Looking for some inspirational writing films on Google videos the other day I came across this short film. It features a writing automaton called The Writer created in the 1770s by one of the greatest Swiss watchmakers of all time – Pierre Jaquet-Droz.
The narration is exceptionally eloquent and thought-provoking. I love the idea Jaquet-Droz was attempting to “mechanise reason and automate the passions” and that “all his energy was inside him,” in the shape of more than six thousand miniature components. By changing the alphabet at the back of the boy, he can be “programmed” to write anything.
The writer was the inspiration for the automaton in the 2011 3D film Hugo based on Brian Selznick’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Just imagine if the boy could really write…