KALEIDI | Engineer builds HUGE Kaleidoscope after taking Ayahuasca

After achieving all his goals, years of study to a dream job - Nikita, a Russian engineer that emigrated alone to Australia at age 18, felt at a loss. ‘Is this life?’ He asks before embarking on a journey of self discovery after 2 years he returns and sets his plan into action: To handcraft the worlds largest pentagon kaleidoscope for the vivid light show festival in Sydney Australia. We explore the subject of change over the course of the 2 years it took to build Kaleidi and make this film. Kaleidi is a short documentary which aims to let the audience and those who feel in a similar situation know that we all have the ability to create beauty, fear is the only obstacle, once you overcome it nothing can hold you back. Become the captain of your own ship!

Directors commentary

The shoot happened over several weekends spread over the span of 1.5 years to document the build, the kaleidoscope was actually supposed to be displayed at the 2021 vivid festival but was postponed for 2 years then indefinitely. I wanted to capture lots of nature as being in the outback there was tons of amazing scenery and wildlife so to me that is something special this project allowed me to witness and thus capture for the audience. I see this project as less a documentary and more a visual experience hopefully captivating you into the beauty of the world I was shown.

Equipment was fairly light, I managed to get myself stranded in Aus due to covid so only had my trusty a7siii and at times even taping filters to the front due to not having the right equipment. This allowed me lots of freedom as I wasn’t faffing around with kit therefore freeing me up to focus on the storytelling but still at times frustrating!

The edit was put together in black magic da Vinci resolve which was actually my first time using the software and to say I was impressed is an understatement as lighting wasn’t always the most ideal, being able to literally ‘fix it in post’ the deflicker and little adjustments, not to mention how intuitive the grading experience was, da Vinci really allowed me to explore further and create something closer to my original vision.

Thank you for watching, If you have any interest in showcasing the Kaleidoscope and seeing it in person, please get in touch!

- Where to find me -
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harveywalton_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvey.walton.1

- Where to find Nikita -
https://www.instagram.com/shtepanikita/