Everyone loves an optical illusion, a way of challenging our perceptions. Remember the thrill of seeing your first magic eye picture? Seeing something that initially didn’t appear to exist? Video has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to seeing the invisible and experiencing the hidden world. One man, Louie Schwartberg, has an incredible talent in revealing the hidden aspects of life on earth.
Louie is a visual artist who is said to be an innovator in the method of time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography. He breaks the boundary between the invisible and visible, by creating video with subject matter that is too slow or too fast for the human eye. Whether it’s purpose is to understand the flight patterns of a butterfly or the receding movements of a glacier, witnessing the process through clever videography is as close to natures movements as we’re going to get. As a filming method, the time-lapse provides a beautiful HD glimpse of the world resulting in a powerful display of life hidden from the visible world.
Watch this amazing video of ‘Mysteries of the unseen world’:
“If I can move people enough on an emotional level, I hope we can achieve the shift in consciousness we need to sustain and celebrate life”. Louis Schwartberg
Louie is the only cinematographer in the world who has been shooting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week continuously for more than 30 years to capture these subjects. He believes in providing the viewer with a sensory experience, connecting through our ability to see the unseen and making it accessible to the masses.
In the marketing world, brands are constantly attempting to seek approval with their audience, to engage through the use of stimulating content. We assume we need to relate to content to connect, but what if we’re presented with material that is totally unrelatable?
Louie is not only connecting with his audience through video but glamorising science; creating curiosity and intrigue in what could otherwise be easily ignored in more traditional methods of communication like print. His work is shown in IMAX cinemas and utilised in many blockbusters, working alongside legends such as Francis For Coppola and Ridley Scott.
In contrast to Louie’s work, I recently stumbled across an artist called Erik Johansson. His art combines the “problem solving part” of his brain with the “visual part” in order to create something that isn’t actually there. “I always see my work as troubleshooting,”, he says. “How can I create something that isn’t there, but make it look like it is?“.
Like Louie, he challenges our perceptions of life and allows us an alternative way to view content - like a magic eye where you need to look twice, or the ability to slow down nature to see what is actually happening.
Rather than always finding an obvious connection to the audience, examples like this prove that sometimes being completely unrelated is fine, as long as you’re offering something unique, credible and that evokes an emotion. Creativity alone can be enough to captivate your audience. The problem with so many production companies today is that they are more inclined to pump out the same mundane corporate videos and predictable TV commercials, when there’s endless opportunities to create something unique and powerful. Something that stops you in your tracks, makes you look twice and which changes your perceptions to view the world slightly differently. Whether it’s Louie with his time-lapse or Erik with his photography, I love how these creatives use modern technology to their advantage and further prove the power of digital art. A sometimes painstakingly slow and gentle process of preparation can result in a strong and purposeful impact, leaving a mark on the audience. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!
Lucy Helliwell
Here’s some magic eyes for those that have the power…!
