Private Project

Rooted in Code

The film takes place in the year 2057. In a polluted city, a permaculture garden flourishes on the roof of a skyscraper, tended by a robot gardener and an elderly botanist. Appealing to all ages, the film speculates on the degraded state of the environment, nature, and the ecosystem in the future, but at the same time presents a utopian solarpunk vision and solutions to the environmental crisis. It also brings into the equation a question of the impact artificial intelligence will have on our society, our daily lives, and our environment.

When animating, the filmmaker Nejc Trampuž explored the capabilities of the rapidly evolving tools of generative artificial intelligence. Those are shaking up the social and artistic realms and entering the field of film production and gaming. The AI tools were used to generate elements of animation and sound, as well as to write the story, script, and visual design of characters and scenes. Nejc Trampuž worked with artist and sound designer Tim Kropivšek to create the audio while Blaž Šef, an actor and interpreter, provided the voice.

Film website: http://rooted-in-code.com

  • Nejc Trampuž
    Director
  • Nejc Trampuž
    Producer
  • Nejc Trampuž
    Writer
  • Nejc Trampuž
    Animator
  • Nejc Trampuž
    Storyboard designer
  • Nejc Trampuž
    Image editing and Post-production
  • Tim Kropivšek
    Sound generation
  • Tim Kropivšek
    Sound design and music
  • Blaž Šef
    Voice
  • Anže Čanžek
    Recording of Voice
  • Špela Frlic
    Consulting
  • Andrej Kamnik
    Consulting
  • Luka Tišler
    Consulting
  • Lena Penšek
    Consulting
  • Rok Kos
    Consulting
  • Jan Šimnovec
    Consulting
  • Vesna Skubic
    Consulting
  • Jure Gubanc
    Consulting
  • Domen Kavčič
    Translation
  • Pika Labs beta
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • Stable Diffusion v1.5 / SDXL
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • AnimateDiff v2
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • GPT 3.4 / 4.0
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • Midjourney v 5.2
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • Stable Audio 1.0 / 1.1
    Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Zakoreninjeno v kodi
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Animation, Short, AI, Solarpunk, Environmental, Speculative fiction, Philosophical, Sci-fi, Postcyberpunk, Family, drama
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 23 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 28, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Slovenia
  • Language:
    Slovenian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Premiere at Osmo/za Gallery
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    February 9, 2024
  • Short Film Festival at Clay Theatre
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    March 9, 2024
  • Slovenian Independent Film Festival at Slovenska Kinoteka
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    April 19, 2024
  • Kurz Klub at Kino Radolca
    Radovljica
    Slovenia
    May 24, 2024
    Jury Award
  • Pisa Robot Film Festival at Cinema Arsenale
    Pisa
    Italy
    May 24, 2024
  • Generated Futures (screening + exhibition) at Kvaka22
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    May 30, 2024
  • Kino Otok / Isola Cinema, outdoors
    Izola
    Slovenia
    June 9, 2024
  • DigitalBigScreen 2024 at Delavski dom Trbovlje
    Trbovlje
    Slovenia
Director Biography - Nejc Trampuž

Nejc Trampuž (1993) is a multi-award-winning multimedia artist of the younger generation who has exhibited in dozens of exhibitions in Slovenia and internationally. He works at the intersection of multimedia and sci-art, technology, and environmentalism. His multimedia works are intertwined with digital or animated audiovisual collages with a distinctive saturated and colourful aesthetic.
He communicates environmentalism through different approaches, and technologies: AI, automation, interactivity, internet, video, sound, glitch, projection, light, etc. Since 2019 he is a member of the activist movement Youth for Climate Justice. Trampuz is frequently covered by Slovenian and foreign media.

He studied photography at Academy of Fine Arts and Design where he graduated (cum laude) in 2016 and received the 2019 academic Prize for Outstanding Master's Thesis.

2022-2023, in collaboration with konS = Platform, he realized the project Another Future Entirely, presented at Simulaker Gallery (SI), Cukrarna Gallery (SI), Velenje Gallery (SI), Museum of Modern Art (SI), 29th MFRU (SI), VideoDvorišče.11 (DIVA + ŠKUC) (SI), SLOART (SI), and the intermediate phase in Graz (AT) at MUR.at. In 2023, he collaborated with director Matej Filipčič on the animated visuals for the Slovenian national celebration ceremony of the Statehood Day, which addressed themes of environmentalism. Under the grant of Slovenian Ministry of Culture, he created a short experimental film animated with AI in 2023, which premiered in February 2024 at Osmo/za Gallery (SI). In 2024 he will participate in the production of a project as part of European Capital of Culture: GO! 2025.

In addition to these, he has received several awards: Poziv Simulaker 2019, Honourable Mention ON_Award 2018 (SK), Primavera 2019 finalist, etc. He has been a member of several juries (e.g. student section of animated film festival Animateka 2017 and student section of TAM-TAM's Plaktivat 2021-2023). Some of the other galleries and organisations where he has exhibited or collaborated with: OFF_festival (SK), Museum of Contemporary Art (SI), IZIS (SI), Cirkulacija2 (SI), Kibla (SI), Animateka festival (SI), platform Artsy, SCCA (SI), Alkatraz (SI), MGLC - Švicarija (SI), GT22 (SI), Nova Gorica City Art Gallery (SI), Foto Fest (SK), ZDSLU (SI), DLUM (SI), Museum of Architecture and Design (SI), Layer's House and TAM-TAM’s Street Gallery (SI), Photogether (CZ), KUD FP (SI), City Hall Ljubljana (SI), AQ Gallery (SI), University of Ljubljana Gallery (SI), FDV Gallery (SI), libraries, youth centres, etc.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It is becoming increasingly clear that the environmental crisis is one of the most important social issues of modern times. Accelerated global warming and the collapse of ecosystems are a serious threat to our normal, comfortable way of life, as well as to living beings in nature. At the same time, it is also becoming increasingly clear that we need to do something about it; but first, we need to know what we can do, where we should be heading, and what we should be standing up for. The prerequisite is therefore to imagine a utopian version of our society and world. This is, among other things, the mentality and aesthetics of the solarpunk, which the film follows.

In this turbulent period, tectonic shifts are also taking place in the technological realm: we are witnessing the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools, which will have a profound impact on many spheres of our lives in the future, as well as on artistic, creative, and cinematic creation. So how will this technology affect our lives in the future?

In light of the significant advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly in the field of generating moving images and sound in 2023, I decided to experiment. My goal was to test these tools and create a short animated film.

The content of the film, which was also written with the help of AI tools, intertwines the two areas mentioned above: ecology and artificial intelligence. How can AI help us with environmental problems? How can AI help us to imagine and visualise an idealised ecological society? Is society capable of self-reflection and transformation towards a more ecological system? What will life look like in 2057 if we do not change our way of life? What are the dangers of AI? All these and other questions are addressed in Rooted in Code, a film that does not seek to answer all these questions, but rather to raise them.