Score: 10

"Nice"

submission: "From my Room"

date: October 16, 2003

It's sad to see so many idiots reviewing quality animation and critiquing based upon what they wanted out of it, and not what it gives. It tells a story, there is no part 2. Catchy?...It's not a stinking britney song, it's art. The ending provides closure to the story, what more do you want. Good job Alex.

Score: 10

"Nice"

submission: Pink Floyd - Eclipse

date: October 15, 2003

regardless of the begging for points, I believe the work still stands on it's own merit. How many out there have done the same thing? I thought it was pretty original to create a flash movie specifically to garner more points. Aside form that, it's aesthetic appeal in itself kept my interest.

Score: 4

"increase the tempo"

submission: College University pt 1

date: August 29, 2003

You have plenty of dialog, but you need to increase the tempo and maintain it to make it seem funnier than it is.

Score: 5

"'salright"

submission: Mission Improbable

date: February 20, 2003

Looks like you spent more time in photoshop than in Flash. Nice animation of the body parts though, but I'd suggest using some ease in and out on your tweens to add a little more realism. Tweening without using any ease just makes everything look so robotic.

One last suggestion is to make sure you put a keyframe in the HIT frame of your buttons. For example, your REPLAY button is hard to click unless the pointer is on one of the letters. Using a keyframe in the HIT frame of your buttons activates the entire area of your choosing so people aren't squinting to click on a button.

Score: 3

"short"

submission: Bob the Bunny

date: February 20, 2003

Yes it's a little too short for my taste but there were some goof things happening technically. I appreciated the fact that everything was hand drawn and you could tell it was a bunny and it was actually hopping.

Also, the background moving enhanced the movement of the bunny which alot of beginners have a hard time grasping (perspective.)

I think death in alot of these flash movies is brought about by a deeply subconscious mode of thinking that it marks the end of everything. Hmmm, how do I end this so I don't have to work on this anymore?.....I'll kill it!

Score: 1

"bad spelin loozs credabilitee"

submission: The Joey Butters Story

date: February 20, 2003

I thought this was possibly a human interest piece with a factual basis. The somber mood set by the music and the "matter of fact" way the story is presented in text. This worked for it aside from the spelling errors.

Also, you can't assume the reading speed of everyone, so add an interactive button to progress to the next frame or scene when there's only text to read.

The graphics aren't stylized enough to look original, which so many contributors on this site fall into. It's obviously easy to draw circles and squares. Spend some more time working out your characters and draw them by hand.

Maybe it was in good taste that Joey's rape in the shower was only assumed to have happened and not graphically represented.

As far as reviewers go, I would say a huge majority of those here on NG are pre-teens with a desire to just have SOMETHING to post, so they post some quick crap and go shit on everyone else's work. There are some really good artists to be found here on NG, but you're right...everyone deserves a chance and a mature critique.

If you're serious about animating, keep it up.

Score: 8

"It's not something to "get", just take it in..."

submission: The Suitcase

date: February 19, 2003

I thought it was very well done stylistically and the music was nicely implemented. I'm sure the intro music was taken from 2001: and that actually set the mood for what was to expect or not expect...chaos.

When you look at masterfull paintings in art galleries, you don't critique the canvas or the brushes used. You forget about the technicalities and focus on the whole. Gestalt comes to mind, for you fellow art/graphic design students.

Yes, it could have been a little more dynamic with the tempo or enhanced in spots, but that's overshadowed by being pulled in by the constantly evolving story and the emotions you're constantly sorting through while viewing it. That's what makes this a good piece.