“O Céu no Andar de Baixo” by Leonardo Cata Preta
In a previously conducted interview with film-maker Tess Girard, she expresses that “if a film stays with you, it is successful”. It is for this reason I regard Leonardo’s “The Sky Downstairs” animation film as successful in reaching audiences.
Although the character portrait story alone is unique and notable, the integration of various animation techniques and approaches is what I find memorable. In particular, the 2D animation drawing over exaggerates particular features (necks, legs, etc.), catering to both the overall visual appeal as well as conceptual support. I perceive the success of the film is largely due to the fact that most, if not all, technical decisions have a conceptual purpose and act as a vehicle to tell the story.
This film consists of a variety of audio: voice-over, character voices, and music. It was the first time I’ve seen such a combination along with an animation rich in technique. I thought the inter-changing between the audio elements was well done and well paced. The narrations and subtitles were paced to allow contemplation and digestion of the material and story. Scenes such as when the black spot on the floor grows while the main character is listening downstairs encourages audiences to think beyond the simple narration. Although the narrations provide a necessary source of information to progress the story, particular elements of the story — such as the fact that the character falls in love with the legs in the photograph — were indicated by the animation; attention to subtle changes in expression was thus required to fully immerse in the plot.
Lastly, I was greatly drawn to the colour palette and patterns employed; I felt the use of white and particular colours and textures frame the film to situate audiences in a particular mood. Each frame was coloured and directed as a piece of art photography on it’s own, maximizing visual appeal.
