Greg Jardin’s short film Floating follows the urban adventures of a figure made entirely of balloons:
Floating once again proves our remarkable human ability to discover empathy for abstract non-humans. Known for his high-concept stop-motion music videos, Jardin, in a new passion project, displays remarkable adeptness at CG in crafting his remarkable protagonist. A bare-bones production, shot on public streets, Jardin puts in extra work in handling Edit/Sound Design and VFX in addition to writing/directing. The result is a film that looks much more lush and expensive than it probably was. … [T]he remarkable “performance” of his animated lead hits the right spots in enabling an audience to experience his crushing loneliness.
Jardin explained his inspiration in a recent interview:
I really liked the idea of crafting an emotional narrative around something that you would normally not have any real emotional connection to, in this case, balloons. When I started discussing the idea with my friend Matthew Beans, who ended up co-writing it with me, we started discussing the notion that giving the balloon person a kindred spirit and separating the two could give it more of an emotional impact that a balloon person alone for the duration of the film.
The Dish 