Color correction, muzzle flares and smoke questions

A couple of days ago I directed an action sequence called 'Silent takedown' using Premiere CS5 and After Effects. The goal was to do a very fast paced editing style but still within the realm of 'classic' action films from '90 like Face/Off and Mission Impossible 2. I've got some question regarding visual effects done in After effects. Tell me if you thought they were good or bad. Also the color correction was done in AE and PP. Does the overall movie look good?
Here's a full link again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O62_hYOmlaY
Thanks for watchin'

Well, aside from it being quite disturbing to have a team of 14 year olds turning everyone to blood soup it's got some great camera work.
Your first mistake might have been thinking there's anything worth copying in mission impossible 2. Sorry, had to be said.
Todd's right. The clouds of blood is comical. Maybe tone that down? Right now it just looks like a string of video copilot tutorials one after another. You need to hide effects, and make them feel seamless.
Ask yourselves what are you trying to showcase. If it's post production, you have to tweak those effects and make them look classy. There are shots where bullet holes are appearing in glass and there's little breakage, and no reaction from the actors. You can't just glue in effects. If the actors don't react, you can't use the shot, or it should be changed so you don't notice. Add a shake etc.
If it's editing, then that has to be solid too.
You've got time shifting all over the place without it being stylistic. For example, the guys who walk up off the top are shown in a wide shot that you re-use for the security cam. They enter, put their masks on, walks softly up to the guards and take them out, but then we are inside and the scarface guy is watching action that happened minutes ago on the monitor. If you're going to jump around in time, you need to find a stylistic way to do that. Why not bring the scarface guy's scenes into the lead up, show the monitor, (drop that long shot at the top) to introduce the guys sneaking up. This introduced tension (will scarface notice???) gives you an idea of who the guards are watching out for and drops that opening super wide of the two kids going up against the wall. That shot doesn't work because when you show them super-wide, you get a feeling for how exposed they are and what a terrible job they're doing of "sneaking" up. But it works as security cam footage...
Another example is when you have one of your agents say "good morning gentlemen. He says something strange to men who are in masks and they give him enough time to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger in spite of the face that they're holding their own guns. Then you have the camera exposure flash cuts to the other agent sneaking up...
If you want to make this effect work, you need to use editing to explain why the second guard didn't reflexively shoot the first agent. have the agent say, "good morning gentleman" and start the action of raising the gun. Then flash cut to the other agent sneaking up, then back the the first agent shooting, then back to the second guard being shot. Then all of a sudden you have a frenetic action scene. Right now the pacing feels slow and unrealistic.
The effects go off the rails a bit at the end. The muzzle flashes don't aim in the right direction, and the particle smoke becomes very obviously added in post. One shot in particular is a dude walking through a black smoke cloud from behind a van. Loose that smoke in the second to jump cuts. And if oyu're going to have a smoky enclosed space. you have to add atmosphere in other shots.
If you're not going to use practical effects for the gunshots, you need to cut away. Having a guy explode with particles and stock footage will always be "funny" without having some squibs on set. I know it makes it harder and more complicated, but you have to have the whole package, or it'll always just look like kids messing around and...
... oop, my render is done.

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Thanks so much

Hi
I would take some photos with color miss match eg blue tint (Blå-Stick in Swedish)
and with other known color anomalities.
Put them in TimeLine and playback. View TV - corrected or as bad as from start.
I use a color corrected CRT-broad-cast monitor but prior to this a small TV and
this one did a good job.
Yours Bengt W

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Aanarav, Your idea to just get Color Finesse for premiere I suppose I could do. It's $545 which isn't exactly pocket change, but it would probably be worth it, if there is another way other than breaking the bank book for software I already own i'd like to try to get away with it.
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I guess it sounds like the only way out is to spend cash, sigh such is so often the case is seems.
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Color correction, muzzle flares and smoke questions

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