The film lasts exactly 60 seconds in eight scenes: the rainforest, the encounter, a map of Suriname, the jaguar on a fallen tree, the jaguar in the river, the animals it hunts, the threats and a closing shot in the sunlight. The Dutch narration and the subtitles stay in sync with the picture, also after pausing.
The images were painted in advance with OpenAI's image models, in a hand-painted animation style. Each jaguar scene is one painting with a few variants in which only the jaguar moves, like hand-drawn animation with few drawings. A custom WebGL shader brings the paintings to life: water ripples, the air shimmers and the jaguar breathes. Where it breathes comes from a mask that a script computes by comparing each pose with the same painting without the jaguar. Move the mouse close to its head while it looks at you and it blinks.
The voice was made in advance with OpenAI text-to-speech; music, forest sounds and effects were synthesised with a script of my own. The website itself uses no AI: everything is a file on the server. The Web Audio API clock drives everything, so picture and sound cannot drift apart. The map uses the real borders from Natural Earth. The facts were checked with the IUCN, Panthera and UNESCO, among others. After the film, 'Meer ontdekken' offers more about tracks, food, range and protection.
On a phone the jaguar stays whole in view, over a blurred copy of the painting. With reduced motion on, the camera stands still and no particles float.
The images were painted in advance with OpenAI's image models, in a hand-painted animation style. Each jaguar scene is one painting with a few variants in which only the jaguar moves, like hand-drawn animation with few drawings. A custom WebGL shader brings the paintings to life: water ripples, the air shimmers and the jaguar breathes. Where it breathes comes from a mask that a script computes by comparing each pose with the same painting without the jaguar. Move the mouse close to its head while it looks at you and it blinks.
The voice was made in advance with OpenAI text-to-speech; music, forest sounds and effects were synthesised with a script of my own. The website itself uses no AI: everything is a file on the server. The Web Audio API clock drives everything, so picture and sound cannot drift apart. The map uses the real borders from Natural Earth. The facts were checked with the IUCN, Panthera and UNESCO, among others. After the film, 'Meer ontdekken' offers more about tracks, food, range and protection.
On a phone the jaguar stays whole in view, over a blurred copy of the painting. With reduced motion on, the camera stands still and no particles float.
More work
Interactive 3D WebGL Experience
A 3D WebGL piece with animated chrome letters, a neon grid and warp-speed stars. Move your mouse to pan the camera.
Interactive World Globe
A 3D globe of 2,000 points of light, built with Three.js. Pick the Netherlands, Suriname or England and the globe turns to that country, with a short text.
Interactive DOS Experience
An MS-DOS simulation with CRT effects and real commands such as DIR, CD, TYPE and HELP. CAROUSEL.EXE breaks the screen into ASCII blocks that turn into a 3D carousel.