Art Direction,
Motion Graphics,
& Compositing

XLVI


The Ceiling

A homemade shadow puppet show for idea the artist's "The Ceiling".

Included on an album titled The Seafloor, "The Ceiling" felt well-suited for a nautically-themed video. Homemade boats, fish, clouds, and birds were held behind a white sheet and back-lit to create a series of silhouetted scenes behind the artist, Inés, as she performed the song. A group of friends and collaborators puppeted the silhouette elements behind the sheet, blew bubbles, and turned lights on and off on cue to create distinct visual differences between each section of the song. All of this was shot with an old wide-angle lens for a swimmy, underwater look.





CREDITS:
Video: Ben Smith (XLVI)
Starring: Inés Beltranena
Puppetry and lighting magic by: Maryam Khatami, Bijan Sharifi, Ginger Fierstein, Jane Choi, Kevin Sison, Greg Szilagyi, Hannah van Loon, Justin Uy, Massis Shahmirian, Anthony Ferraro, and Jeff Belgum

PRESS:
The Bay Bridged

Ben Smith


Digital Artist