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I was never bored with the film, but feel that the subject matter and plot points don’t warrant the twenty minute length. If it could be cut down by 2-5 minutes, I think it would have a much better chance of getting into festivals. As it stands now, perhaps the intro about the neighborhoods of LA could be cut down a bit. However, this is a minor criticism, as Doran managed to pace the movie fairly well so that there really aren’t any scenes that drag, just parts that maybe aren’t as crucial to the story as others.
Visual Look
This is where the film shines. Doran seems to have mastered the use of Super8 photography, something which is increasingly becoming a lost art. Not only does the motion signature and grain inherent in Super8 film immediately seem to boost the production values by thousands of dollars, but Doran’s choice of film stock, combined with his use of filters and color correction creates a tonal variety that I still haven’t seen replicated with digital video cameras. There is something about the over-saturated “pop” of the blue sky and green grass captured by the Super8 film that seems impossible to replicate in any other medium. Doran uses this highly-saturated color palette during the “happy times” of the character arc. However, once Mr. Westsider starts his downfall, the colors become more desaturated. Towards the end of the film, we are presented with shots in muted blues and sickly yellows, reflecting the mental state of the main character.
As a result of the vibrant nature of the colors and grain in the Super8 film, however, the still shots that are edited into the movie seem really out of place. Even though they are given the “Ken Burns” motion effect, their lack of saturation and grain really makes them stand out, thus pulling the viewer out of the film. I would highly recommend that Doran add some fake film grain to these still shots; there are various film-look plugins that should be able to accurately match the grain of the Super8 film. Perhaps boosting the saturation or adding film-look color curves to the stills would also help the still shots blend in better with the rest of the footage.
Finally, the title cards (aside from the main title card, which is done in 3D and looks great) are stylistically uninteresting. They’re presented in a plain font over a black background that just doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the film. Even choosing a more interesting font and textured background would help, although it would be nice to see a continuation of the main 3D title card, perhaps adjusted to fit the scene at hand.
Audio
Westsider doesn’t have any sync sound, presumably because most Super8 film stocks don’t provide this luxury. Instead of trying to do ADR in post, Doran decided to go down the easier path of using narration. However, the narration is great, and there is never really any point in the movie where I felt like the addition of sync sound would have added anything. In fact, there isn’t any natural sound anywhere in the film (i.e., no water running, cars honking, footsteps, laughter, wind, etc), but I didn’t miss it at all. The narration really brings you into mind of the main character, and although this technique is often a cop-out used by amateur filmmakers, it is effective here.
Technically, the narration was recorded in a very professional manner. There are no noticeable plosives or sibilants, meaning a windscreen was properly used. The volume levels are also consistent, meaning compression was most likely applied judiciously. Finally, the vocal tone is not overly bassy, meaning that either a nice microphone was used and Will Lupardus kept his distance from the mic, or EQ was applied by someone who knew what they were doing.
The music in the film is also great, and fits the mood of the scenes pretty well. It never stuck out as annoying or out-of-place, mostly because it is mixed in very well with the narration. Whenever Will Lupardus talks, the music ducks under his voice to an acceptable level that doesn’t drown out his narration. Tonally, everything is top-notch, with no skewing towards ear-splitting treble or muffled bass.
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