“All that can be learn’d of them is that there they are.”

- Daniel Defoe, circa. 1790

Project Proposal

REMNANTS is the sister project of ANCIENT SKIES – a wordless, flat lens, digital high definition film that explores the rise and fall of the Megalithic civilisation from a technological perspective.

In one of the longest continuous cultural developments ever known, for nearly 3000 years the people of the Megalithic constructed some of the most enduring monuments in the world – standing stones and stone circles. Having been dismissed for centuries as little more than illiterate barbarians by much of academia, research in the 20th and 21st centuries by a handful of persistent investigators has revealed these monuments to be not only amongst the oldest and most mysterious, but perhaps the most profound.

Little is known of this civilization, and its people have all but vanished without trace. All that is left are their remnants, and they too, in the crush of ‘progress’ are disappearing. Given that in comparative terms they were masters of technology, their demise is all the more sobering. As the debate rages over global warming, peak oil and the fragility of the world economic system, REMNANTS will allow audiences to ponder that such challenges to the continued existence of specific cultures is nothing new. History has proven repeatedly that no civilisation can last indefinitely. Mankind’s attempts to immortalise itself have been futile undertakings. Our current technologically based civilisation may shortly find itself at this same juncture.

Is it not unlikely that we shall share the same fate?

Shot in motion controlled timelapse, and set only to a music score, REMNANTS will capture the essence and austere beauty of these amazing constructions, suggest and reveal their purposes, and pose important and disturbing questions about our own contemporary position.

Download the REMNANTS trailer here[100MB]

Project Background

REMNANTS began life as a proposed short, black + white timelapse IMAX film. Over the course of several years, and having travelled widely shooting stills and editing video-storyboards for the project, it developed into a feature length (40 min.) production.

With the backing of SKY SKAN Europe GmbH, and embracing new digital SLR camera technology, 60 days of location shooting were undertaken between March 2008 and September 2009, to photograph both fisheye imagery for ANCIENT SKIES and flat lens material for REMNANTS at maximum RAW resolution.

In 2009 and 2010 I was invited to show some of this work at the Bradford International Film Festival as part of their ‘Widescreen Weekend’ event. Culling ten minutes of some of the best flat lens shots into a showreel entitled EMPIRE OF STONE, and editing a 2 min. trailer, custom 2k renders at 2.35:1 aspect ratio were created and shown on the Pictureville Theatre’s giant screen. The results matched, and in terms of image stability exceeded, the quality of 5 perf. 70mm.

These 2k mxf format prints are available on request.

As digital is so versatile the material can adapted and rendered out at any resolution, aspect ratio and length required for almost any market, enabling a very wide distribution potential.

Project Status

98% of principal photography for REMNANTS is now complete.

The planned running time of the film is approx. 28 mins. though, as detailed above, is highly adaptable to distribution and market requirements.

Principal versions will be available in 2.35:1 aspect 2k widescreen, 1.9:1 IMAX Digital, 16:9 Blu-Ray, HD and standard broadcast.

 

Soundtrack

Thorsten Quaeschning, will compose and perform the original score. Now an eight year veteran member of TANGERINE DREAM, Quaeschning’s own band Picture Palace Music has also long specialised in creating live soundtracks for classic films such as Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ and Freidrich Murnaus’ ‘Nosferatu.’

 

R     E     M     N     A     N     T    S

Conceived, Directed,

Photographed & Edited

by

Grant Wakefield

Produced in association with SKY SKAN Europe GmbH.
(c) Grant Wakefield / SKY-SKAN Europe GmbH. 2008

Music
by
Thorsten Quaeschning
www.picture-palace-music.com

Contact

[email protected] / [email protected]

Empire of Stone Demo

Download Empire of Stone demo here [442 Mb]

All pictures (c) Grant Wakefield 2008 – from the REMNANTS 2k workprint
/ ANCIENT SKIES pre-production period