Review@Tom Breed's HQ

Well, that'll teach me to promise a lengthy review before watching the movie..! In the interest of giving this review a little meaning to anyone, I've tailored it specifically toward the director. It's less of a review and more of a critique and tip session. So basically.. the usual.


It was a very cute, well crafted short. The buildup was just about right for the ending you had planned, so good job on that. The direction was generally very good, with scenes well thought out (Though I suspect they were fairly second nature).

The yellow text was very distracting and hurt the slick, professional look that you were banking on in this piece. A crack team of assassins should sound like a crack team of assassins. The music, however, was quite appropriate. Good job picking those out.

The animation follows the trends I've noticed of you for quite a while now. You have a wonderful eye for movement, but it doesn't translate well into 3dmm. For instance, the part in the beginning where the briefcase is thrown onto the roof is handled in so very few frames that the movement looks choppy and bland. What's a shame is that I can see you thought out each frame and moved the parts accordingly, but without the proper declining action, the throw isn't quite believable. This particular movement could've used 2 or 3 frames of slowdown once the case hit the ground. In general, they should have one or two frames before the action as well, but of course that doesn't apply when that happens off screen!

The backgrounds were fairly impressive for a short. They helped make the feel that you were going for, and might be the strongest point to your advantage. Of course the quality wasn't consistent throughout, but good enough.

As for the punchline, well.. the humor is in the unmet expectations. So of course I was hoping for some grand, explosive finale. This twist was just off-kilter enough to succeed and make the short worth telling.



Good job, and pardon the short review. But what more could I say? Let me know if you'd like any elaboration.