IceDragon64's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[ts_Xmess_part_3]

Pretty good.

+ very good art
+ good animation
+ OK story, some good touches

sound good, music good, voice acting better than some of your earlier stuff.

Isn't that girl rather well stacked for a squeeky little kid? lol!

I don't really understnad the storyline- maybe one has to understand anime formulas and rules to get the hang of this kind of thing. The story seems to be written as if we should already know the characters from somewhere. I suppose your going to tell me 'it will all become clear in the end' like so many flash authors say on NG!

If you really want us to see all the parts you should do as I said yesterday and say so neatly in the notes and again in the movies-
hyperlink to earlier parts in an intro and hyperlink to later parts at the end of each movie. This is important. Do it now.

Personally I don't like this whole genre all that much. the whole 'people stand there and wait for someone to throw a magic spell at them' thing drives me nuts, but hey that's not important.
-its good of its type, I suppose and i am sure it will get better.

Personally I think the titles would look better with the ts in capitals.
you could have notes at the end for people who get interested- see our DS movies and games, they all have 'more info buttons' In them you could, for example, tell us what the name techo- whatever it is means and perhaps where you get your inspiration. Remember, people who really like this stuff are the ones who will keep a check on you and vote high on all your stuff, so serve them well- you need to make your movies understandable and OK for everyone, cos everyone votes here, but aimed mainly for the real people who love this sort of thing- a balance.
Best Wishes,
Ice

merit44 responds:

Thanks for the advise all the way throuh. A lot will follow later after I get a broad band connection to update but it will be done in time.

[Trailer for Lost Island]

OK but...

why isn't the proper movie on NG. As a loyal NGer I feel its a bit off- you put a trailer on Ng when Tom asks you NOT to- I put mine on the Alphas and direct us offsite for the full movie- No I won't go.

the sounds were good, as were the voices, but the quality of sound was poor. the animation was mixed, with a clear show of ability, but not much consistancy.

[sonicvschaosnova2]

It had potential...shame

Pt 4 of the Arien quest! lol
Its 1.30 int he morning here but I took your plea seriously and set to work-
submitting incomplete work was fine here, as you explained why- if you are serious about it, you can probalby find a way to get to it- dont ask me, though!
It is good to see that you had versatility- this is quite different to your other work. Its very good of its type, if you had the chance to complete it and work with it, I'm sure it would have done well- I have voted and reviewed it more or less as it is, which is harsh, I know, but loads of people send in incomplete work and promise us the world- You will gain much from submitting to NG provided you understand who we are and what to expect from us.

[Feioras Story Part 2]

Potentialy very good art

Arien quest part 3:

What to say that hasn't already been said?
I will just quickly go over a few things to reinforce them_
-the mix of art styles didn't work
-the art IS good/ very good/great- mixed!
-there is a good story in there, but not all that well told. Your preview thing is NOT what you should call 'Part 1.' It is not an episode with a proper story leading you up to where you are now. It was not wise to put this in without retitling Pt 1 if that is what you want people to see as a story. As I said before, most of us come here primarily to be entertained, when it comes to voting, only the reviewer types, like me are here to really judge and assess things. "Pt 1" is very different in style and does not really explain things well. You should not have to explain your storyline in the notes- this is a movie and it should not be submitted if it isn't ready to tell its own story. If you really want people to see part 1 first, you should say so and put a hyperlink in an intro in the movie as well- in this case your 'part 1' would not explain anything- its just a glimpse of the story from a different point of view.

The animation in the coffin scene is MUCH poorer than the other parts- even I could do as well and I dont brag about being an animator like you do. If you will assert yourself that much in the notes people will bring you down- lol- and I am, believe it or not, still on your side!- read on!

this whole project has good potential- but each time you haven't got it together- you have dropped into NG thinking that becuase we are mostly amateurs and scribblers you can put in all your test work in bits and pieces and sit back and listen to the Wow!'s

Go back through your reviews again- there's piles of information in there- even the hostile ones mostly gave reasons- just ignore the "your crap" ones- you know your not, I know your not and most of Newgrounds can see your skill and potential.
However, as finished, submitted work you MUST realise that your work leaves a lot to be desired and people like Xwayne- the TOP reviewer on NG wouldnt bother if he didn't think it was good.

NEVER put 6 foot of rant in the notes again- you ASK for argument by doing so- just put a little note saying- 'honest, constructive reviews will be appreciated and replied to- thanks" and leave it at that!
Remeber, most people voting each time have NEVER HEARD OF YOU BEFORE! and they've never seen your work NG has thousands of people who drop by every day- You ARE a good artist but you don't know Jack Sh1t about NG, my friend. The first thing they see is your notes.
NEVER tell your reviewers what aspects they should or shouldn't review you on- If you feel that their opinions are a matter of taste and they don't interest you then say so politely and move on- don't stoop to their level! ALWAYS leave it a few minutes before replying- remember the whole world will see your reply and its YOUR work that is in judgement, not theirs.
NEVER challange reviewers to do flash, its sounds childish and insecure- if Tom Fulp wanted only those who submit Flash to be able to review he would have made it so. There are thousands of film critics all over the world from local newspapers to national television and NONE of them are film directors.

By now you must be ready to hit me, but have faith- I began by telling you your good and you have much potential- at the end of pt 3 of my quest I repeat the same.

We on NG have protected a set of your movies through the portal, given you average review scores of around 6-8, and A+ rating, a portal award and lots of review information. Strings of people have reassured you of what you already know- that you do good work and most of us have taken our volunteer time to try and help you in our amatuer way despite the fact that you haven't submitted a single solid, complete, start to finish movie for us to sit back watch and be entertained by, YET!
Best Wishes,
IceDragon64

[feiinloveteaserpreloader]

Excellant anime art

Part two of my Arien quest:

I qualify my title Excellant art with the word anime because many people do not considet anime to be excellant but irritating and silly- you have to face that when you look at your reviews and your score on a general-purpose flash animation website. It doesn't mean you shouldn't come here or something if a few people don't like it- you jsut need to bear it in mind.
Again it says in the notes for submission to consider the Alphas for test/previews/teasers and you have blatnetly dumped something which has little entertainment value on its own in as a submission. Again you have got a good score becuase people recognise the skill in the work and wanted to encourage you despite another dreadful title- the kind of thing you call a file in your computer, or maybe in the alphas- not the kind of thing you want when you upload it. Newgrounds is the biggest flash website out there and shiploads of people come here- thye are not your mates popping by to see how you are getting on- that what Devian Tarts do (lol I am one) stat whores come to get stats and the rest come to be entertained, so imagine you are submitting to a cinema!
this time I have not studied your reviews- we are asked not to review others reviews and I risked my reputation to give you advice with the other one.
Trust me- I am on your side, however stroppy I sound!
Best Wishes,
Ice
t

[dfmrpreloader]

Good/very good

Here begins my quest to study your work; consider whether you have been reasonably treated and give it support in an appropriate manner, as promised:

1. You 'sell' it as a short preview. Generally we dont like previews much, as Tom warns you- but as this is a small story in its own right- a 'cameo' if you like, your reviewers and voters have said its too small but still given you 9/10 etc. This is generous by most people's standards. the reivew score translates as nearly 4/5, with is pretty good for any piece this short, despite its top quality art.

Your art ability is not in dispute and the feeling that this and you have potential is clearly expressed. the guy who wrote the silly 'poo' review can be ignored- as he has written something (mildly) abusive and nothing constructive to go with it you should (with our support) get your friends to mark it abusive and it may well be removed.

As this was intended to introduce us to your style and your characters, you rather let yourself down- you have not yet corrected the spelling mistakes and you admit the text goes by too fast. As you create new movies in a series people go back and look at the old ones. Your fans- you WILL get them- and your reviewers will support you more if you improve your old movies as well as moving forward, taking their opinions into account (but not following them slavishly).

The art is great and the animation is OK/good, but sometimes I cannot make out what things are and what is going on all that easily. - I'm sorry that I cannot pinpoint why.
I watched it three times to get all the details but we should only vote on the first viewing
The title is crap- whatever you meant when you named it - ditch it and pick something worthy of this poinient, atmospheric little piece
You did well to manage all the voices yourself as well as you di, but as director you should really be getting better voices- you did the girl surprisingly well but her mum sounds pretty rough, not the gentle 'mummy' voice we would truly sympahtise with.
Best wishes,
Ice

[Carol of the Robots]

Very good!

Fun/funny
good art/animation

Nice interaction- hyperlinks

different. I can imagine various monitors around the world graced with a paper robot on top by now! I will show this to the Dragons & Spirits when I see them.
Best wishes,
Ice

[Angry Faic Christmas]

Good, funny

+ good art
+good graphics
+funny

All cool but you might improve the spelling in the credits!

ToonCastleTV responds:

Uhh, as far as I'm concered the spelling is fine. I made note I spelled it all right.

[Pick Up]

Very good

+excellant art
+excellant animation
+entertaining story
+excellant voice acting- Hickory is especially good- she sounds SO sexy!

-voices a bit quiet in parts and hard to hear- I needed the subtitles.

The anime style with the funny no-nose faces and wishy washy backgrounds is not much to my personal taste, but its good of its type. You have done well and I look forward to the next installment. I watched it with some of my D&S colleagues, who all enjoyed it.
Best Wishes,
IceDragon64 of the Dragons & Spirits