The Quarryman’s Symphony

When’s the last time I let you down? Ok, maybe don’t answer that. But, when I tell you that a short film about the hand gestures used by a quarry boss guiding massive excavators harvesting marble is well worth watching, you’re gonna go ahead and watch it, right? Because this is a beautiful little film.

I was so taken by the chief, watching him work. How he can move gigantic marble blocks using enormous excavators, but his own movements are light, precise and determined.

Notice the tips of two fingers are missing. That’s how you get to be the boss. More hand gestures: hand signals used by traders on the floor of the NY Mercantile Exchange, nightclub hand signals, hand signals at Eleven Madison Park, and church usher hand signals. (via digg)

• video