Filmmaker Vadim Sherbakov bottles the beauty of outer space in his latest project entitled Velocity. The three-minute short macro film recreates galaxies and stars with an experimental combination of glitter, ink, alcohol, and soap, all shot in a wide horizontal frame.
When seen in motion, this unexpected combination of materials comes to life in mesmerizing ways and transports viewers to far-off corners of the universe that are completely imaginary. “[The] idea of creating this film came from an observed similarity between ink and cosmos,” Shervakov explains. “During the last two films, I couldn’t shake the feeling that sparkling glitter with dark ink backgrounds on one hand and colorful pigments on the other reminded me of distant galaxies, galactic clouds, nebulas, and other cosmic bodies. Vast space of the universe, close-ups of ‘fast moving’ near galactic bodies as well as explosions of stars—all that I’ve tried to portray in a new experimental film.”
All of the footage is shot on a Canon EOS R5 and set against a hypnotic ambient soundtrack. The extreme closeness of these abstract images in conjunction with their fluid movements has a similar impact to actual astronomical videos of space.
“Instead of facing the camera at -90° angle and creating edge-to-edge sharp images, this time I decided to tilt the camera slightly and so, in combination with awesome Irix 150mm f2.8 macro lens, at the widest aperture, I was able to achieve a shallow depth of field to the image,” he continues. “In my mind, this somehow conveyed the feeling that you are shooting objects at great distances or super close to you like it would be if you shot in space.”
The film was shot in collaboration with set designer Luidmila Tregub. She experimented with different mixtures of inks, alcohol, pigments, and soap until she achieved the right viscosity and movement of the liquid.
Keep up to date with Sherbakov’s latest projects by following him on Instagram and subscribing to his YouTube channel.
Filmmaker Vadim Sherbakov simulates space in his latest project.
The short film, entitled Velocity, recreates astronomical sights with a combination of glitter and ink.
Watch the full video below:
Vadim Sherbakov: Website | Instagram | YouTube
h/t: [PetaPixel, Colossal]
All images via Vadim Sherbakov.
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