Powerful lyrics, a beautiful range of colors and a profound message. These elements conform a truly epic masterpiece in the body of a short film, curated and directed by Decora Sandiford and Rob Mostransky. An almost mystic blend between spoken word, inspiring beats and monochrome imagery is what defines this short film accompanied by the song which describes how we can find ourselves staring at the very path that will lead us to personal freedom as we walk the long way home.

All the music featured in the film is produced and written by Decora Sandiford, Angelo Quaglia and Nico Marchese. Decora is a hip hop artist, DJ, and performance poet based in New York’s Hudson Valley. He is best known for his unique brand of composition, which unites a folk music ethos with hip hop for social change. Since his debut album “Bread and Oats” in 2015, Decora has shared bills with Lauryn Hill, Lenny Kravitz, Kaytranada, and Saul Williams to name a few. In 2015 Decora curated large productions intertwining performance and visual arts centered around his music. After performing across the U.S. and Canada, headlining a festival in the Pacific Northwest, interviewing for MTV and NPR, Decora received rave reviews by the influential media publications such as Chronogram, Upstater and AfroPunk. Decora’s 2016 national tour is already underway and a much anticipated EP entitled, “Beyond Belief” will be released in the fall of 2016. Here is Decora’s description of the short film.

Long Way Home is a look into the life of an artist journey to find meaning in his or her work. The difficulties of trying to discern between judgement and fear, failure and freedom and simple right and wrong, leads an artist on a emotional roller coaster where the boundaries of safety and security are erased. Through their travels they realize that the longest road is the path between the heart and the mind. Yet, the mere thought of the unknown become home to an abundance of creative works and endless possibilities.

I chose to have this shot on a Leica SL because I knew with the right camera person it would produce high quality results. The SL’s has a light weight body and sleek design that makes it easy to handle and its durability allowed us to shoot in places under conditions we wouldn’t normally shoot in.

Considering the film is a deepened look into the life of an artist, with carefully selected slow motion sequences along with black and white landscapes, the performance of the Leica SL is printed all across this audiovisual outcome. As photographer Shane McLellan describes it, “shooting video on the Leica SL was a treat.”

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He continues by praising the camera’s build quality and sleek and modern design, as well as the weight it offers to the photographer when shooting hand held sequences. More specifically, he explains how “the lighter weight of many other mirror-less setups and DSLR rigs [he has] used were very difficult to get descent results shooting hand held.”

Technically speaking, and by judging the visual outcome of the film, one can confirm the exquisiteness of slow motion sequences, seen throughout several moments in the film. The Leica SL, while shooting a stunning image at 4K HD, offers slow motion at 120 frames per second in 1080p. McLellan continues, “the SL allows the shooter to document any situation the elements can throw at you. Being completely weather sealed, I was able to shoot in a lightning storm in Austin and rather than worry about destroying the camera rig, I could focus on getting the shot.

In regards to the responsiveness of the camera, McLellan points to the focus settings, where “the SL in both LCD and viewfinder is something any filmmaker would appreciate.” Varying from locations including the Monohan Sand dunes, he explains that the focus peaking was what helped him get the perfect shots we can appreciate in the film. “Even when the scene was entirely bright and white, the SL was still able to get a solid read on focus points, something that was just not possible with my naked eye. The SL is an extremely powerful camera, one that could be game changing with run and gun cinema.”

To know more about Decora and his upcoming performances, please visit his official website and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

To know more about photographer Shane McLellan, please visit his official website and follow him on Facebook and Vimeo.

“Long Way Home” was

Directed by
Decora Sandiford & Rob Mostransky

Art Direction by
Rob Mostransky

Filmed and edited by
Shane Films

Production Assistant
Ethan Harrison

Music
Long Way Home
Produced by Decora & Angelo Quaglia & Skinny Atlas
Additional music by Neil Alexander