An all-around great film!
Great job

Hey, nice job!

The animation was smooth, the lighting/cinematography was good and the set design was greatly done. But, I did not like the CGI at the beginning of the film, it was made with LDD? The next time, you should use Blender/LeoCad

Story: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Animation: 7/10
Effects: 7/10
- - - - - - - - -
Overall: 7/10

/ Youtube / Cinematography Challenge

Great film, I absolutely loved it.

When they started talking I nearly jumped 4 feet off my chair! I think the voice acting and the CGI ship could use some work. The other effects were nice and overall, I enjoyed watching this film. Good job!

*Signature made by Mighty Wanderer*
Youtube | Twitter

I thought this was a rather entertaining brickfilm, for I didn't get bored once. Overall, it's very well made. But that doesn't mean it's flawless. (Spoiler warning below)

I wasn't a fan of the CGI ship in the beginning. It was just...too bland. And besides that, it looked like a CGI ship. Though of course I understand good visual effects take time and practice. In which case, you could always get someone more experienced in such a field to do them. But I commend you for doing your own effects, of course.

In the first shot, when the boss tells his servant to get his hitman to bring Darren to him, I didn't like how dark the background was. It was like there wasn't a horizon at all! Normally there is almost always some kind of "glow" from the horizon. Further more, the shot of the boat kind of suggests there's some kind of moon out, considering how bright it is. Other than that, this sequence was rather effective. The only other thing that kind of bothered me was the water sound. It sounded just a bit too "recycled" for me, or perhaps it was just too loud. But either way I wasn't very pleased with it, but that could just be me.

The film then moves on to showing Darren walking down a street, when he hears something in an alley. When he goes to investigate he is taken by surprise---but wait. Why would the man hide in an alley to make a noise in order to lore Darren over to it? Who would do such a thing? What if Darren had some kind of intelligence and ran away. How did the hitman know Darren would enter the alley? This could just be me over-analyzing, but personally, I think it would've been more believable if Darren was kidnapped at his house or in a lonely parking lot or something. Plus it would've made for a much more interesting series of shots, perhaps even more tension and such. But outside of that, for what it is, it's well done.

So Darren is captured and taken to the boss who has mercy on him. Nothing much to say about this scene besides I really liked how it was filmed. Though I didn't like the "chains" sound, it was just a bit out of place for me. I thought the interaction between the characters was showed rather well and was generally believable. Though, I did find some of the dialog to be a little forced. Oh and I also really liked the shot showing the legs being dragged across the floor, however, I felt it could've been just a tad shorter for my liking. Overall though good job on this.

After that, we find Darren trying to get money from someone before asking a random police officer to take him to jail (I lol'd, not sure why, but it was rather fun). Darren does not have mercy on the man he wants the money from, which was kind of surprising, for I thought it was just going to start some kind of loop. So it was refreshing to see a bit of a twist in it. While all of this happens, two rather strange characters notice what's happening and report it to the boss. I say rather strange because they are clearly workers of some type, and it's understandable if they see what's happening and are panicking over it, but how do they know the boss? Are they spies? Do they work for him? This is never really clear, and to me, because of the way they are dressed, they just seemed like two random workers who happened to be there while all of this was happening. I understand they are basically the bridge as to how the boss finds out, but I personally think it would've been better if you had a spy or two watching him, or even, two undercover people watching him. Then again they could've worked too, if they pulled out a communicator like the boss uses and had something like "Report: Darren is being an idiot" (you get the point). Overall though this scene was pulled off well enough and was enjoyable to watch.

Afterwards however a loud musical track comes on, which is fine at first, but once the talking begins it doesn't lower and kind of just continues,  giving a slight disjointed feeling for me. But it's not that big of a deal. The ending itself is pulled off rather well and almost unpredictable, which is something hard to pull off even in live action films. The conclusion closes a rather entertaining and enjoyable brickfilm well, and I must give you a pat on the back, for I don't believe many brickfilmers could've pulled this off quite as effectively.

As for other side notes, I really enjoyed the story itself. Perhaps not completely original but it had fresh elements to it. I really enjoyed the voice acting, for the most part. The Boss was absolutely brilliant,  while Darren was a little disappointing and even a little annoying at times. Personally I don't think the selected voice fit the part very well, but it does do alright and is passable. I just didn't like how I could pick up traces of "whisper-yelling"...kind of messes up the atmosphere and flow. : P

Overall, a very good brickfilm that I'm sure will do well enough. For what it is, it's very well made, and I very much so look forward to what you have in the future. I am not perhaps a subscriber just yet, but I am one giant step closer to being one. You have caught my interest and I wish you luck! Here's my scoring:

Overall: 7.5
Concept: 9
Story: 6
Animation: 8
Cinematography: 6
Effects: 5
Sound: 7

~Scypax~

Last edited by Scypax (July 13, 2011 (11:25am))

Into the darkness once more. I walk into the unknown. To a far better life than I've ever known.

I don't think it was based off The Lord's Prayer.
It seemed way to close to Matthew 18:23-35 for that.
You know, The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.
Anyway, the animation was great.
I really like brick films based off The Bible, and this was no exception.