This is the story of Alain Ducasse’s new chocolate factory. It is a visual feast of beautiful shots, exquisite lighting, and editing. Directed by Simon Pénochet, the 3 and a half minute short introduces you to the owner and his staff as the hand craft chocolate the old fashioned way in an old Renault Garage in the center of Paris. This makes me want to go back to Paris right now. It makes me want to go to Paris and visit Alain Ducasse’s chocolate factory.
Visual Storytelling
Monday Inspiration. “Legends of the Isles”, by Tony Franklin.
Over the weekend I posted a short film and a little write up about how video production and quality has changed so much in the last ten years. Another great example of that is below. Film maker Tony Franklin and a crew of six have produced a really nice short film. The seven minute short takes you on a journey of friendship and the bond that is developed around a game and tradition. Franklin blends some really wonderful slow-motion footage with interviews, archival footage, and really fluid shots following hockey players on the ice. Through out the film there is a simple repeated gesture that becomes more clear in the last two minutes of the film through the skilled editing of Nate Maydole and Eric Schleicher. Great stuff for a frigid winter morning here in the midwest.
Director: Tony Franklin
Director of Photography: Eric Schleicher
Second Camera: Josh Becker
Editor: Nate Maydole / Eric Schleicher
Music / Sound Mix: Nick Mihalevich / Cape Status
Graphic Design: Mike Forester
Archival Footage: Tom Dunn
“An Undertaking”, A Genuine Relationship With Life, Death and Sawdust.
This is a story about love, craft, and connections. It is a beautifully filmed and edited piece about a grandmother’s request of her grandson. Do yourself a favor and take 8 minutes out of your day and watch this. This is a great little story that is touching and heartfelt. It’s worth watching, not only for the story, but for the beautiful visuals, and the emotional connections that are captured here.
“Michael Yates’ passion for working with wood arose from the wood’s accessibility, its palpable presence and the hope that his efforts would last. But when his grandmother requested that he build her casket, the stability of oak collided with an evocative “conversation” with impermanence, death and the inevitability of absence. In spite of his initial fear and resistance due to our culture’s steadfast avoidance of the D-word, Yates eventually agreed to build the casket and began the real work of constructing a genuine relationship with life, death and sawdust.”
Lets Tell Better Stories. A Swink Letter-Press Design.
Over the last two days I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on visual story telling taught by Craig Grasso of Pixar. The class focused on the elements that are used in film making to enhance the story through visual elements. Traditional film craft, like staging, blocking, focus pulls, composition etc. The reason I am talking about this is not to review the class, but because tonight when I got home a friend had emailed me a link to this wonderful letter-press piece by Studio on Fire for Swink.
There is a bit of irony in the copy, “Let’s Tell Better Stories”. This is a really nice piece featuring, laser cuts, debossing, a solid color pallet, and it all assembles to create a diorama. Oh did I mention it sort of is about visual story telling too?.
Modular 4 