Enemy (CalArts Film 2020)

Film by Michelle Cheng

Sound design & mix by Aashray Harishankar

Music composed by Zach Rosenstiehl

--
Psst to my teachers and classmates: thank you for providing me guidance from inception to final edit, especially during quarantine limbo, for putting up with my self-deprecation, and for making me laugh when I felt down. No joke yall are my inspirations - looking forward to learning from and with you in the coming years ♥

[aisiriiyengar]

The symbolism is absolutely beautiful. The dog returning his glasses hit me so hard. I felt like someone screamed at me to 'see clearly'. And the ending too, wow.

[maisie]

I love that it comes full circle with the boy's shadow at the end

[randomopotato]

Awww I hope there's a little sequel to this where the boy tries to make up with the dog. Though overall I really love the message of this animation with how a difference in perspective can just lead the person into ending up as the villain themself, how if we keep focusing on what we see and just jump to conclusions, we may hurt others who actually mean well.

[carinaaugust]

I love how in the end the little boy's shadow is so big just as the puppy's was

[Meppity]

This was such a treat to watch! Everything from the story to the sound to the animation is beautiful 💛

[harshibharani]

The rational part of my brain: chill, the dog just gave him back his glasses.
The emotional part of my brain: yeah you have to cry now

[jennyduong]

Those backgrounds are stunning, and the motion of the character really expressed so much feeling

[dishuchan]

this was so beautiful, i wanna give that dog a hug

[mmaakk]

The dog at the end was way too good! I don't know how you did it but you captured it so perfectly, I feel like the dog's expression alone carries this piece to far greater heights than otherwise possible. Phenomenal job.

[thepunk]

Beautiful! I love those different angles and “camera” movements. And I totally didn’t guess the twist in the end!

[penny]

HELLO YES I LOVE EVERY BIT OF THIS?? The camera angles, composition, backgrounds, the movements/animation itself, and music are all so well done! I can tell you put so much work, effort, and time into this, and it’s just really amazing. Splendid job!!

[krystallouise]

Someone once told me that "fear is your enemy, you need to learn to control it before it controls you"

[malfoo]

Wow! You did an amazing job on capturing the emotions of the characters, the ending really gutted me. I love the message that it portrays as well, as we get to see the perspective of both the boy and the dog. My dream school is CAL ARTS and I've always wanted to create something like this. Absolutely breathtaking.

[linkswords]

I've never tear'd up so quickly.

[hrtikasanjeev]

I adore your art so, so much. I recently started watching your videos, and I am in awe of your artistic abilities (obviously) but more so of the way you conceptualize and present your ideas. In this short animation as well, you have represented the whole "Fear of the unknown" concept so well! Since I, myself, know what it is like to go somewhere without your glasses and get lost in the overwhelmingly, blurred images, I think you have done justice to the whole concept. The sounds, the colors, the playing with shadow is done so beautifully. And like someone has mentioned in the comments below as well, the fact that in the end, we could see the boy's shadow as a distorted figure too gives a very beautiful but hauntingly truthful reality of misconceptions that I appreciate a lot!

[that_dang_sword_]

This hit me so hard. The dog was so unexpected my heart leaped. Truly Beautiful symbolism and also the art and animation itself is amazing.

[ansleyvangorkom]

I just can’t stop watching this. The cinematography is brilliant, and I had to go back multiple times and watch the perspective shift at 0:45 because of how genius it was, especially conveying how everything seems to change when you’re panicked and it can lead to regrettable actions.

[mothmanofficaltm]

1k likes and zero dislikes, as it should be.

[michelleli]

0:27 "I'm batman" (I apologize)

[Amayram]

I love everything about this the storytelling and the symbolism. I really like how at the shadows showed the way the character feels and think this is honestly beautiful