Good day everyone! Continuing on with our short film fix, we've rounded up 7 sci-fi shorts that we found to be brilliantly put together. There are countless more online and we'd love to get your input on your favorites in the comments section below or on our facebook page (seriously, just click there and like us - we're lovely individuals... mostly).
And now, in no specific order and without any serious spoilers, onto the shorts!
7. Sight - Robot Genius Films
Sight from Robot Genius on Vimeo.
This stunning little short comes courtesy Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo from Robot Genius Films and was their graduation project from the Bezaleal Academy of Arts. The compositing and general effects are superb but what hits home is that what is presented is less sci-fi and more our upcoming reality.
With newly announced systems such as Microsoft's Hololens and Google's talk about Transmogrified Reality coupled with the whole 'checking out your profile on facebook' type of research we're all occasionally guilty of, we're practically half-way there!
I also enjoyed the nod towards the gamification of pretty much everything in the short's universe, which again mirror's the current, real world, trends. The subtle hint at how we may end up getting consumed with high-scores and metrics to the point where we'd rather 'replay' the task we're trying to get done was also a nice touch.
6.The Black Hole - Diamond Dogs
Our next featured short is 'The Black Hole' directed by Diamond Dogs and produced by HSI London. Though one of the older and shorter entries on this list, it is beautifully crafted little story with a Twilight Zone-esque twist at the end.
The effects are also pretty top-notch, along with the concept which predates the whole portal craze brought on by Portal's popularity by a couple of years.
5. R'ha - Kaleb Lechowski
This little short was fully put together by Kaleb Lechowski and represents an enormous amount of dedication, hard work and skill invested. On his blog he talks about the aftermath of the short's success which makes for an interesting read, especially due to the simple and direct way that he explains what happened next.
To get a better understanding of the amount of work Kaleb has done, he's prepared a little behind the scenes (clicky-click) and there are a few updates on the progress of the full film on the official facebook site.
As a short, it's quite awesome, with a compelling blend of different character designs and a glimpse at an interesting world. Here's hoping that it ends up being a successful franchise. Best of luck Kaleb, we're rooting for you!
4. Doubles - Jacob Motz
Doubles - Short Film from Jacob Motz on Vimeo.
Jacob Motz's 'Doubles' presents a very down-to-earth, and refreshingly candid take on the implication of a world where the concept of multiple universes is actually an accepted reality. The amount of little details, such as the radio shows discussing the implications of the merging of two universes, and the overall vibe are beautifully considered and put together, creating a very plausible scenario.
Above all though, 'Doubles' succeeds by being an effortless fusion of clever sci-fi and honest humour. Some of the circumstances presented are refreshingly novel while the deliveries by the talented cast are truly top-tier. This has easily become one of my favorite shorts yet!
3. Abe - Rob McLellan
ABE from Rob McLellan on Vimeo.
In Rob McLellan's 'Abe' we are presented with a stunningly disturbing piece of cinema which explores the psychopathology of programmed love. There is a strong message, perhaps even a warning hidden in this story regarding the potential dangers of the development of AI. I read an article recently - click here and scroll down to the Robotica story - which goes into great depth into analyzing the concerns of an advanced Artificial Intelligence system.
This short film nailed that point by illustrating precisely such a scenario and did so in a beautifully realized and shot manner.
2.Tears of Steel - The Blender Foundation
The story behind the making of Tears of Steel is almost as interesting as the actual film. Written and directed by Ian Hubert and supported by the by the Blender foundation, this film is special because it follows the same open-source mind-set as the software that was used to create it : all the assets are available to download and use in whichever you want! You can head on over here and download all the assets to remix them or reuse them as you see fit. Here's a remake of the short by CASIA in Chinese.
Though the story is a fairly standard humans vs robots type of deal, the world building and visual effects are awe-inspiring. In general, the aesthete, a highly stylized blend of colourful technology with a dash of steampunk and some anime, reminds me of Terry Gilliam's (specifically his latest, Zero Theorem) work. It is most definitely a stunning technical achievement, especially if you consider that it was done on completely free software that anyone can download.
1. Strange Thing - Bursell Productions
Strange Thing from Bursell Productions on Vimeo.
Our final featured short is 'Strange Thing', directed and written by Alrik Bursell, which introduces us to Kris and Jake who wake up to find that a mysterious door has appeared in their living room. It's a peculiar little sci-fi thriller done in the vein of 1980's sci-fi films, with a pretty cool score and a scene which reminded me of James Cameron's 'The Abyss'.
That about wraps our sci-fi short selection. Hope you enjoyed what we have found. If you have any additional shorts in mind that are worth checking out, share them with us in the comments or on our Facebook page where you can Like us to get our daily updates.
See ya soon!