Mobile

Mobile is a short film created by Verena Fels at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg that presents one main character, an external conflict and an emphasis on physical humor.

Staged in mid-air, on a baby crib mobile, the short uses just a few elements. The film is aimed at children (though it’s enjoyable by adults, too) and deals with the subjects of trying to fit in and making friends. The aesthetic work is worth noting, especially the effort dedicated to character design and making the animals expressive, which helps transmit their feelings, build conflict and create comedic situations.

Full shots and close-ups help convey and highlight the expressions of the characters and are also used to create visual rhythm. These are complemented by careful use of screen directions, to maintain spatial continuity. Camera moves are employed to create surprise by revealing parts of the scene, to cover the action and to create visual rhythm.

Highlights of Mobile include its highly expressive characters, the quality animation and great depiction of physics, the non-realistic sequence of the characters floating in mid-air that seem to be performing for the camera in the style of early musicals, and the accomplished physical humor which is portrayed as a kind of circus act.