Score: 8

"'Already been done, already been done, already..'"

submission: Hard Boiled Egg

date: June 26, 2008

I love that part in the movie. It's the sort of criticism that a lot of artists get when they strive to complete an original concept and thus very recognizable.

What i find interesting and somewhat ironic is that the animations/movies where you show your critical take on the opinion/influence of art teachers and critics are among the best ones you've done. Like your other movie 'emulation' you made a very direct and effective movie that manages to take a subtle piss with the so called intellectual opinion on art.

What i like about this movie is that you made a great visualization of the different stages that give shape to the formation of an idea and then rewind the process after the motivation has been destroyed by people who give the usual criticism. What i do not like so much is the conclusion of the movie. You seem to take their criticism for granted and start completely over from scratch, making something entirely different. Oftentimes it is more interesting to adjust your initial idea and improve on some of the aspects of the given critique rather than making something new and custom tailored for that will satisfy the critics. Or: to make the train go into a new direction and change it's destination, but to not completely change the means of transportation (to put it in a metaphor like the one used in the movie, lol). This is my take on the situation though so i can't really hold that against the movie.

The filmed scenes were beautifully incorporated with the entire movie and the special effects were very nice. I wasn't too fond of the voice-acting, because it sounded a bit too played out and acted. A more neutral tone would have worked better.

Anyway I'm glad that you are still making these shorts (unlike me) and it's good to see that you are improving a lot from when i first saw your stuff. Keep it up!

AITD

Score: 7

"Going a bit too fast"

submission: Alex Seryoua: Episode I

date: March 9, 2008

It's always commendable when an animator attempts to create his own original series. For this alone and the time and effort you put into it, I'll give it a good rating.

The main character Alex looks like a great foundation to build a series upon. I don't know how you came up with that crazy last name, but the viewer can already get a good grasp of her personality. She seems cool and down to earth without any exaggerated personality traits.

However i felt that after a very good opening of her driving in her car arguing with her boyfriend that things started to move a bit too fast from there. I'd suggest to take more time to build the atmosphere, instead of trying to put as much information as you can in 3 minutes. For example, the part where she got abducted could have been much more exciting and tenser if it was built up in a more detailed way. You could have even ended the first episode there. Her waking up in a strange environment to add to the mystery and confusion of the sci fi plot. As it is now i feel you are going too fast through the plot, leaving the viewer with a lot of questions.

The visual style of the movie is great by the way, i especially like the colour schemes you are using. The tweened walk cycles are a bit strange at points, but nothing that distracts too much from the plot. I also want to give you kudos for the sound effects, they were simply amazing.

Anyway, i hope you continue this series, because i really am eager to see what happens next and how you'll approach the future episodes. Treat certain aspects with a bit more care and this can become a very good series.

AITD

Score: 9

"Good heavens..."

submission: Pork

date: December 12, 2007

my gosh, that ruled

AITD

Score: 10

"Best of 2007"

submission: Leftovers

date: October 23, 2007

We have a saying in hollland that goes like 'The one's dead is the other's bread'. I guess it sums up the concept of this film very nicely.

Big ambitions, different plans, fallen dreams, making compromises... This movie has it all. Everything packed in a flash animation that consists out of 1 background and very little sound effects. Yet there is still enough detail in the animation to keep the viewer entertained for the entire 6 minutes and the content goes deeper than a 2 hour hollywood movie.

The balance between humor and drama is perfect and each follows up in a really subtle way after the other. It's really interesting to see how each of the characters have their own views on how to handle the situation and how every time the dream gets brutally disrupted by other characters, forcing them to compromise. I like how there isn't a moral and how the viewer gets left with the question 'what was the use of it all?' The strength of this short lies in the fact that it manages to bring a comedic note to these seemingly serious questions with trivial actions from the wonderfully drawn characters.

Highly inspirational and as you said in your comments, this is really festival material. I'm sure it will win alot of prizes. With this you have set the bar for yourself really high though and I'm eagerly awaiting to see what you can come up with next.

AITD

Score: 6

"Started really well"

submission: A Canvas And A Struggle

date: October 5, 2007

I liked how this short started. It had a very mellow atmosphere, the style is awesome and the music was superb. It was really cool how he turned it off in the movie. The smoke effect was also great.

I was hoping that the rest would be as cool as the beginning, but then it suddenly became dramatic in a couple of seconds. The concept itself was ok and i thought it had potential, but I don't understand why the abrupt change of mood was necessary. It's fine if you want to take a piss with modern art, but it couldve been done in a more subtle, maybe more mellow manner.

It is great how you got people to think about the subject in the reviews though. I'm a big fan of modern art myself and it's interesting to see how people are so hung up about this classifying as art or not. The entire conclusion of modern art is that everything is art. I much rather see art as an open conceptual way of thinking, however bizarre it sometimes may be, than as a boring 'who can draw this landscape/human in the most realistic manner' contest.

AITD

Score: 10

"Frickin awesome man"

submission: Cuboy Ep.2

date: September 30, 2007

Frickin awesome, no other words for it. And i'm not just saying that cause it's Andy frickin Dennis and Will frickin Arbuckle, but because it simply IS fantastic. Very original, great art, sublime voice acting/sound effects/music and very funny. It's tv quality if you ask me. Take care lads!

AITD

Score: 7

"I can tell why people love it"

submission: :the Composer:

date: September 20, 2007

To start with the positive, i really liked the way you drew and animated the flash. It is a step up compared to paladin and your style starts to feel look pretty professional. The way the strokes were drawn and the good tweening even reminded me of Xombie and that is a big compliment. A few parts were still a bit awkward though, with the arguing silhouettes of the parents looking more like stick figures rather than real proportionate people, or the tiny cars next to the sidewalk.

Since so many people love this flash for it's serious message and content, i thought i'd write a review for it from a slightly other perspective. To be honest, i didn't think it was that special or profound, especially since there are a huge number of cliche scenes and shallow characters that ask a bit too explicit for the viewer's pity. Arguing parents, loner boy with talent, Rise/Fall and a simple moral is not something we haven't seen a lot before. The thing that annoyed me the most though is how there is never really any development and how each scene just passes to reveal the disney ending.

Like the 9/11 flash 'i miss you daddy' that everyone loves, it is a bit too melodramatic and in your face. In my experience, younger people are easily affected by this type of imagery, while adults like to form their own judgement about what's happening and who deserves pity and who doesn't. A good dramatic short contains characters that have weaknesses as well as strengths and that don't drown in self pity, but gradually conquer the viewers hearts while the movie passes. A good recent example is the brilliant movie Babel, with awesome deep characters that we can both love and hate at the same time.

Like i said, this is my take on the flash and the drama genre in general. It is by no means more true or false than the ones of the people who love it, but perhaps you can experiment/do something with it in one of your future films.

AITD

Score: 3

"Didn't like it"

submission: Star Wars: The Rebels

date: August 14, 2007

When i saw the visual style of this movie and the anime like characters, i was expecting this to be a comedy. But the joke never came and instead, a very strange cliche message appeared in the ending scene.
I have absolutely no idea why that was there, but you can not expect people to feel empathy for a few seconds of animation where cartoony characters get shot in space. Why should we? They don't have any depth to them and the reason they fight for freedom doesn't immediately mean we should feel sorry. It is your responsibility not only as an animator, but also as a director, to capture the hearts of the viewer. A task that goes beyond writing 3 pretentious textlines near the end, but instead it should involve deepening out the story, characters, concept and atmosphere.
I hope you will find some pointers in this review. It is in no way intended to simply bash this movie, but relying solely on your animating talent isn't gonna cut it when you want to make a profound movie with a message

Score: 8

".... varicolored"

submission: The Stranger Forest

date: June 26, 2007

Hmm well it's hard for to judge this animation. There were alot of things i like about it and some things i didn't.

I read in some reviews that some users are put off by the anime style you used for the characters. I read it wasnt your intention to make them in anime style, but i did find them rather strange looking compared to the fantastical backgrounds you used throughout the movie. In fact i had that on more occasions, for example when the style suddenly switched from minimal linestrokes to detailed environments in the beginning. I always try to be really careful with changes in style during an animation and only use them when its really needed, but i couldnt find a good reason for the change here.
I think that in this aspect, 'where do clams come from' was better. Maybe thats just me and others did like the changes in style.

What i did think was very good was the way you visualized your vivid imagination. Captivating, surreal and pretty funny at points. The animation was gorgeous, i was especially impressed by the way you animated the cat. The forest was drawn very nicely also, but it was a bit of a contrast with the rather bland cityscapes. Maybe that could be a good thing looking at it from an emotional perspective, but i think a consistent eye for detail would have fit more.

Still, all my kudos r belong to you. In the end you made a pretty original fantastical and captivating animation that is a great addition to the rest of your work. I can't imagine how much time was put into this, but it really was all worth it.

Keep up the good work!

AITD

Score: 10

"Well that's it..."

submission: -Seven-

date: June 19, 2007

I simply have to put you on my favorite author list. You just keep doing your own thing and leave me very impressed after every single animation.

I think you have really achieved your own style and even though alot of your animations differ greatly from each other, they are all 100% 'dustball'. Original, light hearted and technically impressive also. There isn't a lot i can still add after my last review and i don't think there is a lot of critique besides minor technical improvements that can really help you as an artist. Just keep experimenting/making stuff and you'll perhaps get very far.

Somewhere in the future i am going to organize a collab and i am looking for some diverse creative people i admire to do a small part for it. So far it's only me and luis yet, but I would be honored if you would do a part for it. I can send you some details if you want, since i think it's quite a cool concept, but it isnt going to happen anytime in the very near future, so no rush.

Keep rocking!

AITD