Pamela Seduces

Pamela
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by Aaron Haynes

Pamela is one of those movies that you can't help but enjoy, even if you don't quite know what is going on. That's not to say I don't. I do. Now. But Pamela was one of the first community made 3DMM movies I ever saw (in case you were really curious, they were, in order, Knights of Camelot - the first half, I get some pesky second-half error that I can't remedy for the life of me-- , REDUX, Pamela, and SATANIK) and although the end of the movie held significant "huh???" factor, it was thoroughly enjoyable even to a newbie. But I digress. Since I've watched it many times since then, I will be reviewing like I normally do, so not to worry.

Story
The story is great fun, in the style of film noir, and all those old detective flicks that our parents watched and told us about. Some parents made us watch them or spoofs of them. Mine having done that, the style was wonderfully appreciated. The writing was wonderfully suited for the style, and helped to emphasize it. The majority of the film is written as a soliloquy, lending an easy device to throw in some gags in ways that dialogue comedies aren't able to.
Aaron's story suckers the viewer into expecting a full-on detective mystery, before taking a wild twist at the end. Aaron's writing only adds to this. Part of the success of the story is the ability of the writing to create everything: atmosphere, mood, and dry humor.
The writing is excellent, with the detective's internal monologue serving as a great guide into the 3DMM noir world Aaron has created.

Presentation
Aaron Haynes' great talent is in the presentation. This movie reeks style. From stylized camera angles to wonderfully executed camera moves, Aaron uses his talent not to show off, but always to further the story.
Aaron uses some ambitious tricks as well. Most notable were the fan blades and their shadows in the opening sequence. This is one of those stylistic quirks that fits perfectly with the genre, as well as being technically impressive.
Pamela is full of visual gags. The nature of the film calls for them and Haynes delivers. There are several instances when the expected does not happen. These gags can be as slight as moving the camera in conjunction with the character's mindset, or as random as the detective fading down the street with a brief detour on top of a building before continuing.
Pamela is presented in a mostly dark pallette. Haynes has made extensive use of the expansion pack's many shades of grey to create a moody cityscape and office. If Haynes' style for the film could be summed up in one word, it would be moody.

Visuals
Another of Aaron Haynes' strong suits is the visual composition of the film. As said earlier, Haynes uses the expansion pack to an expert degree, utilizing shading techniques possible with its large array of textures.
Haynes also achieves a remarkable amount of realism for pre-v3DMM movies. Shadows, window-glare, and even lamp-post bright spots all work as their supposed to, a tremendous feat in 3DMM itself.
They aren't perfect. Many of Haynes' attempts to blend textures work, until the scene moves. I had many examples of flashing textures as scenes moved. At one point it appeared as if Detective's desk was wildly spinning, when in reality it was just zooming and having texture flashes.
This occured often enough to notice. Although not entirely Haynes' fault (the program has difficulty rendering blended textures correctly), some of these could have been avoided. However, Haynes is a great innovator, so I can see why he'd persue such effects.
Other than that, Haynes has done quite a task and created a remarkably lifelike environment with the limited resources of 3DMM.

Sound
Pamela boasts an impressive sound design. Though it makes use of a ton of standard 3DMM sound effects, it is a part of the story and the point. (If you haven't seen it, you'll have no IDEA what I'm talking about. Then again, if you haven't seen it... you haven't seen Pamela???)
The music goes remarkably well with the story and the action on screen. I, however, especially liked the opening credits sequence for its music, and for Aaron's appreciative use of the text boxes. I also would like to applaud Aaron's use of Richard Cheese in the credits music. It seemed remarkably appropriate, given the point of the movie.
And lots has to be made of Jon Barton's voice work. For such a solliloquy-intensive movie, Barton manages to embody the character of Detective and be convincing as he does it. At first, I was a little skeptical as to how Jon's accent would fit the role of Detective, but I completely forgot about it approximately 3 1/37 minutes into the movie. Jon's voice work is yet another banner reason to see this film. He employs a dry sense of humor, and talks through the script without dropping a hat for the funny lines. It works tremendously. I most like his delivery of the line regarding Detective's first instinct when being followed by the shadowy figure with the stretched cube.

The Final Word
Aaron Haynes has managed to push his style into yet another genre, one that never really existed before Pamela. One thing about Aaron, though his movies all boast smooth, impressive camera techniques, he builds a new style based on what he's working on.
Pamela is an essential download for any kind of 3DMM person ever. It has a couple flaws, but what doesn't? These hardly detract from the experience of one of the defining 3DMM films of 2004.

********** (10/10) Spectacular (with a 100 based system, some ratings have changed in %. Star ratings remain)