Solitude on Vimeo

See all Show me

1. Solitude

5 months ago

Solitude
A universal feeling

A long journey in solitude searching for hope.
A film that communicates in a esthetic pictures poetry and emotion, to explore a new experience in Cinemato Graphy.

Created and directed by Robin Risser
robndesign.com

Entierly filmed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II

shortoftheweek.com/2009/08/24/qa-with-robin-risser-solitude/

Credits

1,003 Likes

Chris
1 hour ago
eliot1690
1 day ago
scan360
1 day ago
Pēteris Sudakovs
1 day ago
Urben Dijkman
1 day ago
M Todd Thiele
2 days ago
Fioorr
2 days ago
Zach Ganschow
2 days ago
art tavee
2 days ago
Stefano Corso
3 days ago
See all 1003 likes

Tags

Jonathan Sarago 4 months ago

Que dire, la beau de l'image s'exprime d'elle meme .... GRAND BRAVO .... de très beaux paysages... de tres très belles compositions.....
Stephen Lewis 4 months ago

I literally yelled "Woah!" at 5:08!
Eugenia Loli-Queru 4 months ago

That particular scene seems to have been shot with the 24mm tilt shift lens. Notice how the trees are straight, even if the camera is pointed up.
robin risser 4 months ago

No tilt and no perspective correction on this shot !
robin risser 4 months ago

Thank you very much for your comments.
Karen Abad ♥s Dinosaurs. 4 months ago

Fantastic...thank you for sharing this Robin. This cinematography, production design, and the locations are breathtaking.
-GO- 4 months ago

That is so beautifully filmed. There is nothing I could criticise, even if I wanted to........
Your "Flower" must be pleased with the dedication.
Really great stuff!
G
Martijn Doornenbal 4 months ago

beautiful shots and amazing locations! Really nice. I like the mood of this piece.
Regis Hervagault 4 months ago

excellent !
zack mctee 4 months ago

excellent locations. where was this all shot at?
robin risser 4 months ago

It was filmed in the Charente region of France.
Karen Abad ♥s Dinosaurs. 4 months ago

That's it...I'm moving to France.
Cheng Ka Chun 4 months ago

excellent details.
duder. 4 months ago

beautiful, didn't want it to end (yeah, where is this magical place?)
Juan C. Suárez 4 months ago

Gorgeous work, really amazing. I'm thinking on getting one of those 5D MKII.
Any info you can give us on lenses or filters you used?

Cheers!

EDIT: Nevermind, I found your answer on another group.
diala chinedu photography 4 months ago

this is SICKNESS
cea wall 4 months ago

this is *splendid*
Michael Duval 4 months ago

Those are some beautifully desolate places. I love the locations & those gloves, so cool. It's amazing what the 5D II is capable of in the right hands. Great work!
Rakesh Erukulla 4 months ago

one of the best cinematography work see....bows...
Daniel Hayek 4 months ago

simply lovely.
Tobias Lang 4 months ago

Excellently!!!!!!!!
Deji Odunlami 4 months ago

wow. Beautiful.
I was wondering whether to keep checking for 5:08 or go back at the end once I watched it all through. I knew however as soon as it came on.
Inspired to continue striving with my 5d.
Well done.
I C Blue Production 4 months ago

wow!!!
Matthew Bennett 4 months ago

Incredible design and lighting, what a class act, I tip my hat :)
Matthew Bennett 4 months ago

One thing though .... did you use the Akvis enhancer on these images.. or something similiar... some of the edge characteristics have that soft halo kind of look...
robin risser 4 months ago

I didn't use this kind of enhancer on the film.

At the begining of the shoot I tried the sharpening of the 5D but I was not satisfied with the result. It made this sort of artefact.
Soeren Mueller 4 months ago

robin, great clip! do you recall what picture settings exactly you used most of the time? did you record more of a "flat" picture so you had more freedom in your compositing app? did you turn down the sharpening in the camera completely or only a little bit?
robin risser 4 months ago

I use the neutral setting with some adjustements.
I low down a little bit.
"flat" picture ?
PKSellers 4 months ago

Great images! Beautiful!
Manuel Alejandro Salas D.S. 4 months ago

Amazing Work!
Jon Coy 4 months ago

This is easily one of the strongest films I've seen on vimeo in a long time. The structure and editing of the film were so precise and deliberate. The more the character seeks, the less he finds. Paradoxically, this also might be false.

The cinematography and staging of each solipsistic image was breathtaking. An inspiration.

It says an immense amount about space, occupation of space, and coexistence. I felt the film teetering on a type of surrealism present in many of David Lynch's films (especially the whishy/whooshing sound design; very Lynchian).

The actor's walk was extremely effective. It's a simple mannerism, but it was strong and passionate.

A visual poem dabbled with philosophy and living instinct. Excellent work!
The Laughing Stoic 4 months ago

I certainly second your praise of the film.

I'm curious to know whether you think solitude implies solipsism? Interested to hear your thoughts.

With the exception of the young birds in the beginning, the actor seems involved in modern ergonomic tasks (reading a paper, examining a watch, soldering a circuit board). He abandons this to go in search of something, and ultimately revels in a natural thing -- the flower.

You wrote that "the more the character seeks, the less he finds," and I find myself struck the same way by the film. Pleasure to hear your perspective.
robin risser 4 months ago

The film is for those who seeks to find. Its interpretation is open to everyone.

I am impressed by your neatly observation. As you noticed each scene of the film has been thought through.
Jon Coy 4 months ago

Hmm...I don't necessarily believe that solitude is unwaveringly representative of solipsism, but I do feel that this film implies very subtly the idea of solipsistic existence. Every human is seeking truth, companionship, and reason on one level or another, and this film hits that right on the head. But the fact that the character is always alone leads a person to imagine a number of scenarios. It's a surrealist representation of the feeling of loneliness and isolation, while simultaneously displaying the character as the only in existence, hence the solipsism.

A beautiful film, to say the least. :)
Jon Coy 4 months ago

Laughing Stoic, I'm glad you brought up the juxtaposition of modern mechanical conventions to natural objects. The fact that the character becomes enamored by a beautiful flower hints at a character so lonely in his cold, paper-and-metal habitat that he requires the company of something living and thriving like himself.

I must ask, was Melville's "Le Samourai" an influence on this film?
robin risser 4 months ago

It's always a pleasure to read your thoughts.

I'm afraid, i never seen "Le Samourai". But I will, soon as possible.
Jon Coy 4 months ago

I'm always happy to contribute feedback.

Your character shares a lot of commonalities with Alain Delon's character in "Le Samourai." I highly recommend it.
Better_World_Inc. 4 months ago

Simple, efficace et beau! Félicitations!
Cela me donne envie de tourner un court-métrage au 5D mII, étant déja habitué à la gamme SLR Canon Eos, en tant que photographe.
David Bridle 4 months ago

What lens did you use? Absolutely amazing. I am sold on the Mark II, just need to find the money.
robin risser 4 months ago

I was using a 50mm, 35mm and a very bad 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 lens. They are all Canon lenses.
David Bridle 4 months ago

Another strange question, what font did you use for the credits?
robin risser 4 months ago

It's an Akzidenz Grotesk.
Joseph Coates 4 months ago

Which Helvetica is based on. So if you have Helvetica, it is just like AG.
Marc Malkowski 4 months ago

Congratulations!

I would love to know what lenses / filters you have used :)

But all in all, impressive. That's what a well made motionpicture should be like, every frame would be worth being used as a photography!
Robert Marks 4 months ago

I believe it's known as the "Awesome Filter." Just came out. Check Ebay for deals. Be careful though, I hear it's a very difficult filter to master ;)
Gilz 4 months ago

Du travail d'orfèvre... bravo.
Alain Robert 4 months ago

Bravo ! Superbe travail de compositions et d'ambience !
David Brown 4 months ago

One of the best things I've seen on Vimeo. I was amazed how gripping the silence in the beginning was...it pulls you in.
William Wilkinson 4 months ago

Fantastic. Unbelievable locations.
Luke Pygman 4 months ago

I love the field scenes, especially in contrast to his black apparel and umbrella.
The Laughing Stoic 4 months ago

The images are fantastic. A testament to the necessity of a gifted way of seeing, and talented hands to boot.

I aspire to capture something like this with my own Mark II.
camila agustini 4 months ago

Great photo!! Great movie! Thank you! I am curious to know more about the director. There is another movies? Is he a french filmmaker? where i can find more info? thanks.
robin risser 4 months ago

It's me the fimmaker and I'm french.
I'm an Art Director and Photographer.

You can find more about me on my brand new website robdesign.com and my blog robnpainting.blogspot.com
Monkeyskull Production 4 months ago

Pursuit of happiness.. spontanious reaction of the movie.
Great shots and editing.
Derryck Menere 4 months ago

Took a while to load but it was certainly worth the wait. Some beautiful compositions and colour. Loved it!!
Cnes 4 months ago

damn. that was great!
Robert Marks 4 months ago

Fwicked.
Tima 4 months ago

well, very nice job !!
Matos Silva 4 months ago

De très belles compositions.....Bravo !
Quoc Lieu 4 months ago

I love your locations. I wish I could film something in environments like that.
MUZIEKTELEVISIE 4 months ago

This might be the best I have seen on vimeo. It has the quality and feel of a major production, but you made it entirely by yourself as I understand. My compliments, your eye for detail is unbelievable.
Travis Guerra 4 months ago

A one of a kind!
bob lorrimer 4 months ago

Cinematography ...
Dave Hackney 4 months ago

inspirational; palette & composition of frame.
BKS Crew Productions 4 months ago

Absolutely beautiful piece of work. Stunning images. Excellent pacing.
Shrinivas 4 months ago

Whoa !! breathtaking. every frame could be an artistic masterpiece !! lovely work !
looking forward to seeing more...

cheers
tech2005 4 months ago

I am speechless.. bravo!
Austin James 4 months ago

What a stunning work, worthy of all the praise.

If the story line was still open to editing, an effective emotional device at the end would involve the man taking off his gloves to touch the flower. But then again, the tension that is maintained by his gloves could be the author's intention.

One of my favorite moments is at the beginning when a slight shift in the man's position is accompanied by the creaking sound of tight wood.
PCZ 4 months ago

Genius!
Jon Keyo 4 months ago

for me the best on this video are the nearly perfect landscape shots ... it looks somewhat like really good photography, but its alive ... these shots would create amazing live wallpapers ... or it would just be great to have long footage of such a shots just for pure relaxing ... i mean to use same idea as when there are natural enviroment audio tracks ... oh ... and i dont know exactly why ... but the movement of every single thing in this video looked for me a lot better than i ever known
Scott Gold 4 months ago

Textures...colors...sounds....galore! It's a media feast!
Loved it...thanks for sharing!
Benoit MILLOT 4 months ago

bravo tres beau travail
Aeryn River 4 months ago

i skipped the stuff at his home, but the outdoor scenes were really great, there is some reaching out, touching, smelling, experiencing nature aven though he still walks in that silly way he at least goes out there and brings back a small piece of that beautiful countryside :)
Mark Cade 4 months ago

sense-ational
Robert Brunton Productions 4 months ago

absolutely beautiful.
Nicolas Hesson 4 months ago

The framing in all of this was phenomenal! Great work! I absolutely LOVED the lighting indoors. Felt like Revolution Road.
rickflick 4 months ago

Makes me happy.
mamojo 4 months ago

This is amazing. Each frame could be a photo. I can't believe you shot this entire thing with a SLR. lol. Kudos!
Rob Beckett 4 months ago

Fabulous
John Neff 4 months ago

Amazing and inspiring work! great acting and great technique!
Janaka Jayawardena 4 months ago

Spellbinding! It's great to see the 5D getting an excellent workout in creative hands.
Kinetiq HD 4 months ago

Outstanding!
Jon Rawlinson 4 months ago

That was incredible.

How did you do your smooth dolly shots? What tripod etc were you using?

How did you colorize the footage?

Really impressive.
robin risser 4 months ago

This film was made without budget !
For the dolly I used a rail for circular saw.
My tripod is a 55XPROB Manfrotto with a 701HDV.
The Footage is color graded in a compositing software.
But whatever the material.
Thanks for all your comments !
Andrew Gentle 4 months ago

That was both the worst soldering and the best film I've ever seen on Vimeo!
Beautiful cinematography, well done!
mike r 4 months ago

very random :)
Aníbal Fontoura 4 months ago

Fantastic...thank you for sharing this with us.
Dan Carter 4 months ago

Thanks for the great adventure..
Andy 4 months ago

I cant't really add more praise than what others have said. Eraserhead came to my mind early in the film ... more for the mood rather than look. A mini masterpiece.
Ozzy Alvarez 4 months ago

I'll be honest with you, I saw this film and though that it must have been shot with something very high end like an ex1 or ex3, then after watching the film, I saw that it was all shot with a 5d and I couldn't believe the amount of detail in this film, how were able to achieve such colors and sharpness, if you don't mind me asking? This film has exceeded my expectation of filiming with DSLR's.
Ozzy Alvarez 4 months ago

sorry, I just read how you achieved the colors, but I still would like to get your opinion in filiming with this camera. Great work once again.
robin risser 4 months ago

Thanks !
To be Honnest with you !
I choose the 5D because I have no money to by an EX1 and put a Kit Mini 35 !
I'm a Graphic Designer and I know how the Depth of Field is important for the good looking of the picture.
The other adavantage of the 5D is the size of the capter and is sensibility in ISO ! No extra light on this film ! only Daylight and Reflector !
I use the compositing software, for reduce the color noise and bring this film the much closer of my Art Director's vision.
Guilherme Meneghelli 2 months ago

beautiful, beautiful vision!
Kevin FIGUIER 4 months ago

WOUAH :D

Les paysages sont trop jolies ( Vive la Charente héhé ! ) et le jeu de l'acteur est vraiment superbe ! Surtout avec ce très beau costume :-))

Bravo à vous et à votre équipe !

Vous allez faire concourir ce film ? ( Il le faut vraiment :D )
John Kim 4 months ago

Something uncomfortable with the walk of the man.
Nuno Henriques 4 months ago

I Just want to tell you that your Movie is Amazing!!!
I am from Portugal, a country where People say that making Cinema requires a Lot of Money and a lot of Sponsoring.
I don´t believe that is only money and sponsoring...
And You are a living Real Example of it...
WOW!!!
Thank you for the Experience...

Keep Doing it....

Or more.... Keeep Arting It!
George Pahountis 4 months ago

great job!!!!
Andy Wong 4 months ago

Love your work! and did you use any L series lenses?
justin levine 4 months ago

Great work. I really loved the images in this movie!
Regele IONESCU 4 months ago

Great work, leaves me wordless.
Certainly you shot in 30p. Did you do any conversion to 24/25 fps? Your movie is one more proof that frame rate is not that important for a quality movie. Congratulations!
God help us all!