5th Floor Walkup


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Watch with sound!

Introduction
For this project, we were tasked with creating a short video that explores a speculative future through the combination of live footage and digital animation. The assignment asked us to overlay animation onto video footage to create a compelling narrative about what our future might look like. For this project, we used Adobe After Effects, particularly its 3D motion tracking capabilities, which allowed us to add in digital elements into real-world footage.


When my partner and I began our creative process, we found ourselves drawn to the concept of biophilic design - the integration of nature into built environments. However, we wanted to push this concept to the extreme. We thought of it in a dystopian way, and had a vision of a world where nature had reclaimed spaces abandoned by humanity. 


Brainstorming
 Early in our conceptual development, we settled on a first-person POV approach, and knew we wanted it to feel almost like a game.

In searching for an effective way to present our speculative future, we landed on a concept that was both familiar and surreal to New Yorkers: the daily experience of climbing a five-floor walkup apartment building. This mundane activity would serve as our canvas for creating increasingly bizarre and unsettling scenarios, with each floor representing a different layer of our dystopian vision.

The ground floor and first floor would serve as our entry point, establishing the normal, everyday experience. The second floor would transform into a jungle theme, exploring the extremes of biophilic design. The third floor would shift completely into a 2D cartoonish reality, inspired by ITP second-years' recreation of "The Shining." The fourth floor would become a portal world, with multiple doorways leading to different micro-universes. Finally, the fifth floor would subvert all expectations of "home" by opening into a void.

Throughout our planning, we maintained several guiding principles: creating distinct, contrasting experiences between floors, maintaining an absurdist, nonsensical atmosphere, incorporating humor as a central element in the storytelling, and breaking expectations with each new level. This structure allowed us to create a progression that becomes increasingly surreal as viewers ascend the building, while the familiar framework of climbing stairs grounds the experience in reality.
Storyboarding + Filming

Pre-Production Planning

Using whiteboards as our canvas, my partner and I developed a detailed storyboard that mapped out:
  • Visual elements for each floor
  • Dialogue and comedic timing
  • Camera movements and blocking
  • Character interactions with the space


We paid particular attention to choreographing movements that would enhance each floor's unique characteristics. For example, on the fourth floor (our portal realm), we carefully planned three distinct portal transition, jerky motion to simulate interdimensional travel, and camera angles to maximize the impact of each portal jump.

Filming Process

Our shooting strategy involved:
  • Taking turns ascending the stairs
  • Executing planned choreography
  • Multiple takes to perfect the movements
  • Continuous troubleshooting and refinement

This iterative filming process allowed us to fine-tune our movements and timing until we achieved the exact feeling we were aiming for in each section.
Editing

After Effects WorkOur team divided the visual effects work, with B taking the lead on the opening sequence, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor. I did the 4th floor, 5th floor, and ending sequence.

Second Floor EvolutionWhat began as a straightforward jungle simulation took an unexpected but creatively fortuitous turn. Using Runway AI for image generation, our intended jungle scene unexpectedly transformed into a zen garden. Rather than viewing this as a setback, we embraced this "malfunction" and incorporated it into our narrative. This happy accident reinforced our emerging theme that the walk-up itself was malfunctioning, adding an additional layer of absurdity to our story.

We used a combination of built-in After Effects features, Runway.ml AI video generation, and YouTube free overlays to create the visual effects on each floor.

Sound DesignWe edited our respective floors with sound effects we sourced from places like freesound.com and YouTube. Then, we came together to do the dialogue. I created a script before recording:


We recorded on a Zoom recorded while walking through echoing hallways for authenticity, capturing natural movement sounds to make it sound more real.
Final Product
Our speculative future video was well-received, with audiences responding positively to our surreal take on a familiar space. Through this project, we successfully transformed an ordinary walk-up into an increasingly bizarre journey through multiple realities. The feedback we received suggested several areas for future development, particularly in terms of audio enhancement. Adding more complex ambient sound design and spatial audio effects could help enhance the echoing qualities and create a less pristine, more atmospheric soundscape to match the visual distortions. Technical refinements, particularly in the 3D tracking precision, would also improve future iterations.

The project successfully achieved our goal of creating a speculative future that blends familiar spaces with surreal elements, while maintaining a sense of humor throughout the narrative progression. Through the combination of strategic planning, technical execution, and creative problem-solving, we were able to create a unique perspective on how everyday spaces might transform in unexpected ways.