My mini-doc went viral!

[Jeroen Wolf]

In October 2011 I started documenting people in the city of Amsterdam, approaching them in the street and asking them to say their age in front of the camera. My aim was to 'collect' a group of 100 people, from age 0 to 100. At first my collection grew fast but slowed down when it got down to the very young and very old. The young because of sensivity around filming or photographing children and the very old because they don't get out of the house much. I found my very old 'models' in care homes and it was a privilege to document these -often vulnerable- people for this project.
I had particular problems finding a 99 year-old. (Apparently 100 year-olds enjoy notoriety, but a 99 year-old is a rare species...) And when I finally did find one, she refused to state her age. She simply denied being 99 years old! But finally, some 4 months after I recorded my first 'age', I was able to capture the 'missing link' and conclude this project. Enjoy.

'100' (from 0 to 100 years in 150 seconds) - YouTube

Shot on a Panasonic GH2
Lenses used: mainly a Cosmicar TV lens 25mm 1.4, Panasonic 20mm 1.7

[Bob Krieger]

Awesome! It was pretty easy to follow the Dutch numbers. Especially liked your first and last subjects. The "Honderd" lady looked like she enjoyed her time in the limelight!

[Richard Gooderick]

What a great idea!
It works so well.
As a male I find it a bit worrying that most of the older ones are female.
;-)

[Jeroen Wolf]

Thanks, guys. The 100 year old woman is smart and still curious- she stole my heart.

And yes, us men are pretty much wasted when we reach 90... the ladies have a longer expiration date... ;-)

[Chris Davis]

How wonderful! Did you specifically seek out an ethnically diverse group, or did that just happen naturally? It's interesting how the apparent ages did not always progress "linearly" - some people in their 20s looked older than some in their 40s.

[Jeroen Wolf]

Thanks, Chris. I actually wanted it to be more diverse, more representative of the Amsterdam population and include some Moroccans and Turks but they were too camera-shy, for whatever reason. I'm working on 2 more films in the same series and I was very excited to finally include a few Amsterdammers from Moroccan descent.

And yes, it's very true that people age so differently. I think the 100 year-old woman looks more vital than some men in their seventies!

[Steven Digges]

Great job. What a cool idea. I am going to show it to my 15 year old son. He is in a high school film class. And of course he loves using my pro stuff. What kid wouldn't. But the point will be you have "beautiful simplicity" in an effective film. Being a kid he wants his stuff to be like all the Hollywood CG films being produced today. I am trying to teach him you have to walk before you run and true talent and creativity know no boundaries. Concept is the most vital part of a films success and you nailed one. Hope you don't mind me using you as a good example!

Steve

[Jeroen Wolf]

Thanks, Steven. It's really great to hear these things from peers. Am glad to be able to contribute to your son's film education ;-) !!

[Luc Novovitch]

Brilliant!
And a perfect example that equipment doesn't always matter.

L.

[Meryem Ersoz]

genius idea. so simple. so smart.

[Tim Lewis]

Great idea, loved it!

[Jeroen Wolf]

Thank you!

[Tim Paynter]

Great idea, you certainly did not need 3 cams and a huge crew to do it. I loved your last subject the most!

[Jeroen Wolf]

Thank you, Tim- and yes, '100' was a real treat, a gift to my project!