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Light on Water | 44.18217, -69.05075 | 8.16.2021

Following a series of abstract photos called Light on Water, I made this short film to capture the natural world in an abstract way, and to combine moving images with ambient generative music. Light on Water is a capture of a moment and place in time as I floated in my kayak in the Atlantic near Rockport, Maine.

For the soundtrack, inspired by Brian Eno's work with tape loops, I made a system for generative music using only my Telecaster and effects pedals. Once the system is set in motion with only a few notes, they repeat and evolve, ebb and flow, and cascade and oscillate with little to no further input. Like the moment captured in the video, the music is ephemeral; the loops used to create the soundtrack were erased after recording. They cannot be recreated the same way again.

Soundtrack mastered by Joe Kelly at Suburban Elvis Recording.

The soundtrack is available on all streaming services and for download on Bandcamp.

  • Dominic Cordisco
    Composer
  • Dominic Cordisco
    Videographer
  • Dominic Cordisco
    Director
  • Dominic Cordisco
    Producer
  • Joe Kelly
    Audio Mastering
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Music Video, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Abstract, Ambient, Ambient music, Abstract photography, abstract videography, abstract video, natural world, ambient video, experimentalshort, shortfilm, generativemusic
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 24, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Shot on iPhone.
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Water Docs Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    November 14, 2021
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Depth of Field International Film Festival
    Rehobeth, Delaware
    United States
    Best Original Score
  • WILDSounds Film Festival

    Canada
    March 20, 2022
    Official Selection
  • V.i.Z. Film Fest

    Bulgaria
    January 12, 2022
    Best Original Score
  • Nature Without Borders International Film Festival
    Nassau, Delaware
    United States
    Best Original Score
  • Hollywood on the Tiber
    Rome
    Italy
    April 6, 2022
    Best Original Score
  • Lonely Wolf International Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Nominee - Best Mobile Film | Semi-Finalist - Best Poetic Film
  • Milan Gold Awards
    Milan
    Italy
    May 9, 2022
    Silver Award - Experimental Film
  • Berlin Shorts Award
    Berlin
    Germany
    Best Original Score
  • Niagara Falls International Short Film Festival
    Niagara Falls, New York
    United States
    Finalist
  • London Indie Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Semi-Finalist
  • FLICKFAIR Film Festival

    November 1, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Finalist
Distribution Information
  • Dominic Cordisco
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Dominic Cordisco

Dominic Cordisco is a partner at the law firm Drake Loeb where he practices land use and environmental law. In 2018 Dominic presented at TEDxNewburgh about the blurring of fact and opinion in social media and online publishing. In 2013 he received the Henry Award for Valley Visionaries from Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. In his free time he takes photos, and makes music and movies. Maine Magazine published Dominic’s abstract photograph Seaward in “New Morning, New Day,” a feature on Maine artists. In 2021 Dominic’s short film Light on Water had its world premier at the Resurge Water Docs Film Festival, and was awarded “Best Original Score” at several film festivals, including Nature Without Borders, Depth of Field, Berlin Shorts, and the V.i.Z. Film Festival.

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