Visionary director Forest Rain teams up with ambient electronic music composer David Helpling in this audio-visual odyssey that blurs the lines between film and soundtrack. The film stars Aiste Vaiciunaite as ‘The Being’ and Anthony Strangeweather as the voice of ‘Mission Control’. Rite is a unique experience designed specifically for theatrical viewing. Coming Soon.
EMBARK ON AN AUDIO-VISUAL ODYSSEY
Spearheading the search for sentient life on other worlds is the job of Odyssey 1, solo space pilot and explorer. His boots-on-the-ground mission takes him to a barren land inhabited by the ruins of an ancient civilization. As the night approaches, melodic tones illuminate the forsaken dunes, welcoming their guest with visions of a mysterious feminine presence, one whose existence is seemingly tied to the planet’s past. The line between dream and reality is blurred as Odyssey 1 is drawn into her caverns below the surface like a moth to a light. He soon discovers that he’s been selected to be part of something greater.
THE STORY
“My love for animation stems from it being a medium that is only limited by what you can imagine. Nothing is impossible."
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Forest Rain got his start in A/V production fresh out of high school. In addition to being a short film animator and director, Forest has worn many hats in his career, ranging from live event producer, DJ, dance choreographer, video editor and motion graphics designer.
Whether its creating animation for award-winning documentary “Black Star” (audience choice award, Illuminate Film Festival), or producing a multimedia live dance performance, Forest is passionate about bringing audiences together for unforgettable experiences.
Q: What software/renderer did you use?
A: Redshift renderer in Cinema 4D and After Effects
Q: Which came first? The film or the soundtrack?
A: Rite actually started out as a music video for David Helpling’s “Bending Towards the Night” from the album “IN.” As the project developed however, the scope and story grew into what it is now. After we locked picture, David went back and completely changed the music so that it suited the visuals more. So there was a bit of a back and forth.
Q: How long did it take to make the film?
A: Just over a year.
Q: What was the biggest challenge during production?
A: Managing render times was very difficult. We needed to render a lot in a short amount of time. Luckily, we were able to render on 2 machines simultaneously and found ways to optimize scenes.
FILM FAQ
AISTE VAICIUNAITE
AS "THE BEING"
CAST & CREW
ANTHONY STRANGEWEATHER
AS "MISSION CONTROL"
MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN
DAVID HELPLING
ELECTRIC CELLO
MATTHEW SCHOENING
“Music is always in my head. That’s how I write. I’m always dreaming.”
As a young teen, David Helpling pushed himself to learn guitar – experimenting with various effects and signal processors to create illusions with sound. Together with his passion for synthesizers and percussion, this guitar sound became centric to a complete vision and musical style that expresses powerful sonic moods with a definite soundtrack feel.
MUSIC BY DAVID HELPLING
David’s debut release, Between Green and Blue, was a finalist for the INDIE Album-Of-The-Year award. On his second release, Sleeping On The Edge Of The World, the artist took his unmistakable style and dense sound sculptures to a deeper, more powerful and cinematic level.
Working side by side with Jon Jenkins, David’s driven pursuit to create the music of his dreams was fully realized with the release of their trilogy of albums Treasure, The Crossing, and Found. The international success of these collaborative albums proves that the combination of these two artists is explosive and limitless.
From the epic trilogy with Jon Jenkins, David turned to the deep inspiration of the Sea with two deeply emotional Ambient Guitars releases: A Sea Without Memory and RUNE.
Now, in 2022, David has revealed his double album “IN” that returns to his multi-instrumental style for the first time since Sleeping On the Edge Of The World. Crafted and built over several years, this rich release explodes with the power of subsonic drums, pulsing synthesizers and searing new complex textures as clear phrasing reveals an unforgettable sound.
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