The Great Escape - ID# 136

Glenbrook South

Comedic Narrative

Entry Description

Cassius tells his friend Aiden about his great escape off the grid. Written permission to use "Dreamship", "A Folk Tale", and "Haunter of the Dark" by De Wolfe Music

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/24 4:53 pm - Nicely done, overall. The production value was quite good in most places. The narrative was clear and the narration style was fitting the purpose of the narration. The protagonist was firmly established and, as a viewer, you do go on the journey with him. A few of your shots didn't linger long enough to help establish the story, The main culprit is the insert shot of the missing person on the newspaper. The audience doesn't have time to register who it is before it cuts away. The establishing shots of the restaurant didn't have consistent movement. The opening shot and then the dolly shot through the interior of the restaurant needed consistent movement. The establishing shot doesn't seem like it's supposed to move even though it does. A static shot there would have been better, or perhaps a better choice would have been a dolly in towards the door of the restaurant then the shot that follows it would have been more complimentary. A couple of your shots were in soft focus. Also, work on your audio mixing. the dialogue should have been much more prominent in the mix. At times it was too soft. The last bit in the restaurant sounded sonically different that earlier portions of the film. Great work, but learn audio mixing more thoroughly. Start using compression and EQ to greater effect. Quality audio is what separates good production value from outstanding production value.
• 4/20 5:58 am - Camera shots were very well composed. Smooth camera movements throughout the production. Good performances by the actors. Video and audio editing was very well done, especially during the flashback/voice-over sequences. Surprising and unexpected ending. Very well done!
• 4/12 12:39 pm - Dark humor at work here and it was a nice change from the rest of the submissions. Lead actor does a good job, plays the part well. I like the stabilized shots that appear throughout as well as the cuts that the editor uses. Good shot variety and some personal style evident here with the whole piece. Some audio pop with narration here and there. Overall interesting and as I mentioned, different!

Judge 1

Positives: Camera: Lots of good work here. The tracking shot of the guy entering the diner is great. The match cuts of your lead in bed, the shower, at work, etc. are great. Reminds me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Some of you diner shots have a Tarantino feel, for that matter. Editing: Good flow and good pace.

Improvements: Sound: Not terrible, but not at the same level as your visuals. Story: Again, not bad, but it doesn’t really pay off or make a lot of sense. Nice job with the skeleton special effect, but a clever and logical resolution would have been a bit more satisfying for me.

Judge 2

Positives: A strange, but entertaining bit of esoterica.

Improvements: The sound is uneven, particularly in the diner. Could play around even more with the 'meta' narrative (e.g., "dramatic effect").

Judge 3

Positives: Well acted and well shot, great lighting and editing. Good story

Improvements: Bizarre...wouldn’t change a thing

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: