Filmmaker Statement

Second Law has been a filmmaking experiment three years in the making. Born during the pandemic, the idea emerged from conversations between director CJ Torres and music supervisor Dan McManus and their desire to create an original piece primarily driven by music, sound design, and visuals. Narrative would be left intentionally vague and open to interpretation, more focused on creating an underlying structure for the film’s esoteric themes. The idea to mix 3D animation with analog footage was a defining feature from the get-go. Working with legendary special effects artist Chris Parks (Tree of Life, The Fountain), the animation team was able to seamlessly blend their work with Chris’ fluid, psychedelic backgrounds—many of which are original film scans—to create a rich, mixed-media experience. The goal, as always, was to generate a sense of curiosity within the viewer and fire up the imagination. The film encourages viewers to interpret their own version of what they see, asking their o