Today's video: Megalomania, an unfinished city by Jonathan Gales

As I am working on another broadcast project that will focus on all these actors, contributors who work with architects and urban planners, I am listing names and activities. Earlier today I shared Factory Fifteen's video GAMMAR that the studio realized in association with Unknown Fields (I presented the video in the previous post). One of the founders of this studio Factory Fifteen, Jonathan Gales, has his personal website.

Megalomania - Video still, © Jonathan Gales

Megalomania, a city in total construction, a built environment explored as a labyrinth of architecture based upon a certaine dose of speculations, indeterminations.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

This city is either unfinished, incomplete or broken. As Jonathan Gales says, Megalomania is a response to the state of infrastructure and capital, evolving the appearance of progress into the sublime.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

The influence of science-fiction and/or video games is plausible in this video.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

As incomplete, no presence of life, only a feeling of angst accentuated by the organic movement sequences, demolition as well as the colors, the textures and the audio design.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

This film has been shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, a camera that becomes more and more appreciated by video artists and, recently, by some filmmakers. Scenes are first constructed with 3d Studio Max and then rendered with Vray accentuating the fascinating aesthetics of the video. The demolition has been produced using the software Rayfire.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

From AutoCad to Adobe creative suites including Maya, Vray, 3d Studio Max or Cinema 4D, Architects students become more and more adaptable.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

 This adaptability may offer new possibilities in city and architecture design and diffusion.

Megalomania — Video still, © Jonathan Gales

Megalomania is from his Masters in Architecture at the Bartlett, UCL.



MEGALOMANIA from Jonathan Gales on Vimeo.

Who is he?
Born in Jersey, Channel Islands, trained in architecture, First Class honours in B.A. from University of Brighton and Distinction in M. Arch from The Bartlett, UCL., Jonathan Gales creates short films and animations concerning architecture, design and speculative scenarios. Jonathan Gales is also one of the founding members of Factory Fifteen.