Become One - The Premier

Bernard Muminovic · Joined: 24 Jul 2009 Posts: 593

Watched half of it and can't wait to finish the 2nd half....really awesome documentary.... two things I did notice....

1. I believe Gary Carlton's name is spelled wrong, in the video they spelled it Gary Carolton

2. The word Organizer is spelled wrong as well...I believe it shows as orgonizer

Just sayin' Smile

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Alan Dove · Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:06 pm Post subject:

*organiser Wink

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Bernard Muminovic · Joined: 24 Jul 2009 Posts: 593

David Cole · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:59 am Post subject:

http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=21694
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Jim Stine · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:32 pm Post subject:

Just purchased for download and Blue Ray. Can't wait to watch this on the home theater!

Thanks John!

Chris Hurst · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:26 pm Post subject:

Wasn't really expecting much when I saw this thread, had a look and I wanted to say I really liked the trailer. Saving for a big project at the moment so I can't buy a copy, but I will as soon as I have some disposable income again.

Very well done preview, great camera work and a nice feel to the whole thing. Hope this takes off.

Adrian Baran · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:31 pm Post subject:

Just purchased a digital copy.

Edit: As a newbie to the sport who hasn't hit the track I can't wait to get into in on the action. This is a great promo piece for the sport, and I really hope more people get to watch this.
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Luke Aker · Joined: 22 Mar 2013 Posts: 1

Filming anything traveling at any speed is not a very easy task. And to film it well is even harder. Ever attempt watching a soccer Dad's home videos of his daughter/son? (also see: "Cloverfield") It's a sure headache-driven mess. Unless you have years of experience shooting hand held video and broadcast sporting events - most people are not able to shoot these things well. Shofner manages to capture 70+ mph karts brilliantly through his lens. Not only that but he captures a lot of the lifeblood of the sport through his interviews with pro and amateur racers - and he makes it look easy.

The first thing I noticed watching "Become One" is the cinematography, which is well shot, well exposed, and aside from some frame-rate disagreements (places where the shot might seem "choppy" or looks like it skips some frames) it was by far the best thing about the film and definitely shows that Shofner has a talent beyond his mere 3 years experience in this field. He went above and beyond insisting that he have shots filmed for our enjoyment on the Phantom camera (1000+fps!) which gave the audience a slower and exciting look at the sport.

In his KickStarter project Shofner mentioned that music was one of the most important parts of the edit and he did an amazing job choosing music that was powerful, energetic and never distracted from the film. He and his team did a great job choosing music that added to the experience.

Although originally tackled as an encompassing look at the world of karting it became clear that there were some things Shofner seemed to struggle with more than others, and being his first feature-length film, was to be expected.

The edit seemed rushed (and having lost my own project with nearly 100+ hours invested into it, this is understandable) and inconsistent. Some of the scenes were tight, clear edits with a clear driving force driven by music or an interview while others seemed stitched together without any clear motive other than filler. The voiceover, although necessary and fairly well written sounded tinny and many times blown out. (this could have been due to the fact that Shofner completed an ENORMOUS task with what would be considered by anyone as a ultra-micro budget)

While Shofner has, to this date, done the best job of producing a feature that tries to accomplish every possible angle of a sport in a little over an hour, In my opinion he might have bitten off more than he realized and it results in an unfocused and vague story that doesn't ever ground itself in any sort of structure. For future projects it might behoove the crew to pre-produce a solid storyline/goal rather than trying to tackle so much ground.

Overall the film was a spectacular rookie effort that far surpassed my initial expectations. And after purchasing and watching Become One I will be watching for his next feature effort with anticipation.

Shofner has room to improve on his storytelling, editing and audio mixing but he has produced a feature that will be profitable and is entertaining and is something he and his team should be more than proud of.

Pros:
Awesome first edit
Great music
Accomplished original goal

Cons:
Tinny and blown out VO
Inconsistent editing/storytelling
Distracting grammar/spelling errors

Grade: 3 out of 5 Stars

1 Star: Hated it
2 Star: Didn't Like it
3 Star: Liked it
4 Star: Really Liked it
5 Star: Loved it

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Tyson Henry · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:06 pm Post subject: Re: Become One: A Review

TJ Koyen · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:31 pm Post subject:

I agree with Mr. Aker's review.

I enjoyed it and I think it's a beautifully crafted piece, especially for a first effort. I'm glad I was able to contribute and the final product is great.

That being said, I would've liked more of a storyline. It felt a bit like a 1 hour infomercial for karting, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and probably is a GOOD thing if we're trying to expose this to the public to teach them about what karting is. But my selfish preference as a longtime karter would've been to see more content/story for those of us already in the sport. Maybe next time Very Happy

Overall, great job by John and his crew and I think the film is something the karting community can be proud of.
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Cory Ross · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:43 am Post subject:

Has anyone received there non digital copy of this film yet?

Tyson Henry · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:53 am Post subject:

Jeb Woods · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 2:45 pm Post subject:

I was under the impression that contributers of 100.00 or more get a DVD copy as well as a digital one, maybe I misread..

Greg Marlow · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:44 pm Post subject:

I looked into it today and I was told that it could be two more weeks till they are sent out.

Lyle Clark · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:15 pm Post subject: