This forest is unlike any you’ve ever seen, or any that actually exists on planet Earth: as darkness falls, it comes alive in the most unexpected way. Little spots of colored light appear on tree bark, within moss, on tiny plants tucked into damp alcoves and on the backs of frogs. Amazingly, this video entitled ‘Bioluminescent Forest’ by photographer Tarek Mawad and animator Friedrich van Schoor was created in real-time without any effects added to the footage they shot.
The duo spent six weeks in the woods projecting lighting onto the plant and animal life they found there, making it seem as if they possess the ability to illuminate themselves in shades of blue, yellow, red and orange.
The footage begins with sunset in a stunning natural setting, beautiful without the addition of any man-made effects. But the 3D projections make it seem as if the forest is actually on another planet, or some sort of fantasy wonderland where nearly everything is bioluminescent.
Their setup included a computer, a projector and a DSLR on a sliding track. Check out a behind-the-scenes video of the process at Vimeo.
Of course, bioluminescence is a very real natural phenomenon. Predatory glow worms were discovered in a Peruvian rainforest last year, an Australian lake glowed an eerie shade of blue thanks to a proliferation of bioluminescent organisms, and the world’s brightest glow-in-the-dark mushroom disperses its spores by attracting nocturnal animals.
