When one thinks of brilliant animation, thoughts of Pixar or Studio Ghibli may spring to mind. Last on the list, if it’s even on the list at all, is the science lab. Thanks to Strange Freedom, that thought process can now change.

Based in Vienna, Austria, Strange Freedom is an artist collective whose focus is combining music with different forms of media. Their talents earned them the “Vienna Filmmusic Award” in 2015.

This short film, entitled Birthlight, is a series of microscopic stills put together in a time lapse format. The stills were edited in sequence by graphic artist Christian Stangl. Melded together with a soundtrack created by fellow collective members Almalyn Griesauer, Robert Stefan, and Michael Willer, the result is a beautiful study of the creation, destruction, and reforming of different chemicals.

I really enjoy the tone the music sets with the video. The music beats match the changes that occur to the different chemicals. From a “sense memory” standpoint, this reminds me a lot of Superman: The Movie, when Kal-El is in his ship heading for Earth. You could replace this music with the John Williams score and the same nostalgic feelings would come rushing back to me.

You can check out more from Strange Freedom at their website here.

If you want MORE sciencey fun from Nerdist, tune into Because Science with Kyle Hill.

So how cool was this? If you could create your own soundtrack for the video, what would you include? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

H/T: Vimeo, Strange Freedom

IMAGE: The Knight Shift