Transformers: Age of Extinction

Are any of you looking forward to seeing Transformers: Age of Extinction? I'll admit that when I saw the teaser trailer for it, I wasn't very excited, even at the sight of Optimus riding Grimlock as he crashes through a giant wall. I felt that this film would be more of the same: Explosions, people looking pretty while running from explosions, immature comedic relief, poor robot characterization/ development, and uninteresting Human story lines. However, after seeing the official trailer for the film, my opinion has changed; it seems as if all of the negative criticism that the previous films received has been taken into consideration and will be used to make a decent Transformers movie. What do you guys think?

Here's my analysis of the official trailer. Check it out, guys.

A lot better of a presentation than I could give. It kinda has that 2nd, or 3rd year university vibe to it, but it isn't commercially horrible or anything.

Galvatron use to be Megatron's second in command and in charge of Cybertron while he is gone if I remember correctly from the old cartoons. Guess they changed his role. I have the 1st two movies on dvd so I don't have anything against the franchise, it is a way to kill some time watching them.

I can' t judge the new movie, but I get the feeling they are milking it.

loved the first 3. cant wait for this one. sucks that Duhamel and Gibson arent in it though.

Looks just as bad as the first three films. Possibly even worse since this time around I'd have to put up with Mark Wahlberg the whole time.

I do not a thug trying to push his ideals into my head. I like good old fashioned cartoon robots. Not these rap video ones presented here.

@strategyfn: No, in the G1 cartoon, Galvatron is actually Megatron with a new body. Megatron was severely damaged in his attack on Autobot city by Optimus Prime. As he is drifting aimlessly through space basically waiting to die, he encounters Unicron, the planet eater, who gives him his new body in exchange for his allegiance.

unicron was actually optimus's father, and there is some belief that megatron was his brother.

@moloch999: Certainly not in the G1 cartoon.

Optimus Prime was created by Alpha Trion, from the badly damaged remains of a robot named Orion Pax.

In some continuities, Optimus Prime and Megatron were once close friends before their falling out and Prime considered Megatron to be like a brother to him, but they were never truly brothers in any literal sense.

Yeah, I mistaked it for that one-eyed guy that also turned into futuristic looking gun who sat on Cybertron all the time. Know his name perhaps? Now it is killing me.

Nevermind I got it, Shockwave. I really should remember my transformers better.:shame:

@strategyfn: Haha. Yeah, good ol' Blinky on Cybertron is named Shockwave. And yeah, in the G1 cartoon all he did was basically sit around for millions of years and have terrible aim.

Doesn't look great really.

This is what I'm afraid of ...... especially when the movie was made by that director

according to IMDB.com

one of michael Bay's trade mark is:

"Often includes one black character as comic relief (Eddie Griffin in Armageddon (1998),Leonard McMahan in The Rock (1996), Mark Christopher Lawrence in The Island (2005), the minstrely robots Skids and Mudflap in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009))."

in which doesn't work for most people that is not American

Hmm, I just realized I still haven't seen the last movie.

I never played with Transformer toys growing up, nor did I really watch the cartoons, so I don't have any idea of what would make a cool Transformer movie, except maybe more Megan Fox on a motorcycle.

Another superfluous Mark Wahlberg movie.

@moloch999: Thug? Who are you talking about?

translation

@lamprey263: Not funny at all.

sorry, it was more to poke at his idiotic comment not to add fuel to the fire

I'm sort of neutral on the topic. I love the first Transformers movie, and I liked 3, but I was never a huge fan or anything. This one looks like more of the same, which means I will probably see it and most likely enjoy it to some degree.

Would you be so kind as to elaborate on this further? I'd like some constructive criticism, so that I can learn how to improve my videos.

Most definitely, looks like the best one yet. And to add that beautiful 67 Camaro is a huge plus ! Dinobots, Original Peterbilt Optimus, looks promising, can't wait.

I'm now actually excited for the movie even though I usually don't give two fucks about similar movies. Great video, you've gotten much better.

@LexLas

Did you even watch the video? Optimus will not be a Peterbilt semi truck in this film.

@GazaAli:

What are the pros and cons of the video in terms of its quality? I want constructive criticism.

Film looks shit and will probably be overlong as the first three were. Can't believe folks still anticipate this crap.

@Aljosa23

It's mindless yet harmless fun. Personally, I look forward to seeing Grimlock in action.

I only watched it once, don't have time now, but I will watch it again later to maybe find some concrete criticisms.

You come off as charismatic and comfortable in front of the camera--You came of as natural, I didn't see you awkward pause or look around for notes, etc. There could be even more comfort, but it will probably come with time, and it was fine the way it was.

The only critique I have for the video (my mildly uneducated opinion) is you could've showed the complete trailer first and then commented on it. But, I think you probably did it this way for copyright reasons. I had a light tough time knowing what was going with just the short clips and then a comment--Didn't see to be totally cohesive, or have a completely non-abrasive flow. It was well edited and cut though with the pictures and toys cut into it.

I'm going to have to watch it again though and maybe I won't mind the flow the more I watch it.

@strategyfn

Thanks for the criticism; I'll be sure to put it to use. By the way, what did you think of the audio? I think the echo of my voice through the room is quite noticeable. I didn't use my Blue Yeti USB Microphone to record the audio, though I should have; I relied on my phone's mic (Galaxy Note 3).

Oh, just because I critique you doesn't mean I am right.:) I only have first year or I think a second year 200 class in presentations experience in University.

My suggestion maybe, at the start of the video, go off and say something like watching the full trailer yourself is important to fully understand my video, something like that. Might as well treat people like they are uneducated on the subject matter and guide them. I remember my English instructor saying, you don't want to be vague and specify things.

Anyway I think your video is fine and I think my advice may just actually make it worse, but I thought I would throw out some things to think about.

Actually watching your video a second time, I understand it a lot better.

The audio was decent to me. I just didn't understand one word at the start. I think it is the, "Autobots are hunted," you said about the billboard. That is the only part of the video I had a problem with. In one part you kinda ramble for a second, about Grimlock, I think, but it gives the video personality.

Your presentation is even better a second time I watched the video. But something to think about, some people may only actually watch your video once.

Did you do this for a University course, or for fun? Do you do your own editing?

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Just watched the official Age of Extinction trailer since this thread got me interested.

You could've also mentioned how Wahlburg seems to be the new human protagonist and how from the trailer he seems to have an interesting relationship with the Autobots. But, that stuff may be to obvious to go on about.

@strategyfn:

I did this for fun. My dream is to earn a decent or large number of subscribers so that I can have an audience to cater to about things in media that I favor. As for the editing, yes, I do it myself. I record my videos with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3's rear end, thirteen megapixel camera, which can shoot at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), and I edit the videos with SONY Movie Studio Platinum 13.

You do a pretty awesome job then, especially with the editing.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

To give you an idea of what I consider professional, check out this video:

• Animated intro with a professional logo.
• Clean and crisp audio with no echo or background noise.
• Intentionally blurred background to make himself pop out of the screen, so to speak.
• Nice clips interspersed throughout the video.
• Much more comfortable in front of the camera than myself, but perhaps I will become as comfortable as him in time (as you suggested).

This is the first time I've seen one of your videos, and I have to say it's very well done. I don't think that there's any criticism I can add. All you really used was a camera phone and some video editing software?

As far as the movie goes, I'm looking forward to it, moreso than the last two films. I rather have Mark Whalberg in it than Shia Lebeouf any day.

Yeah, he is pretty good. You aren't too far off from that guy, he just went on about more stuff. I liked your hand movements in the video too, it makes you more relateable and acts excitement to it. Me I just freeze up for videos and presentations and don't move my arms, what you are not supposed to do (bad form) in most cases.

^I am going to miss Shia, I think his acting perfectly suits this franchise.

Thanks for the complement, and yea, all I used was a camera phone and some video editing software. :P

I find it funny that I move my hands when I talk in front of a camera. It's so involuntary and comes naturally. I wonder if hand-movement while talking is some sort of evolutionary behavioral trait and what its purpose is.

I really don't have that substantial of a criticism to add but I will try my best anyway. I would highly suggest investing in some decent quality audio recording equipments. You may not feel its that important but it really makes a considerable difference in the quality of any visual work and it will be perceived and noticed by people. Personally it really annoys me to watch something with background noise, it can be distracting and at times it may make it hard to hear the person or the narration in the video.

I like your overall style, I hope you will improve on it WITHOUT going professional. I'm sure you realize that you still need some time to get comfortable in front of the camera, leave it to time. I get that you're trying to show your great physique and admittedly its an asset, but may be you should try to wear something other than an undershirt? I mean do keep it casual and sort of uninhibited, but you know, you might want to work more on garment.

Another thing you might want to consider is the "feeling" of your videos. I'm not asking you to have a fully fledged professional-studio-like settings and background, but may be you want to establish an identity for the place where you shoot your videos. It goes without saying that you would be putting your essence in it. You can also change it periodically should you feel like it.

These are only suggestions so don't think about them too much, you're doing well as it is, except for the sound part that needs to be worked on.

@GazaAli:

Thanks for the criticism. It's interesting that you mentioned issues that I was already aware of, namely the poor audio quality and the setting, both of which I have acquired items to address. I bought a Blue Yeti USB microphone and some posters. :P

That's great man. One more thing, love what you do no matter what. Its in itself entertaining, satisfying and of value to you. I hope you will get the chance to make it but if that does not happen you must not mourn it because you would have already profited of it more than enough.

@GazaAli:

Thanks, Gaza. I actually enjoy recording and editing the videos, so even if I don't make it, I'll still make them.

Here is an example of what I think you could've added to the start of the video, I was a little vague earlier: "A major theme in the Age of Extinction trailer is that the Autobots have a new human companion/protagonist played by Mark Walhburg. Shia Lebeouf is nowhere to be found in the trailer. I will not be discussing this in detail, because A) there is not too much info on the matter, besides what you can see in the full trailer yourselves and B) I am more interested in discussing the Transformers themselves."

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After watching the full trailer, after being moved to do so, by your initial OP it seems like introducing Walhburg was one of the major ideas of the Trailer, and you don't mention it. I think your entire video would've made even more sense in the first watch if the main idea or one of the main ideas of the trailer would've been addressed. My opinion anyway, I think it would've made the rest of your video and ideas more smooth for the first watch if you addressed the main idea of the trailer. This way you target a broader market,imo; your way, it seems to me, you are leaning towards targeting people who already know a lot of the new Transformers and follow the new Transformers, instead of trying to target everyone, casuals, who may not know a lot of the Transformers or new movies.

Just what I am thinking. I am going to look up more of your videos because I enjoyed this one. Watched this/your video 3 times now. Could be my opinion changes of your video if I watch it a couple more times. I actually didn't mind you dressed casually, offcourse I usually do as well. I also didn't have a problem with the sound I don't think, but I am not too finiky. I use to shoot my videos for class on a Nikon Coolpix 8100, so that had even worse sound. Gaza isn't wrong though.

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Your review gets better the more I watch it. The sound is fine, I have heard so much worse, but yeah if you want to be super-professional it could use some improvement in equipment Gaza was right, just noticed it after the 4th time. Loved the movie pictures on the left wall, and like I said earlier I thought your editing was really good.

Wow, your video is next to impossible to find on youtube. You should pm your youtube name, so I can see your other work.

I think it is great that you have this as a hobby.

@strategyfn

Thanks for the additional criticism. I actually wanted the review to be more expansive than it is, but I had to rush the recording process because the sun was going to set soon, which means that the lighting for the video would have been less than optimal (I had the blinder up to allow sunlight into the room). I recorded it on Sunday, which was my last opportunity to do so because I don't have enough time to record during the week. So, I decided to focus on the robots, since their identities and roles in the film were less obvious than was Mark Wahlberg's character (Cade Yaeger).

Anyhow, what do you mean my video is hard to find on YouTube? You should be able to navigate to my profile from the videos watch page. As for my YouTube username, it's The Blu Rambler.