If you haven’t seen the video yet, please watch it before you continue reading this post.

And preferably go full screen if you can.

Did you like it? I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on Vimeo in a long time.

But what’s really striking about this video is the fact that it’s fully computer-generated. None of it is real. It’s all animated.

As the author of the video, Alex Roman, says: “The Third and The Seventh is a full-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects
are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal.”

The website for the project, www.thirdseventh.com, describes it as “the visual fusion between the third and the seventh arts.”

Alex Roman is an artistic alias of a 30-year-old Spanish artist Jorge Seva, who studied traditional painting, then worked for a visual effects company in Madrid before developing an interest in architectural visualisation.

In one interview he explained the concept and the title:

I realized that there was a huge aesthetic difference between most clients’ commercial demands and photography of already-built structures. The lack of respect for the architecture itself in some “pure” commercial illustration was very frustrating to me. (Well, this is just my opinion, of course.)

Then, I decided to start a personal journey: to experiment with a more cinematographic and/or photographic oriented point of view of some of my favorites architects’ masterpieces.

Hence, the “TheThird&TheSeventh” project…

You can read the rest of the interview here – he explains some technical details regarding the video.

You have to admit, the video is simply stunning. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of effort and patience required to put the whole thing together. I think I’ll stop moaning about my RAW workflow now.

It also shows what is possible in 2010 and actually when you think about it – it makes you wonder how much of what we see is real – and when it matters. If at all.

I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes and half of the movie was computer-generated, but it didn’t bother me at all, it was good fun.

There might be situations however when this sort of CG footage might be problematic – factual or news footage springs to mind. Sooner or later it will happen.

But I guess this is just the beginning – in five year’s time Avatar and Wall-e will look dated. And I’d rather celebrate the fact we’re able to create such amazing things.

Alex Roman, I salute you!