The Philosopher's Stone tells the story of Jacob Fausstman (Jacob Andrew Myers), a scientist and early alchemist who searches for the key to curing man of the disease of death. In his frustration Jacob stumbles onto another path to achieve his goals. Turning to the dark arts Jacob conjures the demon Mephistopheles (Isobel Julianna Harmon) and is given the key to eternal life (a small glass vial filled with liquid).
After a small exposure to the liquid Fausstman goes home and has subtle color hallucinations which inspire him to return to his laboratory and consume the entire vial of liquid in a rather mad scientist like act. Thinking he has been tricked because he does not feel any immediate results he leaves the lab in disgust, riding his bike home.
On his bike journey the effects of the liquid take hold and his sense of the real dissolves into abstract color and form. Within the shifting abstractions the viewer can make out all of the previous scenes of the film in a complex layering technique Harmon refers to as compositing.
After an extended period of colorized hallucinations Fausstman comes to a river, whose familiar form and sounds help him to overcome his mental state. After falling asleep under a tree beside the river Faustmann wakes and is left wondering if his experiences were 'real' or if the visions he has had were just hallucinations or dreams.[2]
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