- Shaffer Nickel
- May 1
- 3 min read
April was slow. I didn't watch much that made me feel 'big' feelings. Usually there will be 5-10 videos that get slotted away on my notes app for reference or inspiration, but April blessed me with only four URL's. Within some cliche analogy for spring there is hope that things are only just kicking into gear for the 25' film season. The color pallet of the world outside is only just beginning to shift from pothole-brown and cigarette-yellow to Monster Energy-green and Culver's-blue. As a side effect of a slow month, one of these is an old video. (It was new to me so it counts).
We'll start with the sacred, ancient video. Of all the Achille Mauri binging I've done, somehow this work slipped past my radar. This stunning piece for Nowness is a portrait of Giuseppe Orlandi as he reflects on 50 years of mountain rescue. I love Achille's work because it is very obvious he is immune to common filmmaking aesthetics. It's as if everything he touches turns to chrome. The tone that his directing conjures is tasteful and minimal but somehow aggressive and loud at the same time. As someone that spends far too much time thinking about what to add - Achille is a master at knowing what to withhold. The sound design and scoring is sparse - the color is subdued - the action is deliberate. All in all, I think this piece is elegant in a way few internet videos dare to be. If a Mr. Beast video is helium gas, an Achille project is lead. It sinks to the deepest realms of the internet and waits for those capable of reaching it to be astounded by it's weight.
Broncho's music video for "Get Gone" was something I watched passively at first. The backrooms-home-video aesthetic is pretty common at this point in the online landscape thanks to what I assume is a tonal diminishing of outwardly 'human' work. All the resolution and dynamic range in the world couldn't account for the fact that clinical films tonally rhyme with AI now. Imperfections almost seem essential for a piece to feel truly perfect these days (wow so deep). That said, the dad-cam look has become so popular so fast that it's easy to miss some of the gold amidst all the gravel. This video is so weird. How do you even decide to make this? Am I bringing a 9 foot PVC pipe to the next dance party I attend? Is a rake a good substitute for a broom? All these questions and more will be asked (but not answered) in this awesome flick by Broncho. Bonus points for not upscaling and hardposting a music video in 480p.
Looking Awry made an amazing video this month. I hope he keeps this format going because his perspective is incredible and so well articulated. I think this it's the kind of video that's better if you know nothing about it going in - so enjoy one of the most cathartic topic's I consumed this month.
The last video on the April list is an actual, real world example of technology affecting humanity. It's so easy to default to broad statements about the state of tech. "Things will never be the same." "Real life will never feel like it did." "People are gonna lose their livelihoods." Etc. This project by Documentary Forever is not vague. It's an uncomfortably specific example of real people being replaced by an obviously less textured, less personal alternative. McDonalds will never be a family burger joint. Holiday Inn will never be a multi-generational motel. Waymo will never be a Taxi. We are homogenizing life at a scale and rate that is truly depressing to witness. This video will confront you with this dark reality while doing you the generous favor of making you smile and laugh a few times.