hey fellow fans, we would like to present a live action ff8 movie. Now before you say how much we suck, let me note these things. This is just the prologue and has very little to do with the actual storyline however when the movie truly begins it will make a lot more sense. please watch all of them because you will understand why he doesn't have his gunblade. Also these costumes were made extremely quickly and we have invested money to have new awesome ones and a new gunblade! this is just a test so please tell us what you think, constructive criticism is wanted and needed! thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRB5m-4eNs

I'm sorry but I just couldn't watch more than 5 minutes or so of your video. :( The dialogue was just killing me. It seemed so watered down, and the actors could use a bit more rehearsal. The way they deliver their lines is much too standard. A rewrite of the dialogue would be helpful.

The two other guys wearing normal street clothes kind of clashed with the whole ff8 look entirely. They should probably have some kind of outstanding feature to each of them i.e. colorful jacket, hat, hair style...... just something....

The costume wasn't too bad for Squall (even for a first making of it). But your Squall actor needs a little adjusting. He slouched over the whole time I saw him, he should really stand up as straight as he can (back arched a little). Squall has the stance of confidence, but the mind set of self doubting. And even though he's opening up to the other characters, he shouldn't deliver his lines so smoothly. He's always been a quiet guy. His voice should be a little quieter, a little smoother, and he should try to drag out what he's saying as if he's having trouble putting whole sentences together (if that makes any sense). His sentences should be short and concise.

The effect with the apparition guy blinking in and out was decent though.

The only other thing I can think of is with the filming of the area itself. Seeing buildings and power lines was distracting. Just stand on the other side of the power lines to avoid them being in the shot. And to get a better sense of it being so cold outside, it would have been better to shoot on a day that the sky was grey.



If you feel any of these things got better in the other vids, tell me and I'll try to give them a watch.

Let me start off with saying thank you. You gave us advice that will helped when we start the actual movie. This was very rushed with no script at all until the 3rd and 4th parts of the prologue which you should watch. The costumes weren't changed but we did practice our lines, also the scenery I think is alot better. This whole prologue was really just a test, but the actual movie will have a complete script, screenplay, and rehearsals with more people too.

Alright then, I'll give parts 3 and 4 a try. :)

Just watched part 3.

First off, the line at 0:58. OMG I laughed my arse off XD and Seeds don't belong in trees... Oh the corny factor! XD

The dialogue again needs a rewrite, and more rehearsal, and better delivery of the lines. Action sequences need more work on the choreography. But if you're going for comedy, then you're almost there. A few more retakes and it would be pretty good.

As a whole much better than the first vid.

The forest setting is quite good. The rusted stuff made me think they were fighting in a forested area somewhere around Deling City.

Now that I see Squall's face, I'm wondering where his scar is. If you want a cheap route to make a scar for him that's simple and washes off, go buy a red-ish eyeliner pencil and draw a line on his face. I've used that technique myself, and it should hold you over for your shooting time. The only problem would be if your actor gets sweaty, then the liner starts to wear off. Simple fix, just wash off the old line and draw it back on. Much easier than trying to find fake applique scars.

Another note, it would be wise to invest in a tripod to keep your camera steady. The moment when Squall is running at the camera would have been much more awesome if the camera wasn't shaking.


Now off I go to watch part 4. :)

Thanks, we are going for comedy, and the scar will be explained later in the story as it progresses, the reason why we are messing with the original story is because we don't have enough money to tell it,ha.

I must say that I'm interested. I won't watch the video until around 4 hours and 20 minutes after this post (I'm at work and the computer here doesn't have speakers and the headphone jack doesn't work).

I won't comment on the prologue since that was already taken care of so I'll just provide my two cents on the other vids.

Thanks, we are going for comedy, and the scar will be explained later in the story as it progresses, the reason why we are messing with the original story is because we don't have enough money to tell it,ha.

Try to rely more on natural comedy, keeping cheesy jokes to a minimum. Jokes are good but they can become bad if there's too many. Also don't try to change too much of the original story. People who are fans of the game do expect some kind of continuity in fan made projects. :)


Part 4

I nearly choked at that hair flinging part! Oh the disgusted look on Squall's face is so priceless XD

Your actress is very good at being a body. :( Is she supposed to be scared? Defiant? Not interested in general?

Oh dear, the battle sequence opening has me rolling ^o^ Just need to slow down a little when panning the landscape, it was a little too blurred. By slowing down the pan you could cut that part down by one or two shots and still keep in time with the battle theme.

Your villain guy's acting is decent and his voice acting is quite good. He's got the comedic effect thing down. Just a little work with timing and he'd be nearly perfect.

I have to admit though, 2:23-2:30 was pretty epic, but would be more epic if they actually had proper-ish fighting stances. You know, knees bent and guard up would be a great help to this scene.

The effects at 2:32-ish battle, I would have left out. If you have a sparkle pattern that's smaller, maybe like a pixie dust type, that would help. The explosion is unnecessary though. I don't quite understand how that happened. Squall doesn't have his gunblade to shoot with, so what exploded? Even more so with the stick...


Squall rolling over and getting up from being knocked back at 2:58 was pretty kick-ass :) Well done on that one. And your sideways camera pan up to his face was nicely done too. Your Squall actor seems to be getting quite a workout in the battle sequences you've got him in (getting knocked off the ledge landing flat on his back, hanging over the water, that somersault off screen during the explosion). I gotta say he seems quite fit for all of this. But he should try to keep in mind not to flail his arms so much while running :p


I love at 3:25 villain guy points at the random sword and goes Ooh! XD

Good work with finding decent swords as well. They're not all wobbly like some that you see in other films. That's something I always look for. I'm also impressed that the actors are actually crossing swords. I hope those weren't battle ready O_O At times they look real and at times they look painted (depending on distance and angle). I'm also impressed that you're using more than one clanging sound for sword strikes. You have a good variety of sfx and they don't seem to be overbearing at all.


Another note, you may want to invest in a couple of microphones. I find it a little hard to hear what they're saying at times.

And before you actually shoot your film, you may want to think about getting a higher quality camera. It would be a good idea if it fits in your budget.


That's about all I can think of at the moment :)



I must say that I'm interested. I won't watch the video until around 4 hours and 20 minutes after this post (I'm at work and the computer here doesn't have speakers and the headphone jack doesn't work).

I won't comment on the prologue since that was already taken care of so I'll just provide my two cents on the other vids.

Naw, it's cool if you say your own opinion on it. May turn out you think of something completely different. I'm also interested on hearing what others think of it. :)

Yes hahaha, we had to force the girl to act the part, she wasn't into it at all but don't worry we are getting more actors. Also we have a tripod now so that things will be steady, the guy who plays Squall actually is a martial artist that's why he can do all that stuff(we take advantage). Also the villain has been in theatre programs for all his life so that's probably why he's decent at it, thank you for the advice once again and i can promise that our videos will be better!

O_o Wow keep getting more people like that and you'll have a pretty good cast in no time.


For your actual film, I recommend trying to recapture some of those epic moments you almost got perfect in the epilogue vids (Squall running at the camera, distant shot of the battle, panning up to Squall after his kick-ass roll).

I also recommend letting your actors do some training for the sword fights. Just let them swing it around in a big open space all day. Get them to try out some fighting stances. Trying out some other weaponry would be good for them as well. If you have access to an area like a ballet studio or some large place with a mirrored wall, definitely let them play in there. It helps let them see how to move a lot better.


Good luck in your future endeavors :)

Sorry that this was late but I've been busy lately.

With the way things are going, I'd say your film might be great but it really doesn't "feel" like FFVIII. Maybe it's just me being picky about it but to me, if you changed Squall into some new character, nothing would be out of place. But these were just the prologues so you might already have planned everything out for the film. Not sure if it will tie in to these clips or if these clips were more of a practice run, but I am intrigued as to who helped Squall at the end (possibly a side-story?).

But outside of what CM has already pointed out, I didn't really find anything else wrong.