TheShrike's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tails and his GBA 6]

Not bad.

One of the first clay flashes I've seen in a while that didn't make my blam-finger twitch. Nice crossover. Good work, etc, blah blah blah.

ArseOnToast responds:

Yeh thanks,etc,blah blah blah.
_refused_

[Rokémon!]

Tip for better audio:

soundName.loadSound("url", isStreaming)
soundName.getBytesLoaded()
soundName.getBytesTotal()
soundName.play()

isStreaming is a boolean expression(true/false), and sets how flash treats the sound file (streaming or event)

This code is the only the beginning for hosting sound files separately from the flash, see the actionscript section of your help files for loading sound files dynamically (search for "mp3")

I hope that helps, if you host a higher-quality music set elsewhere, you can drop the filesize on NG, and increase overall quality. I offer this help because you seem to have some web space of your own, and the audio is THE ONLY PART OF THIS FLASH THAT IS LACKING.

Seriously.

Aces all around. =]

[Grim Reaper 4]

You always deliver.

MORE REAPER. FEAR THE REAPER.

Does your version have any roots with Terry Pratchett?

[Emotion]

You need the newgrounds preloader.

You can change it and edit it, it's a distinctive preloader, anyway and it'll help you avoid blams.

There's a link to it on the portal page. Right-click and save it.

[Some Dude's Pro Trolley!!]

It was ok. Nothing special.

You need to convert your tweens to individual frames (select all frames in the tween, then hit...F6, I think, then select no tween on the properties box.) and just do an all-around optimization. And give people with broadband the ability to stream the movie if it's over 500k. That's a good rule of thumb.

Also, Don't use whole songs. Use loops, it cuts back on the file size.

It's a little better than blam-worthy. Also, try and make it interesting. Some people don't give a damn about skate movies. Like me.

cool-penguin-0 responds:

Does that individual frames thing make the file smaller or something? I'll have to try it. Also, I didn't use full songs, only 30-second-ish sound clips.

[Patrick Ewing: Episode 1]

Good Job.

I liked the concept, and it certainly made me smile.

A few pointers to help future projects of yours do better in the portal:

1~ Don't use so many sound files. No, sound effects are crucial to most movies success. Same with music. But you use too many music files. Take the credits, for example: no need for that music, and it didn't really fit with the rest of the movie's feel. Without that one single mortal kombat song, the movie would have been fine, and would have loaded faster, too.

2~ Don't use whole music files. Aside from taking up bandwidth, you end up bending your animation to fit the music. Just use the parts of songs you need.

3~ Speed it up. There are a more than a couple places where the movie hangs for a minute, where no real action is taking place. One or two seconds doesn't seem like much, but you've got to remember your audience. Newgrounders tire quickly of movies without deliberate pace.

4~ Stream. Don't make people wait for 4 megs to load. Give users with high-speed access the ability to play the movie before it's done loading.

5~ Optimize your flash. You're doing well, but you need to learn the art of making flash files smaller. Use sound loops instead of whole songs. Tweak the mp3 compression. Use symbols more. Use tweens less. Reduce the use of 'messy' art. Less lines, less corners and curves = faster and smaller. There are more tips and tricks, but these are the fundamentals.

Good luck.

Quikflash responds:

Thank you! Finally somebody who will actually tell my what to fix w/ what they think I did wrong. w/ #1. I understand. Most of the music are in .wav format so I dont know if that will decrese it alot. #4, your stream idea, is very helpful! I never really thought of this. Thanks! I agree w/ #5 alot, I used way too many layers for this flash and I think your right w/ using so many tweens. Thank you for the kind words and I appreciate it!

[the real bush campaign 1]

Awesome

Your style is still great, but you need to develop it some more. The who traced-bitmap look is sooooo 2002.

Really, though. It's a great movie, and love your work.

[The Matrix Reinstall]

That was great, man.

I liked the fact that Neo was only there for half of it.

Good job, sorry I was late to help get it through judgment, but it looks like you didn't need my help there, anyway.
=D

FoGiMoS responds:

* High Five *

[The Crossing]

That was great

The animation was smooth, and the irony and humor were all perfect. It didn't end the way I thought it would, and that was the best part!