As officials remove two COVID-19 checkpoints that have kept the Florida Keys shut down for more than two months, Miami-based TV producer and humanitarian Chris Sloan has released a short film visually chronicling Key West’s isolation. The eight-minute mini-doc, Key West: 66 Days of Paradise, Interrupted, gives viewers a rare and haunting insider’s look at the world-famous tourist hotspot as they’ve never seen it before… a surreal quiet pausing Key West’s bustling nightlife, prolific local music/art scene and the quirky allure that has made this tropical paradise home to such literary greats as Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and Judy Blume.
With access reserved strictly for locals and essential workers, Sloan shot this footage at the height of Key West’s quarantine in mid-May while he was there hosting a food drive on behalf of his nonprofit, Caleb and Calder Sloan’s Awesome Foundation. He used a DJI Osmo with 1080p motion stabilization and hyperlapse to capture striking scenes of such quintessential Key West destinations as the Southernmost Point Buoy (only 90 miles to Cuba), Sloppy Joe’s, Mallory Square, Garrison Bight, Duval Street, the Ernest Hemingway Home, Pier House Resort and Higgs and Smathers beaches, all minus the throngs of visitors.
There's a strange, tranquil beauty in the near-overnight disappearance of tourism and yet one fraught with foreboding as the city’s chief economy vanished with it. The area’s employment rate went from Florida’s lowest to the state’s second highest in just a matter of months. However, the unprecedented Florida Keys lockdown resulted in a much smaller number of COVID-19 cases and deaths than most counties,
Yet, even though Sloan’s mini-doc chronicles measures for which the long-term impact was unknown at the time of filming, it also shares a message of upbeat optimism as the Florida Keys lockdowns have lifted (effective June 1).
“Life returns, and Key West will rise again to be the quirky and charming melting pot that makes it truly one of my favorite places in the world,” said Sloan.
CreditsProduction Chris Sloan, director/producer/photographer. Postproduction & Sound Design Jesus Martinez, editor, sound designer, colorist, graphics; Bob Cobb, graphics. Music Song: “Livin’ on Key West Time” by Howard Livingston and Mile Marker 24 Band. Other Music Artlist.io Website Development Andy Fernandez Special Thanks Jack Smith and Kim Works of Pirate Radio Key West, and the citizens of Key West
Top Spot of the Week: Nike, W+K Portland, Megaforce Take Us On A “Sunshine” Run
“Winning isn’t Comfortable” is the second chapter of Nike’s “Winning isn’t for Everyone,” extended through the lens of running. It is based on true insights and the realities that runner experience when they lace up their shoes.
It adds the perspective of how hard it can be to just get out the door and go for a run. The idea that if you don’t hate running a little, you don’t love running enough. It celebrates the need and opportunity to push outside a person’s comfort zone to discover what they can accomplish, emphasizing that true victory often requires pushing through uncomfortable moments.
Each film of the series builds on the tension that every runner faces--pushing through the morning dread, the elements outside, the pain of hitting a wall, or even walking down the stairs after a run or race--juxtaposed with the feeling of elation only runners know as they push themselves beyond what they thought possible.
The irreverence of the films--directed by Megaforce via production company Iconoclast for Wieden+Kennedy Portland--is in pairing visuals showing the mundanity of everyday struggles with music that brings to life a contradictory tension. This film, the first to be released, is titled “Sunshine” and shows the inclement weather and obstacles that runners encounter to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine.”
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