Terrible Fate - Behind the Scenes

     So it seems that I've had some of my beliefs about my previous post wrong. EmberLab did in fact  have shooting locations. All of their environments are shot and not animated. However, in the final composition they are animated. In fact, they masked the fairies (the fairies were balls of light with attached sticks that were taken out, or "masked", during production) and used a chrome ball to recreate the environment and lighting. The models were so realistic that I assumed that everything else was CG as well. There's more details and information included in the video below.

You've Met with a Terrible Fate, Haven't You?

     Nintendo is a company known for its gaming consoles and engaging games. Among Mario and Pokemon, the Legend of Zelda is one of their popular series, and EmberLab decided to dedicate a short film to Majora's Mask. It centers around Skull Kid and how he obtained the mask in the game. All of the environments look so realistic that I was surprised when I saw that they were not real. They effectively captured the mood of each scene that they portrayed, and I was left speechless by that ending. I think that they did a fantastic job with the character models and the animation. Below is the video.

There's a Man in the Woods

     Jacob Streilein's film There's a Man in the Woods centers around a teacher and how one child manage to change everything. Throughout the story, the mood changes and matches the emotions of the teacher. I saw this once in 2014, so I was really glad that I discovered it again. The poetic feel of this film adds on to the accumulating tension, and I really like that Streilein went this route. The only flaw that I noticed that stood out the most to me was that Streilein should have picked another voice actor with a deeper voice to suit the teacher better. However, I understand that this is a student film, so it makes sense that the teacher would have a younger-sounding voice as everyone working on these films would be around their early to mid 20s. Despite this flaw, this film still is exceptional in story-telling and I like how he executed the animations to show as much emotion as possible. Below is the film.

The Present

     Since it's Christmas, what better time to post about gifts than now? In The Present, Jacob Frey presents a boy coming to terms with a surprise. To avoid spoiling the end, the only things that I will say is that it warms my heart that the "gift" helped him with his own life. I feel that the gift's animation and the boy's attitude towards it helped stir some emotion. Below is the film.

The Wishgranter

     Making wishes aren't always as simple as they seem, as shown in The Wishgranter by Echo Wu, Kal Athannassov, and John McDonald. In a small town, there is a magical fountain that is managed by a small creature that has been shown to grant wishes when a coin is thrown. This concept of wish granting is a fresh twist on that fountain myth, and it is interesting to see how it occurs. The animation quality is professional as it has a style that looks like it could be a full-length movie. Below is the film.

Pretty Ugly

     Step aside, Ugly Duckling, Ugly Unicorn's in charge now! In this film made by Abbey Paccia, a girl discovers the true meaning of beauty and to not take things for granted. I appreciate how the work did not go the traditional route that most works follow under The Ugly Duckling. The art style and the animation's bouncy quality looks like it could be its own cartoon for children. I find it sweet that the unicorn tried to console her at the end. Below is the video.

Out of Sight

     A blind girl creates a world to see for herself in this cute film. I adore the creativity the three students from the National Taiwan University of Arts placed into this film as the little girl searched for her dog. To me, this resembles Hayao Miyazaki's works like Spirited Away. I find it charming that the girl knew what certain things were based on her other senses and that she replaced unfamiliar objects with her own imagination. Despite its cutesy charm, it does make me feel bad for the girl as this strongly suggests that she had recently lost her sight. Below is the video.

Wolfsong

     Toniko Pantoja comes back to this blog once again with Wolfsong. This was heart-wrenching to me when I first saw it. I cannot put into words how devastating it was as it would spoil parts of the film. It centers around a young hunter who soon realizes the motivations behind a sudden "theft". The color choices add to the grim nature of the battle that occurs and establish the tense atmosphere. As always, Pantoja's involved animation helped successfully delivered an emotional response from the audience.

Kagemono: The Shadow Folk

     In Sabrina Cotugno's short film, a small fox named Beopup searches for food and instead finds an unlikely surprise. The smooth animations add on to Beopup's cute design and the watercolor-like environments are easy on the eyes. As a result, this film is charming and easy on the eyes. The animations are smooth and the cuteness (disregarding certain scenes) overall complements the film. Below is the film.

Crayon Dragon

     The genius behind Tiny Nomad, Toniko Pantoja also animated this "drawn-to-life" film. In it, a lady embraces an unexpected surprise which changes how she is. When she was pulled into the other world, it felt like a place of whimsy and wonder. The dragon faintly reminds me of Ord from Dragon Tales, which helps give it more of a magical feeling for me. Pantoja's fluid animation helped reel me into the world and connect with the characters. Below is the film.

Nocturne

     In early civilizations, many myths arose as explanations for natural occurrences like rain. Kari Casady developed this film as a fun myth for the coming of the night. From the moment the animation begins, the colors and the environments bring the viewer into the film. The night stag automatically asserts its magnificence and significance with its design. Everything is beautifully carried out, especially the backgrounds. Below is the film for those interested.

Acorn

    In life, there are varying types of people that we may become or encounter. Some will be okay, some will be better. However, extreme opposites exist where there are the unmotivated and the persistent. In this thesis film, Madeline Sharafian demonstrates just that with her little acorn friend.

     Like any other acorn, it fell to the ground when its time came. Others joined it in its departure from the tree. The little acorn, however, soon decided to do something that was unprecedented. I viewed this bold move as a representation of someone breaking free from the cookie-cutter lifestyle and pushing towards their dreams. Unlike the other acorns, this one did not accept its fate and strove for a better planting spot. The colors   while subtle   changes throughout the story and gives each scene a certain mood. What really stood out for me was the acorn's unique expressions. They gave it character and showed its frustration. I admire how Sharafian took a minuscule part of life and made it have such a large impact on the audience. Below is the film for those who are interested.