Essential Elements

This week saw the launch of The Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne. Our film was part of the presentations made to architectural press from around the world. It's a very simple film and consists of five essential elements. The first of these essential elements is some extraordinary camerawork by Chris Morphet, who approached the task of filming in the snow against a grey background in freezing temperatures with his usual aplomb. We decided to go for abstract shots that somehow followed the idea that SANAA, the architects, had created a kind of land locked spaceship, well that's how I saw it anyway. The snow became a dimension that we could use to create depth and mystery, maybe even romance. The second essential element is what you might call literary content, in this case some interviews with the architects, Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa shot in Tokyo on a flying visit and Mr Patrick Aebischer, chief Academic at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne). Mr Aebischer tells us why? and SANAA tell us how?. Element number three was a bit of a wild card, music by pedal steel guitar legend BJ Cole, a track called "Indian Willow Suite" which matched the fluid lines of the building perfectly while also giving off a mysterious, spacey feel. Fourth element: sensitive and beautifully timed editing by The Scandiman himself, Andreas Torner - who prefers to be briefed with the essential elements in front of him and then left to get on with it, I willingly obliged. One further element: the client, who were able to look, listen and see the the film for what it was and know that it is as close as it could be to fulfilling what they wanted.

See the film on youtube here