The Emotion Vending Machine is a surreal AI short film by Sawa Films, under 30 seconds long. It starts from a simple, uncomfortable question: what if feelings came out of a vending machine?
About the Film
The film is set in a dystopian world where emotions are dispensed as miniature figurines. Each one carries a name: Brave, Successful, Loved, Happy. Feelings have become products handed out by a machine, and in that world authentic feeling becomes the rarest commodity of all.
The story is psychological rather than action-driven. It is told through photoreal characters, subtle facial performance and cinematic lighting, so much of the idea sits in small expressions. In under half a minute, the film sets up its world and leaves the viewer with its question.
How It Was Made
As with every Sawa Films project, the work began with the story, the script and a storyboard, and only then did AI produce the shots. A person reviewed every frame before the film was finished. In a film this short, every shot has to earn its place, which is why the planning comes first.
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