SHORT FILM
SYNOPSIS
« It is with joy that X leaves his job to devote himself entirely to the elucidation of a scientific theory. Without noticing, he slowly gets caught in a scenario where the borderline between genius and insanity is blurred. At this juncture he will eventually find an answer to his research ... but at the risk of losing himself. »
THE EXPERIMENT
Schrödinger's cat is an experiment devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. He proposed a set-up with a cat in a sealed box and a device that kills the animal by breaking a bottle of poison when it detects a radioactive atom which has 50% probability of decay.
If statistics indicate that this random event has an even chance of happening or not, quantum mechanics implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the box is opened and an observation performed. The fact of observing does collapse the cat into one of the two states, alive or dead.
NOTE OF INTENT
What is "Schrodingers Katze"? Schrödinger's cat is an experiment of the 30’s that highlights the paradoxes of quantum mechanics. To me it is a way to talk about those innovators who dared to think differently, at the risk of being considered crazy by his contemporaries.
It is also an excuse to make a metaphor of our daily lives using theories about parallel universes. Life where individuals seems to become automatons who eat and dress alike, watch the same TV shows and movies, listen to the same music, and in urban areas they even follow the same schedules and routines ... In few words: they (we) participate to a global model. I also take the chance to bring out the scientific community, their intolerance, closure and dogmatism.
If movies like A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001) or the remarkable PI (Darren Aronofsky, 1998) have already dealt with the theme of scientific research, this time in Schrödingerskatze the main character is looking for personal answers in close relationship with his living conditions and daily restrictions. In this irrational quest of dramatic effects, we are no longer in science-fiction fields; the human side of the story is what interests me most.
Regarding production, it is close to that of the aforementioned film PI, with which there are common elements in the script: interiors in a single location, an obsessive character, scientific language, plain sets, etc. But visually my goals are (as far as possible) closer to 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968), Insomnia (Erik Skjoldbjærg, 1997) or Solaris (A. Tarkovsky, 1972) where symbolic images call for reflection.
Aesthetically the idea is to leave room for experimentation. Several techniques are used: time-lapse, macro and fisheye, jump-cuts, etc. The actors’ participation is open to improvisation.
The drift of the character is felt by a lively start-up with saturated color that turns to an oppressive end of monochromatic tones.
To create an enigmatic atmosphere, sounds and music are inspired by classic works of Schoenberg, Bartok and Nono, mixed with sounds of seals and particle collisions, as those heard in the LHCsound project.
« It is with joy that X leaves his job to devote himself entirely to the elucidation of a scientific theory. Without noticing, he slowly gets caught in a scenario where the borderline between genius and insanity is blurred. At this juncture he will eventually find an answer to his research ... but at the risk of losing himself. »
THE EXPERIMENT
Schrödinger's cat is an experiment devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. He proposed a set-up with a cat in a sealed box and a device that kills the animal by breaking a bottle of poison when it detects a radioactive atom which has 50% probability of decay.
If statistics indicate that this random event has an even chance of happening or not, quantum mechanics implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the box is opened and an observation performed. The fact of observing does collapse the cat into one of the two states, alive or dead.
NOTE OF INTENT
What is "Schrodingers Katze"? Schrödinger's cat is an experiment of the 30’s that highlights the paradoxes of quantum mechanics. To me it is a way to talk about those innovators who dared to think differently, at the risk of being considered crazy by his contemporaries.
It is also an excuse to make a metaphor of our daily lives using theories about parallel universes. Life where individuals seems to become automatons who eat and dress alike, watch the same TV shows and movies, listen to the same music, and in urban areas they even follow the same schedules and routines ... In few words: they (we) participate to a global model. I also take the chance to bring out the scientific community, their intolerance, closure and dogmatism.
If movies like A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001) or the remarkable PI (Darren Aronofsky, 1998) have already dealt with the theme of scientific research, this time in Schrödingerskatze the main character is looking for personal answers in close relationship with his living conditions and daily restrictions. In this irrational quest of dramatic effects, we are no longer in science-fiction fields; the human side of the story is what interests me most.
Regarding production, it is close to that of the aforementioned film PI, with which there are common elements in the script: interiors in a single location, an obsessive character, scientific language, plain sets, etc. But visually my goals are (as far as possible) closer to 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968), Insomnia (Erik Skjoldbjærg, 1997) or Solaris (A. Tarkovsky, 1972) where symbolic images call for reflection.
Aesthetically the idea is to leave room for experimentation. Several techniques are used: time-lapse, macro and fisheye, jump-cuts, etc. The actors’ participation is open to improvisation.
The drift of the character is felt by a lively start-up with saturated color that turns to an oppressive end of monochromatic tones.
To create an enigmatic atmosphere, sounds and music are inspired by classic works of Schoenberg, Bartok and Nono, mixed with sounds of seals and particle collisions, as those heard in the LHCsound project.