There are countless musicians, writers, and artists out there who find inspiration in other mediums that influence their own work. Even for me, I can definitely say there's a large variety of genres and specific things that have definitely influenced me in my writing and the minimal amount of artwork I create. It's not really so noticeable until you take into account the amount of time, effort, and inspiration that goes behind a piece of work to begin with.
And I believe the best feeling in the world is seeing it all come together into a beautiful masterpiece.
Porter Robinson, a popular American DJ whose interest in video game music, anime, and Japanese culture, is someone who is able to portray these influences within his music. Recently, though it was a really long time-consuming project, Robinson was able to, in my opinion, completely capture what it means to be influenced and how you can use it to create something beautiful. Collaborating with both A-1 Productions and Crunchyroll, Robinson created a short film that totally captures his latest single "Shelter" that he worked on with musician Madeon. Here is the animated short in question which was released on October 18th, 2016:
In short, without spoilers considering it's only six minutes long, "Shelter" revolves around a young girl named Rin and her power of creating virtual realities for herself through a tablet and her imagination. As the story develops, you discover the real reason as to how and why she is able to do this and what it means for her and the rest of the world. This beautifully animated short film took over a year to create with all the time and collaborated effort it took into making it. As someone who frequently watches animated shows like cartoons and anime in general, I found this short film to be very unconventional, but in all the right ways. Let's start from the beginning.
I came across this short film after a close friend of mine had sent me the link to watch it. I knew nothing about it and I was basically going in blind. Though I've heard of Madeon and have listened to a bit of his music, I never knew who Porter Robinson was until this short film. And after getting too emotional for my own good while watching and experiencing this beautiful animation, I think it's safe to say that it ranks up really high in my favorites and has found a special place in my heart.
Now enough about me, I think it's important to acknowledge just how much went into creating this short film. Robinson, who pitched the original story for this short film to begin with, spent at least all of 2016 flying back and forth between his home and Japan to work with the talented artists and producers at A-1 Productions. Using a really hands on approach and different methods not really used in regular animation for different animations, the production team really went all out and put in crazy amounts of talent and effort to create such a powerful story that only lasts about six minutes. It's so nice seeing the amount that went into it and just how much it means to everyone involved. There's also a behind the scenes video you can watch about this process that includes commentary by Porter Robinson himself:
So to all those who feel inspired by so much that's out there, I definitely think you shouldn't be afraid to show the world what you're made of. Share your projects, immerse yourself in them, and maybe you'll also inspire others to do the same.
