The
editing is tight and flows together well from one scene
to the next. The viewer is able to shift from Chris' story
to Tracy's smoothly without confusion. There are only two
exceptions: the first is during the conversation between
Nat and her sister, and the second is Chris' discussion
with Ryan at Ryan's house. In both scenes, there are two
or three awkward jump cuts where the camera seems to "jump
the line" (i.e. cross the line of sight the viewer
has mentally established between two characters), which
has a jolting effect. Sometimes this cannot be helped, because
(for one reason or another) different takes from different
angles cannot be used. However, if at all possible, cuts
between characters should be as smooth as possible, especially
during dialogue.
Use
of Audio
For the most part, audio was consistent throughout much
of the movie. Even though the environments varied from locker
rooms and bathrooms to outdoors, the dialogue remained surprisingly
even. (I say surprisingly because cinder block locker rooms
and tiled school bathrooms can be an audio nightmare!)
However,
there were few places where the dialogue tended to be a
little uneven, namely with discussions over the phone. In
several conversations between Nat/Tracy and Chris/Ryan,
the voice coming through the phone was often too soft. Also,
in one scene where Tracy is watching the news, the anchor's
voice is barely audible. There are two scenes -one with
Nat and Tracy in the bedroom, and one with Tracy and Chris
in the cafeteria-where the audio is, respectively, hot (hissing
and popping) and too quiet.
Although
these issues did not detract from the overall impact of
the film, a little audio cleanup and maybe some ADR work
will make a huge difference.
[Note
to the Director: See if you can record a foley effect of
a real gun clattering to the floor for the scene when Chris
drops his gun after the suicide; although the moment is
a somber one, the effect is broken when one hears the sound
of a light plastic gun falling to a linoleum floor!]
Use
of Budget
For a $9,000 debut movie, Ascension was excellent.
While I can't know exactly how much went into the different
areas of production, this is a very consistent film; there
wasn't any one area that was drastically better or worse
than another. Audio, lighting, cinematography, post-production,
everything was consistently good. Aside from a few small
post-production tweaks I suggested (lighting, audio cleanup,
etc.), I'd say they did very well with their budget.
Lasting
Appeal
I love working with high-schoolers; my college degree is
in High School English Education. I taught freshman English
and absolutely loved it. Being someone who not only loves
working with teens but enjoys hanging around them, this
film has special relevance for me.
I believe
that this movie is relevant enough to be shown in schools
and good enough that the kids won't make fun of it, because
it doesn't have the cheesy lines and 1.5 dimensional characters
that are typical of high-school "awareness" films.
Overall
Comment
For a debut movie, Ascension is very good. The character
development is believable and the production quality is
consistent. Visual layout is interesting and engaging, while
lighting quality and editing are even and smooth. For the
most part, the audio and dialogue are well done; for the
places that are too hot or too quiet, some audio cleanup
will improve it. Considering the budget the director had
to work with, the film is excellent and relevant to both
teens and adults.
