PROGRAMME N1600
In 2034 scientists have cloned and grown an adult male specimen of Neanderthal. The experiment was classified under the name: PROGRAMME N1600. The team's aim was to create a new smarter species which could compete with contemporary human machines. Neanderthals (named after the Neandertal area in Germany) were a species or subspecies of human which became extinct around 40,000 years ago. They were closely related to modern humans, having DNA over 99.5% the same. With an average cranial capacity of 1600 cm³, the cranial capacity of Neanderthals is notably larger than the 1400 cm³ average for modern humans, indicating that their brain size was larger.
Programme N1600 is an exploration on human evolution. I wanted to explore both the character and the digital controlled environment in which such a delicate programme could take place.
To do so, I firstly developed the character and the whole UI related to the study of the subject. Every shot is basically one of the many cameras monitoring the clone, analyzing and following his evolution. This decision was made to put the viewer into the position of observing the subject in first person.
Then I worked on the interior scene of the lab where PROGRAMME N1600 is taking place. To contrast the intimacy of the first part of the project, I decided to locate the camera inside the pool where the subject is being monitored, facing the lab, putting the viewer into the position of now being observed.