Synopsis
In a sparse, retro-futuristic setting, a researcher works obsessively over a small wooden box that conceals an unusual recording device. She tests it on herself, capturing fragments of sensory experience and translating them into visible waveforms. As the experiments expand, additional subjects are brought in and different senses are isolated, turning the laboratory into a controlled network of signals. The machine gradually transforms private sensations into shared patterns, suggesting a mysterious connection between sound, perception, and human presence.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was presented as a science-fiction interpretation of "Draw a Map," one of the tracks on Hilary Hahn and Hauschka's 2012 album "Silfra."
- The central prop is an intentionally unassuming wooden box. It was made for the production by Andi Burnett.
- Production notes describe the recording process as moving from individual experiments to tests involving several subjects and separated senses. The setup was compared to recording a band with multiple microphones.
- The video's concept was linked to synesthesia: the idea that one sensory experience can trigger or be represented through another.
- The cast includes Jordan Bruner, Nadia Husain, Kevin Lawler, Edward Tasick, Ayli Velorok, Desmond Williams, and Nancy Diana Wong.
- Robert Lopuski shared editing duties, while Desmond Williams served as associate producer.
- "Draw a Map" was recorded for the "Silfra" project, whose music was created through improvisation by Hahn and Hauschka at Greenhouse Studio in Reykjavik, Iceland, in May 2011.
- The video first appeared publicly in June 2012, shortly after the release of "Silfra" on Deutsche Grammophon.