see the 1:20 length trailer below. http://twitchfilm.com/2013/02/check-out-old-school-scifi-short-henri.html also on Vimeo Written and Directed by Eli Sasich I like that you can rent or buy the digital file from the site or the DVD or Blu-ray. I'd like to see more scifi films be able to do this. It looks like Shane Carruth went this route with his new film for release this coming May. If it is not scifi action or scifi horror it is just limilted commercial potential. I'm glad these films are still getting made via Kickstarter funding. Here is their kickstarter video. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/920784759/henri-20-a-science-fiction-short-film I am going to have to check this out. For the $ being under $100k it is pretty impressive.
I bought this and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not perfect, but it's real Science Fiction and I hope it's successful enough to encourage more of the same. Independent creators who don't pander to the Hollywood mentality should be encouraged. The technical aspects of the film were as good as anything you'll find in any studio movie or contemporary TV show. I was disappointed that they went with the tired old grunge look for the spaceship-- I'll never understand the appeal of a future that looks like an old factory basement. But in terms of talent and skill, there is nothing lacking. The story is touching and brief-- it's the equivalent of a short story in an SF magazine. It is genuine Science Fiction, although there is one scene that grated on me, especially since it could have been so easily fixed. It was great to see and hear Keir Dullea, although he is actually showing signs of aging-- I thought he'd look the same forever. I also found it kind of amusing that the "Making Of" documentary is 50% longer than the story itself. But I definitely recommend buying this.
production design/art direction scifi I think it is to give a realness with a lived-in feel to the created worlds in sci-fi and fantasy genres. I think the flip side of that is the super clinical brand new everything (and thus unreal) production design/art direction. like this thread: Should the future look "Futuristic?" my post there summed up my thoughts on it mentioning numerous movies art direction/production design.
The problems with it are: 1) It's unrealistic, because a lived in spaceship won't look the same as a rusting factory from the 1940s, b) It's bland and boring, and c) When everybody does it, there is a lack of variety that makes it even more bland and boring. Yeah, the future should look futuristic, at least most of the time; the genre is about futurism and the sense of wonder, not nihilism and the sense of decay. I will check out that thread, though.