Painting Ads on Buildings: "Up There"

Here's a treat for your Friday: a quiet twelve-minute documentary about painters who hand-paint ads on building walls in New York City. It's a dying trade, as most ads are printed on vinyl and simply affixed to billboards (or walls). But there are a few hand-painters left, and this is their story.

Representative quote: "It takes so much work that it's kinda ridiculous. And we try to make it as easy as possible...but that doesn't change the fact that there's way easier ways to get it up there."

UP THERE from Jon on Vimeo.

You may note that several Stella Artois ads are shown in the film; Stella Artois sponsored the film, though it covers other advertisements as well, and focuses more on painters than the ads themselves. From the Vimeo description:

I [Malcolm Murray] wrote this documentary along with my friends Malcolm and Christine, as part of The Ritual Project sponsored by Stella Artois (more at uptherefilm.com). So proud to help these painters tell their story. Concept: Mother NY; Production Co: Mekanism; Director/DP/Editor: Malcolm Murray; Music by The Album Leaf; Painters: Colossal Media/Sky High Murals/Bob Middleton; Presented by Stella Artois.

(Via Stop Podcasting Yourself.)