ANTE MERIDIEM

This meditative short film, “Ante Meridiem”, explores the passage of time through nature from a single viewpoint over a compressed six-month period, presented through a sequence of images accompanied by original music that expresses the grandeur of nature as poetic form. The film features 184 continuous images captured during morning hours from March to August 2021 in the Crazy Mountain Range, Shields Valley, Montana. The film documents the passage of time through sequential patterns and rhythms of light, changing weather conditions, seasonal shifts, and devastating fires.

The film utilizes the abstraction of layered images and transitions, synchronized with musical notes and rhythms to enhance the contemplative experience of nature. Artist/filmmaker Scott Duce, in close collaboration with composer Stuart Weber, who composed and performed the original music, merged the visual imagery with a hypnotic musical score during the final editing process.

The film is divided into six separate chapters, each representing the months from March through August. The musical score changes to reflect the themes and qualities associated with the imagery and mood of each month, while maintaining unity in the overall sense of the film.

For Duce, the film project began during the Covid-19 pandemic, serving as an artistic outlet. Filming each morning isolated in the vastness of the Shields Valley provided the nucleus for a project that would spanned the next three years. He chose the title of the film to represent the morning hours. “Ante Meridiem” refers to the term AM, meaning before noon or forenoon. It is rare to use the full Latin spelling; the abbreviated form is more commonly used.

Film by Scott Duce

Producer Scott Duce/ DuceStudio

Music composed

and performed Stuart Weber

Release Date September 2024

Running Time 14:05

Film Methods photographs, time lapse film, and animation. experimental editing

Screenings: Festival Release Only at this time

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