YouTube has allowed many more filmmakers to get their stories to market than ever before. Here is a small selection of science-fiction films that can be found on the site.
Enjoy!
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Simulation
- Directed by Hashem Al-Ghaili
- October 7, 2019
An advanced alien civilization builds a simulated reality where beings are imprisoned.
Simulation is the beginning of an entertaining idea. I would say this is the first third to the first half a much larger story. There is enough meat here though that it feels self-contained. There is also a cliffhanger ending that hints at more.
The production values are decent here. I do think the story moved a little too quickly to the revealing of the reality of the situation and there was some heavy exposition at that point. Short film or not, excessive exposition is lazy as it avoids actually depicting (acting, etc.) what you want to add to the story.
And that is an issue with his film. A lot seems to be done with exposition rather than showing a narrative. The creator wanted to cover a lot but either didn’t have the time or budget or both to portray what he wanted to be known.
Simulation is nothing groundbreaking, but it is entertaining enough. I’m not going to call this a must see but rather I’ll just label it an if you want.
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Goldilocks
- Written and Directed by Blake Simon
- March 2016 (US)
An astronaut on the Goldilocks Missions searching the stars for a new home encounters a circuit failure in his ship that threatens to jeopardize the entire mission.
I seem to run into a lot of short films on YouTube that involve a mission to find a new home for humanity. This is another one in a long line of those. It is a bit reflexive of an idea but so long as it is well executed who cares?
This is better done than most. Much of the set design is reminiscent of the design from Alien with a bit of the Millennium Falcon (under Lando Calrissian of course) tossed in. The bridge though looks bargain basement. Like something from the late 70s/early 80s series Buck Rogers.
The acting and dialogue are good. There is an appropriate level of tension to be had throughout. The main issue to overcome is a circuit failure but how Ashford (Curtis Bechdholt) exactly fixes everything is fuzzy. I cannot even be sure he did.
Still though Goldilocks is not bad. The acting and direction get you through any shortcomings. This is worth checking out.
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Human
- Directed by Patrick Ryder
- April 18, 2017
A lost woman stumbles upon an abandoned warehouse and discovers inside it a robot with whom she sparks up a friendship.
Human is a half hour short whose main thrust is revealed in the title. Not only must the robot Allium (Alex Phillips) be human but the same goes for Anna (Leila Kotori) who is the woman that finds it. This is not an original idea but there are very few of them out there. What matters most is presentation and whether you can execute the idea well.
And they do a good pretty good job of that. The acting and dialogue are good and the directing helps this rise about being just another often done idea. And it looks good too. The robot Allium owes a bit visually to Chappie from the film of the same name.
Quality production values matter in a science fiction presentation. You need to understand what you have to work with and not try to do more than you actually can. They stay within budget and squeeze every drop out without exceeding their financial limitations.
The ending was a little bit too much of a happy ending based on what we got. I expected something a bit more downbeat but instead we got an ending that was hopeful. I liked the twist though.
Human is not particularly original but he’s entertaining and well performed. I won’t say search it out but if you come across it it’s worth a look.
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This particular selection is nothing mind-blowing, but they are entertaining. Still though with the amount that is on YouTube I believe you will find something quite good.
Warren Watched A Movie 