The Slice of Life Aesthetic of Stop Motion: PART 1

From the short film "Debajo del Arbol" directed by Cesar Cepeda and produced by Embryonic Productions
After rewatching "The Office" (U.S. version) a few too many times I have finally come to realize that slice of life is my favorite genre. It also happens to be one I feel isn't talked about enough. So this post (and the next) will be dedicated to the slice of life genre present in stop motion short films. We will discuss what slice of life is, how it is used in short films and what makes stop motion animation a unique storytelling tool for this genre.

What is Slice of Life?
Slice of life is a genre that portrays events that happen or could typically happen in real life. This genre is present in all sorts of entertainment including movies, series, cartoons, books and short films. Typically,  slice of life does not deliver a dramatic plot (or any plot in some cases) and does not aim to disclose any message in particular. The goal is primarily to evoke an atmosphere or simply show an aspect of our lifestyle. This is best seen in the slice of life genre of anime.

This description might seem contradicting since the objective of a short film is in fact to deliver a message in a short amount of time. While this genre is used in other forms of entertainment, like anime, to show an aspect of everyday life for the sake of creating an ambience, the purpose of its use in short films is slightly different. A piece of someone’s everyday life is shown specifically to deliver a message. It is mundane with purpose.

From the stop motion animated film "Anomalisa" written and directed by Charlie Kaufman
The Perks of Using Stop Motion for Slice of Life
People typically take the time to look into minute details of their favorite films in search of a deeper meaning. Unfortunately, with live action there is the possibility of the actor's or actress's own tendencies and mistakes being transferred on-screen. There lies a risk of misinterpretation or a lack of deeper meaning at all and while these risks may be true of stop motion animation as well, they are far less likely. Nothing is accidental in stop motion. Every prop, setting detail, and character motion was carefully planned and executed by hand. There is purpose behind everything. So if you think that crooked portrait in that scene of The Box Man might mean something, you're probably right!

The fact that everything on-screen is calculated coupled with stop motion’s use of real-to-the-touch everything (props, settings, and characters) is what allows for greater emphasis to be placed on mundane things that would likely be overlooked and deemed trivial in other forms of animation and especially in live action.

In Part 2 we will look at the specific elements that make slice of life different from other genres of stop motion animated short films.

From the Argentinian short film "Padre" directed by Santiago 'Bou' Grasso

Comments