Noah Harris for Ford

Posted by Igor Sordokhonov

Director Noah Harris hit the streets of Berlin in late June and over 12 nights shot a series of cascading stop motion television sets tumbling through districts and past famous landmarks. This was to create a backdrop for key creative commentators and the aesthetic abilities of artists Noah Harris to define the current state of visual culture in his new Ford spot through Blinkink.

In a conscious bid to avoid the usual car commercial clichés, Harris put out a brief to a cherry-picked selection of cutting-edge international artists inviting them to contribute a short thematic representation of the here and now. Using colour, patterns, graphics, form, lights and figures, each artist was commissioned to interpret the state of the creative zeitgeist. Artists include photographer Dan Tobin Smith, Maxim Zhestkov, Rachael Thomas, Carl Burgess and Dan Mumford, Benjamin Ducroz to name a few.

I am totally inlove with the final result. And it’s inspiring to see how experimental designs getting closer to solid commercial productions.


Client : Ford
Titlle: Zeitgeist

Agency: Ogilvy
Agency Producer: James Brook Partridge
Copy Writer : Dom Sweeney
Art Director : John Crozier

Production Company: Blinkink
Producers: Andrew Studholme, Georgina Fillmore, Bart Yates
Director: Noah Harris
DOPs: Alex Barber, Toby Howell

Post Production: Framestore / Superfad
Offline Editor: Sam Sneade @ Speade
Content Editor: Benjamin Ducroz
Model-Makers: Artem
Music: Pluxus

Content Contributers:
Carl Burgess
Chris Hewwitt
Maxim Zhestkov
Rachel Thomas
Blip Boutique
Alex Turvy
Nicky Yates
Kristofer Strom
Chrissie MacDonald
David Wilson
Chris Angelkov
Noah Harris
Dan Tobin Smith
Ben Ducruz
Squint Opera
Dan Mumford
Lucia morton
Jesica Bonham
Andy Foreshaw
Adam Tickle

5 Comments

Simon

Just to get this straight; the whole thing starts off in the middle of American suburbia and finally ends in the city of Berlin… hmm, a bit confusing, I must say!

Josie K

I agree that the beginning has a American suburban feel to it, but if you look at it closely the house could be misguided east German architecture. The playground also looks very German to me and the names on the gas station have an east German feel to them. I’m just guessing here though.
Regardless of the setting I really like this film. Very atmospheric nighttime feeling with a dreamy soundtrack. Not really sure what the point is, but I’m not too fond of points anyways.
Hopefully they’ll show it in German television to make commercial breaks less obnoxious.

Simon

Yeah, I think it was more the David Lynch-ish light which made me think of the American suburbs… anyway, your right; it might be East Germany!

Brett1

I don’t get it either. Very weak script and put together poorly. What are those people doing and why are they so sad?? Not speaking of the graphics as there are some nice moments. Reminiscent of Pleix though.

jasonk

love the music and the overall idea is pretty solid – drab world enlivened by colour – but that final reveal of the car, i don’t know if it’s the composite or if the colour correct is too harsh, but it looks unreal.

in one sense i like that it’s understated, but i think the emotional connection also gets a little lost – the world and the characters seem completely uninterested in this new now.

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