some linguistic congruency) and Liana shouts at the guard to "Open the gate" which at that point the audience has not even seen, it seems a bit silly in the next shot where this gate is already up. In addition, the guard has absolutely no reaction. Whether this is because lack of voice actor or simply lack of character, you must always remember that to create an immersive experience for your audience, so having a mute guardsmen whose only purpose is to open and close the gate on command makes the whole universe feel a bit flat. Also, throughout the whole ending part the position of the sun keeps changing. This is sort of a nitpicky thing, but if you want to include the sunrise as part of the scene, you have to make sure that it isn't rising and then setting and then rising again every other shot. Lastly, abrupt ending is abrupt. The first episode was far better in terms of outro.
Moving on to episode three, OH MY GOD CONTINUITY. Okay it wasn't that bad, but make sure your characters are doing the same thing from shot to shot. This is something that even professionals struggle with, so don't feel too bad, but that is just something you want to remind your actors of every time you film. The encounter with the guard in the market was very jarring, but this has more to do with the actor synergy I talked about earlier. The General's (which I think is a very strange title to use as it implies militaristic association but unless this is a military dictatorship that sort of person should not be in charge of a small town) house, as I assumed it was (instead of an office), had a weird layout. I think you were just trying to fill space, but having a bed in the middle of an office is either very strange or very suggestive, and I don't think you were going for either. Speaking of things strange and suggestive! This might be just me, but I think that the relationship between Henric and Liana could of had more sexual tension. I know you're probably thinking that this is a very freudian suggestion, but honestly it would have made them seem far more real. Other than that...the last shot was very nice. Again, a form of outro or credits would be nice. Some people avoid doing this every episode because they think that it is repetitive, but it gives credit where credit is due and adds a finality to the video instead of just an abrupt ending. Plus, the people who think it is boring don't have to watch it, they can just skip to the next episode.
The fourth episode started differently :/ I was getting used to the whole title screen thing, and was expecting it. So when the title popped up at the end my first thought was "Wow that was a bit of a longer intro." Try to stay consistent. The opening shot was neat, but I would have liked to have seen more about how they joined the army. Was there any resistance to Liana because she was a girl? Did the general hold a grudge because of their "prank" earlier? Also the journey at see that is described as long by the characters seems jarringly short. There are cinematic ways of showing the passage of time, utilize them, otherwise we get to the mountains thinking that Henric spent the short cruise staring over the railing the relationship between him and Alba comes flying out of left field. I like Alba as a character, but I wish I could have gotten more from him. The snow effect was nice but didn't change when the camera angle changed so it felt like a layover instead of being part of the shot. Yeeeeaaaahhh the General knows what I was talking about.
Sorry for being so long winded, but it's only because I think you and your series have massive potential! Keep working at it.
I look forward to viewing future episodes.
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In your second example you said to have music very loud, however the music that was played was even quieter than your talking in the first example. If it had been placed somewhere else in the video, it would probably have a better effect.
The door was hilarious. Actually though, laugh out loud hilarious.
When you have more than one person make sure that the levels are balanced (even if its supposed to be a joke). The quiet voice started and I turned up the volume only to be scared the death by the louder. Also, I was confused for the greater part of that section because I associated one voice with the first person perspective, and I think during that section they actually switched? I could be wrong, but the continuity was a bit confusing.
All in all a fairly good video. Please don't follow your own advice XD
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In a video where the music is such an integral part of the feeling of the whole thing, make sure that the video editing reflects the music as well. The sudden cuts to black were powerful by themselves, but they were at a discord with the music so it was a bit jarring. Also, right after you showed the death of spot, there was a shot of spot alive and well, so I was under the impression that he was merely injured or whatever.
The narration was decent, but at some times it felt like he was just reading off a script, and I know that's what was probably happening, but you want to make sure that the character is telling their own story, not just you reciting it.
For only about a week, it was fantastic work. Try integrating a little more plot so you have more to play with next time.
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Play around with it!
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The one thing that left me a bit confused was the continuity with the stairs. He goes down one flight. Two. Then the emerges into the new room coming up the stairs? Perhaps he went half way down the next flight and then stopped because he smelled the breakfast? If so, you should show the character when that type of realization happens.
Also, make sure that your actor knows which direction they should be going, and if they run into a wall, don't be afraid to run another take! If the lack of coordination was intended, make sure to give an apparent cause, otherwise it just looks sloppy.
Don't be afraid to try something a little bit bigger next time!
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The audio for the voices was a bit rough, but I imagine that is more of a hardware issue. The overall voice acting was decent, but make sure to avoid the whisper yell. Recording yelling can be a bit tricky, but its better to edit out a peak or two later than to sound like you are simply whispering. Make sure you don't make fun of your characters. It is often a trap that young actors fall into where they try too hard to portray their character. You want the audience to hear your character, not you pretending to be them. The other aspects of sound design were nice, but make sure to watch levels when using sound effects.
The setting and story were pretty simplistic, but for a work made and produced by only two, it was quite fantastic!
Keep on trying!
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