EPOCH

Epoch is an experimental film intended to take you on a voyage through our solar system and beyond. It is a personal project orchestrated to share our enjoyment and admiration for science fiction films and literature.

To optimize your viewing experience, Epoch is best experienced with a full screen, no artificial light intrusion, ample sound speakers, and an open mind free of predictions or expectations in order to allow the film to guide you on its expedition and take you to another place entirely.

Enjoy the journey. See you on the other side.

To view the entire project please visit - EPOCH

DESIGN + JOURNEY

I have always loved space. Since I was a child, I dreamed of traveling to other planets and experiencing space as I witnessed in my childhood book inspirations and movies. Recently, I recalled that childhood admiration for astronomy and wanted to bring the dream of stars and space back to me via CGI.

Epoch is a result of merging my love of design with space and moving imagery. It is a visual exercise intended to communicate that childhood wonder and enjoyment without any commentary. By primarily utilizing visuals and music, it will allow the viewer to experience the passage through their own imagination.

I knew when this project began that this was going to be a somewhat linear journey, from one point to another and beyond. The basic core idea was to shadow the symbolic tale of David and Goliath, where in this film, David = Humanity, and Goliath = space and the unknown. Through similar scale, humanity is such a small presence in this vast universe, and it must overcome many unknown adversities to survive. The great unknown is indeed just that, unknown. It is hard to grasp just how large of a presence humanity must face as the resolve of one unknown only yields a new horizon of unknowns.

STYLE FRAMES

The original cut of the film totaled just over 15 minutes, and it was developed in 3 months of time between other projects and personal obligations. Epoch’s running time at the final cut is 11:11:11 and equated to 16,115 frames.

With a project as vast as Epoch, it was essential to have visual milestones such as a style frame to keep our minds focused in the right direction and avoid easily veering off course.

To view the entire project please visit - EPOCH

THE VESSEL

Chris and I knew that the ship portrayed on this voyage needed to be special in form. It needed to carry us through different scenes and allow us to experience the film on many levels. We did many different iterations during the first week of pre-production on Epoch, but ended up with the final decision to focus on the core design principles and formation of an atom. I loved the idea of using an already existing universal form like the atom to guide in the construction of the vessel and create a simple, yet iconic, shape.

Since the viewer is never exposed to the true scale and size of the vessel in comparison to the size of a human, we were able to play with its scale by the distance to the camera and nearby objects.

The vessel can be seen from many different vantage points, but three main visual symbols were repeatedly portrayed in the film to support the basic design storyline.

The first viewpoint was the full vessel visual which resembles the letter “K” mirrored on itself. This form also resembles the human body portrayed in da Vinci’s Vitruvian man. In this formation, the ship is fully formed and composed; it is in control of itself and its destination.

The second vessel formation exposed is the “+” (plus) sign. Universally, the plus sign is a mathematical symbol used to fundamentally represent notions of positive or more. When the ship is shown in a plus formation, it is representing its ability to overcome or control itself in its surroundings. As you watch the film, you will find many scenes where the ship is in transition towards the plus sign; it is constantly reforming its position in the linear graphic narrative.

The third key vessel formation is the shown as the letter or symbol “X”. There are many different meanings attached to “X”, but for Epoch in particular, we chose to use the meaning of caution or chaos. Two intersecting points throwing one another off axis in comparison to the steady “+” as mentioned earlier. When the vessel forms into an “X”, it is graphically signifying chaos or lack of control.

CREDIT + RESOURCES

First and foremost, we would like to thank our amazing friends and families for their continuous support through the long nights and weekends, as personal projects like Epoch take tremendous effort and time to construct. Without their love and understanding, these projects would not exist. Therefore, a very special thanks to the Thorp, Boyen, Glotman and Bjerre families. Also, many thanks to our numerous friends and colleagues, especially… Anthony Scott Burns, Raoul Marks, Yambo, Cornelius Dammrich, Rapheal Rau, Kirill Chepizhko, Boris FX, Maxon, Otoy, and NASA.

Design/Production/Direction - Ash Thorp
Design/Production/Direction - Chris Bjerre
Score - Ben Lukas Boysen
Score - Yair Elazar Glotman

RESOURCES

Here is list of applications and useful plugins that we used to create Epoch:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
Sapphire plugin for After Effects
Red Giant plugin for After Effects
Maxon Cinema 4D
Octane for Cinema 4D
Autodesk Fusion360
DaVinci Resolve

To view the entire project please visit - EPOCH