Your Moment of Zen: World’s Second Largest Aquarium, the Music Video

By Liz Shannon Miller Jul. 27, 2009, 1:00pm No Comments
Did Canadian filmmaker Jon Rawlinson know what he was getting into when he plopped a Canon 5DMKII (with a 28mm-135mm lens) in front of the Kuroshio Sea tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan? Maybe not. But the end result is still magical. The world’s second largest aquarium tank is home to a vast array of sea life, and for 4 minutes and 33 seconds you’re given a high-res look at it swimming by.

Whale sharks and manta rays mingle with schools of smaller fish while, on the other side of the glass, human shadows stare in awe. The effect is combined with a delicate, soothing soundtrack that pulses along with the flow of motion in the tank, creating the most Zen experience you’ll find outside of a Buddhist temple.

This effect comes because of its perfect synthesis of music and images, making it a proud showcase for the band Barcelona, whose haunting track Please Don’t Go not only scores the video, but dictates its length. And by allowing its use, Barcelona has found itself flooded with new attention.

According to a post on the band’s Myspace blog, “Thanks to this video, and Jon Rawlinson, the director of the video, our album has been pushed back up the iTunes Rock Album charts and is holding strong thanks to all of you who watched the video and then purchased the album.” And in this response video, the band says that people have already begun showing up at concerts because of this piece. (Score one for Chris Anderson’s theory about the power of free.)

There isn’t much to say about this one, honestly, except that there’s real peace to be found in this video, a potential lullaby for millions. Over the past week, it’s so far accumulated close to 2 million views across YouTube, Break.com and Vimeo — at the latter site, a 720p HD version is available for download.

Rawlinson’s “about” page details a rich body of work and a life well-lived — the kind of journey that allows for perfect moments of discovery like this one. I definitely plan to follow his next move.