Jaeger-LeCoultre and Residency Content Spotlights International Artists in Exclusive New Film Series

Luxury Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre and global production company Residency Content in collaboration with their Paris based Partners, Players Paris, have revealed the first instalment of their Made of Makers series. A unique programme presenting exclusive new creative collaborations with a community of international artists, the first of the Made of Makers series is a trio of 60” films spotlighting Brooklyn-based, Barcelona native illustrator and typographer, Alex Trochut.

An ode to New York City creatives, the Made of Makers series offers an exciting opportunity to meet the artists featured and gain a unique insight into their artistic impulses. Directed by Benny Nicholas with executive producer Gaetan Rousseau, the first film in the series focuses on Alex’s passion for his craft, which he inherited from his grandfather who was a successful typographer in the 1940s. Harnessing the legacy of his heritage to express the present and future in new creative ways, Alex is inspired by the way letters are able to communicate visually beyond their meaning. 

Unifying the art deco style and the craft of clockmaking to reflect the aesthetic of Jaeger-LeCoultre, the films seamlessly blend Alex’s style of typography with the breath-taking imagery of New York. Director Benny Nichols used a 16mm Arri-s camera with a swivelling turret as a direct response to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s unique watch design that sees the watch face reverse front to back. Looking to avoid a static approach, the swivelling turret allowed the team to travel through space and cut between scenes mid-spin - landing the viewers in entirely new settings each time. 

Reflecting the mutable and shape-shifting complexity of Alex’s typography, the films have a travelling quality that's set against Alex’s intensive studio practice and his love for New York City, a visual playground where creative freedom is limitless.

Benny Nicholas, director at Residency Content, comments, “Jaeger-LeCoultre wanted to get into the mind of Alex Trochut and visualise what fuelled his creative process. This was an exciting opportunity to meet the artist, discuss his artistic impulses, and link those ideas to a series of visual motifs seen in the film. It turns out that NYC is teeming with art deco architecture and typography. As a result, in the edit room it was easy to trace the parallels from the artist's desk to the city that fuels his creativity.”