Stilled Life

The creation of the music soundtrack has been a very special process that I enjoyed a lot, because I have combined both western and chinese instruments throughout the music soundtrack. This has been a journey in itself. The main chinese instruments I used in the piece were:
Dizi (flute)
Guzheng (strings)
Suona (horn)
Pipa (strings)
Xiao (flute)
Zhonghu (string)

Alongside all the traditional western orchestral instruments. So the initial stages of this project involved plenty of research about the Cicada, but also about these Chinese instruments which I combined with the western ones in the soundtrack.

I now describe more in depth the symbolism behind the characters and the locations in the movie:

The Characters

The human being represented by a farmer
An abstract representation of a human being. What is special about this entity are the head and the joints of the figure. Initially the head of the human being is a red abstract ruby, representing how our more earthly instincts typically dominate our existence. Also, there are gaps in between the different parts of the body, representing our typical lack of connection to our inner selves as well as to nature.

At the end of the piece, and thank you to the influence of the green cicada, there is a transition so that the head of the human being becomes an abstract jade oval, and the joints of the figure appear and link the different parts of the body. The head and the joints, made of jade, are glowing, signifying the infinite energy that arises when we connect deeply with ourselves and with nature.

During scene 7, Life and death, we see the abstract figure of a baby, and of a deceased human. Both are made of glowing Jade, signifying, in contrast with the beginning of the artwork, that the beginnings and ends of life connect with pure states that come from and return to nature. It is in the middle, between both stages, that our more earthly instincts typically dominate; although it is possible, through the influence of different factors and our own actions, to manage these earthly instincts and raise above them, as we see at the end of the piece, when the adult human is able to transition to a more connected state, represented by the jade head and joints.

The Cicada
In the piece, we see the Cicada in different forms:

Water Cicada
It is part of a dream that a farmer is having. It is full of water, representing the purity of a being connected to nature (and that takes its energy from the fluids and water from nature).

Larva
It lives underground during 17 years, representing that key earthly phase of the life of the Cicada and the struggle that precedes the transformation into the magnificent green cicada, the reborn being that is wise, spiritual and serene.

Green Cicada
The larva transforms into the magnificent green cicada. The transformation process and the green tones represent the pure expression of the beauty and infinite possibilities offered by nature, as well as the wisdom and spirituality present in this reborn existence.

Jade Cicada
When the green cicada approaches the human in front of a beautiful sunset, the human being, realizing his/her limitations and overwhelmed by the beauty expressed by the cicada, cries tears of jade that fall on the cicada. Those tears free the human, and the green cicada becomes the jade cicada, integrating the suffering of the human in its body, as well as the human earthly desires in its eyes. In its front legs, the cicada carries a symbol of the purity of nature.

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The amulets
Amulets representing a cicada. They appear in scenes 6 and 7, representing the importance that cicadas had for humans, as symbols of wisdom, spirituality and connection to nature.

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The locations

The dream
Suspended dew in between an ocean and a field.

The field
A field with grass and a symbolic special tree. The tree has leaves made of rubies, representing the way we project our own earthly instincts onto nature. It is in this field where scenes 1,3,6,8, and 9 showcase our interactions with nature.

Under the ground
A path carved under the ground by the larva of the cicada, where the long 17 year road followed by the cicada takes place.

Industrial
An environment made of containers that represents our rigid, analytical side that constraints our existence and causes much of our suffering and pain.

The temple
A temple that represents the transitional moments between life and death, at birth and at the end of life. It also represents our connection to what lies beyond, through the amulets that appear within the space.

Horizons
A sunset that represents the horizon that is always open to us in our adult life. The possibility of reaching a better connection with ourselves and with nature, before the day ends, before we transition away from this existence.