Back when The Barkers were just starting out in the advertising world, the duo often devised personal project shoots with strong narratives that gave them the chance to play with both stills and motion. Imogene’s Antlers, a film based on author David Small’s beautiful book of the same title, lent itself to both, so easily. It remains one of The Barkers’ favorites among those early passion projects.

“Imogene’s Antlers is one of Kristen’s all-time favorite children’s books,” Chris explains. “So naturally we wanted to design a shoot around this little fireball of a human, Imogene.”

Thinking back on the process, Chris says he and Kristen used to make “24-hour films”. “We should shoot–in this instance, five looks, photo and motion in one day,” Chris explains. “Then we’d pass the footage to our editor that evening and he would start the edit while we would write and record a song.” Friends of The Barkers who were in a local indie band at the time created the tune for the film. With the music ready, “We passed that off to our editor and then we woke up the next morning to our first drafts.”

But beyond all of that creative collaboration, Chris says the gold Star goes to Berkely, the vivacious young actress who played Imogene: “She brought Imogene to life with verve and a light that can only be matched by the sun.”