This is one category that did seem to suffer from the run-and-gun style of this movie. There were many scenes with harsh shadows and some in which the lighting changed very drastically between takes. Except for some of the more dramatic scenes, such as when Phil is searching his house to make sure Vivian hasn't snuck in, lighting should usually be more even. In this case it looks to have been hastily set up. There were also several instances of rapid exposure changes, which often occurred outdoors and were prompted by something of contrasting color moving in front of the camera. There were also the obligatory big white flashes when doors were opened or closed. These issues can be fixed by using manual iris cameras and not following your actors through doorways with cameras. (Obviously, following them through internal doors isn’t a problem, but doors that either go outdoors from indoors or indoors from outdoors are no-nos for taking your camera through, since cameras just can’t adapt the way the human eye can.)
The movie also had some odd and random scenes that made no sense in the context of the film, such as when Phil and another man meet up in a cemetery at one point. Once again, by shooting on the fly, one is bound to end up with odd and unusual scenes that don’t make a lot of sense once the movie is put together. But just because a scene was shot doesn’t mean that it has to be included, either. Despite the film’s biggest gimmick of a 32 hour shoot and constant improvs, it’s not a terrible idea to have to do re-shoots or additional scenes if not everything in the movie matches up. It’s more important to have a good final project than to stick with only what was shot in the original 32-hour period.
As far as editing goes, some scenes were cut in weird places, and occasionally to a similar shot as if to make up for a bad take (a situation that results in a jolting edit called a “jump cut”). There were also a lot of shots that held on far too long, especially a shot where Phil kicks Vivian out of his house. That shot just stayed on him and it seemed like the actor was struggling to come up with good and funny things to say, but just ended up repeating himself. And when he was yelling, there was no one responding to him, so there was really no need for the shot to go on that long.
There were also quite a few shaky camera moves. Some of them were appropriate – such as during a fight between Phil, Vivian, and Vivian’s husband because it added to the frenzied feel. But some could have benefitted from a tripod or a homemade steadicam. (We have a few articles to assist with this, such as http://www.microfilmmaker.com/tipstrick/Issue33/DIYSVest_1.html )
The audio in this movie was pretty inconsistent. A lot of times there was ringing and the occasional echo. The levels also went up and down and I often had to adjust the volume to hear what was going on without being blown out. Occasionally the room tone would be almost overpowering – something that could be corrected with a better microphone, and sometimes lessoned a bit with background music.
When Steven Kovalic (Phil) and Teddi Florence (Vivian) were speaking to each other, special attention should have been paid to microphone placement. Steven has a very loud voice, but Teddi, when speaking normally, has a softer and lower pitch. Her voice was often very difficult to hear when compared to Steven’s. It was only when she raised her voice that her levels were comparable.
Conversely, with many scenes shot outside near vehicles, there was a huge spike in audio whenever anyone started their car. As there wasn’t any dialogue at those times, there really didn’t need to be a microphone as the sound effects could have been added later and mixed with the “room tone” of that location. (To prevent these sorts of issues in the future, be sure to read our article on The Top 10 Audio Tips Every MicroFilmmaker Must Know at: http://www.microfilmmaker.com/tipstrick/Issue2/ten_aud.html )
Speaking of sound effects, there was one that very obviously needed to be added in when Gerard calls Phil’s house but Vivian won’t let him answer the phone. In this scene, there is no sound of a phone ringing, instead just Gerard’s voice, which isn’t distorted as it would be through an answering machine, asking Phil to pick up the phone. When shooting, there doesn’t have to be an actual phone call, it can easily be added in later. But it really does need to sound like an actual phone call. (Most audio programs, including the free Audacity program have a slew of filters to distort audio to replicate things like phone calls.)
