A Brief Conversation with
Rachel McCallister
Meet Grandma Rachel, a timeless figure in my life. One cloudy December, we walked in her backyard while I recorded our chat and took pictures. She expressed frustration with the constant marijuana smell from her young neighbor, highlighting the generational gap and her old-fashioned values. Inspired, I began a project documenting our conversation, envisioning it as a book or website to understand Rachel's hometown, Ruston, and its history. Here’s a snippet of our conversation. Have a listen.
Influenced by the slab serif type found on a series of vintage postcards, I chose Produkt — a versatile typeface from Commercial Type. Its light weights are elegant, the middle weights practical, and the heavy weights convey authority. If Rachel were a typeface, she would be Produkt.
Finally, it was time to go digital. I decided to elevate the recurring theme of smoke in my conversation with Rachel by creating a dedicated microsite. The first order of business was to animate the smoke and really make it feel believable. With a little help from After Effects, I managed to make Rachel's phrases look like they were being breathed out into the air.
As we walked around, I'd stop now and then to snap a picture of her.
Each shot was like a little keepsake of our chat, going along with the voice recording I was making in tandem.
The last order of business was to construct a trailer that offered a glimpse of our conversation. I utilized clips from Reefer Madness, a melodramatic anti-drug movie, capitalizing on the controversial topic of marijuana in the 1930’s. It seemed like something Rachel might have watched as a child.