At the time, they called themselves EVERYNONE. It was back then, a few years ago, when I first saw their piece called WORDS. I didn't quite get it at first. It was just a sequence of random shots that told no coherent story at all. But I looked at the comments under the video & saw people using adjectives like "beautiful" & "brilliant". It made me wonder what I was missing. So I watched it again.
Towards the end of my second go-around it, the light switched on for me. Play. Blow. Break. Split. Run. Fly. Fall. Light. Space. Such a simple concept for a film, but it was brilliant, and it was beautiful. So I searched for more from them.
I wasted no time to fandom.
I've been following them ever since, and it was no surprise when I started to see their work on television last year. Commercials for VW, Dicks Sporting Goods, Facebook, and more recently, Fitbit. I had no problem identifying the work as theirs. What they craft is so unique & exceptional, of course companies are going to approach them with opportunities to create for them. They established themselves as the people who do this work. They're sought after because of their style & their ability to take a simple concept & create something remarkable with it. The thing that's so inspiring about this, is that it all started out with their passion projects.
That's one of the lessons you can obtain from following the journey of The Mercadantes. You can take time to develop your own style. Refine it & perfect your craft. Put your work out into the world, and if you persist, people will take notice & opportunities will present themselves. Sounds rad, does it not? So let that inspire you & go create something you can call your own!
Fin.