Responses by Niccolò Miranda, interactive designer and developer, G-NS Studio.

Background: Siena Film Foundation is a boutique production house dedicated to crafting groundbreaking narratives that push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling. This redesigned website serves as a digital stage built for producers, curators and creatives who seek clarity, narrative depth and visual emotion from the first click. The goal was to reflect the artistic direction of the foundation while creating an engaging space that feels both editorial and alive.

Design core: The design builds on cinematic foundations—large-scale visuals, ambient transitions and editorial typography are framed within a minimalist, filmic structure. Powered by WebGL, the homepage and project archive feature a filmstrip-style slider that mimics the physical reel, giving motion a tactile presence. Scroll interactions use parallax layering and directional blur to shape a visual rhythm, letting users explore as if they’re scrubbing through scenes.

Favorite details: The homepage opens with a WebGL-powered filmstrip slider, inspired by analog projection and type-led posters. Each scroll deepens the narrative, layered with saturation shifts and motion blur that respond to speed. Lettering-inspired rollover animations echo classic theater signage, looping seamlessly on hover across key modules. A custom preloader, made from animated stripe sequences rooted in Neo-Romanesque design, reinforces branding while dynamically managing asset flow.

Challenges: Balancing visual expression with usability pushed the team to continuously strip ideas back to their essence. Each motion element had to serve purpose without distraction—preserving the emotional tone while ensuring intuitive performance across devices.

New lessons: The most powerful insights emerged when teams aligned on intent early. By grounding every decision in the foundation’s cinematic identity, our creative and technical teams were able to experiment with confidence, delivering a unified voice through code and content.

Special navigational features: We rethought the navigation as a dynamic, adaptive system. A dual-menu layout changes based on context: the global menu remains persistent, while the left-aligned local nav updates depending on the section, offering seamless orientation and direct access across content layers.

Technology: Built with Webflow for its CMS and layout flexibility, the website leverages GLSL, OSL, three.js and WebGL for all spatial rendering. GSAP orchestrates the fine-grain animations, while Lenis controls custom scroll behaviors. We used After Effects for the motion sequences and preloader assets.