TEMPERATURA

An audiovisual project commissioned by the Dark'n'Light initiative (2024)

'Temperatura' is the third film created in collaboration between Dark'n'Light and the Cosmodernism project. This time, as a filmmaker, I was given the task of creating an abstract audiovisual etude that directly addresses the theme of high temperature. None of the techniques I have used so far have depicted this phenomenon in a visible way, so I had to test and develop what new substances would be best to use when creating this short film. The result is my first use of 4 new substances and phenomena that I had not yet had the opportunity to explore in my previous films. All shots were recorded in a macro scale.

The soundtrack was composed by me using, among other things, a number of self-recorded temperature-related samples. These included the sounds of frying, gas burners, the processing and cooling of glass, the decompression of glass structures and the sounds of the hot nozzles of various smoke generators. I have divided the whole composition into four different sound chapters in order to emphasise the contrast and diversity of the techniques used.

Directed, shot, edited and soundtracked by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Commissioned by Dark‘n’Light
No CGI was used in this production
Full description and more information on Dark'n'Light webpage

OBSERVER

Music video for Dreamers Delight (2023)

A music video created in 2023 by Kamil Czapiga (Cosmodernism) for Dreamers Delight’s ‘Observer’. It is fully based on a custom macro/microphotography techniques. The entire video was fully recorded on a very small scale (frame size is about 10mm) using a wide range of different, mostly transparent liquids. The chemicals react with each other in a variety of ways, and with the right lighting we can see the reactions in such a vivid form.

Music composed by Dreamers Delight (Reed Krafft)
Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
No CGI, just ferrofluid and other liquids on a microscope slide
Track on Spotify
Dreamers Delight’s Instagram / Dreamers Delight’s Facebook
Dreamers Delight on Soundcloud

SWARM

A collaboration project with the European Space Agency and DTU (2023)

In June 2023, I had the great opportunity to work with the European Space Agency on a video production to visually complement a musical piece based on sounds from their SWARM project. These sounds you can hear in the background are the intriguing sonification of our planet's magnetic field fluctuations. It seemed natural to me to choose a medium that is also based on the magnetic field. All reactions you can see in the video are based on a ferrofluid - a liquid made of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid - mixed with colored ink and operated with strong neodymium magnets. All this observed under a microscope or under a macro lens - depending on the shot.

I've been exploring this magnetic subject in parallel with the development of my Cosmodernism project for about 3-4 years now, and I'm constantly looking for new combinations with different kinds of paints and chemicals, in order to achieve interesting visual effects. In this video you are able to see many interactions of ferrofluid with soap bubbles and inks, which I visually associate very much with shapes referring to space and planets. Most of the effects seen in my productions are the results of the proper handling of mixed chemicals with different types of lighting recorded on properly crafted custom-built micro film sets based on various rotating mechanisms.

Music composed by Klaus Nielsen (aka Maple Pools)
Soundscape by Klaus Nielsen and Nikolai Linden-Vörnle (aka KamikazeVildsvin)
No CGI, just ferrofluid and other liquids on a microscope slide
Created with the support of ESA, IUGG, and DTU Space
Shown as part of a performance at CityCube in Berlin, 19 June 2023 - on invitation by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). The project was performed during the Closing Ceremony of their General Assembly.

OCULUS FLIGHT

An audiovisual project commissioned by the Dark'n'Light initiative (2022)

Cymatics, which is the main phenomenon this film is about, is a study of sound and vibration made visible, typically on the surface of a place, diaphragm, or membrane. It is a subset of modal vibrational phenomena. The video was recorded with a camera with its macro lens pointed directly at the surface of the vibrating water.

The water container was mounted on a low-frequency speaker, which, by setting it in motion through a synthesizer, vibrated the water above it. All the shapes and arrangements observed were the result of precise control of frequency, volume, type of lighting and the shape of the vessel itself in which the water was placed.

For sound production, I used synthesizers, samplers and, among other things, sound recordings of boiling water, which, when properly processed and slowed down, turned out to be a great sound design element of the observed reactions.

Directed, shot, edited and soundtracked by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Commissioned by Dark‘n’Light
No CGI was used in this production
Full description and more information on Dark'n'Light webpage

IS IT REAL?

A short film produced for the purposes of the exhibition held on the occasion of OFF Festival in Katowice (2022)

‘Is It Real?’ is a short film etude made for the exhibition of the same title. The exhibition took place in late July and early August 2022 at the Rondo Sztuki gallery in Katowice, Poland. It was an accompanying event to the cyclical cultural event called OFF Festival.

The film was made using the macro-photography technique and is based on various chemical reactions, which, illuminated in an unusual way, show their invisible face impossible to see with the naked eye. The music was composed using synthesizers and samplers exclusively for the film.

Directed and soundtracked by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Commissioned by OFF Festival and Rondo Sztuki
No CGI was used in this production

NEBULA RISING

A short film produced in collaboration with composer Michał Wolski (2022)

A short abstract film etude about the formation of micro and mega structures in the space-time continuum. From a microscope slide to planetary nebulae, the Universe can awe at any scale.

This production was created in collaboration with composer Michal Wolski, who created the soundtrack, that later became the basis for the visual experiments. The entire film is based on shots created with micro and macro photography techniques. What can be seen on it are chemicals of various kinds reacting with each other, which loosely allude to interstellar processes and the phenomenon of formation of celestial bodies.

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Soundtracked by Michał Wolski
No CGI was used in this production

MICROLOOP_004

A personal project (2022)

One of the first videos from the collection 'microloop_000' which is fully available on my profile on instagram in the reels section. This is a short looped excerpt of a shot showing a bizarre chemical reaction under a macro lens combined with the original lighting and recording technique.

Directed, shot, edited and soundtracked by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Personal project
No CGI was used in this production

THE CRYSTAL LAB

An audiovisual project commissioned by the Dark'n'Light initiative (2021)

‘The Crystal Lab’ is a short film that aims to show the abstract beauty of amino acids crystal formations. What can be seen here is a documentation of the beta-alanine recrystallization process on the microscope slides. The footage was recorded using a polarised transfered light microscope.

Directed, shot, edited and soundtracked by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Commissioned by Dark‘n’Light
No CGI was used in this production
Full description and more information on Dark'n'Light webpage

The Crystal Lab – Behind The Scenes

A short making-of video of a project commissioned by the Dark'n'Light initiative (2021)

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Music – ‘Alone’ by Emmit Fenn (creative commons)
Commissioned by Dark‘n’Light
No CGI was used in this production
Full description and more information on Dark'n'Light webpage

This film is an addition to The Crystal Lab video, which was commissioned by Dark'n'Light. This video shows the process of documenting the crystallization of an amino acid called Beta-alanine. I tried to show step by step how playing with these beautiful abstract forms invisible to the naked eye looks like. Some of the footage are scenes that dropped out of the original film's production, but were too interesting to be abandoned.

DE_FUSION

A short film produced in collaboration with composer Brunon Lubas (2021)

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Soundtracked by Brunon Lubas
No CGI was used in this production

A short film etude created for music composed by Bruno Lubas. All shots seen in the video were recorded on a very small scale using a microscope. The reactions seen in the film are ink particles reacting with various chemicals.

Moments Vol.1

A collection of short micro productions made for private purposes (2020-2021)

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Music by various artists (creative commons) and own creation
No CGI was used in this production

This video collection is a patchwork composition made out of many short visual stories that I have shared across social media over the years 2020-2021. The footage was recorded using macrophotography and microscopy. Here I have used a wide range of different chemicals, combined together in different ways.

ABSORPT_ON

A personal project (2020)

A real time footage documenting fleeting moments and chemical reactions during one of my microscopy sessions. Recorded in my home lab in March 2020. Dark field microscopy.

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Music from Creative Commons sources
Personal project
No CGI was used in this production

THE GLEAM

A personal project in collaboration with composer Jakub Mokrzysiak (2020)

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Music and sound design by biøs (Jakub Mokrzysiak)
Personal project
No CGI was used in this production

The Gleam is a short experimental video shot using a transfered light microscope. I focused here on registering an interesting chemical and physical reaction and playing with colored light. The music and sound design were composed by my friend biøs (Jakub Mokrzysiak). The video was shot during the first Covid lockdown at my home lab.

EARLY TAKES

A personal project in collaboration with composer Jakub Mokrzysiak (2019)

Directed, shot and edited by Cosmodernism (Kamil Czapiga)
Music and sound design by biøs (Jakub Mokrzysiak)
Personal project
No CGI was used in this production

My first experimental film based on creative microscopy recorded and edited in 2019 to the music of my friend biøs (Jakub Mokrzysiak). It was put together from fragments of videos recorded during summer living room microscope sessions with my friends at my home.