Flat Meeting

It was a BOLD decision to take on the mantle of RIP FOCUS.
Like when Batman was Jean Paul Valley instead of Bruce Wayne...

The performances aren't fully committed at times, but I don't really give a shit about that. I think the pace gets high enough that nothing lingers long.

But this is comfortably solid!
The effects are charming, the physical comedy and cinematography styles switch up so often! The script is quite tight... A little slow getting going, but extremely funny and charming once the wheels are turning!

There's something extremely endearing about a film that has the goofy energy we all love in this competition and still somehow manages to have a nice character arch that makes you want to be a better friend.

Also has anyone made the joke R.I.P. Focus yet? I've been thinking about it non-stop since the Veterans Q+A.

I love the progression of your team intros over the years. Like everyone is slowly being picked off one by one. Its kinda sad but in a fun way. You need to get to the point where you say "I am rip focus" really sadly.

The film was also cool I suppose.

It's crazy to think that this was fully AI generated! From ideas, to script, to visuals to sound. I guess that's why everyone looks so creepy!

Na for real though, not bad Rip Focus 2. Not bad at all. After the Q&A, I was worried about the lack of editing and filming experience from James, but you mofos seemed to have pulled it off! I was charmed! I would even say I was pleasantly surprised, and dare I say the goofy ‘you know you can talk to me about this man’ moment actually landed so much stronger compared to other films with more serious subject matter! It just felt very believable. I would like to see MORE! Bravo!

Aw now I miss my ultra-miniature Bible. I wonder where it is.

A few teams came up with the shrinking things gag this year, but rip focus 2 did the best job of integrating it into the story.

It was lovely to have two films in this heat about men learning to communicate effectively (the other one being Unspoken Words by Sexually Transmitted Cinema). There was a nice lesson here for me about learning how to talk about stuff that bothers me and not feel bad about it. And what a beautiful message about not shrinking each other.

No AI was used in the writing of this review.

I really enjoyed this film in the heats - the premise had that fun 48 hours silliness that worked well for your story and was played well by your actors. Great incorporation of the miniatures element into the story. This film kept up a good sense of humor throughout, and was a very enjoyable watch! I was not expecting to go from the vibe that is initially set up to an earnest note about being vulnerable and communicating with those close to you but man that moment really hit in a very realistic and actually quite impactful way

and the winner of Best Team Intro goes to.....

wait, say that again!

How bizarre to be reviewing a rip focus film! What alternate universe is this?
It’s kind of impossible to review fairly, and we’re grateful that your finalist spot and subsequent nominations and award were not a burden we solely bore - we’re not interested in propping up our own biases, but we’re happy to report that rip focus 2 got what it deserved.

The biggest win for you was definitely that script nom - how good! And a testament to something that kept coming up again and again this year from the judges: we want to be taken somewhere, we want to see characters learn things, we want story structure to make sense. Is this the best concept in the comp this year? Nah. But do the characters actually learn something and grow from their initial thoughts and ideas? Yeah! Is it really that simple to get the judges’ favour? I suppose so!

Well done also on that miniature win - a pretty tight contest that ultimately tipped into your hands with that shrinking of Marcus, and your self reflection at the end, both excellent moments.

I’m also very - VERY - jealous that this edit is as tight as it is but had nothing to do with me hahaha. Especially that sound mix - almost no distracting bugs. It’s insane you pulled that off as a first-time editor on a project like this.
That’s enough of the praise though - you know we’re fans, and biased ones, so let’s try to offer some critiques.

While the miniature usage was narratively very good, particularly how you tie the concept at the end to ‘shrinking Stephen’s feelings,’ this film still needed more shrinking of stuff! That giant tree should have shrunk, the cars when you were running down the street should have shrunk, James’ shirt should have tightened as the action went on. Really leaning into this point of the story would have elevated the overall thing, but a lot of the shrunk items felt like a bit of a cop-out. At the very least, the escalation from smaller shoe to a teeny-tiny person wasn’t as smooth as it should have been. Now, did you have it in your skillset to achieve more shrinking? Probably not - so a pivot to a story that didn’t require as much shrinking may have been a better choice.

Which leads to the second thing - just not enough action for it to be an action movie. First thing judges said was “not action enough.” And so it’s a lesson that not only this team, but I suppose every team in the comp needs to take on board next year: make films that are true to the genre, or if you’re going to subvert it, be prepared to roll the dice. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t really do either, so it falls flat in the judges’ eyes. Still, it’s very rip focus-coded, and the last few years have been lucky for rip focus in terms of that crossover of making films that we wanted to make and the genre we were given. This year, not so lucky I guess.

THE BEST THING: The fact you did this and didn’t need your Best Editor winner to pull it together is pretty great :P It proves that story is king in this comp, and that’s a great thing for everyone to take on board.

THE NEXT THING: I guess it’s to make a story that is truer to the genre and make sure your ideas can fit squarely within your strongest strengths. But also, we know you’re a team that cares mostly about having fun and making something to entertain crowds, so if you feel like ignoring everything we’ve said next year, that’s also still fine. The rip focus story continues!