We recently received our copy of the book Minimal Film by Matteo Civaschi. An uber cool graphic design book which invites the reader to see cinema from a different perspective. From Alien to Rain Man, Star Wars to Psycho, E.T. to Ghost… Minimal Film introduces cinema according to Shortology.
This book is a true a gem for film and graphic design lovers alike. It is both a book on film narrated through the visual magic of graphic design and a book on graphic design told through the evocative magic of cinema. The author, Matteo Civaschi is the Executive Creative Director at H-57, a design studio based in Milan and the brains behind Life in 5 Seconds, a book that unveiled their concept of Shortology, in which an entire film’s synopsis is portrayed in just a handful of pictograms.
THE BOOK: MINIMAL FILM
We see this philosophy reflected within Minimal Film, which illustrates the notion of eliminating the superfluous and focusing on the essential. In Minimal Film, the blue-ribbon selection of films are as superb as they are broad, ranging from the immortal Star Wars saga to “auteur” cinema. Even TV series are visually represented with examples such as Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.
Alongside its references to film, the book’s style and mood pay tribute to the magical world of design from the ’60s and ’70s, mentioning artists, designers and architects such as Joe Colombo, Max Huber, Gio Ponti and Armando Testa. It lies in representing the emotion of cinema through extreme synthesis and simplicity of forms. Take, for example, a white circle resting on a blue field portraying Cast Away’s ball – ‘Wilson’, and two white triangles perfectly perpendicular to a red field evoking Dracula.
We’ve picked out some of our favourite designs:
FANTASIA
Wonderfully crafted using the famous mop and bucket from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice scene with good ol’ Mickey Mouse.
THE MATRIX
sdlkgnjosjhde sfpjods fspodjf pjsdf This is the perfect example of how a film can be summarised in just 2 colours on a page. No need for symbols here, just Blue or Red. Like the pills Neo has to choose from when deciding whether it’s “Our way or the highway”…
INCEPTION
A dream within a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream… No wonder we were never sure if Dom ever woke up… (we’re actually convinced he did).
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
HAL: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
Foot minus the infamous toe.
ALIEN
A harvest of eggs, with one starting to crack. The beginning of the end.
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