Ephem·​er·​al (adjective): Something that lasts for a very short time.

To human eyes, the Sun feels eternal, but from the perspective of infinity, its 5-billion-year future is as transient as a spark in the darkness—a single day in the cosmic calendar. How does this shift our values and priorities? Does knowing that absolutely nothing humanity builds can last forever lead us to nihilism, or drive us to some faith beyond the material world? If the latter, what does that faith inform us about our relationship with the material world?

These were the questions that inspired me when the band DarWin approached me to create a music video for their upcoming album, Five Steps on the Sun. Their concept fascinated me: the impermanence of our seemingly eternal Sun, and how its eventual death will claim the life it once sustained.

I approached this challenge through abstract visuals and a color narrative via macro-level capture of ink and chemical reactions. With the intrepid help of Lucas Kapla, I explored and experimented in Petri dishes, then took the captures into Davinci Resolve for compositing. To me it is self evident that these reactions—each one unique and unpredictable—mirror the transient and organic nature of the Sun and the universe itself.

The project quickly became a meditation on the fleeting nature of existence, and I wanted to create an abbreviated demo of the original, set to a cinematic score and sound design mix by Grant Floering. The full DarWin music video can be seen here: DarWin – The Sun (4K Official Video).

Credits
Director and Cinematographer // Chad Terpstra
Bio Artist // Lucas Kapla
Composer // Grant Floering
Grip & Electric // Chad Miller, Trevor Kok
Special Thanks // Dennis Nagelkirk, Stellita Bouma-Terpstra