PIED3's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Blonk]

I think you've over used music in this. For the length of the flash a soundtrack of 3 songs is just a bit much. There is no time to settle in to any of the various moods conjured up. I'm told at every point exactly what my emotional response to a scene is supposed to be and if it wasn't bad enough being ordered around like that, i'm not even capable of following the orders. The changes are just too abrupt.
That said i liked the flash. The animation is simplistic as is the graphical style but you have some neat transitions and some pretty scenes (i especially like how you showed the painting). Some of the scene changes are a little fast and the transitions unsmooth but for the most part i thought the direction/"cinematography" were good.
I also really like how the message is told. It's not an in your face "drugs are bad kids" telling and it has some subtelty. But it doesn't become so subtle that it enters pretension, after a bit of analysis i understand the point you are making, and i appreciate that level of directness.
I don't actually agree with an all round critique of drug use and there are plenty of recreational drugs that can be taken without losing your hobbies/mind. However, i shan't pretend that's a problem with the flash and won't mark you down for it. It's also a school project so perhaps you stuck with a status quo take on drugs to avoid controversy.
I feel i've been a bit negative in this review so let me end by saying that i enjoyed the flash and watched it 4 times. I enjoyed how you told the message and there were some interesting character designs. Keep it up!

FossilClam responds:

Wow, thanks for the detailed review. I definitely agree that it's too short for the amount of songs, originally it was going to be longer, but I had to just get it finished, the lack of dialogue also shortens scenes quite a bit. I did have troubles with the pacing, I'm glad you pointed it out. I don't believe that all drugs are terrible, but that if they become the main focus of your day, you probably should slow down and think about changing. I'm glad you took the time to look at it so closely, thank you!

[Wonders of the Universe 4]

Ha ha, great stuff!
Relied pretty heavily on getting the 2001: A Space Odyssey references but fortunately i did! Really high quality voice acting and whilst i'm not a big fan of the art style the dynamic camera work and "cinematography" kept it fun and exciting to watch. The characters are appropriate for the genre and likeable enough. Everything about the series is very proffesional, especially the sound design.
It's also really nice to see a big cast list of NGers and a big old NG sound track. Good job and keep it up!

["Possession" Trailer]

Wow, i'm excited!
Your time spent making live action films seems to have paid off because the directing/cinematography of this trailer is well beyond that of most animations here on NG. The opening shot for example is an enigmatic and unusually proffesional rather long single shot that immediately had me engaged. The time lapse city scape, the view from under the dog, the stylish use of reflections, the frequent use of a moving camera for dynamism, it was all very nice!
The art is decent and i like the old school no bullshit detailed uncarictured charecter designs. The sort of art style popular in flashes a few years back before everyone started doing shouting, "wacky faces" and no outline blobs. I don't really like the idea of trailers in general because i like to approach a film/short with a completely blank slate (obviously impossible but, it's the target). Despite this I fully understand it's promotional value and i don't think you gave away too much with this. I've avoided reading your synposis as i want to enjoy the finished thing as much as possible.
The music was fitting and the little bit of voice acting seemed decent. The concept seems an interesting blend of the supernatural and the modern mob/gang. Overall i thought this was pretty damn great, you've obviosuly put a lot in to it and i'm excited about seeing this finished thing! Good job and good luck!

mussashimits responds:

Hey, I appreciate the detailed comment! Yeah this flash will be a long one so I used some simple designs for the characters that I could reuse in each scene.. I wasn't sure how people would think of it, but I'm glad you liked it, haha. Anyway, thanks for your support and encouragement, and I'll let you know when the product is finished!

[Spiderdub: Sarcophagus]

Hm, i'm with test-object on this one.
I think you are a very good animator and whilst tacoman wasn't my kind of humour i thought it was well made and could see it's merit. But this, this dub, it really isn't NG material. This is youtube poop type stuff and to be honest i hope it gets removed. The fact it got daily first above...
well actually there weren't many good animations released yesterday, but the point still stands that this relies very heavily on unoriginal content and goes against the spirit of NG! Of course it's up to Tom what he allows on the website but this is really isn't in tune with the rest of the site and it's attitude.

[Flash -Itano Circus-]

Why have you resubmitted this?

[FRONTPAGEFLASH.SWF]

Parodies are still supposed to be funny. Mocking something isn't inherently good and scribbles and shouts are inherently bad even when done satirically.
I don't like video game parodies either but at least oney, egoraptor, etc. actually put some work in to it and make something that's decent to look at it.
This is completely devoid of artistic merit and wit and mocking oafish comedy by making oafish comedy isn't challenging or impressive. You can mock things with no subtlety using subtlety and that might actually have been amusing but this was just as bland and over the top and bad (probably worse actually) then what it was trying to mock.

[Strawberry Clock]

Probably the least abstractt hing i've seen by you. You have a very unique animation style, everything is always throbbing and fizzing and i always prefer fbf to tweening. The plot (?) in this is a pretty damn lacking but i don't suppose th is was a serious attempt to tell a story. The repetition, reversing, and looping of scenes was a neat idea but i think you over used it to the point where the whole animation became a temporal blur.
Lovely art style as usual, cool explosions and effects and fun exagerated perspective. Some scenes had great timing (strawberry clocks shooting pose changes) but others where lacking (strawberry clocks breast grabbing). Not sure how much i liked the song and you hsould credit it (even if it's original).
A fun clock day animation with an interesting mood, keep it up zv!

[Who Are You?]

Ha ha. very funny!
The psychedilic sequences were well animated and you had some neat loops in there. The scene were he kept stepping over himself was a favorite. I liked the voice acting and the script and whilst i'd never heard of any of the names mentioned i still found the general concept amusing. The art style and character poses and expressions were very funny. I especially like the smug walk past the mirror. A good mix of fbf and tweens and whilst it was perhaps a bit static at times i think you got gestures and posture changes down quite well. As for crtiticisms i think the colors at times were a glittle garish and some lighting effects or shadows or shading could have added some depth and complexity to the art. In conclusion i thought it was a fun little flash and you did a good job on it.

[Macrocosm]

Pahgawk you modest master of animation! Every piece i watch from you impresses me more and more and this was no exception. Yes, the frame by frame was a little lacking but you still had some great transitions, an interesting use of colors (i liked the yellow glows) and some inspiring 3d effects. How did you do those rotating wire frames? Very nice work on that. I think you're story telling could do with a bit of work but this is NATA so of course you're rushed and i can't complain too much because this one certainly gave me chills. Fortunately i was familiar with the concept you were putting across having read a great short story about it here (remove the spaces):
http://everything2.com/title/I+don%25 27t+know%252C+Timmy%252C+being+God+is +a+big+responsibility
so despite not being wowed by the originality of the idea i was certainly wowed by the artistry with which you conveyed it. Those wonderful shots when the scientist realizes that perhaps he is just one of an infinite loop and that long zoom from world to world. Of course the universe would have to be part of the system too but i suppose that zooms a bit big even for you.
I like that you make your own music and it's alway fitting but i think you should try something with sound effects and voice acting etc. Only because having just music gives the animations a sort of "music-video" feel that is slightly off putting. Also you've got a fun and unique art style but everyone always seems to be pulling the same dismayed expressions. I'm being picky of course and overall i really did enjoy this animation a lot. Good work with this, good luck with nata, and keep at it! Sorry to hear about your website.

Pahgawk responds:

Ahh yes, I remember reading that story! It was definitely inspiration for this.

Also I was sort of thinking that maybe the "world particle" was just a component of a larger particle, so it was there all along, but then that raises the question of why all the worlds shut off when he turned off just one of the practically endless others. It's definitely a plot hole I didn't think through enough.

[KITAVII]

Very fun!
I wasn't a huge fan of the song but it was nice enough and fit the theme of the animation well. You have quite an original concept here, like a blend of those tedious run cycles with changing backgrounds people make and something spike valentine might make. Lot's of personality in this, neat synching with the music, and a cute punchline. The run cycles weren't actually that great i didn't think, there should be more up down motion in the body as she tended to look a bit like she was gliding. The art however was all very nice and there were lots of cool effects and transitions to keep me interested throughout.
ALl in all it was a fun robot day submission with an interesting concept and i enjoyed it!