barfconvention's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Princess of Hyrule]

The cinematic camera work and well drawn backgrounds were a good contrast to the punchline, however I wish either the punchline was funnier (ie, a bit more unexpected/shocking. The drawing is good and quite funny, but not especially original), or that there was more palpable tension/anticipation as the camera approaches Zelda (perhaps it could go on even longer, or we could feel the intentions of the 'camera' as a character).

Regardless, for a short little cartoon this was quite well done. I was especially impressed with the backgrounds.

Buckycarbon responds:

Thank you very much, good points to consider!

[Every little bit]

I think it was said below, but aside from the cut between flying and sitting on the branch (which was a bit jarring/awkward), this is very fluid/free form and a pleasure to watch.
I love the drawn quality it has. It looks especially good on the backgrounds and the distance shots and compliments the bird's motion.
Nice job! I'm excited to see more of your work!

Extellus responds:

^_^

[Advice]

The concept is a lot better than the execution here, which is a shame because I think this could have been really funny.
I'd love to see a more over the top scene instead of a loop wherin the Child/Lollipop combo catches afire perhaps through the fault of a negligent/clumsy parent (I don't know what ads you were specifically referencing, but yeah.)
Additionally, the text seems to hold way too long before the link appears. I've lost interest before the final punchline shows up.

Anyway, even failing to have more shots/animation, I think some melodramatic music and/or Very Serious SFX would really add to this. It's a funny idea, and I'd really like to see another more developed crack at it!

[creditos]

Pretty good credits sequence, it gives a good sense of what kind of show this is.
I'd suggest maybe holding longer on some shots, and trying some transitions other than fades. They get a little boring, and make the already very short shots seem even shorter/harder to see.

Perhaps also consider changing the color of the text and/or having a designated space for the text. That way it will be easier to read the names of the cast/crew as well as appreciate the images.

FotAnimaciones responds:

oh right

[SS - Singularities]

This was pretty interesting, and it's definitely cool to see informative videos.
I did sort of feel like a certain amount of knowledge was presumed/prequisite to really understand this video (I didn't watch the other videos in your series, so if they're all meant to build on each other you might be able to disregard this).

I also didn't always feel like the visuals were engaging or provided a fuller/alternate understanding to the concepts.

Consider looking at some other artists that work with audio heavy material to look for ways to keep your budget maybe a bit low but still more fully engage the viewer. Vi Hart is a great example if you're not familiar with her work. It's not as 'educational,' but Nina Paley also does some really interesting stuff that is very satisfying in terms of arcs and shapes coming together.

On a different note, it was sort of odd to me that you brought in the female duplicate of Patchman character to 'help explain' but she didn't seem speak (just sort of pointed things out/stood as a visual aid). I can understand that it might be hard/another step to get a female voice actor, but maybe something to consider for next time!

Anyway, keep up the good work! I'll definitely try to watch more of your videos in the future and learn a bit more!

[Are You Happy?]

I liked this a lot. The dialogue was really charming, and as far as a cartoon reusing a lot of the same footage/animation, it ended up being quite engaging, and (maybe out of left field?) for some reason, I found the circle of grass to be really interesting to look at.

Window into a candy store (?), had me really intrigued, and although I like the vagueness/somewhat abstract nature of it, but I do wish maybe it was explored further.

[Dokuroshima 1 pt. 2]

I'm actually most curious about the use of text in this. The characters are voiced, so I'm interested in why their dialogue is written, and why is it not always written under them (like anime subs)? There are also areas through out (like the file name), that make me curious about intent. I found it fairly distracting here, but thought it could possibly be used in an interesting way in the future.

The backgrounds were a little sloppy, and the 'sameness' of the shots made it seem a little bland.

I think more diverse shots would make the this style of cartoon (minimal animation) a lot more dynamic and engaging. My favorite part were in general the drawings of the Future King, he's really funny.

AoiShinigami responds:

Well, TBH, I kinda got used to put written parts next to characters since before I used actual voice in the projects. I was thinking of abandoning that little part, considering that most of the text in this movie is actually written in the bottom like it should have IMO. Maybe It could possibly used in some interesting idea as you may have suggested.

I am aware of the backgrounds problem, and I'm working on it, so you may expect better backgrounds from me in the future. As for now, this is what you get :/

I'm glad you liked the "Future King" part :)

[Monster Fruit]

That was really awesome! I really love the way you draw trees and those water color backgrounds. The creatures were well designed and charming, and there were some excellent action shots (him climbing on the 'fur monster' and jumping off was v well done).

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when voice over occurred in between long stretches of lovely animation and visual storytelling, it was often sort of jarring, and I feel like most of that vo could have been told with visuals alone (I did like the Monster's Voice a lot).

Anyway, great work! Best of luck with future projects, I'd love to see more!