Glasgow director/AD Ross Sneddon just dropped us his newest labor of love, an epic 14-minute sci-fi short film exploring themes of isolation, loneliness, climate change, and the dangers of technology.

Ross Sneddon: “This project started as a way to learn more about compositing and using Octane. At the time, I was making a course for the online learning platform Domestika and that’s when I got the idea for the short film.

“Using Jupiter’s moon Europa as the location allowed me to really double down on the sci-fi element of the story and give it more weight. It also allowed me to explore themes such as climate change and the dangers of technology – fears and anxieties most people have that I wanted to tap into.

“The story also directly links to a previous short film I made, The Last Pilot, and was a chance for me to explore the possibility of making a running series.
 

“As someone who loves films, it’s been my passion for a long time to create them myself. This is what kept me motivated during the process.”

 
“Given the scale of the project, there were many challenges. Rendering the film at 4K was proving to be very time-consuming and compromises had to be made.

“When I did finally get to editing, I realized a lot of the film just didn’t have enough context. There was an idea there but it wasn’t coming through in the story. Some of it was confusing and too conceptual. I ended up going back to the storyboard and creating new sequences, to allow for better pacing. Even until the very end of the production, I was adding new shots.

“Overall, the production was strenuous for a number of reasons. At times, it was enjoyable and relaxing but after a while, it felt like a project that grew arms and legs and had no end in sight. I just kept telling myself it will be worth it in the end. As someone who loves films, it’s been my passion for a long time to create them myself. This is what kept me motivated during the process.”
 
 

 
Director/Animator: Ross Sneddon
3D Artist: Craig Simmers
2D Artist: Gordon Howie
FUI Designer: Ross Sneddon, Pedro Ramos
Sound Designer/Editor: Ross Sneddon
Voice Actor: Sean Antony, Nicole Boland

Music: Artlist
Matooma: “Infinite Emptiness”
Michael Vignola: “Somethings Burning”, “Too Much”
Shahead Mostafafar: “She Came from the Future”
Jon Gegelman: “Floating Voices – Piano Version”