Rootclip

woah, sweet car wreck!

i like this one the best because of some of the shots, especially when he got hit by the car, and it left an open ending which i really liked. The Pursuit was shot very good, maybe due to a special lens. but the story did not hit me as well as this one.

Best one by far. Great production value. possibly could have had more story/plot, but in the over arching theme and story this one pulls off a phenomenal transition that none of the other videos have quite done. Though some had dug a little deeper into developing the story. Still, it is my favorite to win this round.

I like it. Good job.

Oh, and after re-watching it, i think this one had the best audio production and mix. The music wasn't consistent with the first chapter, but I did like the music selection better than the first chapter. The combination of music an ambient noise seems to bring the video a little closer to life.

Decent...dialogue does not seem natural..

the car wreck scene was very well done. I don't like the part when the two guys first see each other, it doesn't flow very well. Also, I remember that in the first episode the guy looked in the case and there wasn't any glowing light. I'm not very sure why in this one he looks surprised to see something in the case he's already seen. Besides my two little complaints I liked it a lot though.

Epic trash sequence. Quick question: did Harrison say "arse-basket?" Also, is James editing the car sequence during the dorm scene? With the pelican case sitting next to him?

There were some great shots (i.e.car wreck) but the dialogue needs work and I also noticed the briefcase story flaw. Quality was superb though. Not bad.

Jennifer and lobster...both of you noticed good things...namely the surprised look/glowing light and the second pelican case. I can assure you, they weren't done on accident.

So then if your's wins we can expect tony to bust in and grab the wrong pelican case?

umm,, decent idea, but not the one we had.

wow, looks like you spent a lot of time on this...how long did the car scene take to shoot?

Thanks! And the car wreck scene took us about two hours to film. It happens so fast you barely notice it, but we coordinated the white car in the background on every shot. Overall, we only got about 2 seconds of film (an hour per second!) but it was a ton of fun, and I think it came out well for never doing something like that before.

I'm going to go with lobsterdouche and say that it looks like the car sequence is totally being edited in the dorm scene. Nice.

:)

I think you guys had some of the best camera work! Some funny lines though, lol.

Lobsterdouche: yes, I said "arse-basket." I still brag to friends that I got to call somebody that on film. =)

Fun video James. I've got to agree with some of the other people here that the dialogue is a little rough, but that can be fixed in the future fairly easily. Otherwise, I think it's pretty great!

Loved that Scott doesn't pay bar tab/ bill keeping with charater development and you showed the waitress. Another charater is introduced (room mate) - Loved that. Something inside of case could have been activated during chase causing glow - no problem there. Also enjoyed the cell phone "ring down" after crash. I've seen that somewhere else but works well here. Only thing that bothered me just a tad was the trash can scene could have been a little shorter.

I love how they haven't addressed the fact that James is editing the car sequence in the background\

Well, we did it on purpose. I felt the smile face would have explained that....

Right, but did you do it on purpose as part of the plot? Or is it like an easter egg?

umm, easter egg, no plot purpose.

Mr Twilley,

Thanks for the vote and compliments! Funny enough, I wrote the general script, and i've never even seen Pulp Fiction. (consults google on the subject).

-James Thayer

Music starts out--okay, but is quite good in the chase scene. that needed work, though. the car accidents occurs too late. In the opening shots of the chase, not getting caught looks too impossible to NOT have it happen. The accident is shot well and is quite a nice touch, though that bizarre cell phone ring tone--NAH! Why does he open it in the bathroom? And what is with the sci-i-ish white light from the case when he does so, accompanied by music that affirms a reading of that shot in that manner? Oh, given the impact, break one of the lenses of the glasses. . .or bend the frame.

Mr. Larsen,

Thank you a ton for giving feedback. I don't see how we will ever get better if we don't get the feedback, so thanks! To answer you're questions, and explain our reasoning:

The car accident was kind of the climax of the chase scene. It had to build. Now, at one point we thought about having scott flip one of those trashcans in the alley way over at Tony to slow him down (which would help with your accusation that there is no way he wouldn't have been caught), but the director decided against that idea. Yes, it could have been shorter, but i've also seen MUCH longer (ex. Bourne).

The cell phone ring was unique, meh, i thought it was cool. I actually took a piece of random soundtrackpro sound, reversed it, and changed the pitch. It's cooler than "dingaling a ling"

He opens it in the bathroom because his dorm closet is too small. hah. I know I wouldn't open it in the presence of my roomate.

What is the white light? Well, in later videos it would be explained. We hid a few things in this video that could be used by rootclippers for later plot twists (such as the extra camera case on the roomate's desk and the white light). The shocked expression on Scott's face at having opened the case TWICE now and there being something different in it the second time leaves boundless possibilities for future plot.

Overall, we didn't want to reveal what was in the case, but didn't want to go with something as cliche as money - everyone expects money, but changing it up leaves people wondering what exactly is in the case - hence apprehension is built in the audience. I think rootclip chapters should never be self contained because the goal is to build one full story, not make a couple little ones and put them together, but make pieces of a main one. This is why not everything in a rootclip should have to have an explanation if it was done on purpose the the creators of the story, it simply ruins the future of said story.

The breaking or bending of the glasses is a phenomenal idea, should have thought about it. We did bloody our actor up though!

thanks once again,

• James Thayer

Why would there be something different in it the second time he opened it

...and how are we to know that there's something different in it

Part of good storytelling is allowing for some, but not all of the audence's expectations to be met. Audiences like it when their assumptions are proven correct, but at the same time they hate it when they feel they're able to predict the entire plot. You're definately on the right track, just keep in mind that you'll have a harder time engaging the audience if you continue to allow them to make assumptions, then prove them completely wrong. It's all about balance, give a little, take a little. Well done, and congratulations on winning this chapter.

Stephen,

Thats the point, the next chapter will have to answer why there is something different in the case second time around. And we know there is something different in it because light wasn't illuminating from the case the first time. There are two other possibilities also:

1) The thing in the case was activated over the course of time so it is NOW lit up, but before was not.

2) It could just be used as a transition like dr. Legg stated.

tsigeyua,

Very smart story arch advice and audience analysis. The line about balance is so true. And thank you!

Dr. Legg,

Thanks for the vote and critique, we will be sure to stay as far away from science fiction as we can (no matter how tempting it might be!)

• James Thayer

I can't believe we have to try to follow the discontinuity in this film. Ridiculous.