The overall audio in this film was quite good, with clear dialogue recorded throughout. Occasionally, there were some issues that came from the mic being a little too far from the actors, which can be remedied in future productions by pointing the tip of the shotgun mic at the actors mouth and keeping it within 1.5' to 3' from the subject at all times.
The music was a little quirky and twangy, to match the Kentucky setting of the film but, for the most part, worked pretty well. There were a few places where it didn't marry quite right, but, overall, it helped reinforce the humor and the feel of the film.
The one place where more work could be done would be in the range of sound effects. By and large, in many of the fight sequences, especially the earlier ones, sound effects were either very soft or non-existent. Even though pro-wrestling isn't “real” in the conventional sense, the wrestlers understand the importance of sound effects to “selling” a fight. (These range from surreptitious slaps to their own bodies to cupped hand strikes designed to make loud sounds, as well as over-loud groans of agony.) As such, even in backyard versions, amateurs would have learned similar ways of making impact sounds (or would simply hit a person hard enough to make the same impact sounds for real.) By and large, all of the fight sequences would have found improved believability with more overt sound effects. (For these sorts of sound effects, they are often mixed to -6 Db, with Dialogue normally mixed to -12 Db and music beds being mixed to -18 Db.)
At first, $9500 seems like a decent budget for a film that was shot mostly in people's homes and in the woods near where the filmmakers lived. However, considering it all went either to food for the actors or actually purchasing the DVX100A and editing computer, the budget is extremely nominal.
While it has its weak points, Cannonball definitely has a target audience: those who enjoyed slapstick comedies about men growing up in strange circumstances. (Movies like Without a Paddle, Knocked Up, and most of Adam Sandler's movies.) As such, I wouldn't mind watching this film again, or showing it some select friends.
Cannonball is a creative film about men who have to give up their childhood dreams in order to grow up. In so doing, they discover the strength and resolve that they never knew they could have. This is a solid directorial debut from Scott Stafford and I look forward to future films he chooses to make!
