ABOUT THE FILM
Edgar Hopkins, a brilliant but arrogant and paranoid physicist, has lost the one person who loved him, at the hands of his own greed and obsession. Now, an incredible scientific breakthrough can change his fortunes. Fame, wealth, and power are within his grasp, but at what cost? Can Edgar maintain his tenuous grip on reality and conquer his demons, or will he give in to temptation and use his new power to go too far, to a place from which he can never return? A dark, cautionary tale of science abused, lives shattered, and a mind's descent into madness in the face of ultimate power.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRODUCERS
After producing and directing many corporate and training films, we decided to break away and produce a general viewing film. Science fiction has always captivated our household so we set about full force in that direction. We challenged ourselves to pay attention to technical details, create suspense, build convincing sets and to make the viewer think while being entertained. We hope we have accomplished that.
The storyline revolves around a fantasy that many of us have had but haven't thought about the consequences were it possible to achieve. Our main character succeeds in the endeavor, then drives home the point of how dangerous this power could be.
The project took about six weekends to shoot and another five weeks to edit, add special effects, ADR, sound effects and music. All of this was accomplished with a crew of seven. This film was a family effort - the original story, as well as the music, and prop design and construction were all done by family members. Along with another film enthusiast we were fortunate enough to connect with, we provided all the equipment, from camera and lights, to sound and ADR gear. I have a keen interest in props and designed and built them all in-house. We put a great deal of effort into this film, and are very proud of one scene in particular that has garnered many "oh wow" or "that's great" comments during screenings. When we hear this we feel that we have accomplished what we set out to do.
We used exclusively local actors for this film, from Connecticut and Rhode Island. Some have been in major productions while others were just starting out. We even had a retiree with no experience who gave an excellent performance. The film was shot with a Panasonic HVX camera and edited with Final Cut Pro. Apple Motion was used for the special effects and the original music was composed and created using EastWest Virtual Instruments.
We are new to the festival circuit and look forward to the journey. The experience gained from this project has given us increased confidence to continue on with more projects. Our goal is to keep challenging ourselves to create a variety of films that a broad viewer base can enjoy.
- Ralph Costa
The storyline revolves around a fantasy that many of us have had but haven't thought about the consequences were it possible to achieve. Our main character succeeds in the endeavor, then drives home the point of how dangerous this power could be.
The project took about six weekends to shoot and another five weeks to edit, add special effects, ADR, sound effects and music. All of this was accomplished with a crew of seven. This film was a family effort - the original story, as well as the music, and prop design and construction were all done by family members. Along with another film enthusiast we were fortunate enough to connect with, we provided all the equipment, from camera and lights, to sound and ADR gear. I have a keen interest in props and designed and built them all in-house. We put a great deal of effort into this film, and are very proud of one scene in particular that has garnered many "oh wow" or "that's great" comments during screenings. When we hear this we feel that we have accomplished what we set out to do.
We used exclusively local actors for this film, from Connecticut and Rhode Island. Some have been in major productions while others were just starting out. We even had a retiree with no experience who gave an excellent performance. The film was shot with a Panasonic HVX camera and edited with Final Cut Pro. Apple Motion was used for the special effects and the original music was composed and created using EastWest Virtual Instruments.
We are new to the festival circuit and look forward to the journey. The experience gained from this project has given us increased confidence to continue on with more projects. Our goal is to keep challenging ourselves to create a variety of films that a broad viewer base can enjoy.
- Ralph Costa
When my brother broached the idea of making a short science fiction film, it was an interesting challenge. We had no budget to throw at a project, little in the way of physical resources, and this was to be our first collaboration and first formal production. Could we pull it off? Were we in over our heads? We were all passionate about movies, especially sci-fi, and had some technical expertise among us, and most importantly, a desire. We decided we had to start somewhere if we were to become serious filmmakers, and in the deep water seemed like as good a place as any.
I set about trying to write a manageable story - no easy task as my mind kept imagining grander and grander scenarios. Several short stories later, I settled on a more contained idea - grand, but accessible, focusing on the notion of one man unwittingly undoing his own life with the technology he so coveted. As I thought about what type of person would be best suited to tell the story, I arrived at Edgar - paranoid, delusional, arrogant, socially dysfunctional, obsessive, and driven. Not a very nice guy for a lead! That fact did worry me a bit - would an audience want to watch a movie about a mean-spirited and often nasty person? My hope and goal was that he, and his situation, would be interesting and compelling to the point we would take the journey with him, eager to see what he would do next and find out how it would turn out for him in the end.
As I translated shorty story into draft after draft of script, we all sat around the table thinking as big as our imaginations would let us, while remaining tempered by reality. We were also extraordinarily fortunate in connecting with a wonderful group of people so generous with their time, resources and skills to help us along. Everything began to come together as we pooled our resources and talents to create props far beyond what I had ever thought possible when I first wrote the story. We were surprised and fortunate at the fantastic turnout during the casting call to find such wonderful actors willing to donate their time and talent for unknown filmmakers with no budget. Likewise, fortune was with us again in putting together a dedicated and hard-working crew, filled with both experienced filmmakers and technicians, and new faces just as eager as us to learn and practice the craft.
Everyone had to learn to wear several, varied hats, stepping in to help and fill in wherever needed. Whether it was jumping into a scene as an extra, helping to wrangle equipment, dress a set, or clean up, everyone was right there to lend a hand. The six week shoot, spread over Saturdays and Sundays to accomodate real life, presented a number of challenges, which were met head on with creativity, determination, a fare share of frustration at times, but ultimately a shared goal of creating a film we could all be proud of and learn from.
And what a learning experience it was. During the entire process we all walked away with several important lessons. But more importantly, we came away from this film with a renewed passion to make more films, make them better each time, and continue to cultivate the rewarding personal and professional relationships we've gained. My sincere thanks to everyone involved in the production and here's hoping for many successful future endeavors.
-Jason Costa
I set about trying to write a manageable story - no easy task as my mind kept imagining grander and grander scenarios. Several short stories later, I settled on a more contained idea - grand, but accessible, focusing on the notion of one man unwittingly undoing his own life with the technology he so coveted. As I thought about what type of person would be best suited to tell the story, I arrived at Edgar - paranoid, delusional, arrogant, socially dysfunctional, obsessive, and driven. Not a very nice guy for a lead! That fact did worry me a bit - would an audience want to watch a movie about a mean-spirited and often nasty person? My hope and goal was that he, and his situation, would be interesting and compelling to the point we would take the journey with him, eager to see what he would do next and find out how it would turn out for him in the end.
As I translated shorty story into draft after draft of script, we all sat around the table thinking as big as our imaginations would let us, while remaining tempered by reality. We were also extraordinarily fortunate in connecting with a wonderful group of people so generous with their time, resources and skills to help us along. Everything began to come together as we pooled our resources and talents to create props far beyond what I had ever thought possible when I first wrote the story. We were surprised and fortunate at the fantastic turnout during the casting call to find such wonderful actors willing to donate their time and talent for unknown filmmakers with no budget. Likewise, fortune was with us again in putting together a dedicated and hard-working crew, filled with both experienced filmmakers and technicians, and new faces just as eager as us to learn and practice the craft.
Everyone had to learn to wear several, varied hats, stepping in to help and fill in wherever needed. Whether it was jumping into a scene as an extra, helping to wrangle equipment, dress a set, or clean up, everyone was right there to lend a hand. The six week shoot, spread over Saturdays and Sundays to accomodate real life, presented a number of challenges, which were met head on with creativity, determination, a fare share of frustration at times, but ultimately a shared goal of creating a film we could all be proud of and learn from.
And what a learning experience it was. During the entire process we all walked away with several important lessons. But more importantly, we came away from this film with a renewed passion to make more films, make them better each time, and continue to cultivate the rewarding personal and professional relationships we've gained. My sincere thanks to everyone involved in the production and here's hoping for many successful future endeavors.
-Jason Costa