Thank You Mr.K - ID# 164

Glenbrook North
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description

Mr. K, the owner of a local gas station is beloved by anyone who stops by. Everyone except his son, KJ, who is embarrassed by his dad, and doesn't want to take over the family business.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/30 7:46 pm - Can’t go wrong with the magic hour cinematography at the beginning. Looks fantastic. Your camera is a bit shaky. I think a little of that can work here, but maybe there is slightly too much. It is nice to have some camera movement, but if the shaky frame distracts from the story, you want to dial it down a little. I would have liked to see some more close ups to help us get to know these characters more. Some of the dialogue could have been more balanced between the characters and brought up in the mix a little.I like the music choices, and the shot at 2:55 is great. His aimless walk is a really nice touch. Nice work on this!
  • 4/30 11:36 am - This film has a very established aesthetic. This is achieved through attention to detail in the color palette and location of the film. The soundtrack is also very fitting. The shot selection is very nuanced. There are times where I feel like the camera can be a bit distracting. In moments of tension and drama, I want more access to the characters emotions. The camera should be more still and pushed in on faces to reveal body language and tone of the scene. I didn't see the fathers death coming so that successfully paralleled the protagonists perspective. In order for the audience to sympathize more with the protagonist towards the end when he is grappling with the loss of his father, I think the audience needs to experience more POV shots. I understand this message of taking people for granted. If this is the case, I would probably suggest adding more scenes in the beginning where the protagonist comes across more ungrateful and a snob. These scenes already exist but I would encourage you to push them more so when the father is no longer there, the scenes of mourning feel more earned.
  • 4/29 11:05 am - Strengths: Smooth opening - established a clear vibe/feeling. Love Neil Young. Nice performances by the actors. Very naturalistic lighting. Nice choice to see the heart attack/medical event from outside the shop vs. in- good visual and had a powerful impact on the viewer. Improvements: A lot of shakiness in the tracking shots - may consider using more sparingly to feel the effect. You still could've gotten the "observer" effect through framing vs. having so much camera movement. It was also a bit inconsistent- at times it seemed like the shaking would be used for the entire film, but then there were some scenes were the camera was stable. Think about how to keep those choices more consistent or more intentional.
Judge 1

Positives: I really loved the coloring on this, I think some shots might have been a little oversaturated - but I think the coloring helped with the locations this film was shot at. I think the music used throughout the film was good, it could fade in and out a little better, but it fit well with the tone.

Improvements: The shots throughout are pretty shaky, I think a tripod would have been beneficial or at least a stabilizing effect when editing. Some of the transitions could have been smoother as cuts rather than fades between. The audio of the boys sitting on the curb could have been more emotional (even with closer shots and better audio, not just acting).

Judge 2

Positives: You've got a lot of strong frames in this! Using the gas station worked well especially since the lighting pretty much always works, so you don't have to do much to it to make it look pretty.

Improvements: The biggest critique I have is with your lack of a tripod. It doesn't matter how pretty one frame is, if your shot is bouncing, shaky, or crooked, it throws the whole thing off. It doesn't have to be a tripod, but avoid moving shots or holding the camera if it's gonna be so shaky, or crooked. You could even try throwing warp stabilizer on it (at like 3%) to see if it does anything. My other critique is your audio. Try to use a mic as often as you can if you can't the entire set. Sometimes there was too much background noise, sometimes it was clean. Having a uniform sound can be better than going back and forth because the change in quality was often distracting.

Judge 3

Positives: I think you had some very nice shots, and I like how you compose the scenes. And the ending felt overall pretty satisfying.

Improvements: I think the most challenging part about this film was that I didn’t really feel the relationship between your two characters. Also, you really have to think about costuming because why is our main character wearing a Walmart staff T-shirt when they work at a convenience store. So that was a bit distracting.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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