Visual Look
The visual look of Remote Control Grandpa was really good. They shot it with the DVX100A and, for the most part, did a great job of lighting their shots. Additionally, the shots were well planned and well-framed. One especially nice visual in the film came after a mirror was shattered on a floor and a low shot, in the reflection of one of the shards, reveals Forest and Spencer looking to see if Grandpa heard the break. Another nice visual element came in the form of motion shots that flowed with certain understood film traditions. For example, when Grandpa first comes to the house, pulls out a trumpet, and wakes the kids with reveille. A well-timed whip zoom, from a MCU to a CU, is used on the trumpet to emphasize the noise. In addition to the nice lighting and shooting, the editing of the film was quite nice and tight and helped tell the story well.
The lighting in this movie is well
laid out and creative...
...As are the shots and
camera setups.
The only visual issue I noticed in the film took place around a revolving shot in the kitchen, when Spencer and Forest were deciding how to make the most use of Grandpa, now that they had figured out how to control him. Because there were a number of windows in the kitchen, the white balance for Spencer and Forest completely blew out the windows and much of the walls behind them. For future films, if a circular shot like this must be done in an area with open windows, you need to hang some sort of diffusion outside the windows so they aren’t blown out. Or else the circular shot needs to be scrapped in favor of a more staged shot that allows you to avoid the blown out backgrounds.
Use of Audio
The overall audio was recorded quite nicely and clearly through the Sennheiser ME67 shotgun mic. There were a few places where the background noise of things like generators or refrigerators became noticeable. While these are not overwhelming, they could stand to have something like Sony’s Noise Reduction plug-ins applied to them. (For future films, initially turning off or sound dampening any unneeded computers, refrigerators, air conditioners, or other humming items can help prevent this sort of background noise.)
For the score, they used a creative amalgamation of classical pieces like “The William Tell Overture” and other notable works. Because these pieces are in the public domain, a filmmaker need only pay the recording company of an individual orchestra that has played them to have the rights to use their version of the music in their film. (For any other filmmakers who wish to use classical music, remember that just because most classical music is in the public domain, this does not mean you can use a recording of it without permission and/or payment. You must have the permission of whoever has played and recorded it or hire a group of musicians to play and record it for you specifically.) This gives a professional feeling to the film and a recognized soundtrack, without requiring the expense normally associated with getting well-known songs for a film.
Some of the choices of extras like
this "Asian" software developer...
...And these neighbors, were a
bit hard to buy into.
Use of Budget
While $15,000 is right in the middle range of budget requirements for features, it is a pretty good use of money due to how it was applied. Nearly $5,000 was used to secure the performances of the actors, as opposed to having them work on deferment, which is a very good use of money whenever funds allow for it. Then, the better part of $5,000 was spent either for the rental or purchase of equipment, which is also an intelligent and well-considered use. The rest was used for food, locations, the aforementioned music rights, and finally, attorney’s fees (an excellent choice, as well). Overall, a very well thought out budget.
Lasting Appeal
The high production value and slap-stick comedy instill this film with a decent amount of lasting appeal. The rather slanted, heavy-handed approach in the storytelling, however, decreases the lasting appeal for some audiences, such as video game enthusiasts or for those involved in the military. I enjoyed watching it the two times I watched it for this critique and wouldn’t mind showing it to a friend.
Overall Comment
Matt St. Charles makes his feature directorial debut with this film and has done a very solid job. While it has a few hiccups in story flow and craft, it is an interesting comedy that asks some probing questions. I look forward to Mr. St. Charles future films as he continues to polish his craft and refine his voice as a talented director.
The
director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films,
Jeremy Hanke
founded Microfilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make
better films. His first book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) was released by MWP to very favorable reviews. He's curently working on the sci-fi film franchise, World of Depleted through Depleted: Day 419 and the feature film, Depleted.
