A man decides Toilet Paper is the answer. The answer to what? Everything.

Everyone knows that deep down, toilet paper is the answer to EVERYTHING. No, wait. This is completely absurd. But this is exactly what Chad and his brother Keith Thompson set out to do with Toilet Paper: A film about a man who follows his instinct and decides Toilet Paper is the key component his life is missing. Is he a hoarder? No. Is he a collector? No. But his rationale is irrelevant once he is determined. Toilet Paper is a weird and delightful, albeit sometimes confusing short film that proves: it doesn’t matter what gets you there, just that you get there.

Toilet Paper started as a text from my brother Keith (the main actor) that said “what if a guy decided to better his life because he couldn’t afford the good toilet paper. And I like liked this concept, so I wrote out a script that drifted just a little bit from that original intention, but still maintained the absurd premise. This is my second proper live-action short film. I work as an animator mostly via my very small company Yeah Haus. So these shorts are a way I can expand my creative palette, and not have to answer to a client haha. In this one, my brother and I also recorded the music, I did the foley and sound design, and our talented friend and frequent collaborator John Anderson Beavers was the DP.

Everything to love about Toilet Paper is how a relevant story is made from an absolutely silly idea. This achievement came from perseverance in the film’s design, especially editing and music, where we are carried with a charismatic tune and abruptly but comically interrupted at every stop. The film’s cinematography and motion also play a large role in the dynamic fun of things.

I look at shorts as a way to try new things, with people I enjoy working with, in ways that bear little resemblance to my day job. So, this time around, we decided to try a bunch of different locations, get a little fancier with the production, storyboards and write a proper script. What it mostly comes down to is a a way to grow. At it’s most basic, going through the process of making these sometimes nonsensical shorts, connects so many dots that you’re unable to see before you jump in. So in that way, it’s a huge exercise, and we end up with a tangible piece of art when its done!