Analog: an independent science fiction short film

July 11. 2011, under Blogr with One Comment

Details directly from the author: A film by EBBËTO, ANALOG is a 27 minute black and white Science Fiction film made in 2009. It’s the first authentic Brazilian Science Fiction film, in the sense of following traditional genre literature, specially of the 60′s and 70′s. The film tells the tale of a machine traveling in deep-space which has as a primary function the preservation of a living organism: a man. Strange events with biblical analogies begin, disturbing the machine and making it rethink it’s priorities.

Watch:

Eerie? Indeed. Bizarre? Maybe. Excellent? Oh yeah. The main character sort of reminds me of Zordon from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The visuals and monochromatic appearance truly give the film a dramatic and cold effect. This type of visual work is so hard to come by, I’m glad there are still people out there that are producing modern cybernetic visuals with a retro feel. Films like 2001: A Space Odyssey come to mind which I’m pretty sure were among the artist’s inspirations. The soundtrack is especially haunting, utilizing a slow paced beat with deep analog like sounds; mostly saws and squares I believe with a few higher pitched beeps, hisses, and screeches and the like to complete the science fiction/cyber ambiance. The blending of images, rendering, and filming combined truly make the piece a work of art in itself. The beauty of science fiction is that it opens a world of endless possibilities where imagination knows no bounds, in Analog you are transported to a different place where it’s hard to sympathize or comprehend just what it is that you are looking at because it’s so different from our reality.

Every detail is meticulously crafted and well presented, the overall look is consistent and eye-catching. I spent every second marveling the procession of the visual story. It really doesn’t need words, the silence spoke much more to me because the visual impact and sound are enough to convey a message. There are a few Judeo-Christian elements in the story such as the Adam and Eve concept visually represented by a naked man and woman frolicking in nature while the main character watches but doesn’t engage himself even though there is physical interaction. The marriage of science fiction with religious undertones and the macabre is something hard to achieve so beautifully. The film is dark yet not so much in a horror kind of way, just reflecting the duality of human nature and machine. Machines are cold and superfluous compared to the nature of humankind which can be flawed just like any other machine but it is a lot basic in its makeup and essentially carnal.

The end result is a bizarre film that’s interesting to look at from start to finish and leaves you pondering about concepts of creation and/or worlds out there. One thing is for sure, I want the main character’s clothes and goggles. I love the mad scientist look. How can you work with blood and not get stained? You’re obviously very skilled or a machine as is the case of this short film. :)