Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Heavenly Appeals"- Sam Featherstone

I found this story on Youtube (at the bottom there is a link to it) as I was searching for something to share. I find this story interesting because it does such a great job at character definition and development in such a short time. It immediately orients you so you know where you are, and then it teaches you a lesson. It’s a very didactic short film that reinforces the golden rule.

One of the main reasons I really like this as a digital story is because they teach the lesson without using any words. It is completely visual and instead of telling the audience what they want them to gain from the short, they show them.

The fact that the film is animated opens up many doors as to what they can show the audience. Instead of being limited by film, they were able to use the animation to their advantage and teach through a rather unconventional story. The story is of a man sentenced to hell who is basically trying to change his fate and qualify himself for heaven. The angel who is looking at his appeal is in many ways a “dirt-bag” and treats the other man as if he was worthless. The fact that they could make this story happen at the gates of heaven is something they couldn’t effectively do with film. There are also many little things throughout the short that the animators do that you couldn’t do with film, but are a possibility when working with animation.

Like I said earlier the story seeks to teach the golden rule which is to treat others as you would like to be treated. It wants us to leave with an understanding of this principle and a desire to implement it in our lives. When looked at more deeply the story also teaches us many other important lessons. These include treating people with mercy, not judging, being willing listeners, and even to not find humor at other people’s expense. It also teaches a great lesson on Karma!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYq_35xJtFY&feature=related

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