At the CONFLUX
a time-lapse film by Justin Tierney exploring the rhythm of urban Japan and its people
a time-lapse film by Justin Tierney exploring the rhythm of urban Japan and its people
At the CONFLUX - Trailer from Justin Tierney on Vimeo.
press
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Time-lapse above at Tokyo night (Japanese)
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Beautiful Time-Lapse of Tokyo at Night (Japanese)
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Part one
Aerial Arterial—Tokyo From Above
Aerial Arterial—Tokyo From Above
Aerial Arterial presents Tokyo from above. Its sprawling nocturnal cityscapes crisscrossed by thruways. It begins with shots atop the world's tallest tower—the Tokyo Skytree—with the expanses of the urban grid illuminated by headlights below. We end closer to the concrete with dizzying loops traced by traffic. In between, the massive fiery-hued highways pulse through the wards of Minato and Shinjuku, like veins circulating blood. The towering skyscrapers watch over all, unmoved—soaring sentinels of steel and glass. Not a soul is seen. Only machines.
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The music is minimal. The images need space to breathe. Tender Japanese flavored chords are accompanied by street beeps, night noises and satellite hums. After all, in the metropolis, the crickets are replaced by singing machinery.
This is an ode to edifices of the great eastern capital. To its atmosphere and infrastructure. A static lullaby for a city on stilts. |
Tokyo Aglow tours the Japanese capital by road and rail. Whereas Aerial Arterial (the first installment) explores the edifices of the city from elevated perches, Tokyo Aglow captures the city from the blacktop.
The automated Yurikamome flows through Odaiba and arrives downtown. A taxi whips to converging clusters of crowds in Shibuya. Scores surge, stream and swarm, tangle and scramble. Patterns of people, probabilities and periodicities, play. Weaving and knotting, the masses rhythmically engage with the machinery of modern life.
Koto inspired chords underpin the music of the piano. Trombone, trumpet and violin map to the patterns recurrent and emergent. Crosswalk chimes, chirps and cuckoos echo into the night.
Koto inspired chords underpin the music of the piano. Trombone, trumpet and violin map to the patterns recurrent and emergent. Crosswalk chimes, chirps and cuckoos echo into the night.
"In Praise of Shadows" tours Japan's transportation systems in time-lapse. This runs the gamut from the massive monorails of Kobe and Chiba, the automated transit in Tokyo, and the trains of Osaka, as well as more modest transport methods–escalators, taxis, crosswalks, rickshaws, and sushi conveyor belts.
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While the first two installments of At The CONFLUX are exclusively nocturnal, “In Praise of Shadows” begins at dawn. Twilight gradually approaches, shadows sweep the city, and night falls, concluding high above the city where Aerial Arterial began.
It takes its title from a 1933 essay by the Japanese author and novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Tanizaki uses shadows (both real and metaphoric) to contrast the subtlety of traditional Japanese aesthetics with the gleaming light of the modern era. The music is brighter than the previous installments. Clarinet, upright bass, and violin chords and lines punctuate simple koto-inspired melodies of the piano. Field recordings of train announcements, monorail accelerations, crosswalk jingles, elevator chimes, conversing crowds, and summer cicadas decorate the texture. |
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film stills
justin tierney
JUSTIN TIERNEY is a time-lapse filmmaker and classically trained composer of concert music.
His music was declared “superb, robust, and grand" by the Boston Globe, who described how his
“dark-hued music had polished, ominous richness… and sound-worlds that were cogent and immediate.”
His most recent project, At the Conflux, combines time-lapse images and original music in a film that explores the rhythm of Japanese cityscapes. Tierney holds graduate degrees from Yale, and Tufts, and a Ph.D. at Duke University.
His music was declared “superb, robust, and grand" by the Boston Globe, who described how his
“dark-hued music had polished, ominous richness… and sound-worlds that were cogent and immediate.”
His most recent project, At the Conflux, combines time-lapse images and original music in a film that explores the rhythm of Japanese cityscapes. Tierney holds graduate degrees from Yale, and Tufts, and a Ph.D. at Duke University.
personnel
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Director, Composer, Cinematographer, Editor
Justin Tierney Location Scout, Stills Photographer, Post-production Assistant Michiko Nomoto Tierney |
Recording Engineers
Artem Smirnov of SoundPure Studios (solo piano recording) Rick Nelson of Duke University Music Department (Deviant Septet recording) |
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Special Thanks
Godfrey Reggio Susan Greenberg Casey Kiernan Peter Bill Gunter Wegner Duke University Music Department Aero Theater American Cinematheque |
Recording Musicians
Justin Tierney—piano, violin, koto The Deviant Septet Karen Kim—violin Doug Balliett—bass Bill Kalinkos—clarinet Brad Balliett—bassoon Mike Gurfield—trumpet Matthew Melore—trombone Jared Soldiviero—percussion |
filming locations
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TOKYO
Chiyoda-ku Grand Pacific La Daiba Ikebukuro Ochanomizu Station Odaiba Minato-ku Park Hyatt Tokyo Roppongi Hills Shibuya Station Shinjuku Station Sumida-ku Tokyo Skytree Tokyo Station Tokyo Tower Yurakucho Yurikamome |
OSAKA
Osaka Castle Osaka Station Umeda Sky Building MATSUYAMA Dogo Gintengai Kitakume Okaido KOBE Harborland Kobe Portliner Monorail KYOTO Fushimi Inari shrine Gion district HIROSHIMA Miyajima |
behind the scenses
At the CONFLUX was shot during two trips to Japan. In May and June of both 2014 and 2015. Editing began in earnest in November of 2015 along with the composition of the music.
The time-lapses were shot in raw (with a 5D Mark III and a Sony A7s) developed in Lightroom, and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. I composed the music at the piano with paper and pencil, input it into Finale 2014, recorded the music into Pro Tools in two separate recording sessions, processed the field recording in Ableton and Max MSP, and executed the final edits in Adobe Audition and Premiere.
The time-lapses were shot in raw (with a 5D Mark III and a Sony A7s) developed in Lightroom, and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. I composed the music at the piano with paper and pencil, input it into Finale 2014, recorded the music into Pro Tools in two separate recording sessions, processed the field recording in Ableton and Max MSP, and executed the final edits in Adobe Audition and Premiere.
I recorded the solo piano part in early April at Sound Pure studios in Durham, NC, with the help of recording engineer, Artem Smirnov. I recorded the koto melodies in my home studio. Members of The Deviant Septet, Karen Kim—violin, Bill Kalinkos—clarinet, Brad Balliett—bassoon, Doug Balliett—bass, Mike Gurfield—trumpet, Matthew, Melore—trombone, Jared Soldiviero—percussion recorded the instrumentals with recording engineer Rick Nelson.
tools
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Cameras
Canon 5D Mark III Sony A7s GoPro Hero4 Black Lenses Canon L 16-35mm 2.8 Canon 40mm 2.8 Canon 85mm 1.8 Canon L 50mm 1.2 Canon L 100mm 2.8 Macro Canon 400mm 5.6 Rokinon 14mm Metabones EF Adaptor for Sony Sony 24-240mm Sony 16mm 2.8 Motion Control Dynamic Perception Stage One motorized slider Edelkrone SliderPLUS (large) with Action motion control module Cinetics Axis360 pan and tilt motion control |
Stabilization
Nebula 4000 brushless gimbal Feiyu brushless gimbal Really Right Stuff carbon fiber tripod Mefoto carbon fiber tripod Fat Gecko suction cup tripods Field Recording Zoom H1 Roland R-1 Software Adobe Lightroom Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe After Effects Adobe Bridge Adobe Audition LrTimelapse Ableton Live Max MSP Finale |