Visual Poetry: “Solitude” (short film)

Turkey Day is over.  Everyone’s gone back home.  The house is quiet, and you’re eating a turkey and cranberry sandwich on warm toast, with a glass of cold milk.  In your imagination, the house echoes with the voices of the ones who didn’t get to come this year.  It’s not necessarily a sad feeling;  it’s just quiet and thoughtful, with the keen awareness of being alone.

This short film by Robin Risser, “Solitude,” is a really stunning work of art that captures a feeling like that, in a way I’ve never seen before:

What I love about the short films I am discovering that are made with the Canon 5D Mark II, which is basically a great stills camera that also shoots HD video, is that in the right hands, you get something that looks like a magazine photograph in motion. Some of the best work is just eye-grabbing: you can’t quite believe you’re seeing the visuals you’re seeing on such a small screen.

“Solitude” by the graphic designer Robin Risser is one of the best things I’ve seen shot with the 5D so far. But it’s not just the camera; it’s the lighting, the locations, the look, everything. It is the thesis project of a man who studied art and graphic design for five years at one of the best schools in France.  It’s hard to describe this short film as anything other than visual poetry.

Here is a Q&A with Robin Risser, where he discusses his background and influences.