The Process Forum - View Single Post

EFBeast · 08-27-2012

A few thoughts on both the donkey and the bunny videos.

The bunny video is IMO a better production, though with a less incisive performance from the actress. I'm not saying Allura is a bad actress, but maybe this kind of performance is not her thing - she doesn't seem to physically convey the early stages of the change, nor the "hopping" thing. She's good with face expressions and with the back-and-forth struggle between human and bunny behavior, though.
The idea of showing tufts of fur through the clothes is IMO the best way to go when using "theatre grade" effects/makeup. A brief digression: though these kinds of effects are not exactly realistic and require a strong suspension of disbelief on the audience's part, I think it's quite clear they're the only way to go. Sure, we can dream of practical effects on par with An American Werewolf in London, but it took genius Rick Baker and his team several months of work to realize a two-minute scene - it's simply not even remotely feasible, in terms of time and budget, for this kind of productions. So yes, facepaint, novelty ears, and tufts of fake fur ripping through fabric are what we get and can be enough, if the setup, performance and production "sell" the scene.
As I was saying, Bunny is a better production than Donkey. There were some things in Donkey that kicked me out of the atmosphere, at times: double-takes by the actress, smudged/badly applied skin paint, the double pair of ears... Minor things that may (and should) have been spotted and corrected with a new take. In a way, it felt rushed. Bunny holds together better, though I think the saying between the human and bunny "personalities" may have been better if emphasized with some kind of framing, sound, or editing cue.

All in all, I like the direction this is taking. What I would really like to see, and this works for any and every video category on Taylor's site, is more videos with more than one character in it, which would allow for much more action, reaction, and interaction. Yes, I know: budget. But I can dream, can't I?

08-27-2012	#12
EFBeast Leecher Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 8	Re: New Taylormadeclips TF clip: Bunny... A few thoughts on both the donkey and the bunny videos. The bunny video is IMO a better production, though with a less incisive performance from the actress. I'm not saying Allura is a bad actress, but maybe this kind of performance is not her thing - she doesn't seem to physically convey the early stages of the change, nor the "hopping" thing. She's good with face expressions and with the back-and-forth struggle between human and bunny behavior, though. The idea of showing tufts of fur through the clothes is IMO the best way to go when using "theatre grade" effects/makeup. A brief digression: though these kinds of effects are not exactly realistic and require a strong suspension of disbelief on the audience's part, I think it's quite clear they're the only way to go. Sure, we can dream of practical effects on par with An American Werewolf in London, but it took genius Rick Baker and his team several months of work to realize a two-minute scene - it's simply not even remotely feasible, in terms of time and budget, for this kind of productions. So yes, facepaint, novelty ears, and tufts of fake fur ripping through fabric are what we get and can be enough, if the setup, performance and production "sell" the scene. As I was saying, Bunny is a better production than Donkey. There were some things in Donkey that kicked me out of the atmosphere, at times: double-takes by the actress, smudged/badly applied skin paint, the double pair of ears... Minor things that may (and should) have been spotted and corrected with a new take. In a way, it felt rushed. Bunny holds together better, though I think the saying between the human and bunny "personalities" may have been better if emphasized with some kind of framing, sound, or editing cue. All in all, I like the direction this is taking. What I would really like to see, and this works for any and every video category on Taylor's site, is more videos with more than one character in it, which would allow for much more action, reaction, and interaction. Yes, I know: budget. But I can dream, can't I?