Topic: Aftermath. Episode 1.

Directory Link

Aftermath. Episode 1.

Link 1

Betina and Corina argue over the arrival of a mysterious man.

Re: Aftermath. Episode 1.

Spoiler (click to read)

As I said back when you asked me to voice act, I love dinosaurs.
You can't go wrong with dinosaurs.
If the ending of the latest Jurassic World movie is anything to go by, the idea of a world overrun by dinos, now back as the top of the food chain, is compelling and ripe with potential. However, most of those films gave us an opening scene that hinted at all the terror and drama to come through some action/drama before the avalanche of exposition that would follow.

The idea of viewers discovering the state of the world alongside "John Doe" is also a really good idea, but I feel it takes too long (Nearly 3 minutes!) to even get to him. To that point, we've had little hints, but nothing that really draws viewers in. Then, we get told all about the facilities, their purpose, all the details about what happened, only to finally see the dinos about about a minute before the credits.

Yes, it's only episode 1. No, you don't have to show your whole hand right off the bat. But comparing this to Among Us, this has, on paper, a much more exciting premise (Dinos overcome the world, man responsible possibly pretends to lose memory) over that one. (missing boy returns home, but could be imposter.) Yet the other, to me, is far more emotionally engaging.

The characters in Among Us were also flawed people, probably shady, and certainly had agendas of their own, however, I think we get a better grip on each of the characters in Among Us because they are introduced more gradually and each given the highlight in a scene before the cast is again expanded. We get a feel for who they are and what they want before moving on. I feel like, even by the end, we know some about these characters here, but not nearly as much. Introducing a large cast is rough, making each person feel like a real, interesting person is hard, but I know you've got the storytelling chops to pull it off!

However, as for some of the things this film got really right:
Dinosaurs!
The runtime is just about perfect. It tells what it's trying to say, but doesn't stress the attention span of viewers.
The final ending twist was unexpected and instantly adds some great mystery.
I do like the idea of "discovering" the world as John Doe does, even if the execution could have been polished up.
Reusing the Agents theme torsos was a great idea and gives those employees a distinctive flair.
Oh, and there were dinosaurs!

It may be a bit of a rocky start to the series, but the ideas behind it have the potential for some very engaging storytelling!

Re: Aftermath. Episode 1.

Glad you liked it and many thanks for your role in it. Episode 2 is in the works.

Re: Aftermath. Episode 1.

It's been a few years since I last saw a brickfilm that, despite its flaws, really gripped me story-wise. Despite the slow opening, the story quickly picks up, and by the ending, I was truly gripped.

As much as I love consistency within a series, I'd actually recommend dropping the frame-rate a bit. With your current animation at (15 fps, is it?) the movements seem just a tad too speedy - and dialogue movements seem to be sporadic; abruptly stopping for periods so the dialogue can 'catch up' to the animation. Although many would say 'improved animation' would remedy this (true to a degree) if the frames had been played at 12 (or even 10 fps) it might have come across as more fluid. Slower and "choppier" yes, but definitely more fluid and fitting to the dialogue and actions.

While the cinematography as a whole wasn't anything to write home about, there were certainly a few great shots that really shined. The sets all serve their purpose too - adding to the overall atmosphere. Which, let's be honest, is really set designing is all about in Lego - setting the mood and 'implying' as much as you can with what little can be done with Lego bricks. The music I thought was well placed, although a bit non-existent. Combined, these gave the film an eerie sort of overtone - which is probably for the better. It makes even simple dialogue scenes seem a bit uneven and 'on edge' which...

Spoiler (click to read)

Considering the cliffhanger, only makes that reveal all the more abrupt, shocking, and yet climatically satisfying.

As stated previously, story was excellent. Honestly, a lot of brickfilmers tend to have a more animation, lighting, or cinematography focus as of the past few years - but all at the sacrifice of a good story. Sure, animation tests are great and all, and we've seen our fair share of cool 30 second fight scenes, but, what really makes film memorable is story. And, this film is beaming with a great one!

No doubt an influence from great casting! The voice actors you chose here all fit their characters and lend so much to the story. That's something really, really hard to get right with brickfilms, let alone animated films & shorts. But you've nailed it here.

This only hyped me further for the future installments in this series. Looking forward to what's in store next!

https://i.imgur.com/Z8VtGae.png

Re: Aftermath. Episode 1.

Like the other's have already stated, the story was really good here.
However i'd like to point out two instances where the animation had some slight hickups,
the first is the pre-credits sequence - cutting back and forth between the car and the John Doe felt way too fast, and the second time after he and Betina were done talking, Corina seemed to just appear behind her.

I found the voice acting to be quite strong, not just in brickfilm terms, but in animated show terms.
Mary Charles especially is great.
I'm very muched enjoyed the debut of this show.

Re: Aftermath. Episode 1.

DeMark wrote:

Like the other's have already stated, the story was really good here.
However i'd like to point out two instances where the animation had some slight hickups,
the first is the pre-credits sequence - cutting back and forth between the car and the John Doe felt way too fast, and the second time after he and Betina were done talking, Corina seemed to just appear behind her.

I found the voice acting to be quite strong, not just in brickfilm terms, but in animated show terms.
Mary Charles especially is great.
I'm very muched enjoyed the debut of this show.

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed and hope you enjoy future episodes.