FAV Senior Show Reviews of 2024

In all truth, I didn't know if I was going to write again for this year as I started regretting what I said of certain films. Not because I think the opinions are wrong, but rather because of the effect it had on people. I tried to only bring positive energy for these pieces, and I failed last year from some. Learning from past mistakes, along with seeing everyone's process of the work as a Senior, my perspective will reach towards more sympathetic rather than anything else. If, through these reviews, you believe I am incorrect or there is something I haven't considered, please let me know through email or in person. Otherwise, I hope that after these reviews and after my final year here at RISD, I'll still have the passion to write so much more about the wonderful films I see everyone do. Potentially come back after grad school to re-experience the magic of RISD.

The senior show hasn't started but I am excited for upcoming films that I highly recommend you watch on first viewing based on previews. Aiden Chen's and Vinny Wang's film Mikey's Crash I have seen in preview through a group project, and the version I watched brings greatness to tension and atmosphere. Although I haven't seen any full version of the piece, Jeffery McCready's film IDNA will be a visual marvel with its use of foam and lighting, and potentially one of the stronger stop motion pieces. A strong comedy which also lies in stop motion I highly recommend is Sara Jekely piece as, in my opinion, is possibly the most worked on film visually along with the diversity of texture all wrapped within a short time to tell the story. I recommend but haven't watched the Attila John piece, a person who has created one of the most gripping film's I saw in his junior year show, and I can only expect greatness from his senior work. Temilola Matanmi work I haven't seen yet, but I know effort he put into the work is stronger than most, so I know the passion he has for his project will match the quality. Other's I would spot for are Emily Zhang, Fenner Weeks, and Sahana Vathsa as although I only saw their work in parts, the parts shown are exceptional. Finally, a film which reminded me of a favorite from my sophomore year, Al Bi, is Eva Bretz's Thyste with its fun characters, coloring, atmosphere, and gripping actions.

My opinions might change from the film's listed above, but all I know is that the seniors are natural at working in effort to create great quality products. This year to me feels the most visually interesting, and I can't wait to gush upon all the films during the final screenings.

In reforms in my style of critic, I was told to remind myself while watching these films: "Do not engage with what you wanted from the film, rather engage it from what it shows" or "meet the film at its own level". Sometimes I had to remind myself of this since a lot of aspects of the senior show felt similar. However, "engage it from what it shows" was easier than expected because there was an interest in abstraction, dissolvement, and form present through the majority of the show. In comparison to the previous two years where the films focused more on narrative and convention styles of understanding for common viewers. I'm not sure why this interest in form came to be, but the first showing the seniors at RISD were not satisfied with convention narrative. It allowed me to question each piece more than needed and gave me reasons to separate or define each film based on what they present rather than what I personally wanted. To the point where, I had less to say about the narrative films in comparison to the abstract films. Similar to what I felt about documentaries the previous year, I don't believe I'm as qualified as I should to talk about abstract pieces. However, for the first night each film I saw was of extended quality, and the music to resemble narrative progression only enhanced this feeling. I heard that Jack English was responsible for the sound of many of these films, and for that I could only give my highest respects towards him. Such talent is often saddening to see leave from RISD. But besides music, I found interest in questioning the forms, why these forms look the way they do, and finally why they made me more engaged in certain scenes. I think it will be a struggle not to compare these films such as the previous year, but that only means forcing myself to truthly highlight and go into detail on what makes these films so incredible.

OK SO:

In respecting Jack English's musical work, I first want to talk about OK SO, and what I think works for myself and what doesn't. At first, I was disappointed by how the talking scenes went with a short reverse shot at the first fifth of the film. It delivered the dialogue fine as it was but didn't give any interest as a viewer of the setting of the world. As well defining the characters in meaningful ways. To this, I thought I was going to be disappointed in the film, but I was pleasantly surprised with how the film demanded I enjoy it. My enjoyment being sparked by the camera scene, and then the use of absurdism acted almost minimal.  The comedy never needed to scream about its existence besides visuals. The use of puppets felt natural as an extension of the world. It allowed the audience to relate to the absurdity of office life, and the main character reacting to the puppets as people allowed this comedy to feel baked in rather than feeling tacked on. The gag is also very simple in nature visually, in contrast to if the film had a drawn creature without the specific lighting, which would have been distracting to audiences. Overall, quiet absurdity is what this film works in, and so when the camera reacts to a prop such as the Homer Simpson toy through just formal qualities, does it take the audience by surprise.  Other aspects of the film I loved was how the puppets were creatively used in the frame to evoke specific emotion. A highlight being how the sock puppets gathered around the main character when unconscious. There is a focus on silhouette through these monochromatic backgrounds, and you're never confused on what you're supposed to take away from the scene because of it. Overall, this film works because of what it bakes into its premise, and lets the comedy take its time for the audience to understand the situation.

Dinner Building:

Dinner Building by Carter Hiett was the first film I watched and made me realize the thematic importance form was going to have for the rest of the night. The film sadly propped high standards for the rest of the senior show. Conceptually, I enjoyed what it was going for, that being of defining home objects and abstracting them only through the black in white, in their basic silhouette and lines. Although it's not an original concept, the execution allows for gorgeous visuals that makes you question what certain objects are and brings greater importance to the speed of the film. I will be going into depth with speed, but just know the film's use of it of constant cuts, and then having slower motion based on the sound, mimicking a climax or an importance as a narrative film might have. Through going slowly into known objects and then becoming pure abstract through what seemed to be salt, does the film force the audience to question what they are seeing? The film also likes to take as much space as it can on the screen, giving off the idea that is merely a fraction of what is actively existing, but never feeling cluttered or making the objects seem like background due to how all the objects are spaced. This isn't even mentioning the score, with such a wonderful blend of piano mixed with techno-sounds to give both feelings of progression and high-class dining.  I never found myself bored of this fast-paced animation, only hypnotized when it slowed down. 

Le Beau au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty):

It's hard to separate this film without the context of the filmmaker and the recent events in his life. I consider him a good friend, and an even greater artist who became the highlight of the junior film last year. To state on his previous film, the visceral shock and build up, the terrifying themes, and the gripping visuals that only adds to the hopelessness of the piece. Yet, when watching this film, to how surprised I was, the original amount was so little. But the film itself never felt half-baked or pushed away as a project. Like all the artist's work, the film of Sleeping Beauty had such thematic richness in what it's trying to say. The use of pixelation to show dissolvement of memory, the need to bring in cartoons of a brother protecting each other as the pixilation shows those memory fades. The golden frame to remind the audience of how precious these memories were. Not even mentioning the artist using the live action segments only of his family, and then letting them bleed into the cartoon. This film, from my perspective, is all about the importance of memory. Of how animation itself blends into how we can view our family relationships and especially with how we interact with our siblings, all combined with the music and used audio which only surges up to a climax of emotion. To myself, through all these elements and through my own relationship to my family, it only reminds me of the impossibilities the artist is willing to further himself into producing fantastic art.

Alone Again

Along Again by Matthew Walley didn't really connect to myself personally, and I think it has to do with how it uses its abstraction throughout the film. When reviewing many abstract pieces within the senior films, there are two things that I find meaningful in making a good abstraction. The first is how abstraction progresses with the film. Such as making a circle start small and grow bigger or allowing differing colors but still keeping the same visual style. Progression, to myself, mimics a narrative, and I find value in seeing a climax as its easier to create emotions with it. The second is bringing up questions to the audience and being clear on them. Making the audience think, "why is this a circle" or "how does blue represent this feeling or theme better than green". 

    Alone Again is a very beautiful film, and it does have some form of progression through the narrative it brings along. Some of the questions such as what happened to the couple at the start of the film are effective. The establishing shots of Providence are gorgeous and brings along the city as a magical place. Yet, when watching the film I kept asking "what does this specific effect mean" or "how does this type of abstraction relate back to the character". There is constant use of effects such as the low frame rate and although there is a diversity of effects, I can't tell the exact emotions or thoughts I'm supposed to have in these scenes. I thought that, for the low frame rate, it was meant to show the uncaring world was towards him. But as the film moved on it got more confusing what correlates with what emotion. There are scenes such as the ending where we see the main character crawling on the black studio, and it is faded into a scene of him and the love interest on the stairs. But other times I kept questioning what the film was trying to say in terms of love, and I can't make a definitive answer if all the effects or abstractions mean the same thing. I think, for me, what makes it displeasing is that it includes a narrative in comparison to having just been an abstraction, and thus I have expectations to see this narrative play out. If I were to make a suggestion to the artist, please focus on how to progress those effects throughout your story. How do they relate to the themes, and how can the abstract reveal something more that your story tries to tell? For now, in defining the story, the abstraction is too constant and acts too similar to each other to give me a satisfying understanding of the piece.

Photo of Anna

I've always been split about narratives around art as they could either be very self-indulgent or very profound in what they say in terms of creation. It all lies in the execution of the piece. So, I was hesitant when discovering the plot. But I believe the use of camera from the boyfriend is executed very well narratively, and the film was strong in its message of indirect love through the use of art. However, it's most other aspects of the narrative that lost me personally. The climax narratively is strong for me, and I am in love with the scene where the boyfriend could only take pictures of the girl as she is crying. But to get to that point of the narrative is where the film struggled. This film wants to engage with a love story, but the love story I saw wasn't fleshed out as it needed for myself to care for the characters. The exception to caring was through the climaxes, but I wished I learned more of these people outside of their art. There is the use of exposition of the boyfriend in the army but made me dislike the girlfriend when stated and felt hypocritical on her end. I'm assuming this way of looking at the girlfriend was intentional as the boyfriend has similar traits, but at the same time the exposition scene felt more sporadic rather than being properly built up in the film. 

    Although narratively it doesn't work for me, I did enjoy other aspects of the film. I found it visually interesting on how either one of the partners would be cut off by the frame. It brought a feeling of uneasiness through showing them uncomfortable in their own space. The sound is very strong, and I enjoyed that the film starts with a poem describing time, thus hinting toward the theme of documentation.

Amare Terram

There are issues I have with the films of the senior show, and I believe often it has to do with the pacing of the piece and how much time we need to attach to the characters. For Amere Terram, the characters are attached to each other, and the animation towards expressions is done well enough. But I didn't care much for the characters besides the younger flower, and I think it's because she plays her archetype well. But for the other characters, this needed to be a longer story for myself to be invested, even if there is the implication of time passing. What the film presents currently is a few interactions that don't reveal much about the characters or any other sides of them personality wise, and that to me is the most important aspect when creating a narrative based film. Variety of emotions and actions implies greater insight into the characters. With the exception of the third act, I wish I knew more about them. They act respectively in their situations for the most part, although I did like the intrigue through how the nature characters worried about the main character before he left. Such as they predicted the future and opens the possibility to different narratives. But for what the film presents, I wasn't as invested as I could be.

    Other aspects of the film I questioned visually was the posing. Body poses are very hard to do, but often the poses I saw felt stagnant or didn't express a specific idea, and thus most of the film's emotion is conveyed through voice acting. There is an exception however, that being when the water spirit hugs the main character, and the pose of a motherly instinct is conveyed very well. 

    

I Do

The documentary didn't grab me at first, and it isn't the filmmaker's fault. Rather, it's my own personal preference of what I wish to see in a documentary. In the previous senior year, I enjoyed one documentary over the other, and I think it has to do with conflict and what the film was trying to explore.  Conflict often makes the viewers question what routes the main characters take, what makes their situation unique from ours, and how this challenge could be overcome whether physically or mentally. If a documentary acts as a tribute, I will ask why this story needs to be documented if it's already celebrated. Why must we record these stories if we can't learn from them?

    I know these questions and ideas are my personal preference, and thus it is unfair to judge a film by those standards. Thus, why I state my connection with the film is a problem with myself. However, at the same time, this film proves conflict isn't necessary to make an intriguing film during the second half. Such as entering into the emotional aspect of weddings rather than technical. Although the technique was interesting, combining it with the reason why these ceremonies must be recorded is what I craved from this film, and that theme wraps perfectly with when the filmmaker admits her own reasons for recording due to homelife. I think that statement really made me understand the perspective perfectly, and thus I enjoyed the documentary more through realizing the scarcity of love. Understanding the film through the second half, I could say this film taught more of what I'm limited to.

Chasing Butterflies

I was expecting a lot from Chasing Butterflies based on previous viewings and I got what I wanted from the Senior Show. I make arbitrary rules for these films that I'm trying to either justify or get rid of during the viewing. But Chasing Butterflies caters to these rules I made, and thus it's hard to not compare to other senior films that I didn't enjoy as much. Just know that the highlight of the film wasn't the movement, but the variety of backgrounds to convey specific ideas and emotions. From the start of the film with the oil-acrylic style texture, transitioning to the watercolor to show the beauty of the otherworld, to the chalk segment which demonstrates the internal struggle of the cat. The textures truly are what makes this film fantastic. The textures also aren't distracting from focusing on the movement and emotions of the cat. The film is effective in editing to the cat when needed for a close up, and the background never takes away from the characters living in it. When there are close ups, the use of the cat eyes is great through including specific shapes and sizes, and thus I never felt unsure of the cat's perspective of the butterfly or the world around him. Another aspect, which again is hard not to compare to other films, is the sound effects. Sound effects are hard to do when dealing with the music, since music is more focused on understanding the narrative emotionally while the single diegetic sounds help entice the audience's senses. But I think this film does sound effects well since those sounds never distract from the narrative's music and are sync well in discovering the world rather than being tacked onto the story.             

      I don't see any negatives of this film, as I could only say I wasn't as emotionally attached as I should have been. It's a self-contained story with specific goals of exploring, and for me that self-containment doesn't show relatability or wonder of a more intriguing concept. This isn't a negative, but I would be interested if the filmmaker tackled a film thematically that does make the audience think outside of the film. Through this, I am in anticipation of what this artist does next. 

Mongoose at Sunset. 

I am very much a sucker for these meta-narratives and the use of non-actors as I would study and write a lot on the concept during my Iranian film classes. So how the film starts with a standard narrative film and then transitioning to a documentary was perfect for me. Not only because the film subverted my expectation, but how thematically it works for the rest of the documentary with the black rooms becoming a metaphor for the afterlife. I loved the overall struggle and the disappointment of not finishing the original film for personal reasons. Along with how the film uses audio and presentation to zoom in and out of the narrative to non-fiction. It isn't too abstract, and I appreciate that because I could understand what the film directly wants to say. But at the same time, when the filmmaker enters his made-up narrative, in order to find closure, it made me realize the importance of my own family and what their passing might be to me. 

    Returning to the formal aspects of the film, I'm in love with the presentation to the class scene. With the filmmaker awkwardly presenting a preview of his work, showing the uncomfortably without both his audience and us realizing how truly personal it is. The commentary became negative, something I could relate to. Smaller touches in those scenes include the use of audio, which richened the scene for me. 

    I don't have any personal negatives since this film strikes out on what it wants to do. Although I wasn't emotionally attached as I could have been, and that has to do with myself not experiencing the grief I will eventually have. But for what I enjoyed intellectually; this film soured through flying colors. 

Revolver Superstar

The "negatives" I have with this film and the filmmaker's previous films are often two things. The character designs, and the voice acting. In consideration to his previous film for the junior show, I was more pleased because the character designs of two 2D characters in a live action space conceptually seemed more interesting. They also moved as 2D, and their expressions were done well. The visuals transition into CGI is where these films lose me. The characters often have too much visual information that doesn't blend well with the live action setting. The voice acting also doesn't work for me since it's often not expressive enough. This in combination with the character designs being so alien you can't tell if the archetype matches the voice. An aspect which I didn't find problematic when the characters are 2D with less information.

    With these grips of my personal taste out of the way, this film narratively is the strongest of the Senior. I love the struggles of the main characters, for one to find redemption in some form and the other never letting go of the terrible things the first did. I love how the audience never learns this information until the second half of the film. In the first half everyone knows this situation of a "friendly" captor is unusual or displeasing of the character. The cinematography, which mimics the Noir or Westerns the film is openly inspired by, works wonders in bringing gravatas to the story. This especially true when the setting exists within the black void space in its use of lighting and color. The integration of animation with live actions using a shaking camera is amazing as usual, and the shaking camera particularly works well because of the uncomfortable situation. Finally with the introduction of a large creature, which the film shows its size through the walls of the city cutting it off. Its introduction felt natural as the audience already saw these creatures who are not human. Coming in after the conflict is done, it really sets a perfect climax towards the film. 

    My issues of the film are what was previously stated, and if the filmmaker wishes to show this film, I hope he changes the voice actors for those who are more expressive. But besides that, this filmmaker understands cinema, and I only expect the best from him.

Mikey's Crash

Similar to Chasing Butterflies, I was expecting a lot from this film based on previous viewing, and I wasn't disappointed during the senior show. Although through the senior show I saw more interesting use of atmosphere as a pleasant surprise. I related more than expected to Mikey as a character, trying to prove himself in a hostile world and to himself. I believe the film best works for me in the first and third, where the film slowly introduces the danger around the campfire and where the changes of Mikey animation styles demonstrate his mental state. These pieces are perfect examples of how to make compelling visuals to further your narrative, along with setting a specific tone. The middle, although not having as much as these aspects, is still fantastic through how Mikey's body is used during the space such as when he falls down. Highlighting the animators great use of character animation/choreography, along with perfect integration of a stop motion setting.

    Other aspects I enjoyed was the use of gore and sound. The sound, when wanting to be quiet, is perfect for transitioning the tone or providing danger in the narrative. Often during the senior show there is too much silence and not enough silence, and the rules the film puts into silence allows the narrative to thrive. The use of gore is also sparing, and thus adds a feeling of realism in projecting the gore as ending a life rather than the characters constantly being injured in bloody ways. 

     It isn't my most favorite senior film however, as I saw character animation pushed further before, and the middle of the film feels less impactful compared to the other sections. I also have moments when the comedy or surrealism didn't work for me. As much as I did enjoy Mikey's stress building up through the animation of switching styles, the narrative didn't justify the animation section. Mikey's insanity might have been more effective if the middle portion had Mikey suffer more or use the camera in POV shot for the audience to better understand the exact stress. But even then, this project shows the impressive skill these animators are able to do, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

ICOSA

ICOSA did give me uncomfortability at the start, but in a great way and made me realize my own notions of what defines body and gender. I believe that's what the film works for, using the prop of the animal hand with this nonviolent gore, and giving the time for the audience to examine it and then allow acceptance when looking at the nipple of the filmmaker. Thus, this film is all about the acceptance of the unusual. To include that first scene also allows for the audience to understand the themes of the piece in presenting a body as not conventional. What also helps is the use of music, which has a good contrast to the animal aspects with using future-techno sounds. It gives off the themes of open possibility.  The themes of flesh mixed with technology, or the mimicry of flesh through technology I think is visually explored well through show the process of building along with the dripping of blood. I don't have much less to say about this besides myself liking the themes, along with knowing that this piece isn't meant for narrative more so as it's meant to show an interesting presentation.

 

Homebase

Within my second viewing of certain senior shows, I didn't realize the implication of adulthood was shown through visuals. Certain shots revolving around the groin or shapes implying orgasming are within a few shots for the senior films. For this film in particular, it's very subtle and it also helps push the themes of growing older with a level of raunchiness or worry. But at the same time, I might be wrong on if this was the creator's intention of showing those specific scenes and I would love to talk with them on if this aspect was intentional or not. 

    With that aspect of the film out of my mind, this is fantastic visually combining so many un-connecting mediums such as paper style animation with soundwaves to create the perfect vision of tension and stress, while also showing possibility. What I personally enjoy in a film is noticeable contrast, which the film does wonders with by including this sketch style for all the characters involved, making the film seem like a kid daydreaming a win for his game. Then the film adds more contrast through the more techno-aspects which create flare through both the cleaner animation that comes with the effect, along with the vibrating colors contrasting against the monochromatic yellow. You could almost say the more techno-aspects were left field, and the film starting off slow without much visual noise helps with that. Other aspects I enjoyed are the posing of the characters to show the intensity, with a visual contrast of father poses being still-ish while the closer pose have extreme movement and perspective. A style of presentation which is unique for this senior show in which the inverse would normally happen. The overall use of multimedia to explore the themes of possibility is what drives this film for me, and the music/diegetic sounds include helps blend the style of suburban park to techno future the most.

Tomato at Sea

I had a few complaints visually about Tomato at Sea, but I think those have been mitigated on my second viewing. The strongest aspect of the film is that you are never confused on what is happening within the film through the character expression and staging, along with the film's pacing allowing a strong understanding of the story. The only problem I have with the film is the sound effects, which are often distracting. I couldn't put my finger on it before, but I know the problem is. That being often in this film, there is no need for sound effects.

    Diegetic sounds work when there is a needed break from the music, which holds the emotional narrative of the film. This could be when a new setting is introduced to the character, having diegetic sound for the character to process it. Afterwards, having the music return when the character starts their journey. Tomato at Sea also follows this concept, such as when the main character is drifting onto the sand and the audience only hears the waves, only then to re-introduce the music when the main character is accepted to the village as a conclusion. But when listening to the rest of the film, I was distracted by the diegetic sound and took away from the guitar music. Said guitar music was fantastic in showing the emotional journey and uncertainty of the main character. But the waves of the ocean consistently in the film didn't really add to the narrative since I already was aware of the setting in the narrative, along with not contributing a specific feeling. The instance it did is when the diegetic sound changed from above water to beneath water when the main character dived into the sea. It implies to the audience a more abstract and unpredictable nature the main character has gotten in. 

    With this understanding of diegetic sound, I realized my main problem with the non-diegetic sound effects, which were never needed for the most part. Besides being out of sync at times, the character animation illustrated what was happening extremely well, along with the guitar giving off the needed emotions. The sound effects only took away my immersion since they were often very spare in being considered part of the film. Also note that those sounds were not audibly pleasing at times. Especially the ding sound when the main character holds up the blow. If the creator were to change the film, I think taking out sound effects and letting the guitar tell the story is a really good start. 

    Besides that, I can only repeat my main praises of the film. This film's character animation is as clear as it could possibly be, along with this being the better shaded pieces within the senior show. This also helped by the color. The color acts rather tame in where there is a lack of vibrancy, but still highlights a diversity of objects and creating a very homey feeling. It also makes the diving scene more impactful as the diving sea not only shows emptiness, but a level of cold through the colors. The pacing is fantastic, and I believe the themes the filmmaker originally wanted are shown very well here emotionally.

Thyste

My main issues with Thyste are the composition at times, which often distracts from the choreography and staging. There would be zoom in or pans that didn't really match with the spacing of the characters, along with highlighting the limits the animator could do. Considering this was made by one person, these are forgivable, but I think the film needs more time to deal with these visual problems. If the filmmaker were to work on this more, I would say take out the scenes that are visually too ambitious such as the zoom in of the helicopters. Along with making sure the setting closely follows the characters such as the final fight between the main character and the villain.

    Besides this, this film is fantastic in staging. This complaint composition does not account for the lighting, colors, and overall scale the film brings. In combination with the music, this film is very much an epic done by a FAV senior. The highlight being when there is an extreme wide shot of the helicopter the main characters are in, only for the fog to fade away to reveal the massive ship in its orange tint. It gives a sense of awe since the color and lighting makes the massive ship feel like a world unto itself rather than a piece of setting. The choreography and staging are also great in working with each other, as the characters never felt like they existed separate from their space. A good example is when one of the main characters drops down to the sewer by busting down a trapdoor, and the camera pans above the sewer to show the implication of hiding. Each scene feels natural in entering the next, and I was never lost on where the characters were going. This is also enhanced by the timing of character animation, which at times are badass. Especially when the main character grabs a bullet. That is a microcosm of how this animator understands timing and staging perfectly.

    Then there is the narrative, character, and music. When first viewing this before the senior show, I thought there was going to be more jokes done by the pacing. It wasn't in the final product, and I can't really complain because the pacing is done so well in combination with the music. Using similar sounds but implying gravity with lower or higher pitch, it is simple yet extremely effective. The characters have a good chemistry and a strong contrast which highlights the chemistry. My other issue besides the visuals is that the last third when the narrative falters in highlighting the connection the two main characters have. On second viewing these complaints were diminished a bit by the expressions of the characters, but the main characters' connection to each other didn't feel as earned as the film wants it to be. At the same time, this film feels more like a first episode of a longer series, so that could have been the point. Besides that, this film understands how to create atmosphere, and how characters can interact within it.

Apoptosis

    A lot of the senior shows this year focus on the grotesque, and what it means for liquids or objects of the body to exist within or outside of it. This film isn't any different, but it's interesting through its setting of a hospital, both playing and subverting our expectation of what a hospital can do for the body. The subversion comes from the hospital acting as anarchy since there is no one to manage the patient's acts. At the same time playing with the notion of a hospital through visuals scientific exploration, giving off a feeling of order. For this film, the space and body are not separate in making the audience feel sensorily grossed out. The film implies themes of what an institution can do to a body, and in extension to the minds of both the workers and patients. I love that the film explores this, especially in how it uses the diegetic sound of hospital tools in combination to the music. It creates an elegant combination while also never making the audience bored of the piece since there is an implication of what sounds might come next. The film is never silent, yet mimics silence and break through using visually loud and quiet scenes separate from each other, and the music to connect them. The transitions within the scenes are also very clever, such as how the audience sees an extreme close up live action desk. Afterwards, to fade out and then fade back in with a stop motion version, combining the two scenes with sound. The close up works because it shows a grime that's implied through the rest of the environment, thus making the next scene with the breaking nurse all the more impactful because the audience imagines what that destruction might actually look like.

    Other aspects I really enjoy are how the visually loud segments have their own narrative and themes using old 1950s educational films, and how the stop motion and boiling stick figures are parallel to each other but do not intersect. It forces the imagination of the audience in seeing these two mediums exist with a supposed space, thus bringing up important questions that I find important within a piece. My only complaint of the film is the scene of a doctor putting in the heart, lungs, etc into a body's rib cage. It's not inherently bad, but the organs animate too smooth or stagnant when they're dropped into the ribcage. This complaint is very hyper specific, and I think it has to do with my own personal preference based on the expectation of movement from this film. I could see someone else not caring or even praising the style of movement from this one scene. Besides that, this is an extremely visually interesting piece with the artist understanding the grotesque.

Sing of the Birds....

There is only one complaint I have about this film and it's the crying scene at the climax. It's not as effective as it should be despite all the buildup, and that's due to the characters themselves not showing any extreme emotion. It doesn't match with the sound presented and thus falters my emotional engagement of the piece. I'm also iff-ish of the animation that takes after, where the box becomes smaller and is overlaid on other animation. The way this film uses space in such interesting ways made me a bit disappointed that the climax was more stagnant than expected, although I understand why the filmmaker wanted to show this specific visual. I also think the scene redeems itself by having the main character walk on an invisible plain which implies themselves and the box are in the same space This brings up questions on what is the "real" space and what is the emotional one. Followed up by even more questions when the main character turns into a bird which is fantastic. 

     That is my only complaint of the film, and those complaints are very debatable. This film is impressive in so many ways. The style and animation force the audience to believe this was all done on paper. Showing why hand drawn animation is so important in preserving in comparison to flash or adobe animation. That reason being walking the line of warping spaces and character before it becomes full abstraction into shapes. This use of space, of only giving metaphorical strings of understanding of what they are looking at, makes the audience constantly invest in what might change next with the rules representing that the space cannot change into something else. The camera must turn to a corner to show a space and change it dramatically over anything else. This works wonders with the themes of grief and becoming unfamiliar to your own environment while still knowing it. The pacing feels fantastic as the audience sees this slow build up, and the boiling scenes act as a perfect break from the impressive animation.

    Everything is recognizable and well thought out, and I enjoy the only time the film uses the abstraction of bodies is at the ending when the main character supposedly lets go of their grief by becoming a bird. If the facial feature was just pushed a little bit more, I would have been fully immersed within the world and narrative. But as is, it's highly impressive and very well executed. 

NAIA

NAIA is a simple film in which it repeats the same ideas visually, and slowly reveals the situation as time goes on. This being having the character enjoy their environment, and then revealing the containment they are in. The film explores themes of containment and exploration through the camera very well. Combined with smaller motifs such as the numbering of animation cells along with the computer text makes the audience realize how fragile or artificial the character's existence as a body. In interest to the computer text and the hand drawn animation highlighted by the cel numbers, her fluid circular movement gives themes of humanity creation in focusing on two seemingly separate concepts. Overall, these motifs explore animation in general, and how much human input there could be in such a computerized world. 

    Although I enjoy the themes and how they are present, the film doesn't visually explore these themes once they were established. It does do some changes which are interesting such as when the outline of the main character is placed over the animation, but I'm not really sure what other themes I'm supposed to take by that decision. Personally, I think the film already states its themes, which I must remind are very strong ones. But since it doesn't state anything new to me, the film felt a minute too long. 

    One highlight is the ending of the film by highlighting its containment. Through using a stop motion computer, and then turning it off.  It's a very effective ending as it adds a new visual element not seen before, and through it being clay remind the audience of play doe and thus child innocence.

Bloom 

I made a previous review on the film, and I didn't personally like it. To me, that previous review didn't merit the elements the animator put into their work as it constantly referenced more to their previous work. It was unfair, and it revealed my faults as a reviewer which I am currently trying to fix.

    With this in mind, rewatching the film gave me much higher appreciation of the work and made points of the previous review invalid. Specifically, in how the gradient and opacity of several object are used. To the first scene, disconnection exists with the natural objects to their settings or ground. There is the implication of the objects growing from the ground, but the gradient colors imply that these plants are freed in some way. That there´is either a distance or entering into a newer element, and that motif is sprinkled throughout the film. From the silhouette of the blue flower growing into the orange reminiscing of a non-destructive heat, to the dandelion becoming smaller into the sky, there is a theme of a natural object inviting a new element, yet still keeping their connections in some shape or form. Within the second half, this would visually transition to the animals and describe a higher distinction between a first and second phase of a form. A strong example is when the fish transforms into water currents. The lack of detail between the two forms imply this transition to be non-invasive to the fish's existence. Thus, it implies these forms changing as pre-determined or natural for the subject.

    There are certain scenes I was confused by, and that might have been by the presentation. Specifically with the close up of the deer and the destruction through fire. Although I appreciate this differing scene due to the detail of the deer and showing destruction, it did feel out of place of the film due to the specific camera style of cutting to a close up. It implies importance since the majority of the other scenes had a pan demonstrating the space or subjects entering into the frame. It also  implies destruction and trauma through the orange having an extreme close up in the deer’s eye, but the film doesn't follow up on this thread. I'm fine with themes or questions not being answered, but the scene with the presentation asked the audience to hyperfocus, yet it's never brought up again. I say it was the equivalent to a flash, where it could look interesting or pretty, but still needed to return to obtain a better meaning.

    I also wasn’t as connected to the music as the film wanted me to be. The piano does its job well in following the animation and has strong pauses for when the audience reflects. However, the piano melody is similar all throughout the piece. Feeling more like background music rather than something to be active to or gain a specific emotion from, despite being a lovely melody.

    I believe the film visually talks about not abandoning one's environment to become something new, but rather still being connected in order for that change to happen naturally. At times, with the glow and gradiences of the scene, is this concept either shown in beautiful rotation of objects or stunning simplicity of silhouettes that allows fluid animation. Giving focus on the forms as a painless transition.

 

TimeSheet 

Timesheet is a lot more expansive in setting than what I give it credit for, and I didn't remember the Boston train or the integration of the city with the pixelation. I believe the integration of the city and trains in the last third is what makes the city memorable, as both the pixelation and train are squarish-moving objects along the screen, thus bringing in more question if it's the subjects or the effects that are manipulating what the audience sees in the film.

    Besides that, I don't really have much to say. The film didn't blow me away, but it also didn't make me against it. It explored the themes of pixelation well through using scale, but I can't really say I was fully intrigued by the ways it presents its themes. Maybe it's because it leans too much into abstracting the space that I don't know what it's trying to reference at time, but that's only a maybe. 

To Catch a Memory

There were more baseball films about childhood this year, que in Doofenshmirtz nickel joke. But I really like how this film handles reflection and understanding your progress from before to after. The rotoscoping was an interesting choice to add a sense of realism. With the music in the film, it's effective in creating importance to the catch, and this is easier for the audience to understand the character's mental development. I also, through re-watched, love the ending where the audience sees the small feet grow larger as a visual representation of reflection. Then to dissipate into the grass to show the memory is just as connected to the space as it is to the person. My grips with the film are more the choices of the filmmaker rather than what the films does incorrectly. Although there is realism through the rotoscoping, it is stagnant by nature of the medium and thus doesn't visually please me. The setting also doesn't intrigue me it sets out its job in defining the story but doesn't really do anything to tell the audience aspects of the character. This isn't a bad thing; many films have the setting and character stay separate. But the way the character explores that space is important for intrigue, along with allowing discovery. But from the first time seeing the memory section, I get a feeling what the rest of the space will look like. Although a nicer color of orange and having a physical obstacle of a hill, the setting both in the memory and in the present day doesn't have defining features to make me ask questions or an urge to know more about the space.

Shit

Shit is very effective at being funny and I enjoy how the joke isn't surrounding the shit itself but rather the absurdity the shit brings the character to a specific place. It has a sense of relatability in terms of seeing the delicious food and the consequences that comes with it, adding to the comedy. There is minimalism in where the background is white. But it works in the film's favor since I feel it makes the audience hyperfocus on the repeating striking facial poses, along with willingly accepting the world as, well, a shitpost. A highlight would be when the main character meets God, with such a thematic contrast working in its favor. The speed of the film reminds me of early flash animations online, and the iconic faces mixed with the lighter pitch voice is great for comedy. 

Dishkiyaaon

This is a very fun film that understands the stress of adolescence, the pressure not of the test itself but of the procrastination that comes from the hatred of standardized work. There are smaller things I'll talk about first before concerning myself with the whole film. The first being the framerate of the first third, and how perfect it is in conveying awkwardness. Framerate and in-betweens are important because it gives off how connected a subject is to reality or implies elegance. If there is one in-between from two separate poses, then the film often acts chaotic with its fast pace of facial or body expressions. If an animation is fluid, it either shows the importance of a scene through dissonance from previous scenes or highlights a subtle movement that's key to understanding how a character either interacts with themselves or their world. The artist, in the first third, could have immediately jumped from one pose to another but instead chooses to make a semi-fluid movement of the eyes, pause for a pose, and then repeat again with this semi-fluid eye movement. I think through this framerate and allowing smears to be visually seen without making the animation too fast, is there an active feeling of awkwardness. It gives off the feeling of the character being in mid-thought, and pausing to finish that though, and moving again to make the same mistake. This specific use of animation is glittered all throughout the film, and I am in love with how it makes me feel.

    Other aspects I found great were the use of collage to push the surrealism. I often use the words absurdity and surrealism to describe similar aspects of film within these blogs. But when I mean absurdity, I mean a film keeping a logic of a grounded world or a world described with rules, and then having the characters push beyond those rules. When I mean surrealism, I mean when the film in general chooses to abandon a specific form or narrative to focus on a specific feeling or idea. When looking at this film, I wouldn't call it absurd because nothing is currently breaking those rules. Rather, the uses collage to heighten a feeling or memory from our own reality. Thus, it makes it surreal. When seeing the standardized test to be kept as it is, it adds natural comedy in the situation through reminding the exact emotion, at least in comparison to a drawn standardized test.

    I also really like the build-up to gore, in which before the arm is cut there is live action footage of a butcher shop. The collage style doesn't make this live action out of place or surprising. Thus, when the audience sees the live action of a butcher shop cutting with the face of the main character, they aren't surprised but they are still curious of the choice. Until at least the reveal of the arms cut off. Through the cut of the arms and replacement of new ones as a conclusion, does the film push its tone and themes perfectly.

Girl Dinner

This film is consistently funny with the senior show, and for good reason. The key to its comedy has to do with the editing and timing. The start of the film when the protagonist invites the antagonist into her house, the audience sees an aggressive push to the wall passed off as playful. Besides the perfect reactions, what's strong about this scene is it doesn't stay too long to show off that reaction. It has the antagonist walk out of frame so the audience could only focus on the reaction, and then cuts to the next shot as if parallelling the protagonist's mental state of brushing off what happened. This is also helped by the framing and sound. The cowboy shot used allows the audience to see only the needed action along with the expression and amount of space each character has with each other. There isn't any distraction from the legs or a need to zoom out/pan from that interaction. This careful use of filmmaking is constant all throughout the film, and I couldn't be happier. Along with that, the characters in their script are memorable due to their own unique sense of weirdness or aggression, and the comedy comes from how the group reacts with that sense of aggression. Along with two characters interacting inviting a new level of weirdness or cringe. I'm always of the belief that as long as characters are compelling, they will be rooted or cared for even if they are people you would normally dislike. This is especially true in comedy, and this film made me care for the main character's struggles, and the struggles of the antagonist.

    The film works in its comedy and allows time to create a relatable narrative through said comedy, and that said narrative works well when dealing with the main character. In the first draft of this review, I thought the main character didn't match the quirkiness of her friends, but then I realized the heart and main tension of the film wouldn't be here without her crushing. So, she separates herself from the rest of the cast. That being said, there is one character, the girlfriend of the psychic, who didn't present herself as memorable. Her only separation from the cast through her caring nature is shown briefly. I also believe the third act does falter as there are not a lot of shots where we see the protagonist get drunk enough to spark the fight between herself and her crush's girlfriend. It's implied, but that also implies everyone is drunk and the crush's girlfriend acted more level-headed during the third. But this doesn't take much away from what the rest of the film or even the final shot does.

A Year in My Life

The film has a lot of different sets and props, and I enjoyed the variety while still being connected as one art style throughout the film. Especially in terms of the changing of seasons, which use the fade in of colors rather than fading into a scene. Remembering my own childhood, this presentation of time as a constant slowness yet still changing physically is a perfect description of understanding the world. The use of nature for close ups is strong, as the boiling poses for objects such as the flower and cocoon make the audience focus only on the smaller movements, making it visually calming. 

   However, the film didn't connect to me as strongly, and often I had problems with it. To me, it has to do with the constant animation style of everything including boiling animation. I didn't visually see a difference between the main character and setting during the majority of the film because they are not visually separated beside the main character being a body. Often, my eye would look around the scene rather than the main character expecting a movement, and it isn't helped by the main character being as stagnant as the setting around it. The film lacks focus of where the audience should be looking at, although this is helped through the close ups of specific objects. I also believe the music did hinder my enjoyment of the film because it presented the same emotions of excitement and wonder through the film rather than showing variation. The music portrays certain objects as important, but visually or narratively those objects have the same value as the previous objects. There is a constant use of wonder, but I couldn't understand the wonder if there is no difference. This then bleeds into the theme of the film, which I found lacking as it only stated one: "Childhood is fantastic in nature". Not all films need to be epics or give a deep understanding to the audience. But I already understood this message in the first minute, so the rest of the film acted more as repetition. Through this, I couldn't say I enjoyed the film as I hoped.

Lagoon

Lagoon is so surreal in its presentation, themes, and narrative and I am all for it. There are parts where the film states it's not finished, and never I saw this film as incomplete as those unfinished shots still presented an interesting description of the world similar to the rest of the settings. The only difference to me was the lack of color. Yet I was more excited when the film showed those scenes, since there's a promise that the filmmaker will do more.

    The most interesting aspect of the film is its underlying themes of human events acting small yet still impactful to the individual, or the perspective the film describes how insignificant human events are to reality. This is set up perfectly through the first scene of the film narratively through the scene of the dinosaurs killing a young creature, followed by showing space, and then returning to the natural world in our time. Besides making a gorgeous haunting visual through the cold reds and pitch-black space, it brings the question of significance or permanence the human race has currently. In a great way, when seeing the rest of the "plot" play out of the lock downs and of office or military symbols, it gave a call to action to me. As if, when remembering our insignificance and yet seeing the implications of control the world has over the populus, the film reminds the audience that humans chose these events and will be the only one to escape them. Nature isn't portrayed as constantly being destroyed by humanity as other films might, but rather it will eventually exist without humanity as it always has been. It is such a nihilist yet interesting theme all done through visuals. The film creates feelings of desperation but also feelings of hope through the complete separation of nature and man. 

    Going more into the film, the most surreal parts such as the child with changes in black and white highlight the specific emotions of what man currently represents, and its relationship to nature in terms of separation. With an insect acting as a form, it repeats the idea that nature is indifferent, yet includes that notion that nature is still existent with humanity's own struggles. These scenes, although having different visuals from the main film in use of silhouettes, give excitement due to its sparsity but still matches the film style since it uses similar shapes and forms. 

    Other things to praise is how great the Dali art style of still, flat-wavish texture with color brings a feeling of dread and pushes the silent horror in both making the environment seem uncaring while also beautiful. This style is highlighted further through showing warmer yet alien colors when demonstrating nature. Along with the sound, this piece is a fantastic work that reflects our current existence.

Found You

Found You is a very pleasant film, and it brings feelings of nostalgia for me. It works really well due to its use of shading and color. The colors make the environment feel flat but calming since it's not monochromatic but doesn't have colors for certain objects that feel out of place.  To myself, that's fantastic since it reminds me more of a comic book or web comic, where specific posing or staging is the main goal. But detail is present enough to demonstrate depth shading, giving of what is needed while also blending in the creatures and world greatly.

    I also really enjoy how the monsters are integrated into the world. They follow the same color palette of earthly colors while having key differences such as red eyes. Through this strong use of color, the audience can believe they are natural to exist in this world, while also demonstrating them on another level, as the settings lacks any vibrant red or worm colors besides the creatures. Their designs also contribute to their integration yet show importance, as the only difference from other animals are being bigger and with a few extra features. Nothing too distracting, with the exception being the white monster. But even then, they don't feel out of place due to their setting being a home rather than nature, implying they are more spiritual or artificial rather than natural. 

    Finally, there is the movement, which is minimal yet effective. Only using the boiling animation for the cryptids works because it gives an expectation of what the creature might do and brings focus to the creature on the screen. Thus, opens possibilities but gives uncertainty of the specific movement. The film isn't expansive but is pleasing to the eye in its understanding of supernatural creatures in a natural space.

Worthy

I was dreading Worthy based on previous viewing because I had a bias against the story it was trying to tell. Stories which didn't accept subtlety or metaphor, instead being very direct in what the filmmakers want to state as a message rather than letting the audience decipher it themselves. Although these stories can work through a certain build-up, most of the time they come off as preachy and there isn't any room for interpretation from material. If I didn't state it before, questions about the themes and narrative are what makes a film work since it actively engages the audience, and answering some or most of those questions throughout the film gives gratification to the audience when engaging in a piece.

    With this in mind, I actually enjoyed this film a lot more than expected on the bigger screen and it's for three reasons. The first being relatability, as I had similar events in my life recently. The second reason is the ending, where we see the main character hug himself at the end. I already knew this was all happening in his mind, and that was a concept I was against. But the way the main character took a breath or how it cuts from the good spirit to himself alone. Those are small yet clear moments for the narrative that demonstrates themes of control of oneself. I highly appreciate that they aren't overdramatized as they are important narrative beats of the film. Finally, I believe the music is what sells the tension, how it reflects the battle and brings such high pressure with the visuals following it up. It also helps that it doesn't use too many instruments or sounds, making it feel more self-contained and fit the situation.

    I still have a bias against this type of storytelling, but I really enjoyed this film more than expected. My only complaint is the design of the "evil" character. In comparison to the "good" character, whose yellows and head dress remind me of sunshine and a knowing motherly figure. The "good" character also has a very specific design reminding me of some royalty through the headdress, so to me it's a headcanon to her design relating to some cultural aspects along with her talking about the main character's experience as first-generation student. The "evil" character as this purple goblin didn't give insight to who the character is. In comparison to the main character who wears multiple t-shirts and jeans to show he is a modern character, the "evil" character feels lacking besides him being a negative force for the main character.

A Morning Routine

My only problem with a morning routine is the sound, in which a calming vocal is constantly repeating and has no variation of it. I find this interesting because I believe there should be silence at certain points of a film in its plot or to show important moments. But this film's tone is constantly calming and isn't interested in an important moment, and I find that refreshing that it doesn't want to dramatize anything. It's more informative than other films and is short enough to not give off a feeling of repetition that isn't needed. I wonder how the sound can be fixed if it wants to keep this tone. Perhaps bring slight variation, but that might bring importance when it's not needed. Through listening to the sound and how it connects to the story, I realize how limited I am to understanding film and can only spot a problem rather than a solution.

    Besides that, I believe it's a cozy film overall. The sketchy, thick outlines of the characters make the film feel firm in the space it lives in, yet the sketchiness through how little it boils implies a level of flexibility. The design of the character along with mostly white space besides the furniture gives off themes of openness, which matches themes of excluding tension in favor of relaxation or realization. The body proportions I also enjoy, as its proportionally realistic enough to demonstrate good character animation to how it moves from itself, arms moving from the body and slowly rotating through a short frame rate.  Finally, ending is strong with the title card. It was very cute and resembled a nice climax along with giving answers to where the character might go next to after these small actions.

I know I will remember

I like what this film tries to do in terms of themes. That being that memory is often changed or influenced by the environment around us, whether that be inside a car or through a window. There is a level of distance or containment when dealing with memory because despite memory being fluid, the environment where it was processed isn't. That is a very cool theme, and the film succeeds in saying that narrative in several ways. The first is how the memory itself is shown through a limited window, yet it's the same paper texture and color of white, film surrounding the subject in this. It implies, even with this separation, both the memory and space within the screen surrounding it are the same being, and this makes the audience question why the memory is so small in the space. When the audience sees the couch, something supposedly without a border, it still exists within the middle of that white space and brings almost an impossibility of expansion, along with questions regarding perspective of the memory.

    There is something I have against the film, but I can't pinpoint what. I don't want to say it doesn't do much, because that is the point of the film where expansion is impossible to grasp. I also don't think it's too long because it does explain its themes very well. I think my main problem is the films before and after are more visually and narratively exciting, and my memory gives it less credit than it deserves. Ironically matching with the themes of the film. I really enjoy this intellectually; I wish I could enjoy it more if it weren't for this unknown reason.

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek felt slower than most films, but not in a way where it was dismissed by my enjoyment of it. Rather, it has long moments focusing on toys. It connects to themes of insignificance of childhood that only the individual can find value in. It's a good thing that these scenes exist and serve a strong function in terms of theme. I could say they drag on a bit too much, but the film likes to take its time so I can't say I'm against it. Just more this film's use of time and pacing might not cater to me personally as I enjoy faster stories.

    The highlight of the film is its actors. The innocence of the actors, how they hold their hands and how they explore the environment is what sells the film for me. This acting is enhanced by the darker elements of the narrative, which are sparing but constantly surround the setting since the audience knows there is no true escape from these elements. The scene of the main character behind the door hearing her parents away from the camera is great for several reasons. The first is the setting of this long claustrophobic hallway with too many grays, visually implying the inescapability of the situation. The second is how the main character isn't facing the camera the whole time, where it implies a level of indifference or hopelessness, along with the audience only imagining what the character is feeling. Finally, the voice acting, and sound effects are perfect as it tells a story but leaves a lot of imagination to the audience on the movement the parents have in the space. Revealing said movement when the audience enters to find the father absent, but his actions are not. There is a lot of interpretation to the relationship of the mother and father, but the main idea of domestic troubles is clear. 

    I also enjoy the implication of history throughout the film, similar to the domestic troubles in how it is present. The kids are able to enter an abandoned yet clean submarine, the poverty of the children through the housing, and the construction pieces the main characters use to hide. This all adds to the theme of characters being born in a dysfunctional setting, one that feels neutral to their existence at the same time.

Live Catch

I love the slow reveal that the protagonist and antagonist are both the same actor in which the world acknowledges it through the other character and the antagonist in some form. From starting with extreme close up of the antagonist, to showing the two victims in farther and more obscured shots or having the camera placed in a more warped/farther view such as a bird's eye. Overtime, as the protagonist starts to explore, she reveals herself and the film highlights that through cutting between the two characters in extreme close up. It could of over-editing the film/ fast cuts back and forth to highlight the similarities but doesn't. Rather it consistently showing close ups of the two characters overtime until the character acknowledges it. 

    This film leaves a lot of questions in the air, and I like that it doesn't answer most of them. Instead focusing on how each character reacts to the other and ending with the conflict/reaction the antagonist has over pushing the plot. Through not answering the majority of questions but still playing with them narratively, is there a seeping horror leaked in for both parties. Other aspects I enjoyed of the film is how it uses low quality to high quality footage. There are rules placed with the low-quality footage in where it's the supernatural gaze of the antagonist, and the high-quality footage taken in to act as an average camera perspective for the audience. 

    With great acting by one actor, this is a very gripping story where it doesn't want to answer questions, and where the emotions act more important than anything else. Of the fear, suspense, and regret that one actor has.

I.N.D.A.

    What solidified the film for me was the use of color as a stop motion project. More importantly, it resistance color until the second half of the film. Throughout these senior films, certain types of color are reserved for specific sections of the film, whether that be the climax or parts of the film meant for importance. But in a music video, the music is more in control rather than the visuals, and thus uses repetition of visuals to describe importance within the film. With that, I enjoy how color doesn't exist in the film, but slowly gets introduced in seperation. The space doesn't allow the existence of natural coloring and instead replaces them with vibrant colors that can only go in a few directions correlating similarly to the setting as a subway. It's surreal but presents a logic into the film where the audience can expect something to happen in a certain train movement, but not know what. The same goes for lighting, for how it creates mystery when revealing the characters in the train cart. Specifically at the start of the film where the audience sees a long shot of the train cart. The camera slowly reveals the characters who were out of frame, but still remain mysterious as the shadow gives slight moments of seeing them. It adds a level of authority to the two characters, as if a buildup despite the lighting being "natural".

    Another aspect I can appreciate is the variety of camera shots which explore such a limited space. This includes how the camera pans from inside the train, through zooming in and out through the windows passing the character, through having close ups of the seats. It's subversive to an understanding of a train since its designed to be inescapable until your destination. So, to have the camera itself reject this notion while the train is still in motion gives off a sense of anarchy. It also adds to the overall ethereal feeling the film has through the special foam. Making the space seem space-like, and having the camera movements implies existence is only allowed through this train.

    Other smaller aspects I love is the use of replacement animation to morph the characters, the uses of faces/how neon color is used in the eyes, and how the film is strong in its beat. The minor complaint I have of the film is there are singing portion with extreme close ups, and sometimes the lighting fails them. Specifically, with a black foam face singing and it's hard to see the face and the background since they have the same material and lighting. But overall, the film creates rules for its environment based on what you expect from it and warps those rules to give control to the characters.

Something About an Outgoing Tide

I love the monologues about this film. They add such a personal touch and with the subject matter of the film it's very relatable to many people. Especially the start of the film, where the main character tries to start the film with something deep, only to fail and unintentionally make a monologue that shows vulnerability of themselves. This style of writing continues for the rest of the film and reminds me a lot of plays where the characters address the audience. Where there is a fluid setting, but a plot needs to be followed, and addressing the audience as a norm.

    The coloring of the film I really enjoy, where there is almost a force of the world to be monochromatic and overlapped with static or noise. It gives off the world acting alien, despite all the objects and setting being our world. Thus, adding to the theme of anxiety that the main character experiences, and both the main character and the audience feeling uncertainty all around.

    Another aspect I should address with the film is the comedy, and how it integrates perfectly with the monologues. The monologues do create tension and understanding of the world from the main character's perspective. But when there is a negative action to the main characters, does a monologue coming afterwards acts relatable, as if the negative event cannot just be represented through a facial expression. It reflects a level of control the character wishes for in where he needs to explain to himself why this happened to him. But at the same also showing a level of begrudging acceptance of the situation.

Made With Peace and Love

I want to get a few nitpicks out of the way before diving into what I think the film does great. The first is there is some green lighting at the start on top of the characters and I'm not sure if it was intentional. Secondly, although I understand everything needing to be moving, the main characters constantly moving did limit the expressions they had. They were expressive, but that was more through the voice acting rather than the posing as the bodies could have stayed still at times to show a specific emotion in parallel to the voice. This is forgiven since there was a humongous amount of character animation beside the main characters, and so this critique should be reserved for future work. Finally, the bear character was slightly inaudible, however that could be argued as the point to show him more of an annoyance.

    With those out of the way, what the film did was impressive with all these characters creating chaos into the space. Each character had their own visual narrative told all throughout the screen, and thus the film's goal to distract the audience from the main character is won with flying colors. The overall variety with character's speed, animation, and way they interact with the space all gives choice to where audience member eyes can go. But due to the audio they still are attached to the main characters. I talked before about my distaste for visual sound being everywhere including the characters of previous films. Although everything is moving in this film, its medium as stop motion allows for clearer visuals due to spacing and lack of boiling animation, along with the stop motion characters being both distinct from the setting due to their forms and fabrication. This distinction is further helped by the 2D aspects such as the fire and hills, blending into the space as stop motion cut out while still feeling distinct from the character inventing the chaos. But the audience is always reminded who are the main focus thanks to the camera zooming in and out while demonstrating the chaos.

    While that's happening, I really enjoy the dialogue between the two main characters, and the power struggle they have in contrast to the chaos surrounding them. When watching this in preview, the focus of the dialogue seemed to enhance the natural comedy of the situation. When watching the film in the senior show, the comedy didn't strike me as hard as I hope. Instead, the dialogue was very introspective of the current condition of our generation and capitalism. It made myself think about how I'm going to deal with similar events. Although I don't find this as funny, I appreciate this script a lot more than the previous one I remember through introducing these themes.

Latente

The forms Latente uses is fantastic in how it shows seemingly possible objects like tall grass, and places them where the space itself looks alive and therefore surreal. It's helped through the greyscale the film presents, along with the material of grass being formless enough to confuse the audience. It's a very simple shape yet the audience only half knowing where the camera is passing in the setting only adds to the mystery. The film through the grass highlights the pros of 3D animation and evokes the surreal. 

    The film also works in bringing surprise to the setting by introducing the texture of hard sand in the last third. The audience has already been conditioned by examining the silhouette of the grass. It

 works because, within the environment of mounds, there was always a lingering idea of the sea. The sand introduction implies a greater world rather than the grass, and with it being hardened it also implies said world is far different from ours.

    There are several aspects I'm mixed about, but it's more conceptual and of my own taste. The first is showing animals, as on one hand the space implies greater importance to them. But on the other hand their presentation is only heightened by the space and not of the animal itself. I also am mixed about supposed death coming in. Although it does solid themes of a dead world or show an underworld, death almost acts to foreign in this space as human shaped. It makes a distinct connection that this world is for us rather than existing by itself, and I found the prior more interesting and better built up.

Monday

What strikes me about Monday is how it uses architecture in combination to the texture of the film, impersonating almost a myth told in fairytale. I remember reading a Greek mythology book as a kid, and there was this feeling of distance from the setting due to how old it looked and sounded. Yet when there was movement described, it was more on myself to interpret that movement mentally. Those are similar feelings I had with Monday, in which the objects that do move are surreal and act more as a feeling rather than reality, but still affect the space in a natural way. The iconic duck moves slowly, and theoretically should feel out of place. Yet the surprise does fade away quickly due to its slow speed to the camera and lighting, so it feels natural in the world. Especially with how it breaks the space rather than faze through it or affect the form in medium. In this, the duck acts like a spontaneous thought of a child still lingering on. This along with more focus on diegetic sound rather than music, creates a sort of calm inevitability of the situation. The emotions are settled and therefore you never feel scared while watching the piece.

    There is a part of the film which I am off about. That's when the camera pans to the still raccoons or monkeys. The presentation of the stillness didn't feel intentional, in where although they weren't specific ideas or feelings I could attach to. They don't seem creepy due to lighting, nor do they move in a specific way after. The way subjects such as the duck gave a specific movement which reflected inevitability along with how it interacted with the space. So, seeing the monkey very still and panning to that stillness made the film seem unsure of what it wanted to say at that scene or about the subject other than they exist.

     I enjoyed the film overall in how it was consistent in showing this feeling and adds new visuals along with chalk texture to show the control the child has over their thoughts. This film feels less like memory and more as imagination that uses memory as a reference. Through this, it makes me wonder of my own memories of a child when looking at a space, of how grand it was to me and that it existed in my own reality rather than fantasy.

Seven Poems by Sean Kim

The film was refreshing in the context of the senior show since it used a different medium to tell the story. It almost acts therapeutic, taking its time for the audience to absorb the poems. I think the most interesting part for myself is trying to see how it sets up its rules for how it transitions from one feeling to another. When watching, I thought that the color to grayscale for poem number 3 to 4 was triggered by the title, and I expected that to be the same for the next poem. But as the next poem came in did the change of color and texture moved after the title. It brought a level of surprise though since I expected some consistency due to focus on counting. 

    The film re-uses similar colors or shading styles for differing films, and seeing those small subtly is what makes me intrigued to the film visually. There are times where the words help create a strong transition to the next poem with emphasis on shock or release. I'm really unsure how to review this film other than it set its goal well, and the length of 20 minutes is needed so that the pacing keeps the feeling of calmness with hints of horror.