The Mole - ID# 499
Bremen
Seven Day Challenge
Entry Description
When the police struggle to take down the mafia they turn to an unlikely ally.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
Judge 1
Positives: You show an excellent knowledge of crime drama and how they work. You have a lot of characters and do a good job weaving them all together and giving them their own motivations and personalities without it ever becoming crowded on screen. I enjoyed that you had a teaser before your title sequence, and that made it feel like everything we needed to know to get into the story was set up properly. Amazing acting from your crime boss-- the fact he was so calm during his scene added to the suspense and terror. You stayed tonally consistent and kept the drama going. There was only one joke about the food initially, but you saved it with your dialogue and kept us serious about the drama, which sold the reality of it well. Your lighting was excellent at times when you blacked out their eyes for a nice Godfather homage, if intentional.
Improvements: Watch your props when you do a film like this. In a crime drama, every detail matters. When the chief opened the book of maps, I thought he would use it to show a location, but the book wasn't referenced. That's a missed opportunity and causes confusion to the audience. Also, our mole is referred to as a rat at one point, which carries a different weight to it, so that became confusing as well. If you have a rat who was made into a detective so he can become a mole in a crime syndicate, then you have an informant. Your lead actor needs to react to dialogue where he's insulted by the chief or when the boss murders three people in front of him. Really lean into the drama otherwise it becomes stiff. Lastly, some scenes you're cutting off the ends of dialogue when you edit. If you add a few frames after a line delivery before you cut, this will help you avoid that.
Judge 2
Positives: Nice work! 1) Lots of great written dialogue that help to drive the story forward! 2) Kudos for pulling in so many different locations, time-of day situations, and dramatic lighting!
Improvements: 1) Focus on framing! Many of the shots are too tight to wear our characters are cut off. This stuff takes practice for sure, and so one suggestion for next time is to shoot wider than you intent to use, then giving yourself room to play in the edit. 2) Props for such a huge story undertaking! Now, simplify! There's so much moving so quick, that the viewer needs time, or less stuff, stay stay in it.
Judge 3
Positives: The music bed worked well with the story and was not distracting. The variety of shots including creative camera angles helped convey the mood.
Improvements: The lighting and color was not balanced and was distracting at points. The story moved slow at times and could have been improved upon with quicker editing.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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