SIMON
MAKES IT MATTER

Who: Simon Sliphorst

What: Film, video & animation

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?

“By definition, I am a screenwriter and director. But depending on the project I can also do other things. I have also often worked as an executive producer. “

HOW DO YOU MAKE IT MATTER?

“Film, video and animation can be used to make it matter. For example, by telling stories that people can identify with. By forming it – with all creative tools that film and video offer you – in a way that it matters to the watcher. Tools such as filming technique, music, montage, and bringing the scenes to life by using actors or professionals on a fitting decor with props.

Especially when working on smaller productions the goal is to find a good balance between the various creative tools, which enables me to create a fitting mood and tone-of-voice. When doing so I have to make sure that the creative choices that are being made keep up with the times.

However, making something matter is more than that to me. I think it is the essence of effective communication and this is what I try to accomplish towards my clients, colleagues, and crew. Sometimes this maybe is a bit direct and less nuanced, but never too much, and always with the final result in mind.”

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

Currently, I’m working on a nice TV-commercial for Yakult, a dairy drink from Japan. The brand has a beautiful heritage and we show this in the story. Together with the client, we developed a creative concept based on the old Asian game domino. In domino, we saw a way to tell the story behind the drink in a beautiful way. The dominoes, which have the form of Yakult’s iconic bottle, form a chain of key moments and images from the Yakult-story. We create a warm and welcoming mood and a bunch of energy in a serene Japanese environment. The production is made in 3D and I’m very excited about the final result. Yakult too is happy with the result and has already gotten nice results and amounts of views.”

Next time:
RICHARD
MAKES IT MATTER
His story about prioritising and making choices