Hey y’all, Patrick here…
What a crazy couple of weeks we’ve had!
As some of you may know, Joyce and I have just returned from a 10-day safari in the Kalahari desert in Namibia — one of our very last shoots for #standwithme.
The trip to Namibia was all about capturing one of our film’s main characters — humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine — in the field, photographing remote indigenous cultures. It was Lisa’s photo that originally sparked a fire in our film’s other main character, the 9-year-old lemonade activist Vivienne Harr.
We’ve put so much into this documentary these last six months, because we know that the story of Vivienne’s lemonade and where it falls in the grander scheme of the world is a story we absolutely have to tell.
But while we were there in the Kalahari with Lisa and the Bushmen, specifically the last remaining members of the indigenous San of South Africa… we found another beautiful story we just had to tell.
So right there in the middle of finishing up a massive project, we decided to take some extra time to do some interviews with Lisa and the San people.
Why? Because there are some stories you just can’t not tell.
We present to you, The Last of the San People:
[do action=”embed-vimeo”]77709715[/do]
Throughout the whole process of telling Vivienne’s story, Lisa’s, and the modern slave trade industry — we’ve grown so much more aware of the connectivity we all have to those across the world.
When Lisa took us out into the middle of the desert and introduced us to the indigenous San people… we felt that sense of connectivity more than ever.
The South African government has recently put in place laws that restrict the San people from hunting wildlife, and they’ve been relocated to a remote reservation where they are able to carry out their cultural traditions.
Their language is nearly impossible to learn, and with all of the restrictions that have been put in place on their people it’s estimated that their traditions will go extinct in 20-30 years…
When we asked them about making a video, they were excited to know that their story could be shared with the rest of the world and a look into their life could be preserved.
Damn, we loved hanging out with them!
Showing them the footage was such an inspiring experience, and learning about their traditional storytelling techniques kind of blew our minds…
And this is just one small portion of what we took away from this trip…
We want to share everything about this experience with you guys — because we learned a ton of new stuff about storytelling and how to really do more with less (we could barely bring any gear with us!!).
So… in order to really cover all the craziness that happened on this trip…
We’re having a webcast! Tuesday 10/29 @ 7pm PST
Joyce and I will be here shootin’ the breeze with members of the Stillmotion crew AND ALL OF YOU in an exclusive webcast on Tuesday, October 29 @ 7pm
Like I said, this trip to Namibia was a whole new experience for us as filmmakers and storytellers… and we’ve got plenty of juicy nuggets to share.
Here’s some of what we’ll cover in Tuesday’s webcast:
- Filmmaking with less (minimal gear and minimal resources).
- The BIGGEST challenges in making our own movie.
- The most rewarding moments thus far 🙂
- What’s next?!
- Live Q & A — whatcha wanna know?
AND the most exciting part (for us)….
We’ll be showing never-before-shared scene from our latest documentary, #standwithme!
And of course, it wouldn’t be a webcast if we didn’t reward the best questions with some free giveaways… 🙂
Register for the webcast RIGHT HERE…
[Formstack id=1607672 viewkey=Uuz4Jm8fM3]*You MUST register for this webcast in order to receive a link to the live stream.
**By registering for the webcast, you’ll be added to our email list. If you’re already on our email list, you DO still need to register for the webcast.
And as a special treat for signing up, we’ll show you an exclusive BTS clip of our Namibian adventure..
This has been such a crazy ride… I’m excited to blab about it with all of you guys. All the blog comments, Facebook love, and Instagram likes have been giving me the warm and fuzzies throughout this whole process. Now I want to answer any questions you have!
***********
P.S. — What did you think of our film with the San people?!
Leave us a comment and tell us your favorite part!
Patrick. Nice! The opening shot on Movi seemed a little jerky though?
Ha! Of course the first comment has to be about gear 🙂
You are spot on though – it’s a little too much operator adjustment left to right and the rig responding.
We had smoother shots but this one felt better, despite its flaws. Good eye though – appreciate you holding us to a higher standard. Though i do hope you enjoyed the story too 🙂
P.
Thanks for sharing. It’s very inspiring that a group of people find so much happiness with so little. I really enjoyed hearing the sounds of their celebration and language. I’m also intrigued by your minimalist approach to this project.
Bryan
I see this film and I’m transported there. Great story!
Same here Peter! …can’t give away much, but you certainly won’t want to miss the webcast! Patrick is holding back some really cool clips that we’ll be showing. -George
Great story! Thanks for sharing! I’m such a fan of your stories guys! Keep inspiring people like me!!
excellent. i love that despite the craziness you guys took the mental break to tell another story that you didn’t have to, that you could have otherwise left sitting there. that is living out putting story first. love the use of sound & hearing so much of their world.
Great story! Inspiring, I liked. And after seeing it I’m thinking about taking the camera, backpack and go in search of stories. They are great guys.
Wait, wait, wait……
You could “barely bring any gear” but you brought a miniature tripod…? I smell a rat.
Looks like a tripod, but it’s not Tom. It’s the hi hat made by Induro. It’s a great tool due to its mobility, strength, and “tripod” like features. Hopefully the stench of rat has now subsided.
A backpack and carry on each, come on now. And that’s a high hat 🙂
P.
That’s pretty cool guys. Well done, and thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing.
STUNNING!!!!
I have not words to express my feelings except my tears.
Brian
There’s so much to love and admire about this.
For most people, this piece would be their main effort. For you guys it’s a side-project! Amazing and inspiring.
You did a great job of capturing the energy and spirit of these people. No foley can compete with the sounds you captured. Many of us have lost what their lives focus on, gratitude and sufficiency. Gratitude perhaps but few live from the energy of sufficiency. Thank you, this is a beautiful reminder and a gift.
Jacob
Your films always look so beautiful, what settings do you use to upload to the web?
Very well done!
I especially like the surprise at the beginning as this white guy speaks their language. Why did you overdub his last sentence?
These portrait shots feel so close, a very good lens choice!
Now, have you been in Namibia OR in South Africa? These are two different countries.
Keep up the amazing work!
Ha that’s actually a typo I made while editing this — I thought they went into both countries on their Safari and wanted to clarify. Nice catch!
AMAZING WORK! we get our wedding films inspiration from you guys, love the overall story. One question, what tripod model/brand in the first photo. Never saw this so small tripod before. Thanks so much, best regards guys.
Great film guys, one point I thought I’d mention though, you highlight the government stopping the Bushmen hunting, this is actually happening in Botswana and not in South Africa or indeed Namibia.
Rob
Somebody needs to tell that to the Bushmen of Namibia as that is their understanding on why they can no longer hunt. Not sure how to explain what the truth is, we are sharing what we heard from them while there
Thanks for commenting. Please let me know if you have any more insight
P.
Very Nice!
After the first take action I was a little out of all your work guys for the last 5 months, and now that I coming back, Is amazing the way you evolve! Every time your work is going further in storytelling and images! great great work again and super inspirational.
And the technical question is, What lens you where using when you have the CU of the San men, they look amazing!!!
Sontinue the great work and see you on tuesday!
What do you mean by cut away of the San men? Let me know the shots and i’m happy to share
P.
Hi,
This blond-haired Joern speaking the bushman’s language and the beautiful faces and smiles of the San people — I was lost in it all. Six minutes seemed like six seconds.
Thanks for sharing. Love your work.
Thank you Billy. Thats such a wonderful comment and very much appreciated
P.
I love this! Living in Southern Africa we often forget about the San people’s story. Well done Still Motion, this is brilliant!
Great piece! Beautiful cinematography. As a filmmaker I have to ask: What’s in the gear bag for a shoot like this?
Awesome film. You guys are always very inspiring. Thanks for continuing to share you work. Just love it.
And what was that lens used for the intimate portraits? Thanks!
Beautiful…..Story, camera work, portrait of a culture. And such a fresh, inspiring reminder of what’s important and how it’s possible to exist, despite all the foundations of modern culture that continue to remove us from it. Thank you
You talked about using minimal Gear on this trip. Did you post your gear list anywhere?
We haven’t yet but we have a full video coming shortly 🙂
P.
Lovely, just lovely! I most enjoy that Stillmotion takes it upon themselves to tell such engaging and heartfelt stories. The video was entertaining as well as insightful. It is always a pleasure to learn about the lives and culture of others around the world. The video emanates a kind of spirituality that is very human and very relate able to the many different audiences for it touches upon universal human traits that everyone can tune into.