Anyrin Combines Old and New for Confederate

Director Anyrin has recently released a new film for boutique motorcycle company, Confederate.

The atmospheric one-and-a-half minute film, called Reversed Engineering, uses stock footage allied with newly shot, but match-graded, film of the Confederate bike and also utilises a recording of Buzz Aldrin sourced from the Apollo 11 landing archive footage edited to fit the spot. The finished film has, simultaneously, a retro and future-gazing feel to it which perfectly captures the essence of the bike brand. 

What was the brief from the agency/client for this project?

Confederate briefed Artists Inc. (an independent creative studio, with fellow filmmaker Jeff Labbe) to develop a concept that promoted their use of cutting edge technology and brand individualism. 

Did you immediately know how you wanted to approach it?

I wanted the film to blend the old and the new. The idea was to use archive footage of that era and integrate product footage as if people are watching the speed trial of this new bike. I wanted this film to represent an original ‘theme’ throughout and not focus specifically on the Confederate product but on the ‘idealism’ of Confederate as a brand.

Why did you decide the stock footage approach would be best?

Archive footage from the 60s through to the 70s provided the exact tone and visceral universe I envisaged our journey through 'Reversed Engineering' be most effective.

Where did you source all the film and audio content and how much did you sift through?

The footage was supplied and researched from various archives. We worked through 70 hours-plus of archive footage and audio content over the last four months or so to create this, however certain audio was re-created.

The shots of the bike is new footage; was it important to make it look like stock footage from the past?

We shot 16mm Canon Scoopic footage of the bike on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during the 2016 speed week and integrated certain moments into our film. I wanted to retain its voyeuristic reportage signature of archive footage, so match-graded the footage we had filmed to match the universe of the film’s overall aesthetic tone.

How difficult – and how important - was the editing job on this film?

The editing process was challenging and fun. I needed to create a compelling story whilst capturing the essence of the brand through pre-existing footage. I was also cutting and sound designing the film and was attached to certain performances and moments that did not necessarily fit the cut, having to eliminate/replace elements throughout the process to retain the consistency of style and ambience. 

What are you working on next? 

I'm shooting an independent feature film, Messiahs of Gods Army, in Cambodia in June this year, through Hanuman Films. It's the true story of the Karen rebel leaders, 12-year-old twins, Luther and Johnny Htoo.