The consciousness of the senses, which flows quickly and disappears in time, recreates itself elsewhere, in timelessness. It has always been there, but it's showing itself for the first time.

The layers here represent the past, present, and future. All these layers also help to bring together all traces lost in time. They reshape those senses and bring them closer to the new one.

Layers

known world

The building blocks.

The photos on this layer depict everyday scenes that can be found in the real world. They provide the foundation for the setting in the "in between" universe, and each photo corresponds to a song in the matching playlist (embedded in the features below).

k4leido

A dream home in the merging of different worlds.

The images/lights reshaped with the kaleidoscope lens filter create a nostalgic space. This space is comfortable and unique. Although the microcosms that come together in the "in between" universe offer an unlimited stream of consciousness, when combined with kaleidoscope images, it becomes a warmer and more subjective world.

Although “in between” is first and foremost an image composition project, it uses different generative techniques to emulate analog film behaviour. We tried to blur the line between image composition and purely generative forms in a way that you can’t say if something you see in the outputs is generative or if it’s part of one of the actual photographs.

The selected layers are a mix of photos specifically shot for this project and archival material from both of us. All of Sermin’s photos were shot on 35 mm film, whereas k4leido kid’s are shot digitally and with old soviet lenses, a kaleidoscope lens filter, and a diffusion filter.

Features

• sound is event
• dream gate
• magic curtain
• light leaks
• decay

sound is event

Each base image has a corresponding song which you can find in the playlist below. We tried to choose music from different genres that gives us those otherworldly and timeless vibes.

dream gate

This feature is one of the best examples of loving the imperfections in analog photography. It is the equivalent to the first image on each film roll. Due to its semi-exposure nature, it can give very interesting compositions which look like the photo is engulfed by magically enchanted flames.

magic curtain

The magic curtain is basically a simple flow field algorithm. But instead of using generative forms/particles, we've cut out some lights from the kaleidoscope photos and use them as particles.

light leaks

The light leaks also have the cut-out kaleidoscope lights as a base but are randomly placed without the use of a noise field. We gave it different tints so it resembles common color effects that happen on real film due to camera errors or mishandling.

decay

This feature uses your current time to show common decay processes, like deterioration of the emulsion which happens due to mould, heat, humidity, pollutants and so on. Over time, the blacks start to fade and the colors begin to shift to one specific tint.

We also added a layer that is dedicated to the Vinegar Syndrome. As acetate film begins to decay, it produces vinegar-smelling acetic gas. This acidic gas prompts the plastic base to become brittle and shrink. For this layer we experimented a lot with different materials to create a dummy which we then scanned and used as a template to emulate the Vinegar Syndrome.

You can add "&date=YYYY-MM-DD" to the URL to go to a specific date.

There are 3 different periods in which the image will be fully decayed:

• hyperlapse (fully decayed in ~ 1 year)
• timelapse (fully decayed in ~ 20 years)
• real time (fully decayed in ~ 100 years)

There's also a 4 % probability that the photo has already decayed by the time it is minted.

dust, scratches and grain

Outside of the features there are two other algorithms for getting the analog feel: one for the emulation of a lazy scan (dust and scratches through the use of bezier curves and points) and one for the grain which gives the whole output a more warm and hazy vibe.

There is a place where the line between good and evil is blurred.

It's a place of beauty and terror, of hope and despair.

It's a place where fantasy and reality is obscured.

This is the place where we live.