Kenneth Cole’s theme line, “We all walk in different shoes,” emerges in eloquent fashion from the short films playing at www.kennethcole.com/thinkers that focuses on individuals from different walks of life whose experiences communicate a humanistic message.
“We became friends in a few hours,” says Dror Shaul, an Israeli director. “Actually at the beginning we had a fight, a political fight, you remember,” replies Hany Abu-Assad, a Palestinian filmmaker. Their conversation provides unique insights into filmmaking and how it cemented a friendship that transcends their political differences.
Regan Hoffman, editor-in-chief of Poz magazine, who was diagnosed with HIV explains how she deals with her HIV status and hopes that after all these year’s we’ll finally find a cure.
“We wanted to dispel all forms of prejudice by celebrating diversity,” said Steve Wyatt, associate creative director of Kenneth Cole Productions, the company’s in-house agency. “We wanted to do a campaign that was inherent to the brand and its belief in the non-uniformed thinker. The people in this campaign are living their lives in a non-uniform way.”
The films were produced by Rehab/San Francisco, a content production company. Sean Leman, who directed the films for Rehab, said they were based on a print campaign shot by Terry Richardson. “We said why don’t we take the stills and use short films to tell the stories of the people in the print ads,” he said.
Leman shot the films in New York on the same days as the print shoots. “We were in a separate studio and after they finished the print shoot, they came over to shoot the films,” he said.
Leman also modeled the films after the photo shoots. “He was shooting against white with no outside light, so we shot the films in white psych and kept them flat but not overly constrasty. In post, we pushed the video to make it a little more raw, a more filmic direction.”
Leman also followed the Kenneth Cole philosophy. “They’ve always been clean and simple, one image and a lot of copy that’s how they see their brand represented in print or in video, so we wanted to let the individuals and their stories be the focus. We didn’t want to get in the way of what they say.”
Leman conducted the interviews as he shot them. He used a Sony HVRZ1U HD camera.
Leman shot 10 videos that are playing at the site. They vary in length, but are all less than three minutes. The films are also playing at YouTube and in a longer form piece that plays in the stores.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ Murder Trial Heads To Closing In Tupac Shakur’s 1996 Killing
The murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur is headed to closing arguments after the defense rested Thursday following testimony from three former Las Vegas police officers.
Jurors are scheduled to return Monday for closing arguments before beginning deliberations in the only prosecution brought in the killing of the hip-hop icon. The presentation of evidence ended after nine days of testimony.
Davis, 63, did not take the stand.
Shakur was riding in a BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled up next to it at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. The driver of the BMW, Marion "Suge" Knight, survived.
Years later, Davis would say he procured the gun and his nephew, who has since died, fired the shots. Prosecutors say Davis orchestrated the killing, and he faces life in prison if convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft has argued that Davis fabricated or embellished his accounts of the killing for money and notoriety and that investigators failed to independently corroborate his claims.
Retired Las Vegas homicide detective Dan Long, the defense's final witness, testified that he tried unsuccessfully to verify several details Davis provided during a 2009 police interview.
Davis told Long that his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, had gone to a Las Vegas hospital after being beaten by Shakur and others in a casino brawl hours before the rapper was fatally shot. Long said he was unable to find hospital records confirming Anderson was treated there.
Long also tried... Read More
