Review: INVASION!

I'm a big fan of virtual reality, so when I saw a VR animated short film, I watched it almost immediately. "INVASION!" is an animated short currently on most VR platforms. It was made by Baobab Studios, led by previous employees of Pixar and Dreamworks, so I expected something great.

The story is about a rabbit and his encounter with some aliens, but despite the simple premise, it's pulled off really well. From a nice establishing shot in space (narrated by Ethan Hawke), all the way to the "Invasion" the short is named for, everything goes together very nicely. The character designs are all really beautiful, and their expressions tell the viewer exactly what they're thinking, since there is no dialogue (in english, anyway. The aliens talk, but in a cute gibberish). The aliens, named Mac and Cheez, are really what drive the story, being the source of most of the comedy, which reminds me of some of the old Mickey Mouse or Looney Tunes shows; a childish, slapstick feel. But just because it looks like a kids movie, anyone would really appreciate it.

The VR works well, too. It always makes you feel like part of the action. A lot of 360 degree videos are confusing, with nothing really directing your eyes where to look, but it works well in this short. Since there is 3-D audio, you can usually hear where the action is going on, and if you get turned around, you can just look at the rabbit (who is standing right over your shoulder for most of the video, further making you feel immersed)  to see where to look. His eyes are always clearly pointed towards the action, which is a really nice detail.

In conclusion, I think "INVASION!" really shows that animation, as well as other video entertainment has a good future in virtual reality. "INVASION!" even won a Daytime Emmy earlier this year, which hopefully inspires others to explore this medium. When Baobab releases the sequel, "ASTEROIDS!", later this year, I hope even more people will be able to see this awesome storytelling experience.

Baobab's website: http://www.baobabstudios.com/invasion/

Review: Dia de los Muertos

Near the end of October, my mom showed me this video that she found about Dia de los Muertos, and it turned out being a really well designed animated short, especially for being made by three college students. The video, named after the Mexican holiday, is a very interesting story about a girl overcoming grief and celebrating her mother on the Day of the Dead. The way that the story is told is really cool because it shows that a good story doesn't require a lot of exposition or talking to set up a plot that not only can be easily followed, but also invoke emotions, ranging from sadness to fear to happiness, all in three minutes.

In addition to the story elements, the animation work in this short helps amplify all the previously mentioned successes of the video. For one, the design of the characters is great. The range of expressions that the skeletons made throughout the story was impressive, and the girl, from her movements and behavior, to her expressive stylized facial features, made the characters look memorable, resembling movies by giant studios like Disney and Pixar. In the future of my own animations, I hope I'll be able to integrate all the cool things that were done with the characters here to make something great, too.

If there was one thing I thought was a bit weak in the video was the pacing; I understand the reasons the story went so fast, but I had to watch the video multiple times to fully see everything that was going on. In the context of this story, it was fine, but for most videos, it was a bit fast.

Overall, this was a really great short that really showed what just a few animators can do with a good idea and the tools and knowledge to craft it.

Video: https://youtu.be/-v4-1wFEzM0

Review: "Can a Robot Love?"

YouTube Creators, Corridor Digital, recently made a video called "Can a Robot Love?" using robots and stop-motion to put together a story. The video tells the story of a robot who is unintentionally sent to a junkyard while cleaning. In the junkyard, the robot meets others: some friendly, and some not.

The video was very well made, especially considering the extra steps that had to be included for using robotics. One thing that I felt was especially good was the storytelling. In a story without human characters or dialogue, it's often times hard to portray emotions, but all the robots in the video, even the ones that had no "faces" gave off their own unique feel. A lot of the shots were great, too. The sweeping establishing shots and the close ups of certain actions fit together, adding to the quality. However, as with all videos, there were some small problems. For one, some of the junkyard characters that were stop-motion animated looked a bit clunky at points, breaking the realism. Also, once the action started, it was a bit confusing what was going on. The action scene was really cool after the viewer figures out what's happening, but there isn't enough to introduce it.

There were a lot of things in this video that I would like to use at some point. For one, the use of panning and other movement makes a shot a lot cooler and can establish a location. Also, I think using stop-motion or other forms of animation within a live-action video is an awesome idea, and can make a fantastical situation like the one in the video a lot more realistic.

https://youtu.be/XgsZ6GnFglA

Corridor Digital. “Robots Programmed to Kill!.” Online video clip. YouTube. Youtube, 22 October, 2016. Web. 29 November, 2016.