In Abyssus HumanÆ ConscientiÆ /ReconoceR\

This is a film/project on development using the music piece “In Abyssus HumanÆ ConscientiÆ ” by Colombian composer Rodolfo Acosta. We first met in Bogotá in 2008 when working together on the collaborative CD “Disidente Sonoro” for la Distritofonica and conceptualized by Alejandro Forero. After this first encounter we exchanged each other’s work and I can vividly recall getting his disc on my mailbox, then coming into my house unaware of what I was about to listen. This piece played second and is hard for me to describe the effect it had on me. I just felt completely immersed into an unknown, exhilarating but comfortable place. Even though it’s a 31 minutes long song, the first time listening to it felt like a few seconds and my head was spinning with images. I guess that is powerful sensorial stimulation and was something I have not felt before with music. I decided to listen to it one more time and against my effort to grasp and have a rational understanding of the piece, the same feeling grabbed me back into that unknown place. I gave it a third pass immediately afterwards and realized that any attempt of me to “concentrate”, “understand”, “rationalize” was impossible to reach while falling into this Abyss. The result was about 90 minutes of my rationality being shamefully defeated and allowing the unconscious to freely take over all my senses. Ironically about the length of what are now standard formats for feature length films.

A year later I decided to start the odyssey of making a 31 minutes animated piece. Not being able to complete it on the practical deadlines of school work and other responsibilities, I decided to break it down into parts. The first one covering the introducing 6 minutes, is now done and can be seen here. The idea is to complete the piece and my efforts are now concentrated on finding ways to fund and specially facilitate the time and space to produce the remaining. Hopefully this first piece serves as a hint into what the whole is going to be like. It was created in a way that looks complete on its own but that way it does not make justice to Rodolfo’s piece. Out of several reasons, conceptually the piece has to be that long in order to accomplish what it does. It’s as challenging in our modern way of listening to music in which songs rarely extend the 5 minutes, as it is on the uncanny format of 30 minute long films, too long for a short or too short for a feature.

Challenge worth taking on the rich music compositions by Rodolfo because the rewards are exceptional.

Directed and animated by: Juan Camilo González
Music: Rodolfo Acosta R.
School: University of Southern California
Technique: Stop-Motion – iron filings animated with magnets. Drawing – ink on paper.
Runtime: 5:54 min
Year: 2011

Synopsis

ReconoceR is a palindrome word in Spanish that means “to recognize.” The film is an abstract summary of the history of violence in Colombia, playing back and forth in an exercise to recognize its complexity. It is the first film within a series to be paired with the music composition “In Abyssus HumanÆ ConscientiÆ” by Colombian composer Rodolfo Acosta.

Awards

2011 1st Prize, International Experimental Student Film – VIII Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes FENACO (Perú)

Screenings

2011 “Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Cusco” (Peru)
2011 “Colombian Avant-Garde Animation” Visions & Voices, USC (USA)
2011 Adobe First Frame, Los Angeles (USA)
2011 5to Festival Internacional de Animación de Montevideo (Uruguay)
2011 CineToro Festival Internacional de Experimentación (Colombia)
2011 Kuandu International Animation Festival (Taiwan)