52 Blue
Essay Teaser
Motion Project
This video is a teaser for 52 Blue by Leslie Jamison. The essay centers on a whale that sings at 52 hertz, a frequency lower than any other whale can hear, leading humans to label it the “loneliest whale.” Rather than focusing on the whale itself, this project emphasizes how that loneliness is a human interpretation imposed onto it. The whale is never directly shown; it exists only as an idea, through sound, frequency textures, and absence.
The video begins at 52, counts down to 0, then accelerates back to 52, mirroring cycles of isolation and connection. Layered, blurred faces of solitary people merge together, suggesting how shared loneliness can create community. The music is melancholic with moments of hope, while the soft focus and fading type evoke being unseen, like light flickering across water. Inspired by the line “the whale is just a whale” versus “the whale is everything,” the piece explores how meaning is transformed through human perception.
Tool: After Effects
Year: Fall 2025
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