Corning | Vision (2010)

A Day Made of Glass (VIDEO):

Personal computing is on the cusp of change. The devices we depend upon, and the manner in which we interact with them, are about to become a lot more pervasive.

Consider a near future where the electronics and logic for LCD/LED displays are so quick and so cheap to produce that they become commodity. Consider also, the advances in gesture and touch interactions and small-footprint embedded operating systems. Now combine this with glass. Beautifully pristine, cool to the touch, electronics enabled, ultra-thin, ultra-durable, (and soon, ultra flexible) glass. Corning specialty glass.

This video, "A Day Made of Glass", showcases visionary human interaction design, the future of proximity based mobile computing, ubiquitous displays and, of course, Corning specialty glass.

A Day Made of Glass from michael litchfield on Vimeo.

What For?

Produced in late 2010, this was shown for the first time publicly at an Investor Relations event on February 4th 2011. It helps inform multiple audiences, potential partners, customers, etc, that Corning are innovating and pushing glass beyond the preconceived notions of what’s possible. Since then, the video has proven effective for increasing general awareness and building advocacy across the board.

Alternate versions vary in length, have captions, etc, and each designed for a different audience and/or method of distribution [this one, on YouTube, has captions that describe the Corning Technologies - http://youtu.be/6Cf7IL_eZ38?hd=1].

Update - February 28 2011

Wow! Barely three weeks on YouTube and over 5 million views. Coverage in Gizmodo, Wired, and, a No.7 placement on the Viral Video Chart board. Right up there with Bieber, GaGa and Spears. Not too bad for a corporate brand video eh? Unprecedented, I'd say.

A Peek Behind The Scenes.

It all began by climbing into the heads of various divisional heads and thought leaders within Corning and extracting an understanding of near advances in glass technology. Stir and mix with a generous pour of imagination, out popped a story board (well, several actually), and it wasn't long before we were shooting a "A Day Made of Glass".

We did the entire shoot in the San Francisco, Bay Area. Savvy viewers might recognize one or two of the landmarks. The photos below give a glimpse into the six day shoot.

Day One:

Filmed at the Case showroom in downtown SF. Note the User Interaction map on the table top surface. Careful thought and planning had to go into the User Interaction design of all devices we portrayed. This being especially difficult, not the least because these devices do not yet exist, but also because consistency throughout (the film) was important.

Day Two:

The first of three days filming all of the house scenes. We found a beautifully restored Eichler home in San Rafael. Many watching the short film believe the house to be a very expensive, very exclusive, modern custom designed home. Whereas, in fact, it is a classic 1950's mid century design home set in a modest neighborhood a short drive north of San Francisco. Of course, we did exercise a little creative license in the way it was portrayed. For instance the bedroom scene (below) was filmed in the living room courtesy of a false wall here and there.

We took over the neighborhood, with crew and equipment.

Day Three:

Still at the house, much of this day was filming the car scene (while in the driveway). The magic in this scene would be done in post. But to be sure the finished result would be as realistic as possible, it meant getting every action precisely right. Numerous takes ensued. Made all the more difficult by having one of the warmest days on record. Autumn - and it was 110F (43C).

Day Four:

Final day at the house. It took the full day to get the Kitchen scene in the can. Note the counter top surfaces and the refrigerator door - all custom made acrylic surfaces (such that, when shot, they would give us the deep reflective quality needed to portray a convincing glass story).

Day Five:

Saffron, in the Embarcadero center, San Francisco, is an actual fashion store. We took it over on a Sunday. Note the hung glass (used for the interactive display) and the UI map depicting the flexible glass display..

Day Six:

Filmed in three separate locations in San Jose. The first is the San Jose Civic Center, which we used to depict the shopping mall (exterior and interior). Quite a stunning piece of civic architecture really. Who new.

With the shoot behind us, we then shifted to the arduous task of post production - arguably the more difficult, and definitely, the more time intensive part of the production.

Credits:

Agency: Doremus
Creative Director: Michael Litchfield
Film Maker: Dave Mackie
Camera Lead: Norman Bonney
Executive Producer: Todd Lindo
Production House: Rough House
SFX.3D.CGI: Westernized