Soapbubble's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[show reel ---2011---]

Not bad

I\d actually say this is a pretty good show reel, and I\ll try to review it as a show reel instead of a standalone flash.

So, the most important part of a show reel is to show what you\re good for. I feel you get to show multiple sides of your skills in this piece. For one, you\ve been able to show some good character design and imagination. You\ve got some pretty clever scenes in here, with some humor, and you also show diversity in this.

Your graphics aren't the best, they're clearly hand-drawn (you know what I mean) and not necessarily refined too much. Coloring is a bit plane, but it's definitely not the worst I've seen, and you've got some shading in some of the pieces. Animations are pretty smooth.

The audio in the back is relaxing, which is all right, but this reel is highly random, and it's all made up of really short sequences. Maybe make some a bit longer, because it does sort of feel like you're not the kind of guy to take on a project that is long and lasts for multiple months.

Review Request Club

Horsenwelles responds:

thanks for your excellent opinion!

about the length of the pieces, yeah, i didn't have much to work with based on hundreds of snippets of animation, and i focus on physics/smoothness rather than art direction in animating, glad you noticed ;)

i also had to avoid things used in last year's reel, so i was limited there too. i don't know what i'm going to use next year.

[Animator vs Animation III]

So clever

Always been a pretty big fan of the Animator vs Animation series, this being noe exception. Your animation is really smooth, adn this is an idea I\ve never seen executed quite like this before. I'm pleasantly surprised about this. However, after two episodes it is getting just a bit old.

[Great Destiny Man 2]

Impressive

I haven't seen Great Destiny Man 2, but after seeing this, I probably will go back and check it out. Because I want to. Even if it's standalone.

Some really interesting characters with great design. Your graphics are very good, really like your style, well drawn, colored and with good shading and lighting.

The story is good, maybe a bit short, could easily be longer, but I'm hoping for a sequel not too far down the road. Lastly, voice acting was crisp and near perfect, in my opinion, good job on that (:

[Ackbar : Mama Luigi]

mama luigi?

Not bad, liked the intro. I giggled at the first Mama Luigi, after a couple more, I felt you were dragging it out, but when I realized it never ends, I giggled again. Totally had me fooled, nice trap this time around.

[Ackbar : Eviction]

A bit slow

Well, audio on that third guy whose name I don't know wasn't very well, graphics were standardized Ackbar, and the jokes weren't the best, though I've always wondered what controllroomguy looks like. A bit too short this time around.

[Jamrock's Lucky Day (ToR)]

Pretty sick

I watched the movie before reading the threads, because I wanted that first impression, and I was wholly ready to blam it to kingdom come, but upon reading exactly WHAT went into the making of this, I can't really complain too much.

Of course I can't let you get away with a ten. I'm really amazed with how you did the entire thing in AS, I have difficulties making simple play and replay buttons. I can see from the script you posted that a hell of a lot of work went into the making of this, for example the exact coordinates for the drawing API, must've been a lot of trial and error going on here.

Then again, this isn't something I'd want for you to work on. Even though it's pretty amazing, it's not really a good flash in that regard.

Review Request Club

Kwing responds:

Thanks. Considering how long it took to map this all out, I think we can both agree this is the final product.

As for HOW I used the API, I drew the shapes on the canvas as normal, then took a flash-drawn cursor and lined it up before checking its X and Y to map it as script. So it wasn't much trial and error, but it was quite methodical, especially the last part with the 3D tank.

[Animation: Blades]

Good animation

Now, I might be biased when it comes to these flashes, but either way:

Your animation style is very smooth, much better than about 70-80% of the stick flash movies submitted to Newgrounds every month. They've got a natural flow, and the graphics look as good as they can, I guess.

My big issue is that there's nothing to this 15-second flash, other than three random sticks fighting. There's no backstory, there's no goal, there's nothing to it, they're just fighting, which seems rather meaningless and pointless to me.

I'm also not sure what the background is, looking at it it just seems like something slapped on to give the flash another level of depth? I see the broken house and car, but the perspective would mean this guys are standing really slanted.

There's no replay button at the end, and it doesn't loop. The music you put in was pretty epic, though, and fit well with the scene of the battle. Try to add a replay button and add some story to it, make it longer. This is not original at all. I can easily see a lot of work went into making this, considering how smooth it is, but to me, it just doesn't cut it.

Review Request Club

Kwing responds:

The down button is as effective a go-back-to-start button as any, so I didn't think a replay button was really necessary.

I have considered maybe putting in a prologue with one of the characters scavenging in the apocalyptic background and then being ambushed by the other two, but I never really gave it a whack. Maybe that would have given the animation more cinematic value and story.

[Dem Parodeez - 2]

A bit annoying

Oftentimes, graphics don't have to be good for the flash to be good, but I don't feel the comedic value on this one weighs up for the fact that the graphics are, pretty much, horrible.

It seems like everything here could've been drawn free-hand in MS Paint. The filling of colors isn't very good, and all the colors are very plain, no shading or lighting or nuances of the colors going on. The style could go for a parodic style, but it looks more like something a kid would draw.

Another problem is animation. It's really all just tweening, and I can't find any very good animation. Mouths really only had to positions, wide open and closed, which could work, once again, with a parodic style (like Arfenhouse, for example), but considering how I didn't even smile at this, I can't let it slip.

Voice acting wasn't bad. Voice was annoying, but you never tried too hard to be funny, which I can appreciate. A bit tough to make out what the characters said at times though.

Review Request Club

DahDoctow responds:

thank you for your comment.

the reason for the art style was actually because this whole thing was inspired completely by a comic strip made by Tails-Lock. It used the same art style so I just asked him if he wanted to be a part of it, it probably wasn't a good idea but in my mind it works.

Thanks I appreciate your honesty

[Creepist]

Nto bad

Creeper jokes are a bit old on NG by now, but this flash isn't bad at all.

Though the concept and idea isn't very original, the graphics are pretty neat, incorporating Minecraft graphics into the animation style without making it look out of plac eor anything. Voice acting was good, but the audio quality could've been a bit better.

ACFan120onNewgrounds responds:

Yeah, the quality of the Female Creeper was only because her regular mic was broken, and she had to use her crappy one.

[Internet Allstars 2011]

Genious

Pretty sure this is what I needed. And damn dude, Vinter in Hollywood is amazing.

Graphics are neat and sleak, and animations are smooth. I love the idea of compiling all these memes that we've all gotten so tired off into one quickie. And the irony of falcon getting... well, punched.

Cheers.