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The Letter That Waited 45 Years carries a plan beyond one lifetime

Metallux Studio turns a real scientific undertaking into a story about leaving something worth carrying on.

Work by Nim Shapira × Tamir Avidor × Seffy Hirsch × Floris De Haan × Rafi Chen × Metallux Studio2 min read
Mourners standing around Edmond Halley's grave on a headland while a fleet of tall ships lies at sea behind them
The Letter That Waited 45 Years by Nim Shapira × Tamir Avidor × Seffy Hirsch × Floris De Haan × Rafi Chen × Metallux Studio

In 1716, Edmond Halley asked future astronomers to watch Venus cross the Sun from different places on Earth. Comparing their observations could reveal how far away the Sun was. The next opportunity was 45 years away.

Halley died in 1742. His idea kept travelling.

The Letter That Waited 45 Years follows the people who took that unfinished plan across oceans and continents. The expeditions were real, and so was the Seven Years' War around them. Scientists travelled with special letters of passage through enemy territory to make their observations.

Nim Shapira, Tamir Avidor and Seffy Hirsch build the film from AI-generated imagery, historical records, maps and period illustrations. The voiceover carries us through the distance between one man's plan and the people prepared to act on it.

The Letter That Waited 45 Years by Nim Shapira × Tamir Avidor × Seffy Hirsch × Floris De Haan × Rafi Chen × Metallux Studio
Sources
A greying, older Elon Musk in an Energym t-shirt, labelled Co-founder ENERGYM, being interviewed in a gym in the mockumentary

Energym: AI took your job. There is good news about your legs.

Work by Hans Buyse × Jan De Loore × AiCandy
Samuel Rizzon's own glowing pixel-art building in Git City, with his developer profile card open beside it

Git City: Your GitHub activity has become a rather lovely city

Work by Samuel Rizzon
OSR Player white handheld-style casing with bright green stem display and individual track controls, from the creator demo.

OSR Player: What if you could play with a song while listening to it?

Work by Matei Convard × Obsimo

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