King of Comedy - ID# 429

Highland Park
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description

The King of Comedy

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/30 1:38 pm - I can tell that you're super comfortable with the camera here. The liberties that you take with the cinematography of this film is working. I think that you can lean into it a bit more. Your ability to establish an aesthetic and style to a film and keep it consistent is impressive. I would say that the excessive use of grain isn't as effective to me as the viewer. It's a bit distracting even. The script and performance is strong enough, that I don't think you need to heavily rely on the filter of the film. All these elements of music, sound effects, costuming, shot selection are what gives the film a vintage/nostalgic feel. Great job!
  • 4/29 10:24 am - What works well: This is a well-crafted short film. The narrative is interesting, the visual style and cinematography work well, the performance is strong, the edit helps drive the story. The music and sound design are well done. The empty auditorium is a really nice touch. What to work on: I think this would work without the voice over. Your visual style is strong enough to carry this without telling the audience what he is thinking. I also might make the post production film grain a little more subtle. While the sound design is strong, work on the mix a little to balance the elements. This is a really great film. Keep making movies!
  • 4/28 10:17 am - Strengths: Intriguing opening; the hold before showing the main character combined with the voiceover are compelling. Great variety of camera angles. I felt like I "knew" the main character through the dialogue, acting performance, and narration- which, to me, is one of the most important components of a successful drama. Use of bell ringing, narration, visuals really worked to build tension in the film. Improvements: At times, visual focus could be more clear (0:50, 1:25) with framing to decrease headroom and guide our focus more towards the subject. Most of the framing was so intentional, so those moments stood out (not a glaring distraction, but a missed opportunity). Could also tighten up framing when comedian makes it to the stage- intentional circling/shakiness but there can also be consistency within that.
Judge 1

Positives: I liked the VO used during the pep talk and the music worked with it as it wasn't too overpowering. Some of the quick cuts walking down the hallway worked well with the different angles it was being shot at. The camera movement was decent throughout the film.

Improvements: I understand the beginning is the main character preparing for a show it seems like, but there could have been more of a variety of shots. I also don't think these needed to be in black and white, some color would have been more beneficial. The laughing effects didn't need to be used when walking throughout the hallway.

Judge 2

Positives: Very impressive camera work! I think out of all of this, that's definitely your strongest. Also, dang that's a perfect end credit crawl. Overall, the visual design of this film is super dope, you really nailed an overall tone that really suited this short. There's professional editors that I work with who would have made a lot of the same choices you did.

Improvements: The lower shutter speed effect should have continued throughout the whole sequence-- when I first saw it I was impressed; however, that feeling quickly changed when we went back to the standard look. At that point, it felt like there wasn't much purpose behind the use of the effect. If it was to put us in the mind of the character, why stop it there, and then have us just watch him climb stairs? The other major critique is that this is not an original script. I didn't want to disqualify it because there's a lot to love about this, but in the end it's just a recreation of Martin Scorsese's "King of Laughs", almost down to the shots. All it takes is watching even just a trailer of the film to recognize the similarities. In the future, I challenge you to build something original. You have the talent, just commit.

Judge 3

Positives: There are some really nice camera movements in this piece, I really love getting this introspective and intimate portrait of this comedian/talkshow host. I really appreciate the experimentation with different techniques like low frame rates and high shutter speeds and these dramatic camera movements. The editing also compliments all of these things.

Improvements: I think that the walk out to the auditorium could've been done a little better. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to be in a dream or trip sequence because of the pills that he was taking or if we were just playing it as he's not talking to anybody, but if it was supposed to be real, you could've tried things like turning off the auditorium lights and adding some light just to backlight the seats so that we have the spacial awareness of the whole room. Because I love the look of the auditorium and how everything opens up after being so cramped but the emptiness kind of puts me back in that headspace of unease. Which could be the point I'm not sure of the intention.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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