Synopsis

An experimental short that uses environmental videography, animated audio waveforms and an original piano and cello score based on sonar mapping data to take the viewers deep into the landscapes, seascapes, and soundscapes of the St-Lawrence River in Quebec.

To make the first signal transposition, underwater acoustic sonar and GoPro camera was used to map a part of St-Lawrence River’s sea floor. Two musicians interpreted this data as if it were a music partition. Piano and cello become sand, rocks, and algae, as we discover the seascape.

To create the second signal transposition, a series of soundscapes was recorded on the field, near the spot where the data used by the musicians were collected. The sound files’ spectrogram and waveform analysis were then animated to make visual representations of sound, sometimes woven into HD image, sometimes taking the entire screen.

We perceive our environment through our senses, which are now influenced by a digital interface. I’m looking for poetry and experience, but I can’t escape what I know of the world. I can only hope that by sharing the beauty in it, I can touch and appeal to sensitivity and help awaken the desire to protect what’s left of nature.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the precious collaboration of CIDCO (Interdisciplinary Centre for the Development of Ocean Mapping), SPIRA (Coopérative vouée au cinéma indépendant) and Paraloeil (Cinéma – centre de production).

HD, 11 minutes 31, 16:9, stereo, 2016

9ème Festival International de Cinéma et d’Art de Percé – Les Percéides, Gaspésie, 2017.
Voices from the Waters International Traveling Film Festival, Bangalore, Inde, 2017.
20th CinemAmbiente – Environmental Film Festival, Short Film Panorama, Torino, Italy, 2017.
Athens Digital Arts Festival; #Post Future Journey, Athens International Airport, Grèce, 2017
Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, Montréal, Qc, 2017.
12^th Cinema on the Bayou, Lafayette, Louisiane, USA, 2017.
Plein(s) Écran(S), festival sur Facebook, décembre 2016
San Diego Underground Film Festival, Californie 2016.
World Music & Independent Film Festival, Washington DC, USA, 2016. Best Experimental Short.
Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, Illinois, USA, 2016.
2 présentations en salle, à Québec et Rimouski en 2016.

Website (French): echos.paraloeil.com