Bryan Fox
"Computers" by Glossy Finish Pictures - Reviewed on November 24th, 2009

This one makes me wish I hadn't slacked off and actually did a review show for this fight. I've got a new ratings system so I don't gloss over entries that get lost in the crowd.

Sound: No complaints here. Maybe a little more ambient noise or music added in postproduction could make the scene come more alive. 4.5/5

Lighting: It was obviously a clear sunny day outside which unfortunately gave you some really harsh lighting. Some parts look too bright, and others too dark. If possible, try to schedule your outdoor scenes on a day with a slight overcast. In some cities (like where I live) that's really not possible. 2.5/5

Filmfights Criteria: That's one horny guy. Maybe come up with a shadier locale like an alleyway for the salesman to set up shop. 4.5/5

Script/Story: Funny stuff. LOVE the clip after the credits. I don't think Best Buy executives will be too happy if they saw this. I think the guy who made a return should have put his finger down his throat and induced a little gagging when he was asked for his receipt if you REALLY wanted to gross out the viewer. 4.5/5

Acting/Chreography: No complaints here. I LOVE the acting of the salesman. He was really into it. I want to see more from this guy. 5/5

Pacing/Style of Edit: Some of your shots drag on a second or two too long. I've got the same problem. The beginning drug a bit as well. 3.5/5

Overall: Funny as hell but needs a little more production value. Should have been a heavyweight. 4/5 (not an average)

Bryan Fox
"That Feeling You Get" by VIPERFANG - Reviewed on November 24th, 2009

I've got a new ratings system so I don't gloss over entries that get lost in the crowd. This movie was clearly meant as a joke, but I'm still gonna throw it through the gauntlet of my ratings:

Sound: In the bathroom scene, there's some nasty cuts where the background noise starts and stops. Either keep it all, or dub it all. 2/5

Lighting: Looks fine in the bathroom scene. Up until then, your white balance is off and the scene with the two guys is too dark. 2/5

Filmfights Criteria: It fulfilled the criteria, but I thought for the first 17 seconds this was an entry from the Filmfights Fight that was submitted to the wrong fight. 3/5

Script/Story: Should have spent more time on the actual subject of the movie. Your run time would have been fine for a mini fight, but not for a full on one unless you could really get a good impact at the end. 2/5

Acting/Choreography: The guys at the beginning were funny. The voice-over at the end was funny as well. I just think you could have expanded the idea. 4/5

Pacing/Style: As said before, this would have been a great mini fight entry, but with all the time allotted, you could have explored a plethora of aspects of that "feeling". 2/5

Overall: Clearly a joke entry, it made me laugh, but I think a joke entry can also have more production value in it. 2/5 (not an average)

Volatile Productions
Replied on March 9th, 2010

I hope you meant this review as a joke :)

Bryan Fox
"Ideas" by NDI Studios - Reviewed on November 24th, 2009

I've got a new ratings system so I don't gloss over entries that get lost in the crowd.

Sound: That was a nasty cut starting the background noise in the beginning. Either fade it in or start it at the beginning of the clip. The background noise is also a bit loud and is really annoying in parts withotu music. I recognized the music from Freeplay. Gives your movie a much more original feeling than using "the current hit song from the radio". 3/5

Lighting: Hit and miss. The scenes where he's near a window has that "harsh" look where you have a lot of shadows in one part and brightness in other parts. The part at 00:47 where he's using the computer looks great, but could use a soft light behind him to cut him out from the background. Check out some 3 point lighting tutorials on the net. 2.5/5

Filmfights Idea: Money not buying ideas is a true thing...5/5

Script/Story: ...but only a fool would spend their money on something like that. An idea is worthless unless you work to make it come to fruition. It's just my taste, but I would have preferred you take it from that angle. 3/5

Acting/Choreography: The acting was fine. You got off easy in that most of your acting is not spoken which isn't a bad thing. 4.5/5

Pacing/Style: This movie flowed pretty nicely and needed to be edited to that of a slow burn. Part of your title is cut off on the side at the beginning. It might have flowed a little better if you showed the transaction briefly online and the idea was emailed instead. You also would have killed any spoken lines which might not have been a bad thing. 3.5/5

Overall: Too rough around the edges for me to vouch for heavyweight status, but with a little more work, this could easily have been one. Kudos for making this solo. It's tough to come up with good idea if you're working on a film by yourself. 3/5 (not an average)

Bryan Fox
"Everything?" by EmmerekEntertainment - Reviewed on November 27th, 2009

Sorry I didn't get the chance to review this when this was new. Here's your review. You look like you're a really young group of people, so take the harshness of this review as a compliment that you can compete with the big boys.

Sound: Poor transition from the music in the beginning. The vocals were a little echoey which was most likely caused by your hardwood floor. If possible, try finding a carpeted room to shoot in. The transition to the music in the credits was also poorly executed. Your credits were so short they would have been better silent. 2/5

Lighting: Really poor. Your camera needed it's iris opened up more along with some more light on your talent. Look up some 3 point lighting tutorials on the net for some help on this. Everything is also too yellow which means your cam needs white balancing. 1/5

Filmfights Criteria: I don't remember the time limit but I'm pretty sure it was below 4:30. You definitely tackled the topic of what money can and cannot buy in a humorous fashion. 4/5

Script/Story: Definitely cute and funny. Like the part when he's on the phone negotiating with foreign countries. The gag at the end was also cute. 4/5

Acting/Choreography: Great for the most part for people so young. Your lead seems like he's overreacting just a little too much here and there. 4/5

Pacing/Style: For most of the movie, it's quite well executed. As said before, the opening and ending was too short to really make use of music. 4/5

Overall: If you're as young as you seem, you've definitely got a jump on the rest of us. I never touched any sort of video editing until I was 15 and never studied it as much as I should have. Your major flaws are production value and there's a ton of good tutorials on Youtube in regards to lighting and sound that you should look at when it comes to filmmaking. Keep up the hard work, take some advice of the more seasoned filmfighters, and you can be a force to be reckoned with. 2.5/5 (not an average)

Bryan Fox
"Good Ideas" by Pirate Hooker Status - Reviewed on November 28th, 2009

Sound: Not too hard to screw this one up with the "interview" style short. Like Viperfang's movie, it seems like a joke entry. 4/5

Lighting: A little dark up front as if the light is coming from behind him. Maybe have much of the light come from the left or right. That would give a better "interview look". 3/5

Filmfights Criteria: You talked about a lack of ideas, but not about how money couldn't buy them (like NDI did). This would have been a better movie for the Filmfights Filmfight. 2/5.

Script/Story: Not much to see here. Looks like everything was made up on the scene. The "I can't think of what to do" movie is funny to see a few times, but gets old pretty quick. 1/5

Acting/Choreography: Everything the guy says is pretty natural, but with the lack of a story, it just isn't very amusing. 2/5.

Pacing/Style: Shots were cut together nicely, but that's effortless in a blooper reel style movie. 3/5

Overall: Coming up with a good story is a huge chunk of the magic in movie making. "I don't know what to do for this filmfight" entries get real old, real quick and come off as a copout. 2/5 (not an average)

Bryan Fox
"Money Can't Buy?" by Sometimes Funny - Reviewed on November 28th, 2009

Sound: Good music choice. Voices would have been crystal clear if you hadn't made the music too loud that it drowns out the voices. 2/5

Lighting: Iris settings might be a tad dark, but other than that it looks great. I know you're rocking a nice cam which makes things a little easier. Having everything outdoors helps immensely as well. 4/5

Filmfights Criteria: Tackled with a vengeance. I thought the documentary was going to be the copout that everyone would fall back on for this fight, but I'm surprised I didn't see much of that. 5/5

Script/Story: Man on the street documentaries this short are pretty much devoid of a script and story. No rating

Acting/Choreography: You got a decent selection of average Joes and Janes off the street. Exactly what a documentary is about. Their answers don't sound forced or phony. 5/5

Pacing/Style: Nice shots of cutting away to miscellaneous things (looks like some shots of you guys beaconing people over to interview) to break up the monotony of facial closeups. Almost perfect documentary style. 4.5/5

Overall: Sometimes Funny strikes again. I personally frown on documentaries because there's no storyline creation which takes out my favorite part of filmmaking. I still like a well executed documentary. 4.5/5