A 3 minute short film about Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Since this was the final project (the opus), I wanted to do something that I had never really done before -- make music. So I created the music first, then added video to it. Usually I shoot the video first, edit it, and add music last. But this time changed it up and actually composed the music myself. The music and video is supposed to encompass the emotions that are felt through a NDE.

EXPLANATION:
So this project is my interpretation of a Near Death Experience (NDE). It is supposed to describe the feelings and emotions of someone from the time that their heart stops beating until they are forced back into their earthly body.

The main character experiences 3 distinct phases and emotions. When he first wakes up, he feels completely at peace. He is unsure of where he is, but he has no fear of the place. He is content with his situation and is just beginning to come aware of his surroundings.

The second phase is one of exploration. He is very happy with where he is, but wants to explore his surroundings. There is still no fear, just curiosity. Towards the end of this phase, he loves where he is and does not want to leave.

The third and final phase is one of facing the facts. He knows that he cannot stay in this place and that he will have to go back to the real world. However, he doesn't want to go, he is in love with this new place. So as the inevitable approaches, he tries to escape. He is not afraid; he is just trying to avoid the return to his earthly body. But there is nothing he can do about it, and is forced back the way he came.

These 3 phases were what I saw as the common link in most of the NDEs that I read. But most importantly, all of the NDEs claim that they were not afraid. No matter what happened, there was always a sense of peace and complacency -- as if he/she already knew the answers to all of his/her questions. A feeling of being all-knowing.

HOW IT WAS MADE:
First, I gathered 4 gigs of music samples and learned how to edit and compile them with Sony Vegas. Then I read several NDEs online. I wrote down any common links between them and focused on the emotions that all of the people experienced. I read part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead to see if there was any common ground between the two readings, which is probably responsible for any "dark" parts of the music I composed. Next, I attempted to create music from the 3 common feelings I had found (confusion, exploration, and inevitablity). I tried to block all images from my mind and focus only on the music. I would go through the music samples until I heard something that made me feel one of the three emotions. Then I pieced the music together in a mostly linear fashion. I do not know too much about music, but I thought that I should have a common thread throughout the song that maintained some sense of unity. I decided to use piano samples in all three sections of the song because the piano can take many different forms (in the last phase of the song, the piano is sped up and reversed). I also tried to add to the interactivity of the film by adding enough bass to shake the audience in their seats.

After finishing the music, I sat down and listened to it several times wattempting to get inpsiration for video to add to it. Eventually I came up with what you see in the final video at the top of the page. The film was shot on MiniDV and edited in Sony Vegas. I handled the camerawork while my friend Johnny Gonzalez played the main character. The scenes take place in my room, at the park by my house, and on a bridge in my neighborhood. I did experiment with greenscreening in this film, which is something I had never tried before, I do admit that it did not turn out as I wanted it to, but I feel it adds to the film's surreality. Below is a sequence of images showing the original two camera shots, and the final result.