Week 13_Response_William

    For this response, I have chosen "One Small Step" by TAIKO Studios.

    This final response week is loaded with decent short films, with many utilizing their format and runtime to tell compelling and emotional stories. There were also a lot of parent/child dynamics, which I assume is an aid to that emotional factor. Overall, though, I would say "One Small Step" achieves the same results as the others, but with even less time to fulfill them. 

    The short is another piece of that wonderful "3D but as 2D as possible" style. While the workload can be troublesome at points, such as the tedium of implementing squash and stretch in 3D context, the two formats complement each other in a bevy of areas.

    On the 2D side of things, the linework is great is quick reading. When something doesn't have a long time on screen, or simply demands a bit more attention from the viewer, lines are the go-to. Humans can read what a line represents faster than reading what a shape represents. Compare looking at a smiley face sticker to looking at a smiling head of a sculpture, for instance. Both are valid, but one conveys the intent at a more efficient rate. For "One Small Step", the facial expressions and some of the body movements take this concept to heart. 

    While all the contents of the short have a clean look to them, 2D linework appears to be the star of the short's expressions, while 2D paintwork and other techniques give the dream sequence its own seperate feel visually. As for the short's overall 2D feel, I give much credit to the camera placement. Camera movement is almost non-existent here, being satisfied with the occassional zoom or pan, but mainly just cutting to where it needs to be. Having action always within the frame and refusing to do fancy camera angles allow not only an easier viewing experience, but it also maintains the 2D illusion for a lot longer and more often.

    On the 3D side, having 3D sets is quite helpful when considering proportions and depth within a shot. Character and Prop placement never feels wrong, because all the assets are existing within a digital space with finite boundaries. In addition, the lack of obvious lines on most of the backgrounds allow them to be understated in comparison to the characters that we should be paying mind to. Again, everything looks wonderful and clean, but it is nice to know that some random background prop never takes precendence over the main story told by the character expressions

    But enough gushing about the format. 

    The biggest personal touch I love about "One Small Step" is the use of shorthand. I know there are many definitions of shorthand, but for the visual arts, I speak in the sense of having a small movement or detail say a lot about someone or something without us having to overthink it. Without credits, this short is basically seven minutes long. While it does not display a lot of details about Luna and Chu (Yes, I read the description. Betcha didn't even know the Dad's name without it.), it does show us all the important points of their lives that we need for this story to work. 

    Knowing the context of Luna's passion, how Chu makes a living for the family, and how Luna is feeling at college are all pretty doable in a dialogue-less setting, but the more subtle information deliveries are just plain admirable to me. The use of the cane as an age/health indicator, Luna's mini arc about helping people during track who fell the same way she did, knowing the results of the Astronaut Program without ever telling you directly, the simple way Chu comforts Luna in her rough patches, how the sitting placement indicates maturity, and the foreshadowing of the shoebox via the different pairs she goes through growing up, all of these are great examples of the short telling you what is going down without patronizing the audience. 

    While the other good facets of this short have already appearing in previously discussed works, "One Small Step" is no slouch artistically, and serves as a lovely conclusion to these Weekly Responses.