BOX

Box explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The short film, with Creative and Technical direction by Tarik Abdel-Gawad, documents a live performance, captured entirely in camera. The abstract narrative is divided into five categories of classical magic that flow together in a single five-minute shot.

In the first chapter, a performer extrudes a flat panel into an open box, blurring the line between two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. The illusions build as objects intersect, levitate and transform, ultimately immersing the performer and viewer in an alternate graphic reality. In the final chapter, the performer exits the scene through a portal and the camera reveals the robotic mechanism behind each illusion.

Box represents a future where the digital world escapes from the screen. By combining projection mapping and robotics, it captures a sense of wonder through a delicate balance of reality and imagination.  

Credits:

Executive Producer: Julia Gottlieb
Producers: Bill Galusha, Nick Read
Creative & Technical Director: Tarik Abdel-Gawad
Design Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Lead Graphic Designers: Bradley G Munkowitz, Jason English Kerr
3D Artists: Scott Pagano, Bradley G Munkowitz, Jason English Kerr, Conor Grebel
2D Animators: Conor Grebel, Ben Hawkins, Pedro Figueira
Director of Photography: Joe Picard
Lighting Designers: Joe Picard, Phil Reyneri
Projection / TouchDesigner: Phil Reyneri
Robotics Animation: Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Brandon Kruysman, George Banks, Michael Beardsworth
Robotics Operator: Michael Beardsworth, Brandon Kruysman
Prop Fabrication: Matt Bitterman, Ethan Dale
Script Supervisor: Ian Colon
Sound Engineers: Joe Picard, Michael Beardsworth
PAs: Sean Servis, Dakota Smith, Nico Mizono, Eric Wendel, Patrick Walsh
Editors: Ashley Rodholm, Ian Colon
Music / Sound Design: Keith Ruggiero
Sound Mix: Joel Raabe
Performers: Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Iris, Scout