Andrew's "The 3dmm Game Show" Review

An intriguing idea comes off with more comedy and wit than one might expect. The 3dmm Game Show is the first of, apparently (and hopefully), a series of quiz shows staged on AIM and transferred into 3dmm. The flexibility of the melding of two mediums leads to the more offbeat and faster paced dialogue the show exhibits. Based on its first run here, I can see this series taking off with new directions and ideas implemented.

Story
The Game Show was conducted over AIM one evening, with all the dialogue in the movie stemming from that one conversation. This inherently leads to a somewhat chaotic style, as everyone in the chat room tends to talk right on top of each other. This makes the dialogue fast-paced and, since the people involved, Digital Taco, Denny Betterman, Demented Ferret, Tuna, and, to a more limited degree Chippy and Tom Breed, are naturally funny on the board, quite witty.
Some of the film’s best moments come when a contestant is trying to think of an answer and another contestant (usually Taco) tries to overlap or ding in. It really does feel zany.
There are faults, of course. The dialogue can hang in times. There are some sequences with long, awkward, silent gaps while we wait around for something, we don’t quite know what, to happen. Another thing stems from the original conversation. Chippy says, I think, one thing and then explodes, which is thoroughly bizarre. It seems he could have been kept out of the movie entirely and cleared up some space on the stage.

Presentation
Of course, this was integral to the success of the film. The film is full of little visual gags, which stem from antics at the podiums to long, elaborate battle sequences that make absolutely no sense but are so darned welcome in a movie that’s clearly set out to be wacky. Such visual quirks as random pong games, sporadic decapitations, and other anecdotes really help advance the goal of this film. Breed’s camera seems to always know what it’s looking for, as there are very few scenes that are misframed.

Visuals
This would be the low point of the movies. The set is basic, and other scenery designed for the film serves its purpose well. There is a healthy use of v3dmm, and it usually comes off well, such as a Fox Kids segment at the beginning and the avatars on the podiums. But there is little flare, little detail to the sets. Even if that is not the goal, it would have been nice to see some more detail in the main set.

Sound
Well this is clearly a strong point. Though the dialogue is provided by the real people, the voices of Taco, Ferret, and Breed are dubbed in by a fitting cast. I will say that my own recordings came off as being quite… well, quiet. That was obviously a recording error on my part. Russ Stepan as Taco combined with Taco’s abstract IM style seemed the best fit. If any of the contestants were to be a regular, it would have to be Taco. Betterman’s sister as Ferret seemed to work out well, though it’s a shame she couldn’t have at least gone British in respect to Ferret’s real voice.
The music editing worked in well, though it seems like some clips would inexplicably stop every once in awhile. The sound effects worked well in the movie to. The standard 3dmm library plays a huge role, but it’s only fitting for a title like this.

The Final Word
All in all, this concept is now more firmly developed, and would seem like a great little thing to keep going. Suggestions for next time include perhaps a firmer point system and having all four contestants staying in for the whole match. I would definitely like to see more of these, as the concept is fresh, and there are plenty of ways they could be expanded upon.

******** (8/10) Lots of fun, though slightly lacking visuals and some organization.