I couldn't tell since it is in grayscale, but it looks like you used many colors for walls.  I probably would help to stick to one color or  try make it look planned.  The cinematography however was quite impressive, with a lot of great looking shots.

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This is fun. I really like the car driving shots.

Wonderful film, Blue Ghost! I like cop mysteries.

The animation was nice, could have been a bit smoother, but it's pretty good anyway. Even with your lack of LEGO bricks, your sets came together quite nicely. I too like the car driving shots, very creative (and reminiscent of old movies!). The voice acting was perfect. The joke was really funny too, and the whole film was extremely well put together.

Keep up the great work.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Yes! A slightly predictable plot, but in reality it takes place so fast that you don't really have time to think ahead and the punchline still takes you by surprise. So basically it's all ok.

This one certainly thought outside of the box, not only setting up, but solving, and then questioning the mystery all in a tightly packed but perfectly paced film. EASTER films tend towards bright colors and happy plots, so this stood out immediately as going in a very different, and obviously very rewarding, direction.

The grayscale image, with the opening narration and background music, set the tone immediately, and the "Rabbi" hint was incredibly clever, and perfectly set up the twist ending.

Congratulations on first place, you've done a fantastic job, and certainly earned it.

Thanks to everyone, I'm really grateful for all the great comments and feedback. I'm certainly surprised this film got the reaction it did! As mentioned it's my first real film in many years. Back with a vengeance? You decide

For this film I decided to depart from my typical approach of editing audio to existing animation. The story was written, the  a storyboard completed,  and the audio, including original music, was fleshed out in complete form long before a frame of animation was shot. For my first time ever for a film, I also created a storyboard animatic so I could get a feel for the film's pacing. I figured pacing was especially important because each small increment of time was so valuable.

The actual animation, however, due to procrastination, was not completed until less than 24 hours before the deadline. I was also beset with technical difficulties; I was shooting with a DSLR and a preview camera, and after the preview camera charger died all I could do was point a secondary camera at the DSLR's video out-put. Obviously, the result was of a quality which was far inferior to a direct digital connection or a live-view system. My suspicion is that this film could've been technically sharper had I had a bit more control over the preview mode.

I'm glad the car scenes were appreciated as a nod to vintage cinema! They were heavily inspired by both films I had seen, and the method of Night Owl in Weed Cops (one of my favorite brickfilmers). The overhead shot was actually the entire set on its side with the floor facing the camera, since I didn't have the hardware to get a true overhead view.

I actually went to sleep halfway through animation, discouraged and figuring I would scrap the film, but for some reason I woke up inspired and finished it. I'm glad I did! On the whole it was fun to make and participate in this contest. I've definitely got the bug for making films again, and what better than a short film contest to do that?

Last edited by Blue Ghost (April 11, 2015 (05:44am))