SHORT: Satellite B12 [Sci-Fi]

[Mr. B]

Update 12-12-2013: It's done, I would love to hear your feedback and thank you for watching

Update 12-06-2013: News about the Short Film
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Hi DVX users

Almost one year ago I showed you the last of 5 Teaser Episodes of my Sci-Fi project. I received a lot of feedback and that's why I just had to do a real short film after all those small episodes. I tried to listen to your feedback and to tell a real story this time (instead of just teasing the setting). I also tried to include more background information to achieve a richer experience.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to produce a completely English version this time but I put a lot of effort in making cool looking subtitles ;-)

You can find the Teaser Episodes in the second post now, this first post is all about the short ;-)

I'm looking forward to your feedback. It's the second short film I've done so far, so I'm always open to suggestions and criticism.


Story
Through surveillance and helmet cameras we follow the lives of two young men living in a colony on moon "B12". Like their predecessors they were conceived by artificial insemination and grew up closely monitored by "mother". After one of them comes across strangely glowing creatures, he begins to develop a fascination for the moon and its inhabitants. Soon afterwards his desire for freedom grows stronger and stronger ...

Production
Principal photography took place in Switzerland near Zurich. The outdoors scenes I shot mainly in autumn of 2012. The indoor scenes I shot in an air raid shelter within two days in late February 2013. For the indoor scenes I hired two actors and I worked with a minimal crew. I was on my own with everything else though (except the music), so as you can see, it is a very small production with a budget of almost zero dollars. So in a way B12 was a little bit of an experiment on how small I could keep things whilst still shooting a Sci-Fi movie and how far I would come (mostly) on my own.



I'm looking forward to reading your posts :smile:

- Benjamin

Website (German) | Like on Facebook
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[Mr. B]

Original post (2012)

Original post (2012)

Original Post (2012): Teaser-Episodes

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Hi dvx users

I'm currently working on a project called "Satellite B12" which is set in the future on a moon called "B12". The actual short is still in pre-production but I already finished some episodes introducing the setting. So I'm just gonna show them to you and hope to get some useful feedback in order to get the best out of my short ;-)

Episodes:

-> "B12: Prologue" on vimeo

-> "B12: Collective" on vimeo

-> "B12: Essay" on vimeo

Behind the scenes:

-> "B12: Prologue - Breakdown" on youtube

-> "B12: Collective - Breakdown" on youtube

-> "B12: Essay - Breakdown" on youtube

Setting: The human race is soon to be extinct and the only way to preserve our heritage is to discover new planets. Yet it is still impossible to travel at light speed and no living being could ever arrive at the only place suitable for humans to survive and within reach for a spacecraft.
Therefore scientists send the human genome on its long journey to a small moon called “B12”, where people are born and raised by machines. Yet life on B12 is not what they expected it to be ...

About the Project: I got the idea to do this short a while ago but while I served in Swiss army last year, there was simply no time for a big production with a lot of locations, actors, equipment and a crew. So I started to create these short episodes all by myself (except music and voice acting). In hindsight there are a lot of things I would change about the episodes (especially the first one called "Prologue") so I'm now working on a real short with a lot more story and less running through a forest for a reason only I know about (the reason is the intoxicated air caused by a swarm of glowing creatures) ^^

Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions Since I'm from Switzerland there may be some things you don't understand or that are simply wrong ^^

Next Episode and BTS this Saturday!

Website (German) | Like on Facebook
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[jghenderson]

What you have so far is fantastic. I really enjoyed the Prologue, though it was perhaps a bit long. Your command over the visual style is very admirable and probably the best thing about the piece.

I would say you're half way to a fantastic product. They key for you now will be to get the story and acting to match the quality of the visuals. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[johnnyk]

definitely dug seeing the breakdown. thanks for posting that. very cool.
a four minute prologue doesn't bother me, but i can understand why people would think this was a little long. it seemed like it was aiming to be mysterious and set a tone rather than give a clearer idea of what the story is about. maybe something like that operates better if shorter. depends on how you want your prologue to work for you. will i be most drawn in by showing the visual "mood", or by the story? your call. ideally, probably a bit of both.
nice start, tho. curious to see where you go with it.

 

[Nektonic]

An interesting prologue that definitely gets me wanting to see a more fleshed out story based around this concept. I'm a big fan of hard sci-fi stuff, so I dig the whole sending the human genome idea. Real interstellar colonization could possible be done in an odd and slightly de-humanizing fashion like that, as opposed to what we normally see in most sci-fi films and TV shows. Of course, who knows what the future will bring, but it is nice to see something that really tries to get away from the usual Star Trek methodology.

I didn't get that the glowing creatures were causing the guy to hallucinate. I thought the particles in the beginning was just snowfall. Maybe you could add more voice over into the prologue to clear up that fact? Either way, it wasn't a big deal, as I was interested in the mystery and possibilities of where this concept can take us in further episodes.

 

[Mr. B]

Wow, thanks so much for your comments guys. I'm glad you liked it It's true that I intended to set a mood and introduce the setting; the story on the other hand is a bit weak and therefore the video is a bit too long. In the short there will be a voice over to explain what's actually happening ;-)

The second episode is a lot shorter and explains a bit what happened on earth. Some scenes are in the Prologue too (the Prologue shows parts of every episode). Have fun:

Second Episode:

-> "Recent Events" on Vimeo

Breakdown (BTS):

-> "Recent Events - Breakdown" on Vimeo

 

[Doc Bernard]

I too really liked what I saw. But my only critique would be what many others have said. The prologue felt like a trailer but was overly long. More dialogue to explain more? I get the mysterious aspect you were going for, but maybe it's too mysterious. A prologue, for me at least, should help to explain what is going to happen in the episodes without too much "Ohhhhhhh, that's what the prologue meant with that", or set the story. And usually, a prologue is an event with some detail that happened prior, the one event that sets this whole series in motion.

If I had to boil down what I saw based on a single viewing.......space travel, global warming, reproductive problems, an argument, no air on B12, and glowing things in a jar. I really didn't get a "story line" out of it.

OTOH, a trailer is susposed to be mysterious, with just hints at what it is all about. With this.......you have the footage (and sound design, very nice BTW) for an awesome trailer.

Visuals and sound were pretty stunning, you might have me hooked on checking your episodes out. Intrigued to see your story line. If you can nail that down the same as you did with the other aspects, I will give this high marks. Call me crazy, but I felt this has the flavor of "Prometheus" (Not a bad thing, I really liked that movie - until the end, LOL)

 

[dre83]

Funny, I have helped on another film (studentfilm/final film) where someone is searching for a new planet also.... But it's different from this one.

 

[Mr. B]

The third Episode explains what happened in the Prologue and shows B12 by night. I added a bit more text in this episode and it's shorter than the Prologue. I hope it's an improvement ;-)

-> "B12: Collective" on vimeo

 

[Mr. B]

Here the breakdown:



As you can see, the green house and the whole landscape at 00:59 is cgi, the next scene is completely real life. That was a quite difficult scene but I hope it worked ;-)
I'd be very happy to get some feedback so I know which episodes and which scenes worked for you and which parts are just terrible ^^ It would really help me a lot to get the best out of my short, which is still in preproduction.

-Mr. B

 

[Mr. B]

My short is still in preproduction yet some scenes are already finished and I just got some gas masks and overalls ^^ My biggest problem at the moment is to find a suitable location for the colony ...

Until I've solved this problem I'd like to show you a short episode that shows the everyday life on B12. The computer voice in the video (also in "B12: Collective") is an AI teaching the inhabitants how to survive on B12.

 

[Mr. B]

Here is the breakdown of "B12: Everyday":



click here for Vimeo

This is the last video for now. Thank you all for your feedback so far, it's really helping me to get the best out of my upcoming short. Stay tuned for more ;-)

 

[Mr. B]

Hi DVX users

Almost one year ago I showed you the last of 5 Teaser Episodes of my Sci-Fi project. I received a lot of feedback and that's why I just had to do a real short film after all those small episodes. I tried to listen to your feedback and to tell a real story this time (instead of just teasing the setting). I also tried to include more background information to achieve a richer experience.

Story
Through surveillance and helmet cameras we follow the lives of two young men living in a colony on moon "B12". Like their predecessors they were conceived by artificial insemination and grew up closely monitored by "mother". After one of them comes across strangely glowing creatures, he begins to develop a fascination for the moon and its inhabitants. Soon afterwards his desire for freedom grows stronger and stronger ...

Production
Principal photography took place in Switzerland near Zurich. The outdoors scenes I shot mainly in autumn of 2012. The indoor scenes I shot in an air raid shelter within two days in late February 2013. For the indoor scenes I hired two actors and I worked with a minimal crew. I was on my own with everything else though (except the music), so as you can see, it is a very small production with a budget of almost zero dollars. So in a way B12 was a little bit of an experiment on how small I could keep things whilst still shooting a Sci-Fi movie and how far I would come (mostly) on my own.

So here are a few pics of the process (CGI and locations):

I'm looking forward to reading your feedback

- Benjamin

Website (German) | Like on Facebook

 

[Mr. B]

​

Hey Guys

I now have a final version of my short and I'm thrilled to show it to you at a date that fits the title quite well (12-12-13). I'm gonna upload it including English subtitles (I tried to make them look extra nice, since I couldn't manage to do a complete English version this time) so I hope you'll be able to understand everything
I'm looking forward to your feedback since it's my first real Sci-Fi short (if you don't count the teaser episodes) and your feedback is gonna decide whether I'm gonna do more Sci-Fi in the future or if I should try something else ^^

​

- Benjamin

Website (German) | Like on Facebook

 

[Mr. B]

Short film released

Short film released

B12 on 12-12: This is the end

It is done, after more than three years the project finally comes to a close and I'm happy to present you the result. I've learnt a lot through the making of the episodes and I got a lot of feedback. I hope it was worth it and you notice some improvement (e.g. you now don't need to read the description of the video to actually get the story and I optimized the CGI effects).

It would be awesome if you could give me some helpful feedback, so I can learn from my mistakes and make a way better shot film next time

Thank you for watching and I'm thrilled to get some opinions!

 

[dre83]

I just start without knowing what's all this about... I really don't know (I still have to watch it...don't worry..)
But I wanted to start with that it's "normal" that viewers don't have to read the back of a dvd box to know what's it about...

The VO mixed with the music is good. Detail sometimes some letters come out a little to loud. "lange geheged" (long cherished) the he of "geheged" (I spreche deutsch aber schreiben ist zu swchierig...)

1:07, opening of the jar, it sounds to "roomy"...the jar is close but it sounds like it's being openend 30m away in a corner. This would be Foleyed to have the sound more "close". It's difficult to explain "roomy" and "close and far"
but it's the difference between "having the viewers attention and not".


01:11 between "lager" (lower) and "und" (and) is it ment to be "a cut" ?

02:50, the breathing is good...it gives more "life" to it..(well ok, he's almost dead...but anyway...)

04:42 "schlafenzeit (time to sleep), in this case because they're further, it's ok it sounds further. Did you record wild sounds of breathing ? If so that's good...

For some scenes you missed a good soundguy I think ?


It's nice to watch it.

So if I get it right, if they but up the mask, they get into the forrest ? Like "the matrix-ing thing" ? If they touch the light-flying-thing, the become a "light-flying-thing" ?

 

[Mr. B]

Hi dre83

Thank you very much for your feedback

I just start without knowing what's all this about... I really don't know (I still have to watch it...don't worry..)
But I wanted to start with that it's "normal" that viewers don't have to read the back of a dvd box to know what's it about...

Yes of course, that should be normal. I tried to make it so the viewer can interpret the story himself, but especially the episodes got to cryptic. I tried to change that but still make a short in the same "found footage" style as the episodes. That's why I wanted the scenes to be random sometimes but especially the episodes lacked some context. I will definitely improve on that.

The VO mixed with the music is good. Detail sometimes some letters come out a little to loud. "lange geheged" (long cherished) the he of "geheged" (I spreche deutsch aber schreiben ist zu swchierig...)

When he says "gehegt" at the same time the music makes this little "boom"-sound, is it that what you hear? The voice itself sounds not too loud to me, but I'll try to even out the volume next time (I actually already encountered this very same problem in my current project).

1:07, opening of the jar, it sounds to "roomy"...the jar is close but it sounds like it's being openend 30m away in a corner. This would be Foleyed to have the sound more "close". It's difficult to explain "roomy" and "close and far"
but it's the difference between "having the viewers attention and not".

That's actually a sound effect because I cut to one of the random TV scenes afterwards. I always play with these distortion effects when cutting to a random scene. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea in this particular scene ...

01:11 between "lager" (lower) and "und" (and) is it ment to be "a cut" ?

At 1:11 when I cut mid-sentence? Yes, that should introduce this found footage style and the random cuts to the viewer. It should look like when you have bad reception and it jumps to another signal all the time.

02:50, the breathing is good...it gives more "life" to it..(well ok, he's almost dead...but anyway...)

04:42 "schlafenzeit (time to sleep), in this case because they're further, it's ok it sounds further. Did you record wild sounds of breathing ? If so that's good...

Thanks

For some scenes you missed a good soundguy I think ?

I actually missed a real crew for 90% of the scenes. I did almost everything on my own ^^ So as a student I actually haven't that much experience. That's why it's so important to me to get you feedback. Thank you again for your detailed critique, it really helps me a lot

So if I get it right, if they but up the mask, they get into the forrest ? Like "the matrix-ing thing" ? If they touch the light-flying-thing, the become a "light-flying-thing" ?

Yeah, as soon as they leave the colony they have to wear a mask because there are gases in the atmosphere which could be harmful to breathe. The "light-flying-thing" is some kind of intelligent collective with swarm behavior. They are like bacteria, so they consist of only one cell and they can use other beings as their host.

The protagonist in the short actually thinks he can free himself from "mother" (the AI in the colony) by running off into nature but actually at the end he's not free at all since he is now a slave to the glowing creatures. At the same time the other colonist begins to ask questions (in the last scene) after he was obedient and not questioning anything his whole life. So he'll probably run off and fall under their spell too ...


Thanks a lot and it would be great to get more feedback, I'm still at the very beginning of filmmaking and this was my second short film

 

[dre83]

Your locations where good, the filming itself also, the "blue" (= cold, abandonded feeling, not the most happy moments) color.

The acting was ok also..except the fight maybe but fighting = difficult