Ampersand

Ampersand is science visualization meets visual music. The film takes the audience on a relaxing musical journey from the subatomic to the galactic and touches on many core ideas of science like the wave particle duality, evolution, and pollination.

The title "Ampersand" (or "and") is meaningful because everything is made from the same energy — the same atoms, which act as particles AND waves — and because everything in the film is in flux to become something else. Subatomic particles and waves appear and dance with the music. Alternating between abstract and representational scenes, we zoom out to see mitosis, evolution, pollination. Finally, we reach the galactic scale and return to the dot and wave pattern from the beginning. An explosion creates a mandala made from all of the abstract forms from the film. Everything from the subatomic to the humongous is seen in one view, moving to the music, representing unity and awe of nature.  

Director Bio

Erin Shea is a multimedia designer and artist living in Venice, CA. Originally from Colorado, her work is driven by her love of nature, and seeks to visualize information in playful and awe-inspiring ways. She received an MFA in Animation from USC Film School where she won a Sloan Science in Film grant, and she currently designs at Signal Sciences. 

Production Credits

Director: Erin Shea

Animation: Erin Shea and Simón Wilches Castro

Music: "In Love with Dusk" by Keep Shelly in Athens

Sound Design: Marcello Dubaz

Faculty advisors: Mike Patterson and Candace Reckinger