Minor annoyances, near misses, small failures
November 3, 2016 8:30 AM   Subscribe

UNSATISFYING: a beautiful animation of life's littlest disappointments from Parallel Studios. Parallel is running a contest for other little disappointment animations here.
posted by codacorolla (31 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
The only way it would be more irritating is if it ended abruptly with the fuse only halfway to the rocket.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:36 AM on November 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


The timing on this is exquisite. As you're settling in and getting the feel for the content there's the drawn out bounce bounce bounce bounce of the basketball and then straight into three quick jabs:
DART
BREADFALL
NAILBEND
and then .... egg? What's wrong with egg? Oh no is the yol- oh GOD the yolk broke.

It's just perfect. Kudos to them.

[bonus kudos: the lighting on the firework is subtle but really tells the story - the flickering shadows on the rocks and then everything goes blue to signify that the light went out. Otherwise the viewer might be left with hope that it's going to be a delayed launch but with that fairly subtle visual cue they made clear what's really happening.]
posted by komara at 8:46 AM on November 3, 2016 [6 favorites]


Sort of like accidentally hitting the "post comment" button before you finish the com
posted by HuronBob at 8:50 AM on November 3, 2016 [9 favorites]


They left out the sneeze that never comes.
posted by Quasirandom at 8:55 AM on November 3, 2016 [5 favorites]


This is perfect. I love watching those "oddly satisfying" videos and this is the total opposite of that, yet just as entertaining.
posted by bondcliff at 9:07 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


This animation style reminds me of the Dumb Ways to Die video.
posted by INFJ at 9:22 AM on November 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


That was satisfying.
posted by anshuman at 9:26 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


This perfectly illustrates my week, thank you for posting! Cathartic!
posted by atlatl at 9:29 AM on November 3, 2016


Very satisfying. The Barber's Adagio was a nice touch.
posted by gwint at 9:31 AM on November 3, 2016 [5 favorites]


What you are looking for in that coat is always in the other pocket. Never fails.
posted by Tullyogallaghan at 9:48 AM on November 3, 2016


This perfectly illustrates my entire life, thank you for posting!
posted by briank at 10:38 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


I strongly identify with the pinball machine.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 10:56 AM on November 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


Maddening.
posted by tommasz at 11:06 AM on November 3, 2016


I'm taken with the coloring and style of this. It has a softness that really appeals to me. Point me to other illustrators and animators with a similar aesthetic.
posted by davebush at 11:15 AM on November 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


Whoever was playing pinball in this video obviously never learned the bump technique.

The rest are infuriating.
posted by Young Kullervo at 11:20 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm trying to figure out some kind of popular-on-metafilter reference to how someone watching this video will never be satisfied, but I just can't put one together. Frankly, it makes me feel helpless.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:51 AM on November 3, 2016 [6 favorites]


This is evil.
posted by Splunge at 12:03 PM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


*refreshes Metafilter*
*no new posts*
posted by gottabefunky at 12:09 PM on November 3, 2016 [4 favorites]


Needs ice cream cone fail on lick with scoop falling to ground.
posted by AugustWest at 12:42 PM on November 3, 2016


Frankly, it makes me feel helpless.

But are you willing to wait for it?
posted by sparklemotion at 1:03 PM on November 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


Pulling the tab on a food/drink container. Tab comes off. Top remains.

The spliff is rolled, but the lighter won't strike.

Buffering

The third non-functioning ATM.

It's two minutes before the cab comes. You discover your phone did not charge last night and the battery is at 5 percent.

MiniUSB charger. MicroUSB phone.

The cable that's three inches too short.

Anything whatsoever to do with RS232.

tk... tk... tk... GENERAL ERROR READING DRIVE B: ABORT RETRY IGNORE?
posted by Devonian at 2:00 PM on November 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


USB cable won't insert (until turned over twice).
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:02 PM on November 3, 2016 [2 favorites]




Reminds me a little of Bad Things That Could Happen (by the folks behind Don't Hug Me I'm Scared)
posted by oulipian at 5:20 PM on November 3, 2016


Whoever was playing pinball /buying soda from a machine in this video obviously never learned the bump technique.

FTFY
posted by BlueHorse at 7:12 PM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


I was all like "haha kinda clever" until the enormous wave of dread washed over me right before the yolk broke.
posted by wats at 8:55 PM on November 3, 2016


This made me want to punch the screen earlier.
posted by limeonaire at 10:48 PM on November 3, 2016


The first place I saw this was as a long animated GIF on Facebook. I guess later today I'll be That Guy and post the original link to my feed.

As it is, the creators are probably experiencing some meta-disappointment now. Yay content thieves.

(With all the cool domino trick and Pythagoras Switch type content I've seen lately, the domino scene looked the most painful.)
posted by pianoblack at 7:32 AM on November 4, 2016


Drive not found, press F1 to continue.
posted by Splunge at 9:31 AM on November 4, 2016


Every swell in Barber's Adagio had me in stitches, I could have watched ten minutes of that.
posted by lucidium at 9:56 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


“Very satisfying. The Barber's Adagio was a nice touch.”

By which you mean the most unsatisfying thing here, right? It was appropriate, but so was cutting it off early. It's a complete song! It has an ending, and that wasn't it!

It's like Vivaldi's Four Seasons; which despite being one of the most overplayed pieces of baroque music ever I still love. But mostly it gets condensed and paraphrased for commercials in ways that leave me hanging, psychologically, like nothing else. Somebody tries to sell me steak and I just have to queue up movement 1 from Winter again just to get some closure.
posted by traveler_ at 2:36 PM on November 6, 2016


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