‘Time Piece’ Short Film Featuring Philippe Dufour And Vianney Halter: If You Only Watch One Short Film On Independent Watchmaking, Watch This One

Credits: Article and images by Ian Skellern @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/06/24/time-piece-short-film-featuring-philippe-dufour-and-vianney-halter-if-you-only-watch-one-short-film-on-independent-watchmaking-watch-this-one-reprise/

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A few months later

But: surprise, surprise! A few months later I received notice that the British Film Council had selected Animal Monday’s proposed ten-minute documentary on two independent watchmakers that nobody had heard of within a short list of ten.

And then it was announced that it had made it into the top three!

Now, while at first I thought being taken from a list of hundreds into the top three was great news, it soon turned to the idea that the honor might be a cruel reward as it would encourage the entertainment company’s hope that it might actually win. Which would make the fall even harder if they didn’t.

I’m generally optimistic by nature, but couldn’t shake the thought, “What are the chances?”

Philippe Dufour at his bench from the film ‘Time Piece’

And the winner is . . . .

What were the chances? Well, pretty high, actually, as Animal Monday won the grant and the planning began. One of the conditions of the grant was that they work with a cinematographer, and Robin Fox came highly recommended. A cinematographer helps create that big-screen look.

So the work began: the availability of Vianney Halter and Philippe Dufour was confirmed, rental equipment (lighting, camera equipment, lenses, filters, booms, etc.) organized, flights and accommodation booked.

Fingers crossed for the weather, and the five days of filming began. I had no idea how much work was involved in creating a short documentary or how pre-planned each scene is.

Then it was all over and the months went by as untold hours of editing and creating the music took place.

Bear in mind that despite the work that went into the organization and filming, I wasn’t expecting anything special. To me these were young kids learning their craft and starting out, not seasoned professionals. I was expecting a nice film, a good film, but not a great film.

Then months later, a call

Then I got a call from my friend Max. He had just seen an early cut of the film and thought it was fantastic. I felt it was good news that things were nearing the end and I was looking forward to seeing the film, but as his daughter was responsible for the film, I thought to myself that naturally he would think it was great. That’s not exactly an unbiased review.

Vianney Halter from the film ‘Time Piece’

Time Piece

A few weeks later I received a DVD and watched it on a large-screen television with good sound.

I was blown away.

As was everyone else who I showed it to as well, whether they knew anything about watchmaking or not.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present you Time Piece.

If watching on a laptop or small screen, I recommend opening it up to full screen, then sit back and enjoy.

Update: 15 years after making ‘Time Piece’ I again had the pleasure of working with Kat Mansoor on a much more ambitious project: a feature length documentary called ‘Making Time’ featuring Philippe Dufour, Max Büsser, Brittany Cox, Ludovic Ballouard and Aldis Hodge. You can learn more and find streaming/download links at https://makingtime.film/

* This article was first published July 2, 2014 at ‘Time Piece’: If You Only Watch One Film On Independent Watchmaking, Watch This One.