The people at Seaquark Films, a science fiction and narrative film initiative by Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier, built highly detailed miniature models. 13 minute short film Vimeo link here. http://www.threeifbyspace.net/2013/02/c-space-based-scifi-short-using-no-cgi-or-green-screen/ and http://www.awesome-robo.com/2013/01/c-299792-kms-retro-futurism-and-scifi.html there was a lot of work on the sound design which is great. I felt the acting was the weakest point. i liked the fake 16mm science documentary feel for that stuff although they should have added film grain at the start and also dirt to it like they added fake film grain half way through. this will be a good calling card for the director to maybe get a feature film. Edit: from their Twitter feed:
Enjoyable little short; to me, the 80s bits are actually more entertaining than the sci-fi aspect. They got the costuming/hair of the Sagan-esque 80s presenter down perfectly, and his slightly stilted/academic presenting style was also just right for the era. The electronic music was for it spot on too. The sci-fi story was fine, though I'd have preferred it if Kai (or maybe the captain) had pointed out that an armed mutiny pitting crew vs crew was hardly conducive to creating a united/peaceful new colony and that you can't really escape the fundamental conflicts inherent in how mankind conducts itself. But the effects - which I suppose is the point of the entire film exercise - were very nicely done and at no point did I feel they were a compromise. Very well executed. Thanks for the link!
Kudos to the filmmakers for getting this done. Well made. On the downside, the script is rather meh. It's rather plot-thin and the motivations are a little vague. Too much emphasis on the action and not enough on the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed that! The film looked fantastic, I really liked the faux-Cosmos segments, right down to the commentary on technology. I found the story and acting to be competently done as well.
http://offliberty.com Enter the vimeo URL on that site. It might take a minute or so to fully analyse the site; just wait until the download links appear. Mandatory disclaimer: don't use the site's file downloading abilities to do any illegal shit. As this is a free video for promotional purposes, I would think the film makers are probably happy to get as many eyeballs as possible for it. Technically, though, you should probably ask for permission before downloading it for offiline viewing. I'm not responsible for anything you do with the link.