Yep. One of my favourite pieces of storytelling this year is an Ad.

As many Journalists have to learn, the role of Storytelling in any medium is perhaps the most important, but one of the most unfairly overlooked (and sometimes maligned) methods is in advertising, where creative work and a message are combined for maximum effect.

Some might wince at the apparent commercial agenda, but it represents a tight, specific set of creative boundaries for any storyteller — this short ‘speculative’ film, ‘Dear Brother’, from student directors Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz, has been gathering plaudits and is probably my one of my favourite pieces of storytelling all year.

The film features two brothers, and a somewhat familiar twist (I won’t spoil it), but it’s how the various components come together in just 90 seconds that really makes this work shine, the cinematic backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, a heartfelt script and a perfectly fitting score from fellow Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg student, Renée Abe bring this work together. As we’ve discovered at Synkio, the audio is what really drives the emotion, whilst the visual provides context.

‘Spec Ads’ (‘speculative’) usually come without a brief, or the involvement of the client at all, and are used to showcase your abilities to a would-be client. Film-school directors Titz and Lebherz will have been required to produce some work to showcase their skills, I imagine they’ll have picked up a phone call from the people at Johnnie Walker with this one.

Feel free to recommend (or comment) below if you’d like others to find this.