Channels - ID# 166

Highland Park

Comedic Narrative

Entry Description

A hand flips through different TV channels.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/29 1:32 pm - Great animation / effects work. Love the creativity of each channel and the connection between a couple of the channels, great channel to end on, but could have used a bit more of a punchline with the hand channel.
• 4/27 9:46 am - Successful - Clever, simple idea that worked. The FX looked good and the various aesthetics of each TV show were done well. The ending made sense and wrapped things up nicely. Needs Work - There really wasn't very much story here. It all sort of revolved around one joke, which is more surreal than funny. Cool idea though.
• 2/22 11:19 am - Simple but creatively accomplished. Nice job coming up with a clever concept that could be accomplished in one shot (with use of green screen or video insert) and tells a story of a hand trying to find something good to watch on TV. Nice job.

Judge 1

Positives: There's a nice stylized approach to this piece. The simplicity is intriguing - sometimes that can work very well to help something stand out in the clutter online. The sound mix was very good, and good variety of techniques used within the TV set. Music choices do a good job of conveying a wry comedic aesthetic.

Improvements: While I like the simplicity and the beautiful execution, the message itself feels a bit thin. I'm including a link here for a great director that does stop motion work. There are a lot of nice examples of storytelling, cause messaging, visual juxtaposition and entertaining visuals: https://pesfilm.com/ And here's another that may help inspire: http://manualcinema.com/#work Look for a little more "grit" to add weight or interest to your films. It can be something silly, surreal, touching, social commentary.... if you're working in table top the options can be limitless.

Judge 2

Positives: This was very visually striking and unique, and a lot of fun packed into 1 minute. The whole thing has a very appealing surrealism to it. Every channel was interesting and very different from the last. I love the design of the television and I really enjoyed the squirrel gag. Great work!

Improvements: I'm not certain there was an intentional narrative here, given the brevity and lighthearted nature of the short, but I interpreted it as the hand not really identifying with any of the television content until he finds the hand channel and can stop flipping. If that is the case, I'd maybe suggest some more hand movement to personify it further (like wincing at the idea of the stranded astronaut, wagging a finger at the squirrel guy, etc) Just a thought: Maybe there's a foot channel the hand clicks away from quickly in anger/disgust? Overall, this was a really cool and funny little short and I hope you keep making awesome content like this! Great work.

Judge 3

Positives: Very clever presentation--the vignettes were well done and it had a humorous/ironic ending

Improvements: Very well done overall...I was expecting the channel finger hand to dance at the end

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: