Embrace the Sound of Silence in this Meditative Short for Surf Brand Roxy
One
of South Africa’s top young directors, Dan Mace, releases his latest short film ‘The Sound
of Silence’ in a collaboration with Roxy.
Shot in Transkei on South Africa’s
‘Wild Coast’, the film follows surfing champions, Bianca Buitendag (ranked
fourth in Woman’s World Surfing) and surfing competitor and punk singer Lee-Ann
Curren as they traverse the stunning landscape to become ‘truly lost’ and
re-define ‘the sound of silence’.
The ten minute film highlights the
stark contrast of nature at its most raw with the overindulgence and consumption
of city life - as illustrated in the racing title sequence.
Commenting on the inspiration
behind the film Dan explains: “I have worked with Bianca before, on a short
film 'Disguised in Nature'. Initially Bianca and Lee-Ann approached me about
making the short. After meeting them together I realized how beautifully
different they both are in appearance and first impressions, but also how
similarly they take in the world and ultimately are one and the same.
“We had a brief concept overview
beforehand, but I wanted to wait until the end of the trip until we could
collectively write the spoken script. We used a number of poems to guide the
narrative but the overarching inspiration was to highlight and showcase a
positive outcome from a negative situation. I use film to describe how I’m
feeling in moments of time; so I think this really came out of being immersed
for a long period in the hustle and bustle of city life, and I could think of no
better place to go than the Transkei!”
The edit and music in the film play
an important role in conveying the emotions and pace of the story. Explaining
their influence Dan adds: “I am super-stoked about the score. Mike Kelly, the
music producer and I, share the same meaning of art – except mine is visual and
his is sonic. The concept and meaning of 'The Sound of Silence' is about
searching for the feeling of disconnection. In this day and age we are so
attached to everything through a constant stream of information that I wanted
to tell a story about what would happen if you had to remove yourself from all
of that.
“The title sequence is made up of a
number of fast-paced cuts, as I wanted to evoke the emotion of overconsumption,
making the audience aware of the need for escape. I had a lot of fun with this;
translating the overindulgence of information visually in an abstract way to
contrast the tranquil reality of the incredible blue open ocean which we propel
out to in the opening scenes on the coast.”
Interwoven with the journey of
Bianca and Lee-Ann, the film is peppered with snippets of footage from the
local communities in Transkei and the coast. All of the footage was shot on
location by a small camera crew formed of Dan himself, with Gary Kaatz, and
Drone Cameraman Dale Staples.
Dan adds: “In the title sequence I
sourced the shot of the lightbulb bursting and then a couple glitch visuals
(the quick transition shots of audio waves and TV static) but other than that,
everything was shot and built for the film.”
The Sound of Silence has been launched on Dan
Mace’s Youtube Channel and will be submitted to international film festivals
over the coming year.
