From "Padre" directed by Santiago 'Bou' Grasso
In “The Slice of Life Aesthetic of Stop Motion: PART 1” I introduced the slice of life genre and discussed
why stop motion animation is a great tool to use for slice of life stories.
Here, we will be looking at the two main elements that distinguish slice of
life from other genres.
Character-Centered
Fantasy thrives on the extraordinary to deliver its message.
It may choose to use an unconventional character design such as in The Maker or include unusual
events to shock an audience as seen in Enough. Since the focus of slice of life is not on
the abnormal but rather the very normal, the delivery of the short film’s
message relies almost entirely on the character- their actions, reactions, and
dialogue (if any).
From "Padre" directed by Santiago 'Bou' Grasso
Relatability
This element may go without saying but I feel it’s worth
saying anyway. Since slice of life portrays perfectly normal events on screen
that happen in real life, it makes the short film’s characters much easier to
relate to. Which is why it may be easier for us to connect with the main
character from The Man WhoWas Afraid of Falling than with the main character from Danny Boy. This is not to
say that characters from other genres are unrelatable. But as stated in the
Character-Centered element, the fantasy genre relies on the unreal to reveal
its message first, and usually its characters second.
Featured Slice of
Life Short: Padre
“Padre” is an Argentinian animated short film directed by Santiago
‘Bou’ Grasso. This short film shows a day in the life of an elderly woman whose
father had been a military commander of Argentina when the country was still
under dictatorship but is now bedridden. It is interesting to see how such
circumstances growing up, although over now, continue to affect her mundane
day-to-day life. Enjoy.
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