For Moto X users who have the Motorola Spotlight Player, a video app exclusive to them, waiting for the newest featured animated film has been tedious, but maybe some would say worth it. The third feature has finally arrived on the device and is a beautiful coming-of-age short animated film that hearkens back to the age of hand-drawn animation, but with an interactive element that is possible through Motorola’s technological advances on its flagship device.
Duet is a 3 and a half minute film, directed by Glen Keane, a former Disney animator who has been in the industry for 38 years, working on legendary films like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Tangled. And his Disney background is quite obvious in this short feature, and we say that as a big compliment. It’s not just an animated film though, as he shares how the engineers from Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) helped shape the technological aspect of the film. Instead of a linear story that tells how love develops between Mia and Tosh, they used a sort of double helix format where the interactions at different points in their lives are told in “arcs that spiral around one another.”
Unlike most films that you can just watch, the Spotlight Stories actually ask the users to journey with the stories by giving them power to interact by twisting and turning the handset while watching the film. Keane shares that this is not an easy thing for a filmmaker, since the natural instinct is to control everything to be able to tell your story. But virtual storytelling is a different thing and this is something that the guys at ATAP have been successful with their first two offerings, Windy Day and Buggy Night.
While of course you need to have a Moto X to be able to watch the Spotlight Stories and other future projects, there are ways to watch Duet without owning one. However, since you’ll only be able to see it on YouTube or other video sights, the whole point of its interactivity and non-linear storytelling will be lost. But on its own, it’s still pretty compelling stuff to watch, especially if you’re a fan of the Disney school of animation. Moto X users will already have gotten the notification that the film is available for viewing (and interacting) while non-Moto X people will have to be satisfied in looking for “bootleg” versions of the film.
SOURCE: Motorola
