New Zealand furniture brand Resident marks ten years in the business, and to celebrate, it created a film that highlights the noise of furniture manufacturing. Symphony of Manufacturing Sounds was shot with Super 8 film at the Resident furniture factories in New Zealand, then adjusted into a symphonic arrangement to convey an immersive sense of rhythm.
‘The aim of the project was to combine the aspects of native audio and imagery, to illustrate the raw beauty of manufacturing,’ says Scott Bridgens, who co-founded Resident with Simon James. ‘So often we see picture-perfect, polished manufacturing imagery, which is almost unbelievable. With the symphony we wanted to celebrate the honest and stark grounded reality of craftsmanship. We chose to make an original score out of factory noises to celebrate the skills of our people, whose unique abilities allow us to sculpt, manipulate and evolve precious materials into precious products.’
In its decade of contemporary furniture design, Resident has produced more than 20 collections of furniture, by the likes of Philippe Malouin, John Tree and Flynn Talbot, with an extensive catalogue covering seating, lighting, tables and more. Most of its pieces are prototyped and produced in Auckland, the main base for its furniture manufacting innovation.
‘So often we see picture-perfect, polished manufacturing imagery, which is almost unbelievable. We wanted to celebrate the honest and stark grounded reality of craftsmanship’ – Scott Bridgens, Resident co-founder
What matters the most to Bridgens and his team is the power of collaboration, something they have fostered during the past decade of design production and that forms the basis of the company. ‘In New Zealand we have a real can-do attitude,’ he continues. ‘Many of the factories that we partner with are right here on our doorstep: this convenience has led Resident into many phases of bold experimentation, lots of backend failures, and a decade’s worth of invaluable learnings.’
The film is a poetic interpretation of the technical, skilled production processes at the heart of the company, and a way to celebrate the makers behind each piece of furniture. ‘In thinking outside the box, Resident may have created a new music genre, which we labelled as “Industrial/Classical”.’
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