The Only Winning Move [WIP: In Nature]

When I started writing and planning my stop-motion short In Nature, I made a decision not to use AI anywhere in the production, for several reasons:

• I want to enjoy the physical processes of model-building and stop-motion.
• While I want to make the best film I can, I also enjoy the process of trying things, making mistakes and learning from them.
• The flaws that do still appear in the film are the scars from this trial and error process. They mean something, and it's OK for them to be there.
• I have friends in different artistic or creative fields and I know that the increasing use of generative AI is a real anxiety and a genuine threat to livelihood for many people.
• I am aware of the use of AI-generated Lego-style animations for the purposes of propaganda in certain global conflicts and don't particularly want my short horror film to be accidentally mistaken for propaganda.

I think my main point is that there is a creative journey that can be just as important, and just as enjoyable, as the destination, and using AI robs me of that journey.

I'm not criticising people for using AI in films. It's inevitable that it will be, and I might do so in future. While I think I have succeeded in my goal for In Nature, I'm aware that it's becoming harder to avoid it, not least as AI tools are being gradually integrated into art, design and editing software - over time this may well take the place of processes such as bluescreen. It would be a shame if past skills and techniques were completely lost. In a slightly different context I remember being impressed by Disney's decision to make The Princess And The Frog using traditional animation techniques rather than relying on the CGI that has been used (admittedly very well) in their other films.

I'm also not saying I never use AI. I'm definitely ai-curious and enjoy playing with AI and discovering what it can and can't do - I've blogged about these experiments before and there's another one to come shortly.

Living through the Singularity is turning out to be an interesting experience - even more interesting than living through the dawn of home computing or the Internet. And yes, I am that old. I'm still fascinated to find that we have created flawed AI that can hallucinate, miscount, behave emotionally, irrationally or criminally, rather than something with superhuman intelligence, 100% accuracy and a sense of ethics - we are, quite tragically, building Samaritan rather than The Machine.

Shut Up And Drive [Review: Hope]

Some completely regular hunters, with guns that definitely aren't unlicensed in any way, come across some mutilated animals in a field outside Hope Harbour, a village near the DMZ. They suspect a bear or tiger might be responsible and the hunt is on for the local, understaffed police team to catch the animal before it can harm anyone or wreak havoc in the town. 

Hope (호프) is a 2½ hour epic South Korean monster movie directed by Na Hong-jin, starring Hwang Jun-min and Jung Ho-yeon as police chief Bum-seok and rookie cop Sung-ae, and also featuring the voices of Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Spoiler alert: people are harmed and havoc is wreaked.

One joy of this movie is the sheer energy. I felt dizzy and exhausted after watching it. There's a sense of mystery at the start as the hunters and police start searching for the creature. This quickly builds to a frenzy of running, driving and violent confrontation that persists for most of the film - the constant driving-and-combat scenes are reminiscent of Mad Max: Fury Road, and the driving is equally bad. The creature is not seen for the first 45 minutes but makes itself known indirectly - this allows characters to establish themselves while still providing plenty of tension and action. Once the creature shows itself the movie switches to an even higher action gear. 

The energy also comes from the characters who, as you would expect in real life, are not in the least bit calm, cool or collected but are driven to emotional extremes when they come under pressure. Bum-seok becomes almost paralysed by fear as soon as he realises what he is dealing with, and then has to fight his fear every time he has to enter a building. Sung-ae is impressive when she first appears, facing the creature head-on as it rushes down the street towards her but is driven into a persistent state of rage. A lot of the film involves scared, angry people shouting at each other.

There's no interval, at least where I saw it. However there is a lull in the action about halfway through allowing two very funny sequences, one where a police pathologist tries to dissect the creature with a series of increasingly large saws, the other where an elderly resident tells Sung-ae in great detail about seeing the creature while he was incovenienced in the woods. However it isn't long before the hunt is on again. There are some further discoveries and twists relating to the creature and the reason for the attack, and another, quite surprising change of tone towards the end.

Hope is an extremely enjoyable film and well worth the watch. It scores a hopeful 3 stars out of 5.

All movies reviewed on The Sci-Fi Gene receive a score of 3 stars out of 5.

Tile M For Murder [WIP: In Nature]

So the first cut of In Nature is complete - models, animation, voice-acting, music and editing all done, and I now have something I can submit to festivals or screening events - watch this space. I'm happy with most aspects of the film but may re-record some of the music.

A Rockwork Orange [WIP: In Nature]

Timelapse for building the first set

The Brick And The Dead [WIP: In Nature]

NEW FILM PROJECT

It's been about a decade since my last foray into filmmaking. In the past few weeks I've started work on a new project: "In Nature" a short horror film using LEGO stopmotion.

I have ambitious goals for this project: including zero use of generative AI, and creating a theremin-based score. At the same time I've learned from my previous experience with LEGO filmmaking and have written the script more carefully, using a smaller cast and fewer locations.

Sets were designed in Bricklink Studio...

...and arrived looking like this

Colour-sorted and ready to build

They're Justified, And They're Ancient [Podcast Review: The Harbingers]

While investigating the relics of an ancient civilization, ambitious anthropologists and rivals Adam Blackwell (Andrés Enriquez) and Amy Stirling (Lauren Grace Thompson) make discoveries that bring magical powers back into the world. But when magical power collides with political and financial power, the results can be dangerous.

The Harbingers is a fictional podcast produced by Audacious Machine Creative. As of this month the first season is now complete, with all episodes available on Spotify or other services, and a second season in production for release later this year. 

There is a lot of Harbingers to enjoy. The first season is 16 episodes long, with episodes varying from 30 to 60 minutes in length. Production quality is excellent, as is the writing - the story is structured around a catastrophic event, with both protagonists telling their stories to the lawyer preparing them for a Congressional hearing. The stories begin in the highly competitive world of Harbinger academic study, but develop into globe-spanning journeys involving a Presidential campaign and a tech billionaire's quest for limitless energy. There is real thought about the implications of the different magical powers, how they might be used and how society might react to their existence.

There are a lot of twists and developments and the whole picture is revealed gradually over the season - or is it? While the first season has a satisfying plot and conclusion, there are still unanswered questions, untold chapters and unmet characters of the story. The ancient Harbinger civilization with its architecture, myths, languages and values is also imagined in great detail, even though we only learn about it from the fragments, relics and discoveries that have survived to the present day, and there is definitely more Harbinger history to uncover. I am really looking forward to season 2.

The performances from Enriquez, Thompson and all of the cast are outstanding, and as a result the friendships, relationships, drama and peril, and the tension between the two main characters all ring true. Highly recommended for fans of archaeology, magic, superpowers and lawyers. 

Stuck With You [Review: The WONDERfools Episodes 2 and 3]

Some highlights from episodes 2 and 3 of Korean superhero drama The WONDERfools - minor spoilers only. Three characters have now developed superpowers - teleportation, super-strength and STICKING TO THINGS! but they don't understand how their powers work so can't control them. As a result:

• The teleporter appeared for a few moments on the set of a TV historical drama, so now believes they are a time traveller.
• The super-strength character now has some interesting holes in their walls.
• The character who's superpower is STICKING TO THINGS! finds their arm is stuck to their fridge door, so they have to stand in front of the fridge and persuade their family that this is for completely normal reasons.

So far this series has been an absolute treat, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes superhero dramas and needs to break their addiction to the MCU (yes, Geek Twins, I'm looking at you).

The rebellious and chaotic Eun Chae-ni, played by Park Eun-bin, remains the star of the show, but the whole cast is strong, and the arguments between the characters appear to be getting bigger and more melodramatic. I believe the sticking superpower may be unique, and I'm looking forward to see how this power might be used for the good of humanity later in the series.

Meanwhile a series of flashbacks reveal that one character spent their childhood in a 50s style concrete laboratory being subjected to experiments by a sinister scientist. This is a widely used trope, seen in films and dramas from Firestarter to Stranger Things. Here it's just one part of the greater mystery of Haesong City.

As with many non-Western productions there are constant switches between melodramatics, slapstick or farce, and more serious and nuanced drama - there doesn't seem to be a requirement to stick to one tone. This, combined with the complex maze of secrets and twists that are slowly unravelling, makes The WONDERfools difficult to predict. I'm still holding back on the urge to binge the entire series so I can savour it for as long as possible, but I doubt I can hold out for much longer.