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Above the Deluge

Allyson Glenn (Director, Drawing & Video Editing), Paul Suchan (Music Composer) Shelby Lund/Lucy Zhou (Drawing), Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra (Music Performance), John Ogresko (Assisted with Video Editing), and Dean McNeill/David Hannah (Co-Applicants for Funding from Canada Council for the Arts).

Short Description
Above the Deluge is a hand-drawn (digital) animation simulating the phenomena of sound synesthesia made as a multimedia collaboration with the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra (SJO).

Above the Deluge is one of two animations made in collaboration with the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra (SJO) for a project called Dimensions in Sound, simulating the phenomena of sound synesthesia. This project builds on a previous collaboration with the orchestra in 2018, when Glenn created and projected a 3D animation including shapes that represented categories of instruments - percussion, brass, and wind, to simulate the movements that she “saw” in her mind’s eye.

In consultation with Allyson about synesthesia-specific responses, music composer Paul Suchan created the music score which was then recorded independently using new technology, mixed, and put together digitally by the SJO. In 2021, Allyson gathered open-source video footage to capture the floating, circling, and fluid shapes that resembled the visual sounds found in Suchan’s music. For this piece she investigated the shapes and movements of deep-sea divers and underwater sea creatures (otters, seals, fish, and water snakes). With her assistants Shelby Lund (candidate for Master of Fine Arts, University of Saskatchewan) and Lucy Zhou (BSc, University of Saskatchewan), she used a rotoscope method to develop thousands of drawings transcribed from video footage of the animals.

  • Allyson Lorraine Glenn
    Director
    N/A
  • Allyson Lorraine Glenn
    Writer
  • Allyson Lorraine Glenn
    Producer
  • Allyson Lorraine Glenn
    Animation Drawings
  • Shelby Lund
    Animation Drawings
  • Lucy Zhou
    Animation Drawings
  • Allyson Lorraine Glenn
    Video Editing
  • John Ogresko
    Video Editing
  • Paul Suchan
    Music
  • Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra
    Music Recording
  • Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now Fund
    Funding
  • Applicants Dave Hannah (SJO), Dean McNeill (Director, SJO), Allyson Glenn
    Funding
  • Milman/Pond 5: Specific Video Footage Listed in Credits
    Video Footage for Rotoscoping (Open Source)
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Music Video, Short
  • Genres:
    Hand Drawn, Digital, Synesthesia, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 13, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Animation
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    December 18, 2021
    Award: Best Experimental Short or Best First Time Director
  • Indie Short Fest
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    December 10, 2021
    Official Selection: Best Animation Short
  • IndieX Film Fest
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    December 5, 2021
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection: Best Animation Short/Best Original Score
  • Cannes World Film Festival
    Cannes, French Riviera
    France
    December 5, 2021
    Official Selection: Best First Time Filmmaker (Short)
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 20, 2021
    North American Premiere
    Honorary Mention: Best Animation Short
  • Short to the Point
    Bucharest
    Romania
    November 17, 2021
    Official Selection: Animation Short
  • Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
    Toronto, ON
    Canada
    November 12, 2021
    Finalist: Best Animation Short
  • Florence Film Awards
    Florence
    Italy
    November 10, 2021
    Award: Honorable Mention
  • Cannes World Film Festival
    Cannes, French Riviera
    France
    November 5, 2021
    European Premiere
    Official Selection: Best Animation Film
  • London Movie Awards
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 5, 2021
    British Premiere
    Award: Best Animated Film
  • Five Continents International Film Festival
    Puerto la Cruz
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    November 3, 2021
    South American Premiere
    Official Selection: Video Art
  • Walkers Gallery Exhibition June 19-August 28, 2021
    San Marcos, TX
    United States
    July 19, 2021
    Visualizing Music Exhibition (installation)
    Art Exhibition Curated by Linda Kelsey-Jones
  • Los Angeles Animated Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    January 13, 2022
    Official Selection: Short short film
  • Black and White Animated Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    January 26, 2022
    Official Selection: Black & white short film
  • Berlin Lift-off Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    January 30, 2022
    German Premiere
    Official selections: Animation
  • Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    February 23, 2022
    Official selections: Animation experimental
  • Cinequest Film & VR Festival
    San Jose
    United States
    April 1, 2022
    Official selection: Animation Shorts
  • Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre
    Porte Alegre
    Brazil
    April 20, 2022
    Brazilian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Shockfest Film Festival
    Online
    United States
    December 10, 2022
Distribution Information
  • N/A
Director Biography - Allyson Lorraine Glenn

Allyson Glenn is a visual artist based in Saskatoon. Allyson holds an MFA from the University of Calgary (2000) and a BFA from University of Alberta (1998). She has received grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and SK Arts. She is the recipient of a President’s SSHRC from University of Saskatchewan and three Elizabeth Foundation Awards. Her artwork is part of private and public collections including the University of Calgary and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Her artwork has shown throughout Canada, as well as The United States, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Italy, India, and China. Allyson is an Associate Professor for the Department of Art and Art History, at the University of Saskatchewan.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Allyson’s area of specialization is in painting and drawing. In 2017 she participated in a four-week intensive at the School of Machines, Making, and Make-Believe in Germany, where she learned how to develop 3D animation with Unity. Her augmented reality projects have been exhibited at The School of Machines, Making and Make Believe (Closer) in Berlin, Germany and Gallery and Art Placement (Bliss and the Dreadful Sublime) in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In 2018 her virtual reality project called "The Gate" exhibited at the Tech Art show, Toronto Science Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Allyson collaborated with the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra in 2018 and more recently in 2021 for multimedia performances including 3D and 2D animations. For the first performance in 2018, she created a 3D animation to simulate the visual synesthesia experience of sound that projected behind the orchestra while they performed "Bewitched, Bewildered, and Bothered" (composed by Richard Rodgers, 1940). For the Dimensions in Sound project, the SJO will perform in front of a live audience and the short animations Above the Deluge and In the Fray. The concert is now scheduled for June 17, 2022 at the Broadway Theatre (Saskatoon, Canada) and will be live-streamed and available to SJO ticket-holders. The presentation of the animations and later live performance is an opportunity for audiences to learn more about synesthesia and contemplate their own experiences of music. The Dimensions in Sound project is supported by the Digital Now Fund from the Canada Council for the Arts.