The flow of content continues to make its way to Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project website, the latest being an animated short titled Good Vibrations written, directed and designed by Jérémy Clapin, and produced by Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, for Hill Holliday, Boston.
The four-minute-and-eight-second short centers on a construction worker who’s drilling on a city street with a jackhammer, oblivious to the fact that in the process he’s dislodging a section of sidewalk that’s causing assorted pedestrians to trip–not to mention frustrating a little birdie who’s trying to nibble an errant bread crumb but to no avail.
Meanwhile office workers several floors above find the people’s mishaps entertaining as they watch objects they are holding–including a purse and an umbrella–fly skyward as each pedestrian is upended.
However, the sight of a frail, trembling elderly man walking with a cane seems to sober up the onlookers. One of the office workers struggles to open the window to warn the man of impending danger but it’s too late. The senior citizen already has his feet planted on the displaced, vibrating slab of sidewalk. But the unexpected happens–the shaking of the sidewalk counterbalances the shaking old man. Thus when he stands on the unstable sidewalk, he becomes stable and free of trembling. It’s only when the jackhammering stops that he resumes his trembling.
Yet when the drilling ceases, the elderly man takes positive action, moving a construction warning sign so that it cordons off the treacherous stretch of sidewalk, helping others, including a skateboarding youngster, to avoid an accident otherwise waiting to happen.
Clapin’s ascent
Director Clapin graduated from Paris’ Arts Décoratifs in 1999. Since then he has worked as a graphic artist, illustrator for various publishers and as an indie advertising director. In 2004, he directed his first animated short, A Backbone Tale. His second film, Skhizein, released in 2008, has already been short-listed for the 2009 Academy Awards® and has taken more than 70 awards at international festivals including Cannes and Annecy.
The Responsibility Project has also developed an award-winning pedigree. This past summer its live-action short Father’s Day–directed by Laurence Dunmore via RSA Films for Hill Holliday–won a Silver Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
The Responsibility Project uses entertainment content to create a forum for people to discuss personal acts of responsibility. Through short films, online content and television programming, The Responsibility Project is a catalyst for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.” Individuals can participate in online conversations about personal responsibility and watch live-action and animated film shorts on the project’s online community, www.ResponsibilityProject.com.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More