ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[First Visit To The Future]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

Mustafa is one letter away from being a Star Wars planet! Anyways, very good. The biggest critique is that some ambient sound effects would have really really helped this entry stand out more. And to be even more nit picky, your enunciation was sloppy at times, or it just sounds like you have a bit of congestion. But, great distinct characters and acting. The story was a great idea to base off of the theme. The mood of this piece was interesting because it went from sort of comedic to more serious at the end, and I really liked that it ended with a serious tone. Not much else I can say except that lack of aesthetics with effects and music and whatnot. But, I know you know that since you were rushing. Great work!

[First Time Rule Breaker]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

You sound like an alternative Tara Strong, I was reminded of that especially when you did that Seth voice. I laughed at how it immediately cut off at the end. Good plot, not too new but you still executed it with some twists and still made it funny. Your acting was also very good, the voices you did for the hall monitors made them sound like a dynamic duo of sorts, with Jade being a defining third voice. Perhaps the dynamic duo was also a negative point as the two sounded similar and had similar spunky personalities. To be critical, when Paige and Jade began all the business at the boy’s bathroom, I was just a little confused as to how Ms. Harvey was still there? Aside from that, the entirety of this entry was really quite well done. Simply the audio for a cartoon short. Excellent work!

ech0tan responds:

Heheh. You know, I've been hearing that a lot, about the script not being very original. I wrote about seven other scripts and decided on this one sepcifically for its simplicity and originality hoping it would intrigue the audience, so these reports of sounding and seeming like other scripts has probably been the biggest blow for me, darn. Perhaps if I had made it a junior high school on Io, gave all of them alien names, made the hall pass an organic microchip, and had them hide in a fat man's belly button instead of the utility closet? lol. My biggest fear however, was having Paige and Seth sound too close to each other, despite my strenuous efforts here it seems my lack of ability and experience really showed in this situation. I will be sure to keep an ear out for too similar of nuances in the future. Thank you for all of your feedback. It was very helpful. I'll be sure to apply it to my future projects!

[The First Hunt of Samael Burns]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

It was a little awkward when the Ape Man appeared and I wasn’t sure what actions were going on as he grunted hahahahaha, but I assumed they were just stalking from a distance? I wasn’t sure who exactly appeared at the end to evacuate their guts or the other one with him. Nice grandpa character, but the others didn’t seem quite as defined as his. Great mixing and sound effects with some low ambient music. The plot was okay, but it seemed a little rushed for what it was. I would have liked to learn more about the feelings of these characters, maybe that contributes to why most of them didn’t seem as defined, since grandpa spoke the most. Overall, a good piece that I think needs more attention to character detail and some extra plot development. Good job!

[Game Wizard]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

Hahahahahaha! Nice entry! That made me smile. Great story, great acting, perfect mixing to really provide a space. You wasted no second of time and always advanced the plot forward. But, I thought sometimes you advanced a bit too hastily as your voices talked over each other a lot, which is funny because a lot of people do the opposite. I just thought it sounded both natural and a tad unrealistic. I wonder if your call center guy did not have the phone effect, would he sound a little more similar to your caller voice? Maybe not, you did a good job of differentiating them while still having them both sound natural. Really great idea for the plot and a hilarious ending. I think that’s all I can say about this. Fantastic work!

[The bank]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

Well, you’ve definitely got three distinct characters. The mixing with the voices needed a lot of work; very boomy and bass heavy making it unclear. As much as hacking and coughing is fun for a crazy character, the fact that it took up a majority of the script was unnecessary. As for the plot, there was barely any to move along with. The beginning was nice to set up the general pretense, but then the actual execution of the action was confusing and actually I think it was just skipped over? I think they went in and then you cut to when they got back out. You just skipped the potential you set up for the whole first half. But, I did like the sound your characters, minus the excessive cackling. They just needed more of a somewhere to exist.

[My First Street Condom]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

I liked your banter in the beginning and how natural it sounded. The mixing was obviously off as it sounded out of place with the ambient street noise. When your Indian accent came in at the end, strangely enough it was somewhat hard to distinguish from your normal voice. A little pitch variation with one or the other could have helped differentiate. Also, with that end part I felt there was much more potential for it to be hilarious. Instead, it was kind of dull to me, but I could tell what you were trying to do. So that plot point needed work, but the rest of it before he chokes worked well. I really love conciseness, so I commend you for that. Overall, you did a nice job. Maybe a little extra character development and plot development. But good work!

AnalogByNature responds:

Thanks for your review & suggestions/advice, Zip!
I guess next time, a script would help

[My First Robbery]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

Were they robbing...a house or a store? Weird if a store had a doorbell or weird if the first character was using the word customer for visitors to his house. Anyways, your range needed to be much more diverse. I could tell the difference between the characters, but they were still very similar to each other. Mixing was pretty good as everything was mostly clear. In general, I think some ambient sound effects would have really helped. I think I heard at some spots you were recording in one take while switching between voices, which is sort of a no-no hahahahaha. The plot was random at times, I think it could have been more concrete. Overall, this was okay. What would really help is practicing coming up with as distinct characters as you can. The more committed they are, the more invested your acting will sound. Good work!

Forserious responds:

It was a house. I think I went a little overboard wanting it to be random and ridiculous.

Thank you for listening and for the advice. I'll be more mindful of these things in the future.

[My First Puzzle]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

This one had me laughing the hardest, no question. I just loved how reserved you were with your voice and how uncomfortable it made me feel. Honestly, it was all just so awkward and terrible that I loved it. When you said it was none other than Miz Tentacles herself, I was on the floor laughing. Alright, but to be more serious, the mixing needed a lot of help. There was a lot of crackling and vocal pops, which could be slightly lessened by talking more fully and maybe not being too close to the mic. I think the acting was actually accurate to the mood and your voice just sounds so unique like that. Nice awkward music choice and a creepy soundscape at the end. You are just one of those anomalies that your weird, awful style just works for you, in my opinion. Though the plot was really random and unclear, I still liked that it was...random and unclear. Nice job!

[Jim, the Idiot]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

The music was really distracting. I know that was part of the point of the plot, but it could have been executed better; mixed better with the voices. The humor was pretty blah to me, could have had more creativity. I do like how in your mixing, the voices were affected accordingly and were extreme enough that the difference could be made. But sometimes the voices, especially between Jim and the narrator, were very similar, and the others sounded like they were straying a bit. The pacing of the lines was really slow a lot of the time, which I think added to why the humor was dull. Your acting could also use a little more meat to it; it was also sort of dull. I do praise your effects and you had a solid idea for a plot, it just needs more work.