I walk my daughters to the bus stop each morning, and today is the last day to do this before summer vacation. When they get on the school bus I tell them that I love them and hope they have a great day, and then a Piglet line from Winnie the Pooh, “I wonder what exciting thing will happen today?” If I forget, Annie insists on reciting it.
Annie and Colette
These daughters are twins, Annie and Colette, and they have one year of elementary school left. Only 180 more walks to the bus stop, and then middle school, where their older siblings have not been as interested in parental accompaniment.
Last week, Amazon released the third in a series of literally handmade commercials by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths. Kohler and Griffiths are still-image photographers in Los Angeles with almost no experience in motion photography, and they made their very first commercial in one exciting week last summer as an entry in an Amazon competition. They won. In an interview with Lou Lesko, another Los Angeles photographer, they said they wanted these storytales to be childlike and magical in an increasingly digital world by appearing to have been made with materials found around a home. They show how the Amazon Kindle, a digital storytelling device, holds lots of stories.
Annie Little
At one point in the interview Kohler holds Griffiths‘ hand to stop him from fidgeting, and they seem as charming as their commercials. They praise Annie Little, the actress of the first two commercials who also wrote and sang the childlike songs in all of them. My Annie and Colette look like miniature versions of this Annie.
Kohler, Griffiths and Little inspire us to tell more stories with the simple tools we have on hand. They also invite us to buy one more device for our household digital zoo. But when their pitch is this enchanting, when it celebrates the joy and escape of reading, I can live with that. I wonder what exciting thing will happen this summer?
Lou Lesko interview with Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths.
Above, still image from Kohler and Griffiths’ third Amazon commercial, released Thursday 3 June. Actress Paula Miranda and child model Melissa.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh there are just some many things I love about this post. You know how much I’ve come to adore (your) Annie’s approach to starting her day with that magical question. I also love these commercials and had no idea the story behind them. I’ve actually Googled to try to find out where I could find that fantastic (or “fantastical” as Angela Kohler said in the interview) dress in the first one. Love how you tied this into your trips to the bus stop.
Thank you Dana. A bunch of comments on YouTube are queries about obtaining the clothes. I seem to remember that was a vintage dress (and fantastical, I agree).