A meditation on space, place, and finding yourself in a city. To convince people that it’s possible to create amazing places in cities out of forgotten urban spaces, I made a short film that reflects on my own discovery of the curious laneways of Melbourne, Australia and the techniques that the city’s designers used to bring them to life.
Activitiesconcept development
video production
cinematography
video editing
motion graphics
TeamXiao Han Drummond, Ian Dryden, Andrew Tuttle, Daron Deonier
Date2015
LocationMelbourne, Australia
“A beautiful and engaging short film about the life of the Melbourne side streets.”
— Gehl Architects
Before stepping foot into the laneways of Melbourne, Australia, I had no idea how much a city could awaken my sense of discovery. During a tour of these spaces with an urban designer, I was fascinated to learn about how they used design to simply augment what they had—a network of old laneways for services and utilities—to transform a dead downtown into a magical layering of history, people, and culture.
With only a faint idea of a story, I learned to shape this film as a meditation: a curious flow of memories and encounters, revealing Melbourne’s quirky spaces through the humble insights of a city designer and the experiences of a young Australian woman.
I still can’t believe the response and praise of the film. Most recently, the film screened at the UN World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi, and in an actual laneway in San Francisco! The Melbourne city design crew has also used it in several presentations around the world.