Aether
A poetic dance set to music, brought to life with painterly visuals. Through dance, a man expresses a journey from turmoil into a moment of divine release.
As he moves across a milky-white environment, fine smoke and haze swirl and undulate in the air, varying in density, shape, and hue. Delicate music plays, opening the mind to another dimension — a depth of spirit and soul. Finally, we reach a climactic shift, a quiet transcendence that reveals the dancer as one small voice in a nearly infinite sky. A subtle voice-over enters — the protagonist’s own reflection on the phenomenon of “Aether,” drifting like an inner current beneath the movement.
In many ways, the space resembles living clouds, shifting and morphing and shaping into formations that reflect various moods — whether they be dramatic, poetic, uplifting, or an array of others. As the performance unfolds, it seamlessly melds with this ethereal space, creating a harmonious marriage of artistic expression.
The process to create this environment begins in a white studio with no discernible lines or boundaries, only infinite space. Within this world, we incorporate and combine different sources of smoke and mist. Some are heavy and dense, like dry ice that lies low on the floor and swirls with every movement. Others are a fine mist, diffusing light and creating depth in the otherwise undefined space. Densities, values, and colors blend and contrast like paint on a canvas — the dancer becomes the incidental brush.
What we capture practically in the studio becomes the foundation for further sculpting in CGI and post-production, where the ethereal world continues to evolve.
The camera brings the dancer to life on the screen. We're not merely watching from afar as one would during a stage performance; instead, we're painting a beautiful film through dance and movement. Some shots are filmed with a handheld camera, adding a lively edge, while others are captured with a Steadicam, smoothly dancing with our performer. And there’s also a spectacle to it all, as captured with sweeping movements on a Technocrane, lifting high in the air or swooping down low, punching through the smoke, chasing the dancer, and pulling back to an epic wide shot.
The dancer is Carl Giacomello Scharnberg, who is classically trained at the Danish National School of Performing Arts.