Some research I did prior to the group meeting included animated shorts such as Piper, Fear and over comer.
These short films spoke to me for different reasons each film explored film in a different way that was unique to them. In Piper they explore a young bird that was traumatised by the ocean engulfing her and she has to find it within herself to take on the ocean a second time in order to feed herself. Of course this is an act of courage as she has to build up her confidence to get closer to the water, as she does this she meets a friend that helps her out when a wave suddenly engulfs them. After she learns that the ocean can be a fun place she starts to explore it more vastly and is enjoying
This matches the research I did previously, basically it’s a wee formula for a concept like the hero’s journey.
- Be Terrified of something
- Do it anyways
- Moderately less scared
- Conquer it
Piper-
Fear-
Basically this short inspired the thought of keeping things simple in terms of narrative. Ideas explored in this short is fear of being watched (Eyes Watching), fear of public speaking, fear of tight spaces, fear of mice, fear of getting into an accident.
As you can see within the film fear is literally following these people around to me this is explaining that fear will always follow you there is no escaping your fears only conquering them. At the end of the short you can see the mans fear save him from getting into another accident and him is seen hugging him to me this means he is thankful for his fear as it literally is keeping him alive (Fight or Flight).
Over comer-
What I liked about this one is that it’s based on a serious issue that young kids and adults experience today depression and anxiety. This hit home to me as I too have experienced what this young girl has gone through and I know exactly how that feels. I understand the message that this short has created with the hurtful messages effecting the young girl and being chained down by these hurtful messages can be draining I now know the true meaning of being your own worst enemy and still try to smile through it.
In what relation is this to bravery will too me it takes real courage to be who you are no matter what people think or the person telling you lies on the inside. I think its brave to be the best version of you!
Shannon Murray - University of Ulster Animation 