Applied Imagination, Inc. has digitally created a virtual snowstorm sequence for the third film in the QATSI trilogy. QATSI Productions contacted Applied Imagination, Inc. president Tom Tafuto last winter to inquire about the possibility of creating a virtual snow storm which would be a pivotal part of the film "NAQOYQATSI."

Tafuto accepted the challenge and worked with lead animator Matt Strauss to create the sequence. QATSI Productions is pleased with the results: a 30 second sequence that simulates the experience of driving through a snow storm that morphs to a complete white out by the end of the sequence ushering in the main theme of the film. The film is being directed by Godfrey Reggio and produced by Joe Beirne, Godfrey Reggio and Lawrence Taub - the executive producer is Steven Soderbergh. Phillip Glass is composing the soundtrack.

After the final "SNOW" sequence was accepted last week, Tafuto and Strauss were thrilled. Strauss said, "I'm very honored to contribute to this film. Working with so many talented people who contributed to this film fulfills a lifelong dream for me."

Tafuto echoed these sentiments saying, "Having the opportunity to contribute to this film is a blessing and certainly goes down as one of the highlights in our company's fifteen year history. I was inspired on so many levels when I saw the first film "KOYAANISQATSI" (a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance") in the mid-80s. It is a strikingly prophetic film about the collision of two completely different worlds -- urban life and technology versus the environment. The second film "POWAQATSI" focuses more on the human side of the equation and this new film is about how technology is becoming as indispensable as oxygen."

In a poetic nanosecond, NAQOYQATSI gives utterance to a new world coming, a new world here. Look for it in theaters in October.

New York Times Review