Promoting Good Animation

Winston Zhou
Sep 4, 2018 · 4 min read
Overwatch Animated Short: Shooting Star

To be completely honest I had a little bit of difficulty choosing (rather, finding) a piece that stood on the intersection of having solid animation and being something I thoroughly enjoyed consuming (and could properly share. the other piece I wanted to use was Polaris by Hikari Toriumi but it was in some film festivals so the full version isn’t available online).

Anyways, the reason I chose this piece besides the aforementioned guidelines is because this game and this character occupy a special place in my heart. I’ve recently started playing Overwatch and to be able to see such a diverse lineup of characters in a game so popular is so refreshing. Not only that, but the character this short features, Hana “D.Va” Song is a character of Asian descent, not being reduced to a trope but is instead presented as a multifaceted, complex character. The purpose of this short is to primarily give Overwatch players some more insight into the background of D.Va (pronounced the same as “diva”) and explore her motivations and history.

Some of my favorite parts of this piece include some of the nods towards anime series’ and older movies with choreographed aerial combat with certain visualizations of her in-game abilities.

Time stamp: 2:46

I think the statement that runs along the lines of “everything we make is a copy of something that has been made before // nothing is original” does hold true in this instance. But despite that, what makes good content from plain, played out content is the remixing and reimagining of previous concepts, and that’s something that I think is done well in this frame in particular as well as throughout the entirety of the combat choreography.

Another part of this short I absolutely loved was the way they introduced/reminded viewers of this characters history and her battle with PTSD. I don’t suffer from PTSD personally, but I can relate in the sense that it falls under the wider umbrella of mental illness which I do have experience in. The characterization, visualization and representation of mental illness in pop culture and media is in my opinion some of the most important realms for people struggling mental health to be shown not as weak or lazy because it’s through these circles where so much stigma and [potential for] change can come about. In this short they introduce it to viewers as both a motivating factor for D.Va but in the same breath explains the weight she holds on her own shoulders as well as the importance of patience and understanding for those around her. This concept of keeping quiet about struggles and holding tremendous weights quietly is a very Asian concept and for this short to delve into that but also depict that there is grace in failure and letting others in means a lot to me.

Timestamps: 1:19, 1:23, 1:24

In terms of negative elements within the piece, one of the biggest thing I think distracted me was actually the direction/rendering of the water + enemies. The character model and fx animations were very smooth and consistent with what would be seen by a person playing the game. However, this very “animated/cartoon” style is broken with the almost photorealistic water and sharp definition of the enemy characters. It does do its job of making the enemy characters appear more menacing and dangerous but I think that little disjunction is what holds this piece back from being flawless.

Timestamps: 3:37, 3:42

Ultimately I do know that there was a lot of time, thought and care put into the assembly and creation of this short. Even though this isn’t my favorite character in the game, I’m always appreciative and grateful for quality Asian representation in media.

For the record: Asian representation in the form of racist tropes and uncreative side-characters doesn’t count and directors who choose those paths should be shamed accordingly.

BetweenTheFrames

Winston Zhou

Written by

photo/video/design in the Baltimore+DMV. chasing esports and mental health awareness

BetweenTheFrames

Animated analysis from UMBC's Intro to Animation class

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