DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

As I thought about the challenge, I wanted to make a lyrical film, and thought that the best use of the theme would be to literally fill each frame with as much glass as possible. I would try to completely capture the viewer's attention with a glass object. In order to do this, I figured I needed some glass that was large, glass that was beautiful and glass that was interesting enough to show in a film.

A friend of a friend designed this building, and generously went out of his way to assist me in securing access to film it. It is the headquarters for a large corporation. The outer skin is made up of 700 large glass “scales” which are all very similar in size. Each one is constructed from a double layer of specially designed clear glass, with thin white lines printed on the surface. The resulting composite shape and form is breathtaking to see, and looks completely different depending on how you view it. It is essentially a giant complex sculpture and I have attempted to capture its many personalities and moods in this film.

Coming from a musical background, I may be biased, but I believe that a great soundtrack is an essential element of a great film. I recently read about Moby's film music resource for independent filmmakers, and thought that this project would be a perfect opportunity to license one of his pieces. I needed music that was beautiful, calm and repetitive (like the building), and a piece that would support, yet not overwhelm the visuals, and his music does this quite well. If you ever have a project that could use Moby's music, his website is: mobygratis.com

I hope you enjoy this tour of Galeo, on a windy day in August, as seen through my eyes.


The Vimeo password is: dvc

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Andrew,

Visually intriguing! What building is that? In what city? The coolest shot is the last one with the clouds reflected in the glass. Was that a real refection or after effects? It looked cool.

Great tip about the free music site, thanks for sharing.

It has a very peaceful feeling to it. But the glass seems cool and austere to me. Almost sad in a way.

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

I had read about that some time ago and forgotten about it... my first reaction upon seeing the credits was "well, that one will be disqualified..."

Glad to see your entry is on the "up and up"!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Loved all the shapes and framing. I enjoyed it. What camera did you use?

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

The building is called Galeo, and is in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

I was so fortunate to have the most beautiful lighting to shoot in. The sky was mostly overcast, making the light very cool, and the light was really bright yet diffuse.

Yes, the reflections were real, I of course adjusted all the shots with some simple color correction, but there were no motion graphics involved. In "real life" the reflections were so bright you could barely look at them directly!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Of course! I'm a musician, and often perform on recordings for film- So I'm absolutely going to be on the up and up!!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Thanks, Mark! I shot this on a 5D Mark II.

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

A very aesthetically pleasing peace, quite meditative! And I didn't get bored. :D
Really, no comments, just that I enjoyed it greatly. Less is more. :)

Oh, and thanks for the free music resource!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Very nicely shot, capturing so many different points of view of your "actor", the building. It is really more like a work of art than architecture. When in cities, I always enjoy looking at similar reflective buildings, they seem to capture so many moods.

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

I thoroughly enjoyed this short film. I loved seeing the different ways you filmed the exterior and semi-interiors of the glass and the panes.

It's a simple, lyrical piece of work and I think the music you chose is perfect for the film.

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

What an awesome location! I really liked the shot at 0:30 that is straight on one of the corners - it reminds me of something out of Mordor from Lord of the Rings. Pretty amazing. The walkway around 1:19 looked pretty scary, with giant looking gaps for falling trough. I thought your compositions were beautiful and keep the viewer wanting to see what was going to be shown next. Not starting with a wide overview of the building was certainly a good decision.

By the end though I was wanting to see something wider - the building in it's entirety. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily because the film is about glass and not just a showcase of the building. After I finished watching I did find myself googling to find out what the building "looked like" and found you had several shots that a pretty close to showing it the way I was longing for by the time your film was over.

I also though the building looked pretty cool lit up at night but felt that shooting during the day was the right call on your part. It kept it more about the glass, where as shooting at night would have probably been more about the building.

Anyway, wonderful job sir!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Thanks for making us aware of mobygratis.com, it's very cool that he makes that available.

You found a great subject for your film, and there were a lot of stunning shots. I didn't quite feel the building was enough to hold my attention for the full length of the film, however. Maybe editing it back a little further would keep it strong for the entire piece. It was gorgeous, though, and I particularly liked the opening and closing credits -- they looked really sharp and professional with the clean white text and the cloud running over the glass surface.

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

Beautiful!

Great location, nice music! I love the reflections and lighting in several of the scenes. The camera movement was smooth and steady. Overall nice work!

Thanks for the music info also!

Thank you

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

As I traveled to the Detroit airport yesterday, I began to realize that I started to pay attention to the glass architecture of these modern airports more and more.

I echo what others have said about your shots. I also have to add that your moving shots are also beautiful! They're subtle, don't distract, and blend in with the other shots perfectly. I would love to know more about how you created some of those shots, and more importantly, how you chose some of those shots as well.

Your work on Galeo is more than I could have ever imagined myself, Andrew, and congrats on a job well done!

Re: DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove
 

There were some really great images here; I like how you managed to breath life into a static structure. Great details, and subtle movements. I liked the Moby track too.

You certainly nailed the theme!