David Findlay wrote and directed this music video for singer and professional skateboarder Austyn Gillette’s latest single “Leaning Into Your Palms.” Featuring acclaimed French actress, model, and journalist Agathe Rouselle, the video tells a tale of human connection as two siblings share a surreal moment out of time.
Findlay–an alum of SHOOT’s 2019 New Directors Showcase–shared that among the prime challenges was the long tracking shot at the end. “We had to be meticulous with the speed of it, how long it lasts and so on, so that it would perfectly fit in the song’s finale. So again, it was a matter of finding the perfect location, and once we had it, a question of rehearsing as best we could in advance. It was indeed all done in camera. A stabilized head was mounted to the front of a pick up truck. On the day I think we shot 6 or so takes. With the help of my 1st AD Brock Newman and the entire team we would review takes on the monitor and jot down precise notes to give to each performer and how to choreograph and time the whole thing. It was a real team effort but the hero here is [DP] Jeremy Cox who on top of framing and coordinating, mounted all these lights, assisted by his team, to create the beautiful silhouette effect.”
Findlay recently joined Farm League for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Credits
Client Austyn Gillette Production David Findlay, writer-director; Rebecca Steel, producer, Kind Stranger Productions; Jeremy Cox, DP; Brendan Megannety, production designer; Amy J. Gardner, movement coach; Zauberberg Productions & Solap Pictures, exec producers; Section 80, Farm League & Tim Lynch, Genevieve Andre de la Porte, Ariel Ho Kjar, Miguel Angel de la Gampa, co-producers; Twin Brain Films, Motif LTD, Palm Film, Michael Kuna, associate producers; Owen Walstrom, stunt coordinator; Courtenay Mayes, stylist; Elan Fortin, stylist assistant; Maddy Hermans, hair & makeup artist; Melissa Neilson, additional hair & makeup artist; Anastasia Itkina, production manger; Brock Newman, 1st AD; Dide Su Bilgin, 2nd AD; Zenia Yim, production coordinator; Megan MacAulay, on set props; Michael Maruniak, Tarah Doheny, art assist; Scott Kinnon, set builder/art assist. Casting Vaka Street Casting Katrin Braga, casting; Hailey Poole, casting associate. Editorial Emmy Backman, editor; Sophie Reynolds, Camilla Strandskov & Bacon X, Aryane Fournelle, Camille Julien, Olivia Couchesne & Post-Moderne, Antoine Bourges, Bojan Bodruลพiฤ, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Tait Jordan, Dora Prieto & Farhad Ghaderi, Adam Maruniak, editing. Color Grade Sam Gilling, colorist. VFX Yacine Gueddari, Alexandre Frรฉchette. Cast Austyn Gillette, Agathe Rousselle, Rebecca Steele, Lincoln Cann, Aralyn Walker, Ben Stephenson, Suge Blanco, Cedric Cox
Tom Tagholm of Various Films directed this moving piece for the U.K.โs Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) out of creative agency MullenLowe UK.
Focused on adult social care, the public service film delves into the world of care providers and how they connect with those they help. We feel how gratifying it is to assist people in daily tasks, the value it brings to their lives--and to the lives of those who provide this special care.
Itโs a special career for people who might not have previously considered the role. Itโs about a fulfilling job that fulfills lives. Thereโs a shared, reciprocal energy that emerges from working together in this way.
Capturing this dynamic and doing justice to this human story grew out of the creatives and filmmaker spending an extended amount of time in this world--long before any scheduled lensing. At this juncture, there were no cameras, just getting to know those involved--sharing tea and chatting, driven by a curiosity about life.
And this facilitated down the line the capturing of real human stories--trying not to get in the way of the natural rhythms of these special relationships as they unfolded. The mission was to recognize and capture all this--and in some cases uncover the significant moments and feelings inside of an apparently normal day. At the same time, the role of adult special care providers isnโt sugarcoated. There are challenges on both sides of the relationship. Yet there is a magic to the seemingly mundane, practical beats in a life--getting from point A to point B, answering emails, shopping, the daily tasks where the connection felt the most vivid and inspiring. One such task was seeing a man in a kitchen, cutting an onion for the first time, experiencing the joy of cooking.
The... Read More
