02 / A film in code & sound
Chennai,
Redrawn.
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View the original postA chalk-like line draws coast, temple settlements, colonial Madras, railways and neighbourhoods, gathering into a pattern in the shape of Chennai. The score follows the drawing with a flute and bells. There is no spoken narration.
The making
One prompt.
Then the work.
An artistic telling of the city.
The historical reconstruction is a separate work.
I supplied the prompt. A builder agent made the film, and a coordinating agent reviewed it. The score came in a later session.
The line moves through coast, temple settlements, colonial Madras, railways and neighbourhoods. Earlier paths stay in the picture as new ones cross them.
The original prompt / verbatim
A city is drawn, then redrawn. Tell the story of Chennai in a 20-second HTML animation built from a single kolam line. Let the unbroken line wind through coast, temple settlements, colonial Madras, railways, neighborhoods, and modern Chennai, continually crossing its earlier paths without erasing them. End with the full pattern revealing the shape of the city. Draw everything in code; no external assets or website UI.
The prompt asked for 20 seconds. The shared specification was a 20.0-second story, about a four-second hold and about a 0.8-second dissolve. The exported film runs for exactly 24 seconds.
The build
About one hour and forty-five minutes with a builder agent, including its own fixes.
One review
The coordinating agent chose four changes:
- A “sprawl” chapter weaving the area annexed in 2011, so the final pattern reads as the city.
- Eight different neighbourhood motifs.
- Camera framing.
- A larger final frame.
Then, the score
Added in a later session. A flute follows the drawing; bells mark crossings. There is no spoken narration.