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About this Movie
The story was thematically inspired by the works of classic science fiction authors, most notably the existential horror of HP Lovecraft and HG Wells. I wanted to explore the notion that humanity lacks a true understanding of the universe, and that whatever is out there would probably be well beyond our comprehension. If an alien were to stumble upon Earth, it's very possible we'd have no way to figure out how or why.
During preproduction, I had the pleasure of seeking advice from Peter Deming, a cinematographer well known for work including Twin Peaks, Cabin in the Woods, and Mulholland Drive. When I asked him how to best approach night-shooting in the woods, he initially responded "don't". Joking aside, he had some great advice, specifically to write sources of light into the story so as not to rely on recreating "moonlight", which is extremely difficult on a limited budget.
There were talks early on about the alien robot character potentially being some kind of puppeteered creation, but we ultimately opted for an actor in costume, with the character's biomechanical nature being more ambiguous.
We knew sound would be critical for selling this character as otherworldly, so the film's sound design utilized a variety of sources including animal cries, ringing bowls, radars, and midi-synthesizers.
The formless "beast" in the film's final minutes is based off of Lovecraft's original descriptions of Cthulhu, as well as many other creatures from his body of work, as something so entirely indescribable, that it's traumatizing those who witness it. Shooting something that wasn't supposed to be physically fathomable proved to be the greatest conceptual challenge of this production, as we relied heavily on narrative context, visual cues, and sound to convey its menacing presence.
During preproduction, I had the pleasure of seeking advice from Peter Deming, a cinematographer well known for work including Twin Peaks, Cabin in the Woods, and Mulholland Drive. When I asked him how to best approach night-shooting in the woods, he initially responded "don't". Joking aside, he had some great advice, specifically to write sources of light into the story so as not to rely on recreating "moonlight", which is extremely difficult on a limited budget.
There were talks early on about the alien robot character potentially being some kind of puppeteered creation, but we ultimately opted for an actor in costume, with the character's biomechanical nature being more ambiguous.
We knew sound would be critical for selling this character as otherworldly, so the film's sound design utilized a variety of sources including animal cries, ringing bowls, radars, and midi-synthesizers.
The formless "beast" in the film's final minutes is based off of Lovecraft's original descriptions of Cthulhu, as well as many other creatures from his body of work, as something so entirely indescribable, that it's traumatizing those who witness it. Shooting something that wasn't supposed to be physically fathomable proved to be the greatest conceptual challenge of this production, as we relied heavily on narrative context, visual cues, and sound to convey its menacing presence.