Wieden+Kennedy’s National Trust film is a calm interlude to modern day chaos

The London office of Wieden+Kennedy has launched a short campaign film created for British conservation charity The National Trust, which shows humanity’s need for tranquility hasn’t changed much in the past century. Taking a quote from the organisation’s co-founder Octavia Hill from 1883 as its core message, the film juxtaposes the all-too-familiar chaos of modern-day life with the calm tranquility offered by a visit to one of the charity’s countryside properties, and makes us all want to escape immediately.

At the start, the film flashes quick-fire clips of noisy, depressing everyday scenarios – crowded spaces, daily chores, dreary commutes and digital overload – telling us in oversized, shouty type that “Our lives are over crowded, over excited, over strained.” Then, as peaceful footage of countryside offers an interlude, Octavia comes in: “We all want quiet. We all want beauty. We all need space.”

Each time a portion of text appears, the type subtly interacts with its background. In the first section of the film, letterforms get lost in the crowds, smudge in the washing machine, get sucked into the vacuum cleaner, and glitch at the swivel of a CCTV camera. In the next section, the type floats with the leaves in the breeze, undulates with the lapping waves, and drifts apart in the mountain air.

“The National Trust was founded 125 years ago to preserve and protect land and historic places, for everyone, forever. Since then, modern-day living has made it increasingly difficult to connect to the environment,” explains W+K’s ECD Tony Davidson of the work. “The quote from founder Octavia Hill, which runs through the work, reminds us how we all need nature and is still as pertinent today as it was all those years ago. We wanted to bring people a sense of calm and remind them how it feels to be at one with nature.”

The film forms part of a campaign for The National Trust that will run across online, social and print.