I rewatched this video for the 20th time or so and I’m just starting to understand how fantastically edited this video is.
The story is told wordlessly but eloquently, perhaps more eloquently than if there were any dialogue.
The filmmakers were ever conscious that the camera is a stand-in for the viewer. The viewer is welcomed as a participant in the activity. Let me describe a little:
0:14 I’m following Chandelier through the street. He walks with purpose, we’re going someplace important.
0:29 I follow him to the beach. Detail of confidently walking past a warning sign. He knows what he’s doing in the face of danger.
0:32 Detail of his feet approaching the edge of the cliff. Camera glides a foot or so past the edge of the cliff hinting at what is to come.
0:37 Distant shot of his back, standing on the edge of the cliff with the sunset in the background and his name on screen. A formal introduction. He is just a man, vulnerable (he could fall off the edge of this cliff), solidary, confident, in nature. We are both looking at the beautiful sunset together.
0:39 Detail of his feet. He gets on tiptoes and then magic happens, he is flying away on his paraglider. The camera follows a bit so that we are off the edge of the cliff too but he is still soaring away. We can both see the beautiful skyline that he is flying into.
0:50 We are walking over a crest, see some natural brush, see his paraglider over the crest, we move over the crest closer to the paraglider, he comes into view and we’re really close to him, as he passes by, we keep moving forward over the cliff, following him, we’re tentatively joining him in the sky
0:53 We are several feet past the cliff, several feet above the ground and he has just passed by (we are starting to get our own wings)
0:57 we are running along the grass and his feet come into view from above. His feet scuff the grass as he approaches the cliff edge and we follow quickly. We’re bound to run off the cliff. But that’s ok because he can do it, so we can too.
The whole film flows like this, playing with the idea as camera as participant, not just viewer. I love it.
I rewatched this video for the 20th time or so and I’m just starting to understand how fantastically edited this video is.
The story is told wordlessly but eloquently, perhaps more eloquently than if there were any dialogue.
The filmmakers were ever conscious that the camera is a stand-in for the viewer. The viewer is welcomed as a participant in the activity. Let me describe a little:
0:14 I’m following Chandelier through the street. He walks with purpose, we’re going someplace important.
0:29 I follow him to the beach. Detail of confidently walking past a warning sign. He knows what he’s doing in the face of danger.
0:32 Detail of his feet approaching the edge of the cliff. Camera glides a foot or so past the edge of the cliff hinting at what is to come.
0:37 Distant shot of his back, standing on the edge of the cliff with the sunset in the background and his name on screen. A formal introduction. He is just a man, vulnerable (he could fall off the edge of this cliff), solidary, confident, in nature. We are both looking at the beautiful sunset together.
0:39 Detail of his feet. He gets on tiptoes and then magic happens, he is flying away on his paraglider. The camera follows a bit so that we are off the edge of the cliff too but he is still soaring away. We can both see the beautiful skyline that he is flying into.
0:50 We are walking over a crest, see some natural brush, see his paraglider over the crest, we move over the crest closer to the paraglider, he comes into view and we’re really close to him, as he passes by, we keep moving forward over the cliff, following him, we’re tentatively joining him in the sky
0:53 We are several feet past the cliff, several feet above the ground and he has just passed by (we are starting to get our own wings)
0:57 we are running along the grass and his feet come into view from above. His feet scuff the grass as he approaches the cliff edge and we follow quickly. We’re bound to run off the cliff. But that’s ok because he can do it, so we can too.
The whole film flows like this, playing with the idea as camera as participant, not just viewer. I love it.