i've been thinking a lot about object shows lately
Object shows are a very strange and niche corner of indie animation on youtube. For the uninitiated, an object show is a (usually) animated show about objects battling for a prize. The first one was made in 2010, quite literally at the start of the year. i'm older by object shows as a whole by 2-3 years, which is kind of mind boggling. moving on
The reason i've been thinking about object shows so much is that i actually want to make one myself. yeah if you read the last post you're well aware of that fact already, but i want to actually make something that no one's ever made before, which is a tall order, especially considering that i can't write well, draw, or voice act, but it's one of those things that take time. (not to mention i need adobe media encoder but that's not the point i'm making right now)
I feel like object shows as a whole have not yet reached their true potential. Everyone and their mother has made a competition show, and it's quite obvious where i'm going with this next paragraph isnt it
ONE is an object show that has had an influence i can only describe as "undertale". seriously the simple concept of "wouldn't it be f'ed up if le objects... le didnt want to be there???" rocked the entire OSC (object show community yes they have an acronym) to it's probable foundations. Personally i didn't like the ending (ambiguity anyone?) but it did get me thinking about how object shows as a whole are still practically in the bronze age. Yeah, we may have just discovered iron has existed but no one has actually processed it into an actual usable substance, if you'll pardon the comparison.
What i'm trying to say here is that Object shows are a medium, not just a genre. it's really easy to watch 3 object shows, and then claim you've seen them all. Because you're right! there's barely any variation in any of the shows, besides the hosts, the objects, and the plot, most of which all follow the exact same structure(s)! I feel like that's partially the reason ONE took off so hard; it tried something very different and it paid off. big time.
what do i mean "object shows are a medium"? it's as much a medium as painting or writing. it's more of a sub-medium within animation, yeah, but there's a reason i'm arguing this so hard. I want object shows to be the best they can be, and that'll never happen if people make the exact same kind of show over and over and over and over again. I've seen a small handful of shows that are trying things Outside the Forumla, and props to them! but i dont think just a Small Handful of shows are going to make people actually realize this. ONE has done a great job with this, but i don't think people have understood the underlying message of "object shows are a medium, not just a genre". ONE told a story using object shows as it's medium, not just the concept of them.
anyways to wrap it up, object shows haven't even reached their full potential, and i want to make something that does.
yes i know its a competition show be quiet
peace, hyphen