Greetings.
I hope that this missive finds you well.
This message has two parts, but in a way, they both speak to transcribing and reflecting compassion. And using creativity, in illustrating this human feeling.
R I C H A R D G E R E ’S F O U N D A T I O N
As you may know, our team has been working for the last couple of years on a site for Richard Gere. This site reflects his interest in the Tibetan people and their struggles. This portal has just launched, in the last couple of weeks.
We are grateful for this opportunity to participate in the support of reaching out for aid and support for the Tibetan people. The site address is: http://www.gerefoundation.org.
The site itself is simplistic and restrained; it is quiet in feeling. There is a animated visual and sound sequence reflecting the notion of compassion and history, in the plight of the Tibetan people under the challenges of the Chinese governance. There are a collection of remarkable photographs that Richard has taken of the Tibetans. You can transmit images to friends, make contributions, learn more about the plight of the Tibetans or purchase his book: Pilgrimage, if you would like to support the cause of these people.
I’ve included a release from The Gere Foundation (Girvin also created the visual identity for the foundation), as well as a statement in PDF and HTML formats as well as our release, for your reference. Please see the attachments, noted with this missive.
T H E N A U D E T B R O T H E R S & C B S : 9 / 1 1
The second opening in this note to the gesture of compassion, of reaching out, of reflecting the potency of the human experience, please visit www.cbs.com, see 9/11, on the main page. Our second second story is about the showing of the Naudet brothers documentary footage of the 9/11 in early March on CBS, at the six month marker of the attacks.
Girvin has been working with the executive production team at CBS on the identity, titling and broadcast graphics for this powerful expression of this momentous experience for all Americans and the rest of the world; it will air March 10, 9pm EST.
The French brothers, Jules et Gedeon Naudet, had been living in Manhattan for over a decade; it was always a dream of theirs to pursue their interests in film making and documentary work. They found support in the NYC Fire Department to produce a documentary in digital video to express the lives, humanity and actions of a certain Fire Station group: Engine 7, Ladder 1 company of firefighters in Manhattan.
In the beginning, shooting through the summer months, the Firemen were distant from the film makers; but soon this gap closed and a friendship and camaraderie emerged. Jules was with Battalion Chief Pfeifer checking a gas leak with the group on the morning of 9/11; hearing a roar overhead, Jules trained his camera to the sound, capturing the only known video of the first plane striking the World Trade Center.
Theirs is one of the most dramatic documentations of that day, as this group made their way into the heart of hell. The documentary shows their work before, as they began to know the group, the day of the attacks, and the events afterwards; both brothers never turned their cameras off that infamous day. It’s a powerful expression of the spirit of these firemen, their colleagues and the efforts of so many, to catalyze rescue. This program will be narrated by Robert De Niro, whose TriBeca studios are merely blocks from Ground Zero.
For Girvin, each of these efforts speaks to our interest in contributing to capturing the spirit of an event, a people, a brand, a business proposition. We reach out, and move inwards, to get to the center of these propositions and use feeling — drawing the sentience — and emotional content to express messages in the most powerful way possible, whether this is a gesture from one person to another, or from one person to 1 billion other people; it’s what we do. We create strategy and design to craft our messages for humankind. We speak to people.
But, to achieve this, our efforts are always collaborative. We never work alone. To capture the meaningful, many share in the efforts to tell the story.
———–
It is with best wishes to you that we express our gratefulness for these opportunities. We are proud to have supported these compassionate gestures.
Thanks for your attention and consideration.
Sincerely
Girvin