Choir music is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about exciting contemporary cultural experiences. Munich-based via-nova-chor challenged us to create a captivating video to visualize Michael Ostrzyga’s latest piece “Venus” and bridge a musical tradition with the present.

Inspired by movies like Interstellar and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the video explores the intersection of music, space and the human imagination. Mixing self-recorded footage with generative visuals created in TouchDesigner and Resolume, as well as some A.I.-generated video sequences, Venus visualizes Michael Ostrzyga’s composition as an abstract space landscape that mirrors the complexity and beauty of the piece. It combines different media to create a connection between a past full of heritage and an exciting present.

Starting with interviews, a mood board and a structured storyboard, the nature of the creative process rapidly turned experimental the more we listened to the piece. Being flexible allowed us to find connections between different media, and sticking to our initial structure helped us to stay resourceful.

The video was presented several times at Technikum (München),  Digital Art Space (München), chor.com 2024 (Hannover) and (A) Eye (Nairobi). We even got interviewed, you can find the transcript here. 

“Venus” is a music video I created together with Christoph Pretzsch and Sophie Kreutzer as part of the LICHTSTÜCKE project. Sophie was in charge of all analog media, Christoph created all digital media and I was in charge of completing the initial vision, directing the video from storyboard to final cut. LICHTSTÜCKE was a collaboration from students at LMU München (Art and Media program) and the Hochschule für Technik Berlin (Screen-Based Media program). 

“Venus” was sponsored by Amateurmusikfonds, BMCO and Bundesregierung für Kultur and Medien.