TEDx Sydney 2013 was probably full of great ideas, speakers, and presentations, but it’s a two-and-a-half-minute video about babies and food that wound up stealing the show. “The First Taste,” created by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney and Heckler, shows young children reacting to their first experiences with unusual foods like anchovies, gherkin, and Vegemite. Set to orchestral music and shot in slow-motion, the video somehow takes a subject that could’ve easily dipped into boring humor and turns it into a strange and compelling combination of food, art, and social science. Props to the first kid for not freaking out more when shoving an anchovy in his mouth.
Creative director Matt Gilmour, who also directed the clip, credited the visceral, pure culinary responses of his two-year-old daughter for inspiration. I couldn’t agree more about the honest ways kids respond to sensory overload. It not only cinched the greatness of the video but also reminded me of when I was six and spat out a terrible jellybean (possibly fart flavored) at the supermarket. A random woman chided me and told on me to my mom. I couldn’t help it, the bean tasted that bad. I imagine the incident was crude from the woman’s perspective, but with some slow-motion and beautiful music, it could’ve been poetic. Credits after the jump.
Director/CD: Matt Gilmour
Executive Producer: Will Alexander
Agency ECD: Damon Stapleton
Agency Producer: Llew Griffiths
Producer: Bonnie Law
Director of Photography: Hugh Miller
Editor: Andrew Holmes
Colourist: Ben Eagleton
Production Manager: Louisa Eagleton
Production Assistant: Harry Milas
Camera Operator: Simon Wellink
Focus Puller: Gerard Maher
Gaffer: Andy Robertson
Best Boy: Roger Scott
Grip: Martin Fargher
Nurse: Maryann Orr
Hair/Makeup: Tina Hessell
Runner: Harry Milas
Catering: Chefs in Motion
Cast: Thomas, Grace, Poppy, Sebastian, Rose, Alfie, Miela