Riley Rewind

I have watched all episodes on Facebook and i must say that i am quite surprised.

When watching this series you'll easy forget that it is made by Ray William johnson, why? it's because its made very very well. You wouldn't even see the difference between a high budget series or this one. The actors, special effects, lighting music etc.. they all look really good and are well executed. I do not believe that there is anyone out there that can do better with a 75K budget.

This shows the potential that ray has to offer to those Hollywood suits people with bags of money. He shows that you can make a good series with very low money/resources.

He also shows that if you put enough time and effort in it (love in what you do), that you can make everything work. I am truly amazed by how far our midget has become (love you ray).

There is a bright future ahead of you, keep on holding it and you'll be sitting next to the stars that we all desire to meet.

Hopefully will see the sequel to this well made web series! keep up the good work ray!

7/10

I mean it's an indie film project, which took time, effort, and money to make. Personally, I enjoyed it! - Looking forward for Season 2 if any... Everything from the screenplay/story, (good job Anna!) acting (especially that gay dude!), Editing (Video Post was my favourite part about this film) was spot on! - also Ray (that fake and gay-homo-fag :-) ) did a good job directing, getting the most from the characters. what I didn't like though was the scoring/music - or at least the sound quality. Mix wasn't that warm, and audio didn't stand out to say the least. This may or may not be biased by personal passion in music production, scoring, and sound design, but the music in film left a lot to be desired. All in all though, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and was hooked almost immediately!

As a long time fan of both Anna and Ray, I was expecting myself to be bias as i was awaiting the release of Riley Rewind therefore I watched it with a purely critical mind.

The concept of a high school teen that can inexplicably 'rewind' time can be misread as cheesy or cliché, but with minimal amounts of verisimilitude the narrative of this story really comes to light. Although there is the occasional cliché moment, (it is set in a high school so what can you expect) The introduction of serious hard hitting subjects negates them into creating a continuous balance throughout the film giving it a really fun yet serious feel. The story, yet being rather simple at the beginning; soon unfolds to be a great climax which had me debating my own morals somewhat.

In terms of production quality, I was impressed by how great it look aesthetically. There are blatant traits of 'semi-low-budget-independent- ness' but this is not a flaw in their film, as the special effects looked believable where placed; the camera framing was good; lighting was well coordinated. It could easily be mistaken for something on a high quality TV show. It's well paced , although scenes can feel a little jumpy at some points, as it can quickly move from scene to scene.

Regarding possible cons, there are some minor elements that could be improved upon, for example the overused repetition of the soundtrack theme; the interaction between characters in a dialogue can feel somewhat staged sometimes. But these are minor, and they will surely learn from this experience and get better and better.

In conclusion, definitely worth watching. The narrative is captivating, the production value was great, the acting was good; and it all came together for a brilliant piece of film.

I'm very impressed with Runaway Machine on their first project, and I hope to see more of them in the future!

Riley Rewind manages to merge the online culture and the television-feel perfectly. With its vlog style used as a narration tool it instantly connects with the audience, making them feel a part of the experience. And with its attention to detail and high production value, it makes it clear that it's not "just another online show".

Ray William Johnson joins the list of pioneers that includes Freddie Wong, and David Fincher, who are making top quality content for the Internet. And this being Johnson's directorial debut for a feature like this, it was an excellent job. This was Johnson's and Anna Akana's (Riley Rewind writer and Riley) baby, and it shows that they did their best to produce something worth watching.

The premise is a very well known one (time travel dilemmas), but the take on it is different enough to look passed that. The acting is a little cheesy, and so are some of the lines, but in a way it makes Riley Rewind a bit more charming, and might have been done intentionally. If not, it's something to work on for future projects, which I'm sure will happen. Because Riley Rewind's strength is its ability to connect with people, and that is one of the most valuable traits any sort of media could hope for.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Runaway Machine.

It's a 5 because i like and support Ana and Ray but it should have been a 4.

The acting was in most cases forced but i can forgive that seeing how they were at their first 'serious' attempt, the 'hints' it gave were too obvious and this was done through some long shots that seem out of place. The story of the time traveler is nothing new for anyone and it brings nothing new to the table (the same side effect :bleeding nose and headache).

It's because they were a bunch of amateurs i expected something original but it's just your average teenage drama mixed with time travel.