It’s not often the BBC’s small audio slideshow team really nail it on the head, but they’ve put together something special today.
Portraits of the Fallen tells the story of a Vietnam veteran who gets up at 4am every morning to draw pictures of service men and women killed in Iraq.
As well as excellent use of music and natural sound, this slideshow stands out because of the wonderful use of split screens to tell the story. The narrative itself is very simple, with the artist, Michael Reagan,telling three stories of killed soldiers he has drawn.
Well worth the 3:14 it’ll take to watch.
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Thanks for this Adam … I was going to post this and you beat me to it. I totally agree … just shows that all you need is one voice … infact its easier to connect with an audience with a single voice … you just have to make sure that you get it right!
[...] till you get to the line, “They never met.” It will rip your heart out.) Thanks to Duckrabbit’s blog for pointing this out. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)BBC’s Slideshow [...]
Very moving considering it is almost entirely portraits and one voice and a pencil. The music works very well, because it is so little used.
Spot on about the music … less is usally more and this is a good lesson in economy.
Whizz and bang but it rarely leaves a lasting impression and is no substitute for genuine human emotion.