Use of Audio
The overall dialogue in this film was easy to understand and make out, aside from times where the actor or actress mumbled their lines. An external shotgun mic was used, but for many shots it was too far away from the talent being recorded. As such, a lot of room tone and noise made its way into the mic with the actual dialogue. I had a similar problem on my first film and it was only afterwards that I learned that a shotgun mic must be positioned no more than one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half feet from the actor’s mouth for optimal audio recording. (For more suggestions on getting good audio for your films, check out our article on this subject here.)
These mic placement issues were especially noticeable in a long shot where Ana and Jen are talking to one another at their separate computers, across an aisle at work. It sounds as though the mic was at the same location as the camera, which causes the room noise to jump hugely between the close ups and the wide shot. For a future shot like this, I would recommend simply cutting to close ups for dialogue, using dialogue that is recorded from closer takes, or hiding shotgun mics in front of both actresses.
The overall music, composed by director/co-screenwriter Blake Johnson, was solid and tied the film together nicely. The strange, non-conformist rock music from the Public Service Announcement that was largely used for the dreams did a great job of giving the black and white sequences a trippy, Eraserhead feel.
Use of Budget
For a short feature that took four months to complete, less than $1360 is very reasonable. As it was used on food, transportation, and two external hard drives, it was well thought out and planned through. For future films, I would recommend raising a little more money for makeup and improving the audio by purchasing (perhaps) a Sennheiser ME-67 shotgun mic, depending on the make of mic used on this project.
Lasting Appeal
For fans of movies like Eraserhead or Existenz, this one has some lasting appeal. Personally, the acting issues, story layout problems, and audio difficulties lowered the lasting appeal of this film for me.
Overall Comment
While Latent(cy) has some first feature difficulties, it is an admirable first stride into filmmaking for Mr. Johnson. I have to applaud him and his classmates for embracing such an involved project while still in high school. Most people wait until they’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours and dollars at a film school to decide whether they do or do not like filmmaking. Far better to find out if you have the passion for it before that much time is invested. I look forward to future films that Mr. Johnson and his collaborators set their hands to, as they learn more of the tricks of the trade and refine their combined storytelling voice.
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Content |
5.0 |
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Visual
Look |
7.0 |
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Use
of Audio |
7.0 |
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Use
of Budget |
9.5 |
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Lasting
Appeal |
5.0 |
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Overall
Score |
6.7 |
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