Netherlands-based Studio Smack was commissioned by the Museum de Beyerd in Breda to create “Kapitaal,” an interesting look at the ubiquity of signs (I mean that in a semiotic sense) in urban landscapes.
At first, I mistook this for an attempt to filter only ad-related signs, but then I realized Studio Smack were including all signs, from ATM messages to the LED display of a digital alarm clock. It’s a clever way of looking at our world, and it’s remarkable how well you can reconstruct an environment using just these visuals clues. Watching the video on mute doesn’t diminish your ability (much) to accurately identify the spaces used in the video, which is a testament to how ingrained particular forms of signs have become in our perceptions of place.
I’m not really sure how Studio Smack pulled off this piece, but I have a feeling it involved a ton of work. I’m fairly certain it’s almost entirely 3D with some rotoscoped people here and there. I’m sure they had tons of reference video, from which they may have borrowed some tracking data. At any rate, it’s a very nice piece, and will work within the museum context for which it was created.
Thanks, Seth!