A Robot Called Zed – narrative short, 2023, 3’37”

Zed is a bit different from their classmates – it’s not just that they’re a robot, but they also feel down – but a mysterious floppy disk means suddenly they can learn to make new friends and find the joy in the little things.

This children’s film was commissioned by NHS and Z-arts, a family-centred arts space in Manchester. The brief was to translate the 5 Ways To Wellbeing for a child audience and to showcase children tools they can use to help improve their mood. I enjoyed the challenge of creating for a child audience, and I particularly enjoyed the process of designing the puppet and building out its emotional expressions via a program on its iPad face.

Personnel
Writer/Director/Original Score/Digital Puppet Elements – Tom Shennan
DOP – Josh Davies
Puppeteer – Thomas Daniel Byrne
Puppet construction – Alice & Dan Rowbottom
Production support – Z-arts team