Visual Look
In keeping with a random, meandering theme, the film had a lot of very long sequences that continued on without advancing the plot. While that fits the theme, it can get a little tedious for the audience. In a film like Clerks, the audience stays intrigued even when the plot is not being advanced because the main characters are so quirky and crazy that one can’t help but want to keep watching (for example, when Randall listed off a large number of porn titles while a mother and small child were listening). Granted the conversation often tends to run on the tasteless side of things, but that type of dialogue is probably going to appeal to this film’s target audience anyway.
The dialogue in this film sounds very improvised, which may seem to fit the overall theme, but at times it sounds forced. There is a place for improvisation, and in a movie like First Timers, it could be a much better choice than trying to stick to a script. With a good pair of actors, one can wind up with some really hilarious sequences which are better than any script. (However, be aware that very few films can successfully pull of an entire film of improvisation. The best improv artists usually only come up with a few minutes of funny material at a time. That’s why most professional actors known for improv do so only on top a pre-memorized script. The aforementioned film, Clerks, which sounds improvised most of the time, was heavily scripted and had NO improvisation. The improvisational feel came due to Kevin Smith’s requirements that his actors memorize their scripts so thoroughly that they could sound natural and improvised.)
A rather rambling bit of dialogue about the Terminator TV series was one of the few improv sequences in this film that worked well, as it was random enough to keep the audience interested. My guess is that this was a conversation pulled from real life, which is generally where all the best bits of funny dialogue come from anyway! [Note to the Director: If you want to glean the great humorous parts of everyday conversations, keep a digital recorder handy whenever hanging out with friends at a bar or for the monthly poker game – next time the conversation takes a turn onto one of those humorous or drunkenly philosophical diatribes, hit record! Then transcribe these tidbits into a fluid script that the actors must memorize.]
For the most part, the long and meandering scenes are way too long to hold the attention of most audience members – they either need more interesting dialogue or to be transformed into montages. Even a few fast motion sequences - perhaps a la The Three Stooges – might make for some laughs.
There were a few minor technical issues in the visual category – a couple instances of light reflecting on the lens (make sure to have a lens hood or matte box handy when shooting in a sunny area like Santa Monica!), some shaky camera shots (stable handheld is fine for an independent look, but a tripod is a better choice if you have difficulty keeping the camera stable!), and a few outdoor lighting issues – both washed-out and underlit images. Some scenes looked as though they were in desperate need of an ND filter, and others looks as though there was a bit too much ND! Lighting can be tricky, but shooting outside is far less complicated than indoors. ND filters are your friend on a sunny day, and some cameras even have them built in, but that doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t have a monitor handy in order to preview footage. Screen testing equipment is always a good idea, but so is taking a bit of time the day of to adjust for lighting changes. (We’re big fans at MFM of running your footage through a laptop-based monitoring software like OnLocation CS3/CS4 or Scopebox, as these will really let you make sure you’re getting good looking shots.)
Use of Audio
I did like the music in First Timers – it was appropriate without being too over or under-powering, although there was one instance where Lance is driving Trent to work, and the audio levels dropped significantly and distractingly once the music started.
In addition, there were several instances where the dialogue didn’t match the movements of the characters’ mouths. It was difficult to tell whether the images were recorded this way, if the audio was re-looped, or if it was a mix-up in the editing room. While little could be done about the former (other than to try dubbing it to fit the lip movements), re-looped audio can always be re-recorded (as much of a pain as it is) or the scene can be re-edited. It’s frustrating, but this is something that really needs to be fixed as it currently makes the film look a little sloppy.
There were also some instances where the filmmakers re-used sound bites, particularly during the scene where Trent and Lance are begging for money. They are sitting on the sidewalk and a number of people walk back and forth, some of whom make derogatory comments at them. But it sounded to me as if a lot of these comments were re-used throughout the scene, as well as sounding like it was recorded in a home studio instead of a recorded live, which makes it sound odd. (For hints on how to deal with ADR and how to make ADR dialogue sound appropriate for the scene it’s in, check out our article on the Basics of ADR.)
