Launch Recite Me assistive technology

Animation: It's Called Moon recreates the effect of trying to sleep after taking melatonin

Date
21 February 2014

Share

You know that weird limbo that occurs halfway between sleep and wakefulness where you can see hundreds of tiny images flickering over the insides of your eyelids in very quick succession but you don’t know quite how to describe it? Imagine that sensation enhanced 100-fold by a strong dose of sleep hormone melatonin, and then imagine trying to recreate the vision with animation. Tricky, no? This is exactly what Emanuele Kabu does with It’s Called “Moon”.

The animation grows and transforms steadily over the course of the short, in accompaniment to rhythmic, trance-like music, with each visual effect more impressive than the one before. Dream-like and meditative, the piece says as much about the frustrating monotony of not being able to get to sleep as it does about the effect of the drug, all of which makes for a transfixing viewer experience.

A black and white abstract illustration featuring a central diamond shape filled with dense, vertical hatching. Two large circles flank the diamond, one filled with solid black and the other with concentric rings.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An illustration of three organic, pebble-like shapes arranged horizontally against a background of fine, scribbled lines. The central shape is filled with vibrant greens, yellows and blues, while the two flanking shapes are textured with dense, black vertical lines.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An illustration of a heavy, textured grey cloud hanging over a white background. A dense web of thin black lines descends from the cloud, creating a series of undulating, rhythmic patterns.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An illustration of a circular, layered form set against a black background. The shape resembles a cross-section of a tree trunk or a geode, with concentric rings of grey, yellow and blue.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An illustration of a colourful, geometric mountain peak composed of iridescent shards. Two large, circular shapes with black segments and concentric lines flank the peak, set against a background of grey stones.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An illustration of two figures with long, dark hair facing a central, black tree-like shape. The tree is filled with white dots and grows from a colourful, pebbled base against a background of intricate white line work.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

An abstract illustration of a dense, interlocking web of geometric shards in yellow, green and grey. A curved border of white, pebble-like shapes arcs across the top against a solid black background.
Above

Emanuele Kabu: It’s Called “Moon” (filmstill)

Share Article

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

—

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.