A Single Life

   A Single Life is a 2014 CGI short animation by Job, Joris and Marieke from Netherlands. I found it to be a cleverly well-paced little animation, with an effective execution in terms of its (Dark) humor. When the ending came, the majority of the audience (Including myself) practically gasped in horror, before groaning and laughing softly in disbelief (Hope that isn't enough to spoil it for you folks that haven't had the chance to watch it. But, compared to their previous work Mute (Which was hilariously cringeworthy for all the right reasons), this really isn't all that bad.

   Job, Joris and Marieke is a studio composed of three folks, aside from animation (Obviously), this trio also specialise in illustration, character design and music. And from the song that I have heard in A Single Life, I do believe that they are just as gifted in that area as they are with the humorously dark animated works. In terms of its visuals, it is definitely interesting to note that this studio goes for such a bright and cartoony (If not adorable) style when it comes to most if not all of their works, practically leading the viewers on before realising there is more to these cutesy characters and settings than we initially believed. Nonetheless, I can certainly appreciate their character designs and vibrant color palettes (As seen above), and quite frankly, it still goes really well with their tone of story and joke telling.

   So, hat's off to you guys. I actually look forward to seeing more of your works. And speaking of which, I should probably go check out the rest of your animations on your website now.

Slumberless

"Slumberless" happens to be another animation that attempts to mix 3D computer and stop motion together, only to be a little more successful as compared to "Etoile". The story focuses on a sleep deprived man who also continues to grieve over the loss of a loved one, one night however he is paid a visit by a strange creature.

I always heard that puppets from Mackinnon and Saunders tend to cost an arm and a leg, and so I can't really imagine how much the budget was for this animation short. If I remembered correctly, only the creature's wings were animated in 3D (Or was it the other way round?). Either way, I suppose the mixture of techniques doesn't look as awkward in this animation due to there being lesser 3D effects used, and perhaps even the dark lighting, that can better hide any possible flaws.

The ending was a little odd, I assumed that the creature was in some way a harbinger of death (Or just some scary as frag sleep fairy...), instead of helping the human fall asleep, he pretty much just puts him to rest from what I can see, in the nicest possible way at least (I mean, who doesn't mind turning into a mist of glitter and soft lights when they die?), as a way to repay him for helping him. Though I do believe that much more time and effort would have been needed if the creator had attempted a different ending where the human had lived on (The one that I have been thinking of that is).

Despite the somewhat rushed story, it still was a pretty little animation (Not surprising really especially since he was able to get high quality puppets for it), it had a nice and compelling atmosphere to it, with an effective enough soundtrack. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Interview

Interview from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

"Interview" is a Danish 3D computer animation directed by Mikkel Okholm as Bachelor film project as part of the Animation Workshop, the short focuses on a young man who is interviewing for the most important job of all time... without even knowing what is it.

I just realised that I haven't really gotten the chance to talk about many 3D animations, and looking back on my past posts, so far it has mainly been 2D or stop motion ones. In all honesty, all the 3D and stop motion works were fantastic in this screening, or were at least far more enjoyable as compared to the 2D/traditionally animated ones... But yes going back to this wonderful animation...

If you haven't already watched the video provided in the very beginning, then do so now. This was well animated, well voice acted, and is overall a well written little piece of comedy (The pacing is just perfect, especially for each joke), and I couldn't help but enjoy it even more when I rewatched it (Especially when you are able to connect what happens in the beginning now that you know what happens in the end).

Every aspect of this animation was simply wonderful, even the details (Especially at the ending), lighting and camera angles (That especially makes things hilariously dramatic at times) were so well done.