Every so often I stumble across a video which really blows my mind and as a trained animator this video has really pushed the boundaries of what I thought possible. The Third & The Seventh is a film which is made entirely in 3D. That is, it is all computer generated! However don’t let that put you off, the entire film is incredibly photo-realistic.

Alex Roman is the brilliant mind behind this piece which examines architecture from the point of the camera. It is a very well thought out film that combines elements of 3D modelling and photographic work to gel together an incredibly well composited work of art.

There is no spoken audio in the piece, just music, but for some reason it just works. Watch and be amazed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When you’re working on a multimedia project it is important that you know what has been done before. This is not just so you can find a niche for your story but so that you can gain inspiration from the work of others. In the next of our Finding Inspiration series I want to share with you some great documentary style films which are guaranteed to spark your imagination and trigger your emotions.

Here are 3 examples of good storytelling which I think will ignite your passion for storytelling and leave you inspired.

1. Still Hoping

Still Hoping depicts a series of personal stories and letters to President Barack Obama building off his ‘Yes We Can’ speech. Produced by Luceo Images, the stories create a touching piece about equality in American society. It is an incredibly powerful video which has been brilliantly edited to suit the way the story has been told. Particularly you should pay attention to how the stories have been linked together throughout the piece.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. King Justice

This is a film by Miguel Herrera documents the life of a musician who directs a group of young musicians. What grabs me most about this film is that the young musicians have suffered due to conflict in Sierra Leone. A great story will always make a great video if it is edited correctly and with King Justice the editing has helped make the story flow well. It is a good example of a film which shows someones everyday life but tells the story in a very powerful way.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3. LIVESTRONG: Missed

I always feel touched when I see stories of people living with cancer. Missed is a video made for the Livestrong foundation by Alpheus Media and documents stories of young adults who have cancer. Livestrong is a charity run by cyclist Lance Armstrong and is a great beacon for anyone who knows or is living with cancer. This is an incredibly powerful video which is really well edited. Pay close attention to the editing to see how you can turn a horrible story into one which is very powerful.

Click here to view the embedded video.

All of the above videos are very powerful and inspirational. Make sure you watch them over, take some notes, and try to identify for yourself what makes them great.

Whenever you’re designing a multimedia project and struggling for ideas it is important that you have some great inspiration to work with. There is nothing like the inspiration provided when a simple idea which has been executed extremely well; Fifty People One Question is a project which will provide you with that much needed inspiration.

As the name suggests Fifty People One question is a project where fifty people are asked just one question and their responses are recorded. What kind of questions? Well anything from ‘What do you wish would happen before the end of the day?’ to ‘What’s your Secret?’. And the fantastic thing is the project is extremely effective in eliciting responses. By asking just one very open-ended question to fifty people, the interviewers were able to get an incredibly wide variety of responses.

Benjamin Reece of Deltree and Nathan Heleine of Crush + Lovely, are the guys behind the project, which has even won a Webby award for its editing. There is also a website where people can post their answers to the same questions online.

At the time I am writing this there are five different videos, and I want to share them with you now. Please use the videos as inspiration when you’re struggling to come up with an idea for your next project; sometimes the best ideas are really simple.

Where Would You Wish To Wake Up Tomorrow? London, UK

Click here to view the embedded video.

Before The End Of The Day, What Would You Wish To Happen? New York, NY

Click here to view the embedded video.

Where Would You Wish To Wake Up Tomorrow? Brooklyn, NY

Click here to view the embedded video.

Before The End Of The Day, What Would You Wish To Happen? New Orleans, LA

Click here to view the embedded video.

PostSecret: What’s Your Secret?

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you want to find out more about the project, just head to fiftypeopleonequestion.com.

So in the spirit of the project….. What do you want to achieve in the next year?