Seasons of Sleep

Shot in the woods of northern Michigan, Seasons of Sleep combines the beauty of nature with the power of computer programming to inspect different states of mind.

  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 33 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 17, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography

Tyler Vander Maas is a Michigan-based composer and experimental filmmaker with a strong interest in how sound and visuals interact. He holds a BM in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University and an MFA in Music Composition from California Institute of the Arts. His background in jazz has led him to incorporate improvisation into the creation and performance of his works. Computer programming has also played a substantial role in his recent creations, leading to exciting new sonic and visual possibilities. He currently works as a software engineer in Kalamazoo while continuing to compose and make new films.

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Director Statement

"Seasons of Sleep" has a strong visual theme that combines the natural beauty of Michigan with custom video effects created with Processing, a computer programming language for visual artists. The shots are long and at most include a single pan, so much of the visual interest and development is handled by changes in video effects, which are mostly based on pixel manipulation.

The length of the shots allows room for the music to become the dominant medium at times throughout the piece. As a composer first, I am particularly interested in how sound and music interact with the visual world, and throughout this film I play with the balance of power between those mediums.

The overarching theme that results is the traversal through states of mind. Overwhelmed, daydreaming, nightmare, and contemplation are all visited on this journey through the woods.