DeweyGland's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[im having a bad day]

You can do better

There was nothing new here. You don't need to regurgitate the silly fbf shootfest to make an animation.

And you need a preloader.

Tibol responds:

i know but i couldn't put a preloader in it for some reason

[Zone of the Awesome]

One word review: Sweet!

Liked the quick scene editing, the impromptu sounds, the sketchy visuals- obviously you're not one to get hung up agonizing over precision, at least for this piece of work. I think your animation ability to tell a story is right where it should be- I don't know fuck all about Zone of the Enders except what I learned here today, but I think you boiled it down to a concise homage. What else do we want out of flash? Tell a story, entertain. Too many people opt for the technical finery with barely a touch on storytelling. You hit that nail right on the head.

There is always room to improve. In this case I'd suggest working on balanced sound levels/ background music. That's the third leg of a good movie (after story and visuals). Make a coherent sound atmosphere, it bolsters the animation. And you showed you can make almost any sound with a microphone. If you wanted to tighten up your animating, you obviously could. You have the skills. But I liked the sketchy nature of it.

Full marks for you. Let me know when you post more.

Galneda responds:

Actually, the reason I beat myself up so much for ZOA is because I have a tendency to get hung up on visuals. But whether it be I made too many mistakes in the foundation of the flash, and I went too far, or I'm trying to make deadline-after-missed-deadline, I could come up with excuses all day.

Ideally, though, I would prefer to be a perfectionist. This is my proof that I'm capable, and it should bridge my first submission with future projects...but I've said this before.

You're absolutely right, though, about flash. What else DO we want out of it? I think you got the right idea about animations more-so than a lot of users.

Improved sounds is definitely a factor in my next flash that I must concentrate on. I'm making it a point already to get better hardware and software to boot.

Thanks for the thorough review!

[The Consumptionist]

I thought it rocked.

You should be proud of yourself. It had more depth and sophistication in the story than 99% of NG submissions. Your aesthetic palette was restrained, thank god, and your animation flowed well. Visually appealing, and satisfying.

Can't wait to see more of your work.

TypicalDecoy responds:

That may be true, but I am shooting to be as good as the 1% of the animations that are jaw dropping, Ive got a long way to go.

[Ned The Horse]

That was the best I've seen all day.

That was cool! The work on the legs running was smooth, and your artwork was tight. Your story, while short, was straightforward and simple (both qualities I like).

Your soundwork could use a little tweaking. Some of the levels were a bit off, and maybe didn't synch perfectly with the cuts. I'd also suggest faster transitions between perspectives and scenes: a quick suggestion of pan and zoom works just as well and doesn't interfere with the flow of the movie, and pacing is especially critical in comedy. Tighten that up, lop off a second of unnecessary stuff here and there, and you've got it.

All in all I think you've made quite an admirable bit of work! If you make more, let me know.

Rhino-Rampage responds:

Checkout my previous work "Morning Bus Mayhem" and let me know what you think.

It has a walkcycle of a person in it, although it isn't as smooth as the horse.

Cheers on the rating!

[Fathom 4/6]

That was...

What the hell are they spraying on your weed, dude?

xtc-alec responds:

i dont know =(

[Attack!]

5/5 and 9/10- and no fart jokes! I love it!

That was great! Short and sweet and directly to the point, and a lot of fun to boot. What else do you need in flash? Kick-ass girls in pigtails always make my day.

There were a few unfinished bits (like some backgrounds didn't fill the whole frame) that were a tad distracting, but all in all the "rough sketch" aesthetic you chose canceled that stuff out. My big problem with most Flash efforts is the savage use of over-rich colour, but obviously you eliminated that with a dampened palette.

Your dramatic flair is excellent, and I like the fast cuts, but I didn't quite understand why the robot came to love her- was it masochistic, or something in her spit? Or something peculiar to that specific robot? A little clarification on that would've been helpful. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this.

Your first ani? It kicked more ass than 99% of the shit on this site! Make more, fast!

And we need more girl animators! Fast!

Araelyn responds:

Ahh! You totally made my day!
Aha it's funny you mentioned the unfinished backgrounds because while I was making it sometimes I purposely didn't finish the backgrounds. I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. Actually, with the "dampened palette" one of my close friends said it made the flash sometimes boring to look at. So, I'm not sure how to go about finding a happy medium within my next flash projects, but I'm sure I will.

Well, what happened was she broke the antennae and something inside the robot malfunctioned and it became the opposite of what it was made for. I have no intensely scientific explanation for it happening, as it's just a cartoon, but if you notice, none of the other robots' antennae are broken. So, it logically makes sense within the cartoon, but other than that, it probably doesn't.

Thanks SO much for watching my cartoon and enjoying it. There's nothing more I could have asked from you BUT you also wrote a kick ass review AND gave me a kick ass score! So, kudos to that, my friend! By the way, I'm at the beginning stages of a new animation. And you'll be able to see another animation by a girl soon enough. aha. ;)

[One Quiet Winter Night]

Charming and fresh. Like a Christmas card.

That was great work and for your first longish attempt I think it's impressive. The choice of music was spot-on. While visually not my style I thought the sparseness of the action and animation was well thought out and dramatically balanced.

Which on Newgrounds is a rare feat. Too many animators go for technical mastery or violence and fart jokes. Your piece is a refreshing change from the ordinary.

Keep it up! Can we expect more in the coming year?

Esn responds:

It's not just my first "longish attempt", it's the first film I've finished, long or not. :p

I'm currently working on "Asturias Collab" on NGCollabs, so that's my next project.

[Cracks]

Like it.

Nice smooth animation, and a fine job synching the dialogue. I'd like to hear some background music or ambience though. Too much silence makes me feel something's missing.

All in all positive I'd say. And crime doesn't pay!

Madtav44 responds:

Thanks for the review.

There actually is some ambience sound. Maybe I should make it louder, or maybe your speakers weren't turned up. Either way, I'll check it out.