<I>Speak</I> brings studios together to highlight social injustice
April 20, 2018

Speak brings studios together to highlight social injustice

LOS ANGELES — Creative agency Fast Machine partnered with the nonprofits GetLit.org and Into-Action.us on a campaign that highlights social injustice through the power of the spoken word. Fast Machine’s concept aims to create awareness, inspire action and celebrate community. The pro-bono project was brought to life in partnership with production company Lord Danger. In honor of National Poetry Month, Speak calls attention to the upcoming Get Lit annual event #ClassicSlam – the largest classic youth poetry festival in the world, which will be held on April 28th at the Ace Theater in Los Angeles.
 

GetLit.org "SPEAK" from FAST MACHINE on Vimeo.

Central to the piece was enlisting Get Lit alum Jazmine Williams to write an original poem that speaks to today’s social inequalities. Fast Machine’s CCO Ido Gondelman and Lord Danger’s directors Mike Harris and Aaron Grasso collaborated with Williams to ensure the spirit of her poem was realized on film, with performers Juliana Judge, Walter Finnie Jr., and Alexander Luu sourced in an organic process working off Get Lit’s YouTube page and from live poetry slams. 

Speak was shot inside the Into Action event space, with performers surrounded by the event’s evocative artwork. On screen, select words are interwoven with Br-oll and drone footage, which was provided by MPC Creative, which also designed the Into Action logo. Continuing the collaborative process, Fast Machine brought in creative partners Cosmo Street and editor Zack Winick, Apache Color’s Steve Rodriguez, Flavor’s Jason Cook and Barking Owl mixer Mike Franklin. 

The piece runs 2:30 and was shot by Lord Danger using Arri’s Alexa Mini. Winick edited the piece at Cosmo Street using an Avid system. Graphics and finishing were completed at Flavor using a combination of Adobe After Effects and PhotoShop and Autodesk Flame. Steve Rodriguez at Apache Digital served as colorist. Barking Owl’s Mike Franklin handled the mix and Eolyne Arnold provided sound design.