For those who could use a sweet, lyrical reminder of how fun and diverse web video can be, here’s something just for you.
How to Be Alone is a filmic adaptation of a poem by Canadian poet/songwriter/spoken word artist Tanya Davis, performed by the author (who also collaborated on the music).
Shot, animated and edited by filmmaker Andrea Dorfman (also Canadian), the video blends together drawings and live-action to create a treatise on solitude, self-awareness and creativity. Originally produced in 2009, according to Davis’s site, the short was uploaded to Dorfman’s YouTube channel on July 28, 2010.
Alone has only been online for six days, but has racked up nearly 190,000 views, which is pretty impressive given that it seems to be a relatively organic spread across Twitter and blogs (the latter of which is usually responsible for video discovery).
You could write this video off as rather twee and emo, but given the encroachment of Twitter and Facebook and smartphones and other distractions into our daily lives, it’s nice to take a moments and reflect on the value of truly disconnecting from life — and perhaps, ultimately, being able to listen to yourself.
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