Our world is louder than ever before, so we imagined a place where eyes say more

than words. Set in the “Quietest Library on Earth” (a temple of hush), the film focuses on a tyrannical “Quiet Guard” who punishes patrons for the slightest sound, sneeze or gesture. But a plot to overthrow — hatched only through conversing eyes (and super stylish frames) — sparks The Silent Revolution against the overly sound-sensitive tyrant. We took visual cues from eccentric 1970s style, specifically high school yearbooks: employing quirky prints, big hair, bigger glasses. Speak Less. Say More.

We specifically sought an awkward beauty. We started by pulling different inspirations from a variety of eras, including the great French filmmaker Jacques Tati, known for his knack of composition and expertise at choreographing deadpan slapstick.The result is a simple–exaggerated–cheeky approach mixed with super-chic-vintage-styling—something slightly awkward, but beautiful at the same time.

For the color, we drew inspiration both from the 1970s and from Eugène Delacroix's painting "Liberty Leading the People." For the music, we very inspired by Les Misérables.

Shot in Baltimore's magnificent (and vaguely imposing) George Peabody Library. In the library we could not touch or move anything without permission. So, looking back now, the library location was very much like the film—they had a library guard watching us.