Whoa... That was a grim situation.. D=
Stories like yours make me feel a little better when you see that you aren't the only one that have spent time reckoning and doing other things when actually you should have been doing your ruthless duties...
Keep it up on the series!
Reviews for "TD-This Too Shall Pass"
... this is your best one yet, Dave, absolutely stunning. More heartfelt, honest and poignant than most 99% of things out there, and I'm very, very impressed by the narrative and art for this one. Let me detail my analysis:
- The art, yikes, this is quite possibly your effort yet, in so many ways. To being with, the 'mortality' illustration is tremendously powerful in itself, despite it's rough edges, and I absolutely love the contrast between the more sombre and more humorous illustrations, where, for once, a plain simple white background works beautifully to enhance the difference in the situations. Also, the slightly different character styles the sombre / lighter sections have is a great, subtle way of making each scene look different without being jarring.
I also loved the use of shadows throughout, you really make them work, again despite the rough edges, they help to create an atmosphere of melancholy and sadness, and it all just works really well. Big kudos on this aspect.
- Your narration remains very compelling and your voice acting is very good, undoubtedly helped by the fact that your narrating, well, your life. We can really feel the emotions for each situation, and you have talent for infusing a bit of deadpan snark even in a difficult situation, without making it seem as if you are making light of them, thus making these absurd and grim situations almost comical, without actually being so.
- The story is, of course, very sad, and a excellent reflective piece. It's clear, not just from this one, but from all your works so far, that you have reflected quite a bit in the situations that you went through, so despite each work being 'overflowing' with your opinions, these are interesting and reflected-upon opinions, that, even when we disagree with them, are more than worthwhile hearing... indeed, without them, these works wouldn't, well, work! They're at the heart of what drives the TD series and makes it so good.
And this is one personal story that really gets to me, it really does. Not because of any similar, personal life-experience, but just because there's a honesty in the way you say things, pointing out the clichés that might be expected and why they didn't happen to you (without disparaging the clichés, just dispelling the notion that they apply / are appropriate to that situation), and them proceeding, instead, of highlighting the feelings that you did have at that time, so that it all just feels real, true, if you know what I mean.
This is, of course, true in every story you've told in this series so far, but here these qualities shine brighter than ever before and I really do feel that you've done an outstanding piece of work for this one; even the title is a great choice and fits with everything else tremendously well.
- In terms of the set-pieces, it's almost impeccable, but only almost. The intro segment, where you transition from explaining who Sidney is into what she had done, doesn't quite work and it leaves the viewer quite confused for a few seconds; so unless that was intentional, it almost breaks the mood of the piece (although I kind of see what you were aiming at). But all the other set-pieces, the drive, the wait, the bed, the subway and home, have an excellent flow to them, they smoothly work with each other, and the timing and length of each is spot-on.
So, overall, I honestly feel this is your best piece yet, Dave. Although (and I must make this clear, since I didn't mention it before) I <do> feel that your artwork, narration and story skills are improving and have improved significantly since you've started this series, and that this work has the best of all them so far, this isn't the real reason why this one shines more than the others.
No, I think it's because the story that you're telling here, more than any before, is one where your biggest strengths in narration, story and artwork, have a chance to make a bigger impact than before.
For all that, kudos! Congratulations! And I eagerly await the next instalment of the TD series.
Raziberry responds:
That was one hell of an analysis. Thank you for your thoughts on the video. I will endeavour to do even better in the future.
Cheers!
Dave, man, if that is your real name and not some kind of psudonym,
I've seen your stuff before on youtube and noticed that you're more updated there and only recently posted your old stuff here. Which means these aren't actually new works.
still, I think you should start calling it "Technical Life" instead of Tehcnical You. Cause that's what these are. They're pretty hilarious at times, and damn well drawn. But if these aren't life lessons in the guise of short animations, then I don't fucking know anymore.
Kudos. This one hit home pretty hard.
Aaaaaand i'm curious what happens next. F*ck. Anyways,these are awesome. Keep 'em up.
Thanks for making awesome content, I look forward to watching your videos and I check newgrounds solely for them. Hearing you talk can be therapeutic! Thank you!