Earlier this year, Stephan Malik of production house harvest earned inclusion into SHOOT’s 10th annual New Directors Showcase at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Theatre in New York City.
The Showcase honor inherently comes with commensurate expectations for the future and somewhat fittingly Malik’s latest endeavor, a branded mini-documentary for Shapeways, shares an inspiring vision of the future from the standpoint of how 3D printing is starting to positively impact creativity, design and manufacturing.
Shapeways.com is a leading 3D printing marketplace and community. The New York start-up harnesses 3D printing to help anyone realize and share his or her designs with the world, making product design more accessible, personal and inspiring. Shapeways prints everything on-demand, which means that every order is customized and personalized. By providing a platform for community members to gain access to cutting edge 3D printing technology, Shapeways is democratizing creation.
For many, 3D printing remains a distant, not yet attained technology that creates physical objects from thin air. In the spirit of seeing is believing and showing that such a future has indeed already arrived, Malik and Carine Carmy, Shapeways’ marketing director, traveled to five cities in order to interview people from the Shapeways team and creative community. The film, featuring music by composers Tai Vare and Bill Wandel, weaves together compelling stories and beautiful imagery to illuminate how 3D printing is going to revolutionize product design and, in doing so, change the world.
This initial film, Shapeways 3D Printing & the Culture of Creativity, centers on that very creative culture inspired by 3D printing–from design innovation to beautifully rendered one-of-a-kind pieces. As one person in the documentary relates, 3D printing inspires you to create, innovate and “re-imagine the objects around you.”
“We’re hoping that this film will inspire people of all backgrounds to re-imagine the world around them and take a more active role in creating the objects that populate their lives,” said Carmy. “Stephan was the perfect partner in creating a film that shows what 3D printing makes possible.”
Cast This branded piece contained first-hand insights and observations from Shapeways and its community. The latter included Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg of Nervous System, Bernat Cuni of Cunicode, Carl Collins and Peter Knocke of GothamSmith, and Michiel Cornelissen.
The short also featured designs from Cornelissen, Bathsheba Grossman, Bits to Atoms, Columbia Aerodrome, Craig Kaplan, Cunicode, Gilbert13, GothamSmith, Joshua Harker, Meggo, Museum of Small Things, Nervous System, Schreer Design, Shapeways, Spaho Design, Theo Jansen, Tristan Bethe, Vertigo Polka, Virtox, and Wearable Planter.
Shapeways’ featured on-camera talent included Carmy, Josh Levine, Peter Weijmarshausen, Brad Dickason, Gary Kenney and Duann Scott.
First in a series This is the first of a series of films springing from footage captured during Malik and Carmy’s sojourn. Up next will be a series of designer portraits. This will be followed by other films about the technology and its impact on design.
3D printing has in fact been around for decades, used for rapid prototyping in commercial settings. Today, reduced cost and access to cutting-edge materials is eliminating the typical barriers to product design and development. As highlighted in the film, the 3D printing process is relatively simple: come up with an idea, create a design, send the product for 3D printing in the material of your choosing, and hold it in your hands.
Designers can thus also make their products available to a global market without having to hold any inventory or face traditional capital costs. What happened to many other forms of art and creation as a result of digital media is now happening to product design.
“Everyone at Shapeways has a passion for inspiring creativity and this was the starting point for the project,” said Malik who’s made his directorial mark in documentary brand films and lifestyle commercials. “The film harnesses that inspiration, and the wonder of the technology, by showcasing makers for whom 3D printing has opened new channels to creativity.”
