This is an experimental short film featuring an original cinematic score set against a collage of declassified archival footage (Prelinger archive) from the atmospheric nuclear tests of the early 50s in Nevada .
These operations were staged by the U.S. Military and Federal Civil Defense Administration to study the tactical and psychological effects of atomic weapons.
The visuals are drawn from multiple exercises, including Operation Doorstep, Operation Cue, and the Desert Rock maneuvers, which used soldier and purpose-built 'Survival Towns' populated by mannequins to measure the effects of a nuclear blast on American suburban life and the military.
The score is a triptych, moving from the quiet tension of the initial preparations to the overwhelming wall of sound at the moment of a detonation, and concluding with a sorrowful orchestral lament featuring distant bells, reflecting on the human and environmental cost of these 'studies'.
Music composed and produced by Joseph Balson in Logic Pro.
]Footage sourced from the Prelinger Archives (Public Domain), edited in Final Cut.
Original soundtrack on Bandcamp: https://josephbalson.bandcamp.com/track/the-false-dawns-of-nevada-original-experimental-shot-film-soundtrack
