Episode 3 Parody FEEDBACK

by **D.Houry** » January 27th, 2005, 2:51 am

Wow. I'm the first one to post a review! Probably also the first to have seen the film. I watched it at approx. 1:43 AM eastern time.
If anyone saw it sooner than that, I'll be eating my hat. (or whatever's left of it from the last time.)

Well, now that I've revelled in the moment, perhaps I should begin my critique.

I thought the movie was very well-planned and constructed. Out of all the starwars parodies I've seen, this one looks more like the actual movie than any other. Thanks to your mind-numbingly tedious but successful compositing work. The technical quality is really up there.

I thought this movie had several really clever moments. Clever is my favorite kind of funny. I'd say my top three favorite parts were:

[SPOILER WARNING!!!]
1. The poopoohead sketch as the reason for Annie's konflict and Eric's line "oh but ..I'm ...afraid..."
2. Annie's "comfortable is good" bit
3. That great shot of your lady being 'preggers' (And your eyebrow face right before that when she says "you must know!" Love that face)

oh yeah! and
4. using force powers for your morning routine.

Now, as for the PG-13 type stuff, I've always made a personal note to always create pieces which can be widely distributed and enjoyed among all age groups. I'd never want my material to be a hindrance from anyone being able to enjoy the high-quality aspects of my piece.
That being said, there were a few concepts that, though very well done (the drawn out 'pregnancy test' gag was very well timed) will keep me from being able to share this with everyone I know.
I felt the same grief for Fight Club when i first saw it. Absolutely amazing and well-executed, but that I couldn't share with at least half my friends. (But which I did force my mom through, just to see her reaction)

Anyways, there were several not-as-clever gags that I think could have been scrapped from the begining (i.e. All the Jar Jar humor. Palpey's no no noooo's) but there was enough good material to make me overlook these things.

Ha, I'm really not trying to cut you down here. I just know you're probably getting a flood of great feedback from this, but not many who're completely honest and will help you mature. It's the same thing with my site. (quick plug http://www.Goodguy-Badguy.com )
I got lots of people with general feedback, but I think two that were specific to the piece at all. It's good to hear favorite parts as well as least favorite parts. Just something specific is great. So, I hope I haven't insulted you at all, because really, I can tell you worked long hours on this and had a great time doing it.

Keep 'em coming man. Good luck with promoting this and congratulations for simply being out there, self-inspired and driven to continue feeding your monstrous creativity. (An ability us college folk are fighting to keep) Congrats to your whole team. Man, I remember how great videos were when everyone was into it.

Oh and by the way, I enjoyed the allusions to other works. (i.e. I thought you'd be taller & MY NAME IS MACE WINDU!!!)

Preesh',
-D.Houry

P.S. What's Preesh' mean anyway?
P.P.S. Oh yeah, and thanks for keeping a journal so we could understand the process better, and follow along in anticipation instead of going OOH OOH! WHEN'S IT COMING OUT??! OOH OOH! ...well for me at least.

[color=orange]Anyone else have specific feedback for the man?[/color]

by **CSB** » January 27th, 2005, 1:54 pm

Wonderful feedback! Yes, we definitely appreciate the good with the bad. Otherwise, how would you know where to improve? Thanks for taking the time to type all that out. Much appreciated. Oh, I mean, 'preesh.

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 2:27 pm

Yes, thank you very much. I prefer honesty. No, this isn't the perfect movie. There are elements that even we wish were a little different, but we worked with what we had and we made some hard decisions on this one. I mean we cut entire scenes out that had already been comped and audio work completed.

The strange thing is that "funny" is relative. Everyone finds something different funny. I'd rather the humor be a little tailored and more specific than trying to appeal to a mass audience because I'd rather a smaller, more dedicated group of fans. That's just me, though.

I'm glad you dug it for the most part. What I'm finding through feedback is that this piece has about a 5% "failure" rate - thus far. Meaning that most people find a couple of scenes or elements that they didn't care for. But, out of 6:30 minutes that's fantastic. Thanks again for the excellent feedback.

by **mattgrdinic** » January 27th, 2005, 2:29 pm

I've always been of the opinion that simply getting rid of that "home movie" look is one of the toughest things to do.

Obviously their are many reasons for this: equipment, time, resources, funding, etc; despite these and other limitations, your project has a totally professional feel to it. Anyone in design or the arts knows that time manifests itself as quality. You've got plenty of quality here. You put lots of effort into this project and it shows.

This project reminds me of another I've seen on the net where some guy with a $60,000 camera did a Key project like this and his results aren't nearly as good. He literally had professional actors (small time, but professional), pro equipment, etc. But it isn't as good.

That said, I have to agree with the poster above when he speaks of the maturity factor. I've been watching your work for a while now, and it only seems fitting that as your technical ability progresses so should your subject matter.

I don't think this takes anything away, rather, it seems like a lost opportunity.

Besides that, you did a hell of a job and you know it : )

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 4:26 pm

Thank you for the kind words and honesty. We appreciate that.

As for the maturity issue, I can see your view. I guess it really boils down to what strikes you as funny. I say this because I don't necessarily consider it a maturity issue. This is, of course, my perspective. To be frank about it: I don't consider a "fart joke," or a urination joke in this matter, to be immature if it's done in a particular way. I will say that I enjoy the work of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Do I think they are immature? No. I think they are very clever. I feel that if you prove yourself on other levels, and it's "appropriate" then you can get away with a clever, low-brow joke. That's just me.

If we had wanted to do vulgar for the sake of vulgar then this would be an entirely different piece. I do appreciate your comments, though. Truly. I also respect your opinion because you fashioned it in a well thought-out and respectable manner. Cheers.

by **mattgrdinic** » January 27th, 2005, 6:08 pm

Totally agree with your sentiment about the use of content.

I'm always amused by the idea of Peter Jackson going from directing "Dead Alive" to Lord of the Rings.

Now that I think of it, you're probably doing freelance work, thus building a portfolio. If this is the case, then my thoughts are sort of null. You see, that's where I was coming from, that something like this can be a great portfolio piece, though sometimes only if it's seen as being "PC".

Like so many others here I'm an enthusiast, and I too did a project like this that was on old remake of a rap song. Needless to say it won't get me a job, nor into Heaven. This movie is nowhere close to that, but I guess after I saw it I was reminded of my past experiences.

Ah the luxury of hindsight.

No matter! Again, one hell of a job!

by **Rigby** » January 27th, 2005, 6:08 pm

haha its great
watching it now

"WHYS EVERYTHING GOTTA BE BLACK WITH YOU?!"
i like the bert and ernie
pee on this...hahahaha oookay
damn thats pregnant
the hand is a nice touch
ill show you poopoohead
"now screwed we all will be"
a boobie?
the deathticle
i like the revisit to the glitch with anthony and you dueling
okay finished watching

allright i really like this, i mean, the chromakeying isnt PERFECT like something done in a full scale hollywood studio, but its damned good, you have smoke effects and whatnot, and the direction is great, nice cuts, ect.

just one thing

why the hell was ja ja getting tranquilized up the wazoo?

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 6:11 pm

We had to kill Jar Jar somehow. How would you kill him?

by **Rigby** » January 27th, 2005, 6:12 pm

....good point

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 6:58 pm

Here's a lot of good feedback:

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic.php?id=224029

by **Rigby** » January 27th, 2005, 8:46 pm

they're right

by **Rigby** » January 27th, 2005, 8:46 pm

submit it to theforce.net

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 8:51 pm

I've contacted them, but haven't heard back. You never know. Maybe you guys should bombard them. I'm through, though. I'd like to be on there. It'd make some sense.

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 9:16 pm

My all time record for unique hits in a day has just been broken. The original SWE2 trailer got 1300 in one day. It's only 8 o'clock and we've hit that already. I'm very pleased with the response.

by **hardbed34** » January 27th, 2005, 10:02 pm

If anyone saw it sooner than that, I'll be eating my hat

you better start eating. I'm sure others saw it before me, but I saw it at 11:30 standard forum time. 10:30 where I am.

but of coarse the movie was great. I'd have to agree with pretty much every thing that was said.

I did notice one bad cut, when the angle switches to anie getting mad at the drawing. it wasn't so much the cut as the two angles kind of clashed. no biggie.

but I'm going to spread this to everyone who wouldn't mind a movie like this. I already showd one of my classes. they all liked it and are quoting it now. I posted it on another forum too.

and I'm not suprised your record has been beaten. your site should have a rush of people again, especially if you get it on TFN. maybe I'll e-mail them.

by **ntbullock** » January 27th, 2005, 10:06 pm

Coo'.

by **333imacman** » January 28th, 2005, 11:57 am

I really thought it was well shot and keyed and acted and written and so on. I, like others, wasn't as fond of the "vulgar" humor, but for the most part, it was awesome. Keep 'em coming.

by EK » January 28th, 2005, 2:57 pm

First off, thanks for the comments and feedback. We appreciate the honesty.

I kind of want to touch on the "vulgarity" issue. It's true. There's no denying it. But the thing is.... we just couldn't help ourselves. Speaking for myself, I have to admit that as low-brow as "bathroom humor" is --- I have to confess that I sometimes can't help laughing at it. I like to think that I have a fairly discriminating and sometimes even obscure sense of humor. But the truth is, you can also get me with a well-executed fart joke. I guess at heart I'm perpetually 12 years old or something. But when we sat down to write this thing, Todd and I both decided that we would follow one rule --- If it makes us laugh, put it in there; if it doesn't, take it out. We're both big fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. South Park is a staple on both our televisions, and we both had just been totally knocked out by "Team America." Now, I realize that Matt and Trey certainly don't appeal to everyone. But that's kind of where our heads were during some of the writing. I'm not trying to compare us to Matt and Trey at all. Just telling you where we were kind of coming from. Thankfully, I think there's enough stuff in the film so that even if you don't like all of it, you'll find at least something that'll make you smile. In fact, it's been really interesting hearing from people and finding out what bits they singled out as really making them laugh. Sometimes it's some small little thing that we never thought too much about. Just goes to show how diverse peoples' sense of humor can be.

Anyway, we've gotten a lot of nice feedback so far, and it's a great feeling to able to share what makes us laugh with you guys. We had a load of fun making this thing and if other people are having fun with it too -- hey, that's gravy, man.

by **xbay** » January 28th, 2005, 3:01 pm

I've watched at least a half a dozen times now. I showed it to my siblings, then friends at school. We all love it. It's got a stupid kind of funny, like Napolean Dynamite, along with some visual humor. Of course, there are a few people I shouldn't have shown it to, like my mom. She's the more wholesome, less vulgar type of person. She asked me, "You're hosting that on our server?!" Ummmmm........ She also commented on the language. Language usually makes her not like stuff regardless.

I have to agree with most of the above posts. There are some people you can and can't show it to. I also like NT's comment on choosing the humor style. You can't please everybody, so might as well focus a little more on a specific group.

There were a lot of specific parts that I thought were the best things I've seen in a long time. My favorite parts were at the beginning and end. The morning routine force powers and breaking the lightsaber. It's funny how it broke by accident. It was an awesome idea to use it.

As my opinion on the humor goes, I overall liked it. When we first had the vulgar discussion a few weeks ago, I feared for the movie's content. It actually wasn't what I expected. I didn't think it was that bad. Of course, there are people I won't show the movie to, but I think it's funny, for the most part. What I'm curious is how much stuff got cut out of the original script.

Gosh, that thing would have to take SO MUCH planning and commitment. All of the shots, so many different scene types, guessing where the background would lie in corrolation to the actors, etc. The spoof has a very professional feel that I love. The fact that you were able to do as well as you did has inspired me for some of my own projects.

NT, you and the rest of the crew has done an awesome job. Keep it up!

by **ReelMaster** » January 28th, 2005, 7:37 pm

Good job by all involved. The production level on this particular short was very impressive....Most impressive.

sorry had to do it :)

Keep up the good work!

by **MRMD** » January 28th, 2005, 7:56 pm

Great job guys! Your hard work has really paid off. This is going to spread like wildfire across the globe! I bet you'll get over 500,000 unique visitors during the lead up to episode III.

Here are my favorite lines/moments....

"Those bitches!"

"Your journey towards the dark side is almost complete .... oh yeah... it should be."

"Deathticle."

....and of course ept 1138. I hope Lucas doesn't get ticked with the reference to THX 1138. But, if he gets ticked at that and nothing else in the parody, then he's lost his mind. Actually, this whole thing is a form of flattery, so it will probably be universally well-received.

You should all give yourselves a pat on the back, and then get a keg of Coors (if you haven't already).

Ron

by **Eclipsed Moon** » January 28th, 2005, 8:55 pm

by **ntbullock** » January 29th, 2005, 12:37 am

Thanks guys.

There wasn't too much, I don't think, cut out of the script. We tried to only write what we needed. A script like this kind of writes itself as far as plot progression. We also wrote ourselves into a coupla corners, too. Either way, I feel we prevailed.

I've been absolutely amazed at the online response. The unique hits alone today will reach over 10,600. That's fabulous. If I had a dollar for every time I read today: "Best fanfilm ever," "This'll probably be better than the real movie," "Genius," "Classic," and the list goes on. Horribly flattering comments from all over. Really, there were only a handful of negative comments. I'd break it down to 5% negative feeback. That's amazing. I've never seen that kind of reaction.

I knew this movie would be very quotable from the beginning, but I had no idea how varied the response would actually be. The quotes are all over the board. That's just great. I've been running on "Release High" all day. There was a peak today where we were average almost a thousand hits an hour. That's a rush, my friend.

Oh, MD, you're the first to truly mention the EPT-1138 reference like that, and believe me I've read a lot today. Congrats. Someone emailed me today and actually got a vague Hudsucker Proxy reference that I didn't even tell Eric about. I'm still curious if anyone gets the true meaning of Vader's chafing joke...

by **Voodoo_man** » January 29th, 2005, 12:43 am

First time posting, very cool!!

Well, I've watched the thing at least 9 times now. And it’s great!! The amount of work you guys do is amazing. It’s hard to find generally funny films out there. You guys are flippin’ funny.

And bang on with Vader’s voice by the way!! The next best thing to kidnapping James Earl Jones!

Hands down the best part for me will always be in the beginning when the Emperor tells Vader to “Riiissssseeeeee”.

by **ntbullock** » January 29th, 2005, 12:50 am

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for checking it out and the feedback. Yeah, when we were recording Scott's "Rise" line I told him to elongate it and his voice cracked. It was absolutely hilarious to us. We kept listening to it over and over. I finally said, "We'll do a couple more, but that's the one right there."

There was a lot of VO work done on this and no one has really mentioned it - that's a good thing.

by **vabeachfx** » January 29th, 2005, 1:37 am

you swing to hard..........ass.......... i swear............

lmao....

cant believe i waited this long to see this..............

classic

good stuff NT............

by **dickweed** » January 29th, 2005, 5:44 am

D. Houries, the first poster, has a site that drips off my moldy balls. Todd this new movies sucks my balls. From hip to generic in one movie. Anthony your cheeks look full of balls. Where is the guy from fight club? bring him back. These other posters are trying to keep your spirits up but they all know what i know that this suks it misses the mark it flopps it loses money

NTB fans who think this movie sucks should check out "fredryk phox" who still kicks ass.

DickWeed

by **ntbullock** » January 29th, 2005, 11:30 am

Sir, Anthony's dick is NOT small! I've been told he swings a big ship.

Other than that your statements seem valid, sir.

by **ReelMaster** » January 29th, 2005, 6:34 pm

the eyebrows comment was in reference to ILM digitally removing Shaw's eyebrows in ROTJ ;)

I am guessing of course!

by **ntbullock** » January 29th, 2005, 7:57 pm

Very good, sir. You are correct.

Episode 3 Parody FEEDBACK

Episode 3 Parody FEEDBACK

D. Houry sucks pig ass

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