Delivery: Film Review

Animator Hsin Ting Lin explores everyday struggles in his animated thesis film for New York School of Visual Arts called Delivery. Through stylized 3D animation, Lin tracks a delivery man as he drops off a package to an office. Before he gets to the recipient, a truck splashes him with water and a bird poops on his uniform. When he delivers the package to the front desk assistant she gawks at the white poop stain on his wrist.

Almost as if by butterfly effect, the micro-annoyance the deliveryman experiences passes to the desk assistant who now cannot open her package, because of the deluge of incoming phone calls. The cycle of daily struggle continues with other characters until we return to the deliveryman to bookend the story.

Although simple in concept, Delivery is a delightful short that is highly relatable and enjoyable. It highlights how people tend to magnify small problems in an otherwise mundane setting.

Lin demonstrates his affinity for the ordinary in the minimalistic 3D animation style he chose for the piece. The minimalism has a certain charm that a detailed or hyper-realistic aesthetic could not capture. The bright, warm orangey hues throughout also complement and reinforce the idea that the short is not a high stakes drama, but a sunny lighthearted, neighborly comedy.

The soundscape of annoying alarms and phone calls and string-forward orchestration also enhance the comedy and whimsical nature of the short.

In his director’s statement, Lin mentions his love of all things ordinary. An office with employees, a bathroom stall, a city building, and a sports game are all simple things that Lin captures and makes beautiful and meaningful.

Delivery is a perfect example of how it behooves artists to explore their likes and dislikes, and use that as fuel for storytelling. When artists can identify what makes them tick, a perfect storm occurs - exactly what Lin accomplished.