Alright folks, so we get that you're tired of Valentine's Day "news" barraging your Facebook and Twitter feeds, but it's time to wipe those broken-heart shaped tears off your face, take a seat, and get comfortable, because we've discovered a love-themed spectacle worth your while.
Play Content and Production -- a Los Angeles-based side venture of San Francisco's Swirl -- challenges the relationship between science and love in its first project: Less Than One, a short film and interactive website experience. Director Arturo Perez Jr. and art director Samantha Siegel, who happen to be dating, co-wrote the script for the video, and worked with a team to produce this unique piece that applies a scientific perspective to love.
"At first we thought of just blasting out the video on YouTube or Vimeo, but we thought it'd be more interesting to create a personalized web experience around it," Siegel says. "We wanted it to resonate with a bunch of people, and we wanted it to come out around Valentine's Day."
Less Than One first poses the question, "Do you believe in a soulmate?" then continues with a short film that portrays a seemingly sad couple who take on this question. The film guides the viewer through the relationship of the unnamed couple with beautiful shots of San Francisco, and detailed moments of intimacy. The story unfolds as the couple challenge the possibility of finding a soulmate with a mathematical equation, ultimately exploring their own compatibility. Following the film, there are a series of questions the site poses, such as, "Are you interested in men, women, or both?", "How old are you?", "Is it important that you are challenged mentally?", so on and so forth. Each question and answer produces a number and correlating percentage. In the end you are left with how many potential soulmates live in, or, around the city you're from. But can we leave true love to science? Or is it fate? "It's a universal question," Siegel says. "We didn't make the video to make any conclusion about it, but we wanted to make people think about it and their own views. And whatever number they get, they can either be happy, upset, or depressed, or, elated." Check out the video bellow, but fair warning, if you're a softy, we'd recommend you keep a box of tissues near. Also, visit www.lessthanone.com to calculate what your chances for love are. Let's hope it's not less than one...Less Than One from artperezjr on Vimeo.
