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The Vikings' Map

Synopsis of: The Vikings’ Map by Derek Lauer

A carefully crafted poetic prose narrative tells the story of a Vikings' Map found in a cave in the middle of America, encrypted with many discoveries and secret key pieces of insight reaching far into the past and deep into the future.

The Vikings' Map comes from long ago and is a record of a voyage that crossed seven cultures of far-off parts of the world seeking the Origin of Odin and the Source of Knowledge.

The map now being found a thousand years later, by a boy who studies the map and discovers it to contain hidden knowledge, such as navigational, mathematical, musical and scientific secretes that could change the future of our world today. A simple symbol of Nordic ancestors is found to contain complex geometric secrets to unravel the riddle of propulsion by attraction, to move mankind across space and above time...

This musical journey tells of a group of Vikings who set out across the oceans to preserve their heritage but inevitably intertwine with the cultures they encounter on their journey around the world. They adopt a diverse range of men and women to become part of their own group, who then work together on a mutually beneficial quest to seek the source of knowledge for all to share.

When viewed as a historical discovery from a thousand years from now, the decoding of the secrets of the Vikings' Map becomes a key turning point in helping to move forward the evolution and progression of all of mankind.

Through the Vikings’ Map we learn lessons about how people are the same inside and seek the same things from this life. We are stronger together with wisdom from every culture integrated into our own.

The Vikings' Map leads the way forward from the past.

~ Remember, not all Vikings like to pillage, some just like to sail...

© 2020 Derek R. Lauer, aia

  • Derek R. Lauer, aia
    Director
  • Derek Lauer
    Writer
  • Derek Lauer
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Music Video, Short, Student, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    sci-fi, adventure, drama, action
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Maryville University
  • New York Film Festival

    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Derek R. Lauer, aia

Biography of Director Derek R. Lauer, aia

Derek Lauer is a visionary architect and Jedi level musician with a diverse yet highly developed set of skills including architectural design & illustration, 3D modeling & animation, music composition & performance, audio & video editing, artwork & sculpture, photography & journalism, as well as project management & team leadership.

Derek Lauer has been a pioneer in the use of digital media throughout his career and has emphasized the importance of mastering the tools of the profession of architecture to his many students.

He is an experienced educator currently adjunct faculty at Maryville University doing research and instruction for the use of 3D printing and virtual reality animation techniques in architecture along with instruction of construction document production and detailing. He has previously taught at the Washington University School of Architecture and St. Louis Community College with lessons in Graphics, AutoCAD and Computing in Architecture and at Art Institute with instruction in Interior Design and architectural presentation techniques.

Upon completion of his Master of Architecture degree, professional affiliations have included some of the leading architecture firms in St. Louis. Since then, Lauer Architecture Progressive Design was successfully established in 2004. Hundreds of projects have been designed, produced and constructed, which include a wide variety of building types such as healthcare, educational, commercial, judicial and residential projects along with site development plans, campus master plans and urban revitalization strategies.

He has dedicated a large portion of his career towards working with several non-profit organizations such as Better Family Life, The MLK Streets Initiative, The Urban League, YouthBuild, Beloved Streets of America, various churches, synagogues and urban daycare centers.

Additional lifelong interests include music, art, sculpture, photography and writing. Recognized as an accomplished virtuoso guitarist, bass player & keyboardist, Derek honed his chops at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston as a Film Scoring major with extensive studies in jazz, classical and contemporary composition styles.

He has been an avid producer of art and music with over 120 compositions to his credit, including abstract photographs, public sculptures, graphic artwork and animated videos. He has experienced many years of performing live music shows, including several TV and broadcast appearances as well as having taken first place status in several guitar competitions.

His Journalistic experience has a range of over 100 articles published as staff writer for PlaybackSTL. Articles include interviews with legendary musicians and creatively covered live show reviews.

Artistic talents include having created several series of high-tech abstract geometric art pieces and photographs on metal medium focusing on the phenomenonology of naturally occurring shadows and textures. His artwork can be seen on display at several galleries around St. Louis.

Award recognitions include an honorable mention for an art piece from the American Institute of Architects for digital drawings. His involvement was key to several large scale public art sculptures, most notably the A+R+T sign in Grand Center as a partnership with the Creative Exchange Lab, which is a 30 foot tall interactive illuminated sculpture made out of undulating parallel sections of galvanized electrical conduit and then lit with colored LED strip light fixtures.

Interests include travel throughout the States and some abroad including advanced architectural studies in Barcelona, Spain under the instruction of Adrian Luchini.
Additional hobbies are cooking, gardening, canoeing, archery, hiking and other outdoor sports.

Affiliations:

American Institute of Architects

American Association of University Professors

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Director’s Statement:

By Derek R. Lauer, aia

Some fun facts about the production of The Viking's Map:

This story goes through seven different cultures and is represented musically with seven different key changes.

The harmonic structure of the music score can actually teach you about all of the possible minor resolutions of diminished chords in the circle of fifths.

Graphic mathematical transforms were actually created that equate the Viking symbol of Odin to principles of geometry using Cartesian and Polar coordinate mapping systems.

There is quite a bit of math calculations that went into the creation of the video sequences for the magnetic propulsion engine based on applied scientific concepts that demonstrate the key role that the geometry plays in future energy production and propulsion technology.

The 15 minutes of music and animation took over 3,000 man hours to create during the 3-1/2 years of time that passed from concept to completion.

The 3D models and animation were produced on an old Frankenstein computer with a hand me down video card. In fact, the entire music and animation project was done on a zero budget with nothing but time, sweat and elbow grease, …. and proper software licensing.

Admittedly, most of the content was created with free, outdated, educational trial versions of software as research into the use of BIM in architectural history education, not just as a means construction document production.

Student work was assimilated for the project as a global collaborative effort that began as an exercise for a history of architecture course Derek was teaching, which is turn led to graphics and 3D models being contributed to this epic work of art from all over the world, including students from Mexico, Russia, China, Japan, Czech., England and Amsterdam, Germany, Norway and Denmark & more!

The music was also performed and recorded using mostly old school audio technology and gear from the mid 80's...

The piece of music "Arrival in Vinland" was created entirely as an improvised live solo symphonic guitar performance - with all of the string voices being produced simultaneously on the fly with no loops or backing tracks being used, just an old 1981 pitch to midi convertor and some delay pedals.

Though the entire film was created and produced from a single point of view from a sole artist – it made me aware of the wide array of technical skills needed in order to fully tell a story these days. It has motivated me to coin the term "Omni Art", which is to mean a piece of Art that utilizes all of the arts combined, with the use of music, images, cinema, and storytelling through the written word, all to express a vision.

Please share this story with everyone who might find this to be interesting or inspiring.

Thank you for your time to check it out!
Derek