Travel friendly: Cottage Eight Films captures the spirit of travel in moving image form

Because two heads are definitely better than one, we are commending the new joint effort from creative director/curator Cory Jacobs and photographer Jason Schmidt. Going by the name Cottage Eight Films, Jacobs and Schmidt have come together to produce a series of short films that communicate the feeling of travel. To do so, the couple take a holistic view when documenting a hotel; capturing details of the property, its geography and its surrounding community in order to fully convey what a visit might have in store.

‘We were searching for a great hotel for a long weekend to mark a big birthday,’ remembers Jacobs, who was previously artistic director and curator of the Gallery at Hermès in New York and staged 12 exhibitions during her tenure there. ‘I couldn’t tell what I was going to get exactly. The still images on the websites don’t do a great job of communicating what it was going to feel like if you [visited].’

After eventually deciding on Amangani in Jackson, Wyoming, the enterprising couple brought along their camera equipment to shoot anecdotes during their stay. Their first film, which can be seen above, showcases a seamless stylistic marriage between the two – a good thing, seeing that they are also partners in life since getting together after a U2 cover shoot in 2001.

‘Our approach is to create short, evocative films that communicate a strong sense of place,’ Jacobs reiterates. ‘As two people who are quite obsessed with travel, the films reflect our experience of a property.’

Armed with Jacobs’ editorial eye, and viewed through the lens of Schmidt, an established interiors and architecture photographer who also shot a memorable Peter Marino story for us in September 2013 (W*174), Cottage Eight films are eloquent odes to a place that easily transport viewers far away. Their second film is set in Los Poblanos ranch in Albuquerque in New Mexico, and their third (in Bali) was recently completed. 

Going by the name Cottage Eight Films, they document a hotel, capturing details of the property, its geography and its surrounding community.

Travel friendly: Cottage Eight Films captures the spirit of travel in moving image form

’Our approach is to create short, evocative films that communicate a strong sense of place,’ Jacobs reiterates. ‘As two people who are quite obsessed with travel, the films reflect our experience of a property.’ Pictured: Cory Jacobs and Jason Schmidt on the job at Amangani in Jackson, Wyoming

(Image credit: press)

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Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.