Altered Vision is a short film exploring perception.
Emily L Collins and Sarah Lynn Dawson wanted to create a film that takes the viewer on a journey. Joining with Frank White – the author of The Overview Effect book, this film explores how what we perceive can shape our reality.
See Earth. See Everything Differently.
There is a moment – reported again and again by astronauts who have looked back at Earth from space – when the boundaries fall away. The borders vanish. The noise quiets. What remains is a single, fragile, blue world, suspended in the dark.
It’s called the Overview Effect: a profound shift in perspective that happens when you finally see the whole picture.
Altered Vision is a short film about that moment – and about what it might mean for the rest of us to feel it too, without ever leaving the ground.
The Story
Altered Vision follows a journey of perspective – a story built around the same cognitive shift astronauts have described since humanity first left the atmosphere: the sudden, overwhelming realization of Earth’s unity, fragility, and beauty when seen from above.
The film is licensed to use the name “The Overview Effect,” drawing on decades of astronaut testimony and the concept popularized by author Frank White, translating an experience once reserved for a handful of space travelers into something audiences can feel from their seats.
The Concept
The term “Overview Effect” was coined by Frank White to describe the shift in awareness that astronauts undergo when they view the Earth from orbit or the surface of the Moon – a sense of interconnectedness and a new, urgent appreciation for our planet as a single, shared home.
Team
Emily L Collins — Director /Producer /Writer
Frank White — Producer (author of The Overview Effect)
Sarah Lynn Dawson — Producer / Writer
Full credits:
Directed by Emily L Collins
Produced by Sarah Lynn Dawson, Frank White and Emily L Collins
Edited by Emily L Collins and Ivan Chocron
Voice overs – Sarah Lynn Dawson, Frank White and Dave Kirkpatrick
Music Bo Berg and Josh Steele
Special thanks for the Earth visuals to Dan Barstow/NASA
Poster Design Eliie Roth
Contact
For screening inquiries, press, or partnership opportunities, please reach out via the contact details below.
Emily L Collins –
Sarah Lynn Dawson – info@sarahlynndawson.com
Frank White –
Click to purchase Franks book here