"Are we sure that guy still exists?" lmaaoooo

ohhh interesting, he's hidden by the sun on the poster and he only arrived once the night has come

Dang nobody gonna mention how fast the laid back guy be can change into costume. Even the other characters were surprised.

I really like how, instead of going with the obvious choice and making a film including the performance, the creators of this chose to depict the tension before the show instead. It's a really creative choice and they pulled it off flawlessly.

I'm not sure who the man with the dazzling glasses are, but he is my favorite character ever.

"I CAN'T BELEIVE SASHA'S DEAD" just perfect animation and characterisation, I (probably many others as well) can relate to how nervous he is feeling.

3 things: 1. I’m in love with the guy with the star glasses 2. There’s such a well-written and amusing dynamic between the characters 3. At 4:03 you can see the rival tambourine guy with the hair!

There is a saying in the world of theater, "if you are early, you're on time, if you are on time, you are late, and if you are late, you're DEAD!"

The star-glasses man is the most relaxed person I have ever seen work in performing arts

4:22 I love the tiny detail of the glasses guy doing the "ok" hand gesture as the curtain is sliding back and the leader slapping him to stop.

This is such a beautiful and clever personification of how the sun will alway rise again without fail. Sacha is a very clever personification of the sun: - Notice the lighting throughout the video; the sun is setting as the girl searches for Sacha. Sacha, just like the sun, has gone missing during the dusk. - There's no clear photo of Sacha, just like how you aren't able to capture a clear picture of the sun - On the way to the stage, they walk past a group of masked performers. One of these performers don a frog mask, an animal that croaks after dusk - In 4:03, the group descending the stairs as our dance troupe ascends is a personification of the night sky disappearing as the sun rises up to the horizon (the sun being the dance troupe, the horizon being the stage). Notice that the descending groups wears cooler colors, ones that you would associate more with night - Look at how dark the sky is once the troupe are on the stage, the sun has completely set. As the curtains opens to reveal our dancing troupe, Sacha arrives onto the stage at the last minute, signifying how the sun will always, surely, rise without fail. - And just like how you are unable to see the sun directly, we are never directly shown Sacha's face

Bro, this short gave me fckng anxiety LMAO. Seeing the chillax guy run to stage IN HIS ROBES?!?! I fckng couldn't handle it until he magically was in his outfit LOL!

The characters' names are listed in the end credits! Fluffy hair girl: Ami Tall angry girl: Ida Star glasses: Jun Nervous boi: Novi Leader: Prim :)

This could be a whole show without us ever seeing Sacha's face lol

I love how they argue so naturally and fluidly. You can tell that not a thing that always happens but a freak accident. And that they are friends but friends argue under stress and panic. I also like how the “lazy” guy is seen as uncaring and unprofessional by the more professional friend even when it’s clear he’s just experienced. As proved as the leader making him her partner in their routine and immediately trusting his word when she asked here Sasha was. He knows what close calls look like so he doesn’t worry as much but he does start worrying when they make there way to the stage and are on it.

The group project energy is enormous

It was so nice to see the troupe’s reactions when Sasha finally appeared. Each member had a unique reaction that was reflective of their characterization ie. the first girl we met sighs in relief, the second girl frowns in anger, the nervous guy is in shock but definitely relieved, the star-glasses guy smiles kindly, and the leader looks sternly/coldly as if a big talk will occur after the show.

Everyone needs a “star-glasses man” in their lives.

I'm in love with how particular and well written everyone of these characters is, even if we saw them for less then 5 minutes their personalities are so strong, evident, and different from each other that you feel like you know them well. I would love to see a "sequel"

I love the blurring of fantasy and reality. The way the women all move in a line at 0:14. The creature that slithers past at 0:16, where you can only just glimpse the humans inside. The crowd of people in the full-head masks at 0:20, who look like aliens or spirits but sound like normal people. I think it helps sell the importance of the event, that there's almost a hint of magic in the air even as the characters are focused on the down-to-earth, immediate problem of their missing member.

Anyone else notice the each pair is the opposite of on another? The calm girl is paired with the angry diva. The strict leader is paired with the laid back guy. So if Sasha is supposed to be paired with the nervous boy, perhaps Sasha is more..... adventurous? 🤷

I love it when they realise that they don't have any pictures of his face

I like how the guy with the glasses smiles when sacha runs on the stage. He just knew he would show up lol. I need a friend like that

Star glasses was nice to see. Things stress me out so bad that I shut down and it looks like I’m relaxed. Not practicing, getting ready at the last possible second, lying in favor of a positive outcome lol. A few of the things that makes it feel like I have some kind of control. I’m sure he’s just naturally really chill but the way he handles the situation reminded me of myself. The show goes on/ you’ll survive, might as well just relax. There needs to be at least one capable but relaxed person in any situation

What an interesting idea for animation, usually we as audience only see the performance and only the performance, but here we see and feel the nervous energy and coming together of different personalities that are needed in the backstage for the performance to happen. They are so very different people, but on stage they have harmony. And of course it ends when Sasha is found, since finding him was the biggest topic of discussion. Beautiful animation with a lot of interesting details, my favourite is the poor make-up pen that rolled off the table! 😃

I would do anything to see these characters fleshed out.

I feel like I'm watching a movie from an alternate universe, the costume design really gives this feel of being in a culture extremely similar yet fundamentally different from earth, and that's something very few pieces of media can do well. Great Job!

In less than 5 minutes I've become fully invested in and have fallen in love with all 5 five of these characters

I need a whole TV show around this. The animation is truly amazing, the character design, the colors, the storyline, just everything.

Anyone notice at 4:22 the leader slapping chill guy’s hand when he sends a reassuring 👌 to the nervous guy? 😂

4:21 i thought everyone was gonna be still as the light shone on them - it’s dark and we’re far away from them. But if you keep looking, the nervous one looks up, the chill one does 👌🏾, and the leader knocks him back into position. Cool detail

LMAO I love how their looks as Sacha finally takes the stage perfectly encapsulate their personalities in the short. Beautiful animation.

Finally. Realistic dialogue. This is an incredibly well done piece and what I love is just how naturally they communicate.

USE THIS AS A PETITION TO MAKE THIS A FULL ANIMATED SERIES

This is a very interesting concept. The idea of Sacha being the Sun is possible, but a little predictable- it'd be prettyyy heavy handed to paste the literal sun over his face in so many places. Though he does only appear once the curtains open (metaphorical parting of the clouds?). The idea that Sacha is the Moon makes more sense to me since he can only reflect the light of the Sun, perhaps the energy of the crowd, and he only appears once the light is on them. I saw a few people say this can't be the case since he appears in daylight, but it's important to remember that on a clear Summer day like the solstice, you can still see the moon pretty clearly. But rather than the more heavy-handed metaphors, what if Sacha is a Star? He imitates the sun, giving off his own light, but the harder you try to look at him the harder he is to see. On stage, he's one of many stars, his fellow performers. Their doubts and worries flicker in his absence, but even with one gone they still have to go out. I think this is reinforced by chilled out guy's glasses, being star shaped could just be a trope thing rather than any real hinting, but they could have been big round ones and still given him the same vibe so there's a chance the design choice was intentional. The name of the performance is also called "Sundown", which is when all the stars come out. At the end of the other performance, you can see the stage design makes it look like the sun is setting on the crowd, and the background shows it is night time- the stars have come out, when only minutes ago the main girl was out in the street in plain daylight.

These characters were amazing! The chemistry was perfect. Even though they knew it was impossible for them to perform without him, they were brave enough to have faith he'd show up, glad he really does exist lol

wow!!! this is fantastic! the amount of character, life, intrigue, tension and whimsical beauty breathed into everything about the pacing, dialogue, design, style, animation, movement... creates such a human, and yet such a magical experience!

Nobody: Ida: *has everyone at the festival in her contacts*

3:12 this person is amazing. I love them.

“This is a solstice festival, not taco Tuesday!” made me spit out my soda

I like how it’s the opposite of a “I’m late!” story where it’s the remaining cast wondering where the person is and not solely/shared with the person who’s late. Also with Sasha being compared to the sun, I think it’s clever, but I don’t think he’s the sun always, just in this scenario it’s more of symbolism than a literal representation. Overall an amazing short!

something about us not seeing Sasha or even the show makes this perfect. Like we see their real lives, not the show they put on for their audience

No ones talking about the Easter egg at 2:27 with the main characters from “T’as vendu mes rollers” and “le retour des vagues” walking by in the background!!!!! Also 4:04 where we see the tambourine guy with the hair 😁 I LOVE THIS FILM

自動翻訳で日本語で見ました きっと完璧ではないけれど、それでもずっと鳥肌が収まりません 学生の時に吹奏楽部の一人としてステージに登ったことがありますが、あの時のステージの裏を思い出しました ないからこそ素敵なのですが、ステージ上のパフォーマンスも見たくなってしまいます 最高でした

everything about this is impressive, but i'm especially impressed by how natural all the dialogue feels. Its insane.

The pacing and tone of the story was incredible. Not to mention the characters, each of their personalities was so distinct especially Sacha. I'd say he shined the brightest of them all despite the audience never even having met him. It's clear how everyone, even the leader of the show, depends on his presence during the performance and that makes the hook ending all the more satisfying(/potentially stressful depending on how you choose to interpret it...who else could potentially dashing onto the stage?). The art only adds to the story. The colors in particular work very strong in relation to the more simplistic lineart. I'm so glad to have seen this in my recommendations!! :-]

the guys who is in a constant state of panic is literally me

4:18 idk what that guy is so nervous about! the way he spun the stick (? forgot what it was called) so flawlessly, the animators did so well on the whole animation honestly!

*I like the climax, it's rare to see something like that*

It’s so refreshing hearing voice actors without an American accent!

I love the choice of having the only character with a name never be shown.

maybe the true sacha is the friends we met along the way

I JUST NOTICED EACH ONE OF THEM REPRESENTED THE WINGS OF THE BIRD THAT WAS ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE STAGE AND THAT'S WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE ALL OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME HOLY SHIT!!!

The glass-man is the person i want to be. But, alas, I'm totally the nervous overthinking boy. Lol

-I can't believe Sacha's betrayed us! -I CAN'T BELIEVE SACHA'S DEAD!! gets me everytime. The nervous little dude is my favorite, he's so relatable.

This was the perfect showing of preshow panic. It seriously made me so hooked and invested like "Oh no where is Sacha??" before I was even halfway through. The sudden and random changes in perspective really added to the tension and characters. I'm devastated we don't see the performance though

I adore the chemistry these characters have. They are full of live, selling this short.

2:31 I love how the light brown-haired boy spirals into worst case scenarios.

4:04 THE TAMBOURINE GUY WITH THE HAIR !

AUGH I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS

I feel like the point of this wasn’t necessarily Sasha himself, but everyone’s reactions to him being gone. Most people down here are saying similar things, but truly, the characterization in this is amazing :D

has anyone yet mentioned the cool mishmash of aesthetics from different cultures? the first time i watched i couldn't put my finger on where this was yet the setting feels so convincing, then i realized its a huge hybrid! really fascinating choice, and the result is gorgeous

this reminded me so much of samuel beckett's 'waiting for godot'. although here we kind of get a resolution with sacha's "appearance", it's still resonant of beckett's play in a way that says "hey, the characters kinda revolve around this other absent character but this story isn't necessarily about that particular character", or something to that effect. very cool.

I love the anxious guy

the little bit at 4:21 where the star glasses guy does a little 'ok' symbol to the nervous one- adorable!! gorgeous animation absolutely loved it

the wind in his hair when she got angry at 1:27 was such a nice detail

I'm not good at detecting themes and what not but I wonder if Sacha represents that zone that people go into when they perform? Like all the other performers are freaking out or super laid back, representing different anxieties/moods a performer might be in before a show, not really in the zone to perform and then the curtain pulls back and suddenly everything falls into place and they are ready, and anxiety free because 'Sacha' shows up (ie they go into performer mode and suddenly everything makes sense and their anxieties ect go away) idk that's what I got from it.

This is the single most realistic portrayal of the 5 minutes before every stage performance I have ever been in.

OMG THIS ART STYLE GIVES ME LIFE and the motion, the colors, the costumes!

"I cant believe Sasha's dead-!!" It killed me

I've watched this so many times and only now I understood that nervous guy says "he probably doesn't want to pair up with me" at 1:37

Lol look at the star-glassed mans hand and the leader smacking it 4:22

It feels like it's one scene from a full length film.

it's okay we all have a crush on jun

This may be late , but I’ve watched this many MANY times. And I love how natural there movements are, also how they talk over eachother when they are panicking , naturally instead of one sentence after the other. I LOVE THIS!

every squad got that missin person, Calmer, Chill, Twink scaredy cat and the furious one

As a theater kid, Them not being ready 5 minutes before has me anxious.

3:41 The way Ida looks at Jun when he just shows up changed, the insult in her face. and later when Sacha turns up she just stares at him with murderous intent.

I can’t believe star shaped sunglasses guy got dressed in only a few moments-

This reminded me of studio ghibli, and I mean that as a high compliment, but it also had its own distinct style and feel which i think is incredible. Huge congratulations to everyone who worked on this, because it was so many levels of wondrous.

I love how you can hear the two acts before them play (and the applause) throughout this short. Staggering attention to detail. It's like the background music isn't even background music. The drums add suspense, even the sound effects are part of the song. It's amazing.

I'm obsessed with this just from the short 5 min clip. I would watch an entire series of this in a heartbeat

The amount of personality variety is insane why nobody is talking about this? I mean we have the nervous one the chill one the concerned one the hard working one etc… this is so beautiful

i really love the dialogue on this! it feels really natural and the pacing is absolutely perfect! it's rare to see an animated short with actual dialogue instead of music, and I really like the more realistic feel it gives the film

The lower frame rate, warm colors, and smooth pans are all such interesting stylistic choices, I adore this. Would love to see more work from the artists!

YO!! at 2:30 u see other goeblins characters pass behind the tent!!

A year has passed since I've first watched this film and I would still die for a full TV show of these characters and their story T_T Love them

lol I know that backstage panic of having to fix the gaps in your formation onstage, like the time we found out the day before a show that our most senior dancer got covid

this is the best shit I've ever seen. The colors, the designs, the vivacity and personality of each character, the STYLE. Glorious, just amazing

1:05 his makeup crayon rolls off the table after being bumped by his elbow. God there are so many little things in this short that I notice each time I watch it.

I so want this to be a series or at least a webcomic!! the characters are so charming and the art style is so pretty aaarrrgghh 😭😭

This was incredibly beautiful visually, but also emotionally. I felt every single one of their worries and it was truly spectacular. The chaos and the calm, and the flow of the narrative. I just couldn't look away.

"Are we sure this guy even exists?" - best visual joke EVER! Judging by Prim's and Ida's faces at the very end if Sasha wasn't dead he will be as soon as the curtain falls after the performance lol. This is such a fabulous work I'm speechless! I've already rewatched it thrice and am not gonna stop at that. Thank you so much for creating such a masterpiece!

Jun is legit one of the most chill people I’ve ever seen, his entire act is at stake with his team freaking out and he just shoulders it off

no, but the look on the one with short dark hair when sacha arrives last minute is hilarious! incredibly pretty movie, love the colors!

2:40 I can't believe he's DEAD!!! XD got me cracking like a mad man

I like how the star glasses guy is willing believe that Sasha is taking perhaps the world's longest leak but walking around the sandspit for 4 hours because he was nervous was somehow too stupid! 😂

THIS NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP BY A NETWORK OR ANY PLATFORM! I need a full show or a movie with this. Such amazing characters, the setting, we're already intrigued by Sasha and rest of the team Crazy good work!

3:24 this shot/animation feels extremely familiar.......I swear it's from mob psycho 100

This is something I noticed about a year ago when I first watched it, and I noticed it again during my rewatch, but Jun has literal rose-colored glasses for most of the film's duration, which *might* represent him being so laid back? There are only two times when he has them off, one when Ida takes them from him and one when Novi blames himself for Sacha not coming. I don't know if i'm not looking into it too much but during the near-finale scene, it might be the realization of the seriousness of the whole thing hitting him, and during the time with Novi it honestly felt like he'd comfort him if not for Ida interrupting and them all having so little time,,, but either way these are just my thoughts on this