Plan of the City / Joshua Frankel

Plan of the city is a stunning video collage representing the landscape of New York City, Mars and outer space. video by Joshua Frankel. Music by Judd Greenstein and NOW ensemble.

A new film combing animation with live action conceived and directed by Joshua Frankel, about the architecture of New York City blasting off into outer space and resettling on Mars. The film’s visuals are an animated collage combining live action footage, animated elements, illustrations and treated photographs, including photos taken by the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity made available to the public domain by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Plan of the City was created in collaboration with composer Judd Greenstein and NOW Ensemble, an acclaimed “indie classical” chamber ensemble; the ensemble, including Greenstein, feature prominently in the film as live actors set inside the animated framework.

The audio of the film consists solely of Greenstein’s Change, performed by NOW Ensemble; Change and Plan of the City were created in parallel, each expressing its own artistic intention while simultaneously serving its “sibling”.

The film was presented with the music performed live, timed to the film, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City in May, 2011. It also exists as its own stand-alone entity, utilizing NOW Ensemble’s recent studio recording of Change(out on New Amsterdam Records). via Joshua Frankel Vimeo page