Score: 10

"Perfect satirical film"

submission: Parliament Deathmatch

date: June 29, 2009

Well, I'm Canadian not Australian, so I don't know all the nuances of Australian politics. Nevertheless, this was just perfectly made, and is one of your best films. Also one of the few things you've made (or is it the only one?) that's family-friendly. ;) I think you should consider doing more "family-friendly" things, as it obviously doesn't hinder you at all. The TV show would be crazy not to play this!

One of my favourite things about this is the music that plays during the transformations. That is absolutely wacked, and very appropriate! How did you make it?

You could've applied this to Canadian politics last year... with Dion as the hamster and Ignatieff as the snake. Unfortunately, at the end of last year our snake ate our hamster, so it's too late now.

Score: 8

"Great cinematography"

submission: The Ballad of CrippleKane

date: June 29, 2009

You've really nailed the style of cinematography and camera moves from those epic Western movies. Also, the art direction is generally fantastic. Simple shapes, suitable for animation, and yet the texture you added gives it a bit of complexity also. Great coloring, also. You also had convincing characterizations. The old man with the white moustache, and the intense stare, was particularly memorable. Oh, and the progression of action was good. It complemented the music nicely without being entirely dependent on it (example, the line "and that's a dead man" often coincided with someone being killed).

There was one basic thing that I'm not sure came out well, and that is the way that the whole ball gets rolling. Maybe I got this wrong, but to me it looked like the main character comes into a bar, sits down, and then for no reason pulls his gun on three people sitting nearby and kills them. Why should I be on his side, after that? A little later on, a scene shows all three on wanted posters, but then why does the sheriff and his men chase after him, if the men he killed were criminals in any case? So that was pretty confusing for me. If he killed them because he had some sort of specific grudge against them (was that it?), I think that should've been made clear in a scene before he came into the bar.

Score: 6

"I'm probably going to regret this..."

submission: Diary of a Lone Butterfly

date: June 6, 2009

...reviewing this after watching it through just one time, that is. I didn't catch most of the story.

But this does allow me to write down my first, honest, impressions, which I guess counts for something.

The first thing I want to say is that the voice-acting is ATROCIOUS. It is the most horrible voice acting that I've heard for quite some time. It is like listening to nails on chalkboard. The insincere attempts at dramatic emotion, the over-emphasizing of lines, the "trying to act in character" (rather than BEING the character), the bad sound quality of the recording itself... severely hampered my ability to enjoy the other elements of the film. It was really awful, and made a mockery of the story being told. Also, the music was unfortunately quite uninspired, particularly what plays during a long section near the end of the film (the girl running back to her house). There was a certain commonplace aloofness to it that did nothing to keep my interest. The direction and editing of the film felt that way too - as if someone was carefully adhering to rules learned somewhere, and in the process forgetting about making sure that it FELT right. Parts of the story often flashed by too quickly for me to take in what I had just heard (I missed the technical explanation of what was happening in the beginning completely), while at other times it unfolded with glacial slowness.

The one thing that was excellent in past episodes and remains great here is the art direction. But all the same, I'm not sure that it's the proper one near the end when you're trying to show something sad. Its bold lines and simplified, angular shapes work against the portrayal of any softness, such as the end. I think changing the art style where the film's direction demanded it might have worked better, maybe... although on the other hand, maybe it would have been fine if the film's other elements were better.

I really loved the three "Tsunami Prequel" films, but every episode released since then I've liked a bit less than the one before...

Score: 6

"The scream at the end made it for me"

submission: Destroing

date: August 19, 2009

Refreshingly horrible. The going more and more out-of-tune as the song progressed was a nice added bonus.

Score: 8

"Funky!"

submission: Funk it Down

date: August 6, 2009

It's been a while since I've come across a song that I'm happy to just leave on in the background while I do other things. This is a song like that. Its greatest strength resides in its funky rhythms and a bit of weirdness. It reminds me of the music for the videogame "Toejam and Earl 2". I give it 8/10 because it is a bit repetitive for me; you have each passage repeat 2-4 times in a row, which is ok for this style. However, I think it would have better if the second time, there had been some one different thing to make things more interesting (i.e. another melody layered on top, maybe leading into the style of the next section).

Score: 10

"Epic loop"

submission: Rose At Nightfall

date: July 29, 2009

You kept it interesting throughout - each new iteration of the theme had something uniquely different going on. The mood was suitably dramatic, and it was very action-y while at the same time not being lazy musically. I also especially love how natural and seamless the transition from the end of the piece to the beginning is.