Those who missed out on Burning Man last year are in luck.
A California-based media company has shortened the epic annual art festival, which emphasizes self-expression and self-reliance, into a hypnotic 12-minute video that shows the celebration in striking miniature form.
James Cole of Cinematic Digital Video, Byron Mason and Jason Phipps shot the whimsical clip, which is dubbed “A Burning Man for Ants,” using tilt-shift photography, a technique that makes the annual gathering look as if it is a toy city.
PHOTOS: BURNING MAN FESTIVAL 2012
The fast-paced video begins with nearly 50,000 festival-goers rolling into the barren campgrounds at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, in trailers and cars.
People in wild costumes whiz around on bikes, motorized recliner chairs and makeshift trains as they set up their temporary city complete with experimental art and music installations.
“Fertility 2.0” was the theme of the off-beat celebration, which asked festival-goers to spend the five-day event exploring the female form and creation.
Several interactive installations spring up during the video, including an intricately crafted wooden temple called the Temple of Juno and a massive wooden ship.
Night eventually falls over the colorful desert-turned-playground about 100 miles outside of Reno, giving rise to fireworks, neon lights, lasers and spirited dance parties.
Many of the installations are set ablaze and light up the dark Nevada sky with flames of yellow and orange.
As the vibrant video comes to a close, the festival’s crowning sculpture, the enormous Burning Man, is set on fire as people raise their torches in salute.
The annual desert event, which has become incredibly popular in the last two decades, kicked off on Aug. 27 and ended on Sept. 3. It first began in 1986 as a bonfire ritual in San Francisco.
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