What Am I Doing
“What am I doing” is a lego short film directed by Taylor Travis, and is a stop-motion Lego animation that visualizes a journal entry written by Travis. The story revolves around Travis feeling trapped in his own head with stifled creativity. It depicts the struggles of a creator battling with their own self-doubt and inhibitions when it comes to making what they truly want. As this narration progresses, visually we are shown a boy, who is traveling to space at a rapid rate, with visual representations of emptiness, of a void, to put it simply, it represents exactly what the narrator is describing. The complex storytelling in this short is one of many things I had a lot of fun watching and makes this more than just an ordinary stop-motion film.
I really appreciated the vulnerability the director shows by incorporating his real-life struggles in being a creator. It takes courage to even express true emotion in your own private journal, let alone spotlight said emotion in a short story. It’s a bold and honest move by the director that I admire most about this short. As the narrator (who I’m assuming is voiced by Travis) progressed alongside the stop-motion, I was impressed with how closely the director was able to visually capture what was being said, and I was very impressed with it.
The cinematography work in this short is well done. I saw a lot of influence from the space scenes that come from such space epics as “2001: A Space Odyssey” or “Interstellar”. From the very appropriate score that brings gusto and scale to the short film, It only enhanced the overall story and concept that the film was attempting to convey. I like the comparison of being in space and having stifled creativity, that perhaps being stuck in your own head can be an empty and cold place if you allow it to. It can be interpreted in many ways but that is my takeaway from the story.
The technical work on the film is great. I loved the stop-motion work and felt it added a lot to the story that if filmed a different way might appear too heavy. The lego stop-motion helps to offset the more serious moments while keeping the tone consistent with the story. The lighting and set design were top notch, with the short being in black and white, it’s important to keep the shading as precise as possible and with this, they definitely did so. The way the short was filmed as an old-film style to that I enjoyed watching, it may seem more blurry to some people but for me, I think it helped to visualize the narrators not so clear future that was very clever.
Overall “What Am I Doing” is an interesting and unique look into director Taylor Travis’s life of a creator. The struggles of wanting to make something and not having the idea clear, or not even having an idea, but still having the desire and passion to create. It’s heartfelt and honest, with a unique style of presenting itself to its audience.
