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Films:
The Mercedes-Benz 280 SL ‘Pagoda’ Was Shaped By Form And Function
I was a little surprised by so many complaints of too much about the house and not enough on the car, because that wasn’t my impression. So I watched it again and timed it. Not including the first 11 seconds of “leading” video and the last 20 seconds of “trailing” video,first 2:12 is car, 0:39 house, 0:23 car, 0:42 house, 1:25 car. Exactly 4 minutes total on car and 1:21 on house. The ratio seems right to me.
I too read the comments after watching this video and also felt it lacked soul, which prompted me to comment.
I didn’t make it too the end either which is extremely unusual for me and Petrolicious short movies.
I would be interested to see the YouTube stats for this video to see when the majority of views watched to.
It almost felt like an infomercial about the architect and not a story about the car and owner.
Visually and stylistically it’s class as usual, surely. Only there’s no smell to this video this time it’s too bourgeois. I guess all of us can talk of form and function generally. I love to finding stories of guys with skill and knowledge, guys with numbers and engineer’s approach. It’s all about gears and cogs, and grime to me.
Surprising that anybody would critique these videos. Beautifully shot videos of great cars and their interesting owners in amazing locations. What’s not to like? There is [u]nothing[/u] else that comes close to the level of production value that Petrolicious delivers every week, Yet people are critical. The audacity!
We tried something different with this film. True, it’s not our usual fare.
But, dude, have you been watching our films in the last 12 months? Check out these films, and then tell me if you still feel the same way:
http://petrolicious.com/l-art-novo-bugatti-s-glorious-past-is-alive-at-garage-novo
http://petrolicious.com/sir-stirling-moss-and-the-mercedes-benz-slr-722-are-unbeatable
http://petrolicious.com/fourteen-past-five-the-story-of-jewel-like-italian-sports-car
http://petrolicious.com/the-volkswagen-scirocco-rekindles-a-forgotten-fury
http://petrolicious.com/father-and-son-shared-experience-aston-martin-v8-series-3
http://petrolicious.com/he-built-this-alfa-romeo-berlina-it-built-his-career
http://petrolicious.com/previously-a-black-sheep-the-porsche-912-has-its-revenge
Hey Afshin, I have seen all the videos linked. Every Tuesday is marked as Petro video day for me so i never miss any of them. I’m a huge fan of the site and check it at least once (a couple of times) a day. I have recommended my enthusiast friends as well. It still is a great place to be, but since Josh and Yoav’s departure i think there’s been something missing. If i was to try and identify it, it would be that everyman feeling. Of the videos mentioned above the Alfa Berlina is the best example of a great story. Its car and driver connection that come across and are relatable regardless of make or model.
Thanks for being such a fan!
I respect your feedback, but I’m definitely surprised that you don’t find the magic in the films mentioned above, as well as some others I didn’t list. For me personally, Fourteen Past Five and L’Art Novo are probably the best films we’ve ever made.
BTW, Yoav was in no way involved in our films.
Thanks Afshin, been a big one since 2012. I think the Sir Sterling Moss video has that magic but that feels more like a mini Documentary, definitely one of the best for me. My absolute favourite has to be Jack’s Toy. Aware of Yoav, i meant to say i enjoyed reading his articles. Thanks for hearing me out. 🙂
Overall lovely, but I’m very disappointed the photographers platform function wasn’t demonstrated, getting up there must be tough.
It raise a question in my mind, is being able to stand on your Pagoda top really a functional requirement? I’d say it was non-functional, more to do with usability and robustness :p
Nice car the 280SL, and I like how petrolicious makes the connection between car and keeper, it’s what sets you apart from the other sites, for this one tough I would have preferred to see more of the car, if you can’t always expand on the keepers story so much, you could fill with more moving car shots and a bit of history. Still a good vid.
I am not sure I agree with Fausto and Tom. While it’s not as good as some I found this to be another nice Petrolicious video, In the interest of full disclosure I am a fan the Pagoda and the Form Follows Function ethos. What I’d really like to see in the future is a video profile of the “Black Cat” running through the landscape outside of Carmel that was featured in perfectly photographed story a few days ago.
I’m in complete agreement on all points . The video , though not compelling isn’t what I’d consider boring either . The SL Pagoda in my opinion is the automotive epitome of the Shaker philosophy ; ” First and foremost make it function : then make it as beautiful as possible without sacrificing any of its functionality ” Even the architecture was worth including although it took going to the Walnut House site to completely appreciate both the home’s design and how well the Pagoda compliments it
As far as a future video suggestion ? If they’re [ the twins ] willing and if the Petrolicious staff has the ‘ correct ‘ connections/contacts : a feature on those lovely French twins that regularly tear up the French countryside as well as driving events all over France in their ‘ family ‘ Bugatti Type 35 .
But as an aside / bit of advice to the Petrolicious staff in regards to this video If I may ;
Do not succumb to the temptation of trying to make a pleasant transitional moment [ such as the owner petting his dog ] into something profound by the use of slow motion . All you ever wind up doing when you do is taking what should of been just a pleasant transitional moment and making it into an overextended moment of mundaneness at best : boredom at worst [ hint ; Three guesses where much of my guitar slinging skills have been plied ]
