SLEEPER SYSTEM Vol.1 : Capture
In the 83rd year after a global loss of digital data, a devastating mistake causes an irreversible decline in the human population. In a daring endeavor to secure the future of mankind, scientists dispatched embryos into space alongside sophisticated robotic guardians that would ensure their survival. As time passed, the planet settled into stillness. Two centuries later, the once-bustling planet was now a world of only robotic activity; an eerie place where automated systems continued to perform their mundane duties without interruption. Something unknown now lurks on the planet's surface, a new form of technology that evolved into existence all by itself. We have entered a new age. This short film is available as an NFT at the link below.
Buy NFT 1/283
Five years in the making, SLEEPER SYSTEM Vol.1 is Nathaniel Larouche's short film series that represents his experience as a Visual FX Supervisor on such Television shows as Watchmen, Wanda Vision, Mr.Robot, Unreal Academy and Feature films such as The Witch. SLEEPER SYSTEM is a Science Fiction series that brings the viewer on a journey through an abandoned world where automated mechanical processes continue long after human beings have left. The first volume depicts swarming drones attacking, disabling, and capturing larger robotic prey. This project is available for purchase on GameStop’s NFT platform. Hard goods are also available on my store If you’d like to support the project.
Science Fiction Short Film
Swarming drones attack, disable and capture larger prey.
Megastructures, drones and sci fi landscapes, chase
Animated film Houdini, Maya, Redshift
94 seconds
1920x810 24fps
Credits
Directed by Nathaniel Larouche
Sound Design by Miroslav Delev
Asset Artist's Martin Krole, Mike Poretti and Vitaly Bulgarov
Matte Painting Artist Kiser Thomas and Peter Bareley
FX Artist Ronak Shah
The air was thick with an unsettling yellow smog today, blocking out the skyline and leaving citizens in a state of uncertainty. What exactly it was or where it had come from remained shrouded in mystery - conspiracy theories ranging as far as chemical warfare and mind-control ran rampant amongst concerned onlookers. Thankfully though, testing showed that no dangerous substances were present within this mysterious vapor. Only the unsettling feeling of not knowing what it was or why it slowly spread around the globe.
On my birthday, I tried some high-rise adventuring with friends in a game we call How High Can You Get. The main rule was to find the most towering building and climb it. The winner gets nothing more than bragging rights and a punch to the shoulder. My cousin ended up taking the crown this year. We spent a few hours up there for the extraordinary view at sunset. These old exhaust towers are one of my favorite places to sit and think.
It wasn't long ago that our main source of energy was created by burning the oily remains of an extinct species. The only drawback of this method was the slow heating of our planet and poor air quality. To get around one of these problems energy facilities built skyscraper-sized exhaust towers releasing the pollutants high into the atmosphere. It was only on hot summer days you'd notice a dark haze on the horizon. Luckily most of our town has converted to greener, decentralized energy solutions. These once active towers awaiting their demolition now stand as a reminder of our power-hungry greed from the past.
I'll never forget the first time I saw a Mega Structure, something so grand it could have come straight out of a Sci-Fi film. Towering above my grandparents' rural homestead and stretching across state lines, these powerful structures linked cities with data as well as electricity - some even went so far to suggest they had the ability to draw energy directly from the sky. In wintertime when those towers were in full operation you'd feel their low hum vibrate through your bones. My father was always wary about them; he used to stand transfixed looking out the window after eating breakfast and shaking his head slowly repeating "they gotta fall down someday..."