Examining Some Short Films

In a bid to become more inspired, I watched a few short films. I found all of these short films for free on Youtube. I thought that by watching other creations, I would get a twinkle of inspiration for myself. 

The first short film I watched was Hair Love. Hair Love won the oscar recently for best animated short so I decided to check it out. It was about a dad trying to tame his daughter's hair in his wife's absence. The story was short and simple, but extremely impactful. It starts off with a young African-American girl watching a hair vlogger on youtube and becoming intrigued with a specific hairstyle. She then goes to her father and asks him if he can do said hairstyle. He realizes that the job is tough, but he manages to get it done. The characters do not speak throughout the film; the only voice you can hear is of the video vlogger. Thus, the music in the background helped to move the story. THE MUSIC IS SO IMPORTANT. The music's tempo shifts really helped to make me feel a certain way. At the end of the short film, we learn that the mother cannot do her daughter's hair because she is in the hospital going through chemotherapy. In the end credits, we see that the mother gets better. This made me so happy because I feel like in most films, the parent usually dies. I want a happy ending in my short film. I will try to make that happen!

The second short film I watched was Anxiety. It was about a girl who deals with anxiety and

showcasing what it's like in her head. In the short, we see the main character listening to her anxiety. Her anxiety is dressed in all black(it is herself). He anxiety talks to her and berates her whenever she tries to go out or do other tasks. This method of storytelling was pretty neat, but it kind of came off a bit cheesy. I liked the music in the film. It was a bit somber and helped set the tone. at the end of the short, the girl finally decides to beat her anxiety in a spur of the moment decision. While I don't think this short film represented anxiety perfectly(you don't just one day decide to be over your anxiety), I enjoyed watching it. I may want to utilize an informal method of storytelling in my short film as well.


The third short film I watched was Purl. This one has to be my favorite. It's about a ball of yarn named "Purl" who is excited to begin working at a finance company. All of the employees at the company are men and pearl is the only ball of yarn. Purl is supposed to represent women. The men treat Purl very poorly at the beginning of the short, excluding her from events and discussions. Purl is upset and decides to knit herself into a man. She makes herself a suit. The men then start to pay attention to her, since she now looks the way they do. Another ball of yarn is hired at the company and is being treated poorly until Purl steps in. Purl than realizes she doesn't have to change herself to be important to the company. At the end, we see that balls of yarn and men have integrated in the workplace. I thought using a ball of yarn was a clever way to represent just how different women can be viewed in the workplace. Maybe I can include a metaphor in my short film? I loved this short film, especially Purl's cuteness. This film had a happy ending as well. Okay, it's settled. I'm going to have a happy ending in my short film. I just love happy endings!