The Balcony (CalArts Film 2022)

Matt goes out to his balcony and has a brief connection with someone across the way.

My thesis film at CalArts. Thank you to my friends and family who have helped me make this film.

Film by Anya Martin

Music: Rob Cantor - Lonely (But Not Alone)
Sound Mix by Daniel Eaton

Voice Actors
Matt: Ty Wilson
The Girl: Isabella Spadone
Grumpy Man: Will Wibisono
Pizza Guy: Peter Foltz

Watch other films made by my classmates:

[lizzieorlowski]

This was so realistic... ultimately there's a part of every melancholic that wants to be part of the fun, but somehow we feel more connected to people in silly meetings like this one than we would at an actual party.

[In_time]

*OH MAN!!!* The end when he looks at his shoes and his key and the party and considers taking the pizza over to that party and maybe having a slice with the girl on the balcony, laughing all night and falling in love and changing his whole life around, _like in the movies, _ ... but then reality hits him. and his own fear of change, the unknown and a chance at happiness, and instead he just sits down in the gray of his own life and eats alone as usual...
Wow.
_Felt that!_ 😳

[aiden]

This hits way too hard.
I'm someone who is very quiet and I don't socialize that well. I can usually have brief connections with people, but that is it. It sucks, because I wish I could be social and have fun, make friends, have a life. But I fall back to what is comfortable because I'm shy and get scared of what kind of situations I may put myself in- I'm scared of the awkwardness.

Brilliant animation :, )

[olivianunley]

Damn. It hurt to see him choose not to go to the party, even though he may have wanted to. It hurt even more knowing that I would do the same thing. Beautiful story, though. I love the subtle details that show what is going on in his mind.

[hpthelonesomeartist]

I love how you showed the contrast between the two apartments! His place was quite empty and gray/dull while the party was lively and colored in a bright yellow light. It’s a small background detail, but it adds a lot to the feeling of the narrative and characters. Everything about this animation, including the voice acting, character movement, simplistic yet detailed backgrounds, and the overall story, came together so nicely. I really enjoyed it! 😊

[Azucenary]

I adore this. It’s so atmospheric and tells an amazing story. The main character is left wondering if it was foolish to have wanted more from that interaction. I feel like many can feel what this film portrays.

[dontmindme]

This need more attention. The artstyle is beautiful, animation flowy and story and sound design are both perfectly done!

[anonymousantonet]

Its not even about being shy or being awkward, its mainly about thinking: "what's the point?". Why does it matter that i put myself out there and let myself be known? Thats the kind of perspective that i think the character had

[moonistheking]

I relate to this. The short lived happiness I get from talking to my friends or very rarely strangers is quickly replaced by a feeling of emptiness.

[mindunwind]

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
― Rabindranath Tagore

[destinyawaitsx]

I absolutely love that you made the choice for him to stay because it feels so damn real. I’ve been in moments where I was in this situation. Most of them I stayed home in my comfort zone.

[boxiisock]

This is a very similar situation to the one I live in. I long to socialize and dream of having silly meeting like so but I'm too scared to try and it just becomes the question of "Can I?" to "Why should I?" and it's really tough. This video made me feel less alone, thank you. (Beautiful story and animation I absolutely adore your work!).

[christiannoriega]

For anyone struggling with this I feel you. I have been making moves to get past it but it is difficult. A lot of people say to just do it but it isn't as simple as that. A good way to start is not to just talk to people but to fail on purpose. You aren't afraid of interacting but rather the things that could go wrong with it. Making yourself awkward on purpose familiarizes you with the consequences of failure and gets to the crux of the problem. Another thing is to not think of the end goal. When you don't see yourself at where you want to be then you start to believe you will never reach it. Do it with the mindset of wanting to get better rather than fixing it. When in the moment think of how your effort will just make your life just a bit better. Even if you don't reach a goal you are content with what you did get out of it. One last thing I just thought of is if you try to tell yourself that you like being alone then recognize you are lying to yourself. Every human being longs for human connection. You don't need constant attention but everyone's life benefits from the ability to connect with others.

[jasminebrooks]

This is so awesome and relatable I forgot I was watching a video! Everyone who was involved in this did a great job!!!!

[paulfernando]

Loneliness will give way to happy relationships only at a ratio of 1:1. And that too not in silence.

[nirvana]

Beautifully done. As an introvert I can totally relate to the protagonist. Probably he was too scared to know the girl next door closely, a brief distant interaction was enough for him (the girl’’s facial features are not distinct) . Or rather he wanted to stay in his comfort zone, yet somewhere deep inside, a fraction of him wanted to socialize.

[abejorrito]

Watching this the day that I decided not to go on a school trip and seeing all my classmates posting about how much fun they’re having, seems only right.

[kangaroosoup.]

This hits way too hard for way too many people...
And that song at the end... I don't think loneliness has been summed up better before. 😔

[le_gus]

Fun fact: smokers are more likely to be depressed than non-smokers 😁

[DrDoof]

For someone who is all alone and wants some friends and family around, this is so relatable for me

like I have a family but not the way everyone does