theskybeneathourfeet

[theskybeneathourfeet]

We've been busy working on this pretty much every day since June 2015. Writing the script, rewriting, storyboards, conceptualizing, casting, costume designing, 3D stuff, filming the real thing and editing while continuing the visual development on the CGi assets. And some matte painting of course. But lately a lot of people have been wondering whether or not it's still happening. The project is in full swing, I just suck at updating things because all the social media platforms overwhelm me and I've been concentrating on making the actual movie instead! However, I realize how much momentum we lost and before all interest is gone, I'll devote some of my time to keeping you guys in the loop. Please accept my apologies for having gone off the radar, and feel free to nudge me in case it happens again. That said, with the amount of visual effects involved unfortunately we won't be able to hit our initial release date of June 2017. I'd loosely say, with some additional support we should be able to get it done by Christmas but the nonexistent budget is slowing things down right now. On the same note I would like to thank all the wonderful individuals who have so selflessly put in such hard work already to bring this movie to life. Thank you.

All that said, I will concentrate primarily on updating the Facebook page, so please follow the project there to get all the latest info on its development!

[theskybeneathourfeet]

Lisa grew up outside of the city in the rural farm environment of Ontariansas. For this I basically needed a series of environment concepts, depicting a calm and warm feel, set slightly in the future. The vision of this has been in my head for years, although I never found the time to get it out of there. In the end, I provided Igor Garanovschii with some rough iPad scribbles and he took it from there.

#IgorGarvanoschii #ontariansas #conceptart

[theskybeneathourfeet]

JOHN comes to the edge of a cliff and crouches carefully in order not to be detected. At the bottom of the 200m drop is a fully armed and functional K'harg military base. This is an over-the-head wide shot. The environment is mostly green, like a big humid forest, but these aliens chucked some trees because they needed space, etc. I worked together with Igor Garanovschii to figure out the landscape, architecture of the structures, framing and tone as we tried to understand the deeper logic behind everything while going back and forth, taking various thoughts into account. The most difficult part of communicating my ideas was probably not having popular science fiction visual references at hand because I attempt to make my vision my own. Not for the sake of innovation but rather purely because I think I know what I like. This is the work in progress.

#k'harg #alien #aliens #gliese #gliese581c #concept

[theskybeneathourfeet]

SBF into space - Bobby Myers created this space station in all of its wonderful glory. We're using this as our base model now and re-designing the entire asset with more focused attention on the space elevator attachment. The entire space sequence is currently being handled by VFX Tree under the VFX Supervision of Sajeel Shukla, and we're eagerly anticipating every work-in-progress update along the way.

#theskybeneathourfeet #bobbymyers #vfxtree #milanschere #space #spaceelevator #sajeelshukla

[theskybeneathourfeet]

THE SKY BENEATH OUR FEET is a young adult science fiction series presented as a period drama . In this vision of the future, corporations have replaced governments, while war has become the most popular form of sports entertainment with hero soldiers receiving the same type of fame we dedicate towards professional athletes today. Every power country has a space elevator, after Disnemerika has shown the world how to physically create one. Being the only territory to own two. They are constructed from top to bottom, utilizing natural gravity forces for stabilization in the building process. Spherical spaceships shaped like one-person pods are docked at the space stations and allow a select few trained professionals to explore distant planets in the hope of colonization, as land has become the most sought after commodity for our species. The first episode follows a young couple as their romance blossoms while both are set on the same carrier path, trying to obtain a chance to venture into space and evaluate new possible living habitats. John eventually goes off to explore Gliese 581 C, an Earth-like planet discovered in recent years, while his girlfriend Lisa stays behind, unexpectedly becoming a key figure in humanities stance against the surprise alien attack back on Earth. We follow their emotional long distance relationship roller-coaster ride and watch as they both learn who they truly are and what really matters to them in life. Through specific attention to detail in the filmmaking process the audience will be able to simultaneously but unconsciously pick up on the development of the greater picture around our heroes, without getting distracted from the unfolding love story. When John goes missing in action, after discovering an alien base on the planet he was scouting, Lisa suddenly receives eight years worth of messages, which have been held back by the authorities until then, just as she believes she has finally managed to move on. Their struggle throughout the entire episode communicates true love and hope with an underlying romantic theme amongst all the chaos and hardship surrounding them both. This series is a modern glimpse into the future with a late 1950s street colour photography look and a fast-paced storytelling style. The timeline spans across multiple generations. Every imaginable aspect has been conceptualized and developed to various extents. The way people live, space travel, the future, down to how they prepare a meal or what shoes they wear. Especially technical aspects like the space elevator or the Space Acceleration Gate Ring for intergalactic travel. With such extensive and well-documented world building, the series does not need to progress in a linear fashion but rather allows us to follow different compelling stories, ultimately letting the viewer connect the dots, forming a complete picture by the end of the season finale. The objective is to keep the visual effects to a minimum by utilizing time and cost efficient matte painting techniques in order to prioritize and concentrate on an enticing character driven viewing experience with a beautifully mesmerizing 16mm cinematography aesthetic. Therefore, the next episode concentrates on John and Lisa’s daughter Nala and her best friend Frank, as they fight their own battle in the new world while coincidentally discovering bits and pieces of their peoples’ history as well as revelations about their own past. Nala grew up as an orphan and at this point humans believe that they originated from Gliese, until these kids’ exciting adventure reveals the painful truth about Earth. Consecutive installments will explain how Lisa made her way to Gliese in order to find John, and also introduce the audience to the K’harg, a sentient alien species, informing us about their motivation and believes. Procon Pictures is currently in the process of creating a live-action proof of concept, which has already been fully storyboarded, and has a vast amount of artwork to present a visual aid to the existing original screenplay written by Milan Schere.

#theskybeneathourfeet #proconpictures #milanschere #gliese581c

[theskybeneathourfeet]

In my vision of the future large companies have taken over and run the world, with the main territories Disnemerika (consisting of Canada, Mexico and the former United States) versus Koreamsung (engulfing all of Asia) waging a constant battle for dominance. Blitz-invasions and battles have replaced regular sports entertainment, wherein hero soldiers are the Michael Jordans and Valentino Rossis of the future. Advertisement and sponsorship is naturally an integral part of this social system. Therefore, we brainstormed and developed logos to represent the image I'm attempting to paint with my movie. John Jattoh, Kenny Jia and Quinn Morrison designed all of the various branding idents over the course of multiple months. A lot of thought and detail went into every single one and I am extremely pleased with the results. Ultimately, these will be used as textures across different surfaces but most importantly as part of the lead male character's physical costume which Mai-Anh Tran is currently creating based on the established conceptual art by Patrick Lee Chen aka Koyorin.

#koyorin #koyori #koyorii #koyoriin #koyorinart #theskybeneathourfeet #disnemerika #koreamsung #maianhtran #qintermedia #@2complex #society6

[theskybeneathourfeet]

After putting out the initial casting call, we had an overwhelming amount of applications, even though all positions were completely unpaid and described as such right from the beginning. As the creator, I envisioned Sonoya Mizuno playing the key role of Lisa Jogoo, and, together with producer Robert Crocco, we based our initial round of narrowing down the selection on aesthetics for the female lead. Under the guidance of casting director Celine Zoleta, we invited a select few possible candidates for a personal audition in downtown Toronto and had to fill one cancellation last minute, adding Drew Catherine to the lineup, even though she did not exactly fit the profile at the time. Drew had the last auditioning spot and came in at the end of the day, blowing us away with her interpretation of the character. She truly emanated an incredible feeling of knowing Lisa better than I do and immediately gave me the confidence that my vision will be in the best hands if I entrusted her with this responsibility. For the male counterpart we went through a similar process and had the list of actors down to two at this point. However, each applicant gave us a very different take on their idea of Jonathan Baker. When watching back the recordings we realized that Michael Hallam was the one most willing to work on his performance right away. Asking questions and visibly pushing himself on the spot, taking direction very well from the start. Drew and Michael are both represented by Elizabeth Rotenberg from Redd Skye Talent Management and we're very much looking forward to working with both of them on THE SKY BENEATH OUR FEET this year.

#drewcatherine #mikehallam #michaelhallam #proconpictures #milanschere #theskybeneathourfeet #casting #sonoya mizuno

[theskybeneathourfeet]

The initial amp suit was modeled by Christian Kesler in Modo but this was originally not intended for animation. Our CG Supervisor Cristian Camaroschi quickly determined that it needed to be re-topologized before rigging in order to be able to make the thing move on screen. Luckily, we found Shunsaku Matsurida 祭田俊作 who is currently overhauling the entire asset and we're now in the process of developing our version 2.0 of this amazing beast, which will later need to be combined with live action footage of our heroin piloting it.

#ampsuit #theskybeneathourfeet #3d

[theskybeneathourfeet]

THE SKY BENEATH OUR FEET is an introduction to a vast world I've been creating for over a decade now. Every detail and principal of the world I imagine has been thought out and developed over years. The way people live, space travel, the future, down to how they prepare a meal or what shoes they wear. Especially technical aspects like the space elevator or the Space Acceleration Gate Ring for intergalactic travel. It was all worked out, spread across multiple sketchbooks and e-mails. Originally, I wanted the story to start on Gliese 581 C and follow a young couple as they discover the origins of their world and heritage. Even though I spend my days working on fantastical Hollywood budget movies, due to financial limitations presented on my personal project I knew I had to start somewhere closer to my current resources and decided to take the time to not only figure out the backstory characters which will guide us through this vast world I invented, but also a solid story that can draw an audience in while moving the big picture forward through all the various ideas that I've had while dreaming it all up. The alien planet I envisioned is a humid lush environment with green dominating over blue. These Styleframes I created were the visual guides when I set out on this journey but the art direction is currently being re-defined with the help of Seema Schere handling that role, while I concentrate on the logistics of the story and production. 

#kreola #gliese #theskybeneathourfeet

[theskybeneathourfeet]

SBF - Space Acceleration Ring Gate: In my story, humans travel across the universe through a chain of acceleration gates. When a spaceship goes through it gets catapulted at a high speed into the direction it was pointing at, not the angle at which the object entered. The scale is supposed to be massive and the material a futuristic type of alloy. I had some rough napkin sketches I quickly scribbled down, which I sent to Alex Bobylev to build upon. The ring gate is in outer space, so most shots are wide and in full frame. No real close-ups unless this asset turns out to be so killer that I end up wanting to show it off. The way it's built is by transporting the small bits and pieces in large spaceships to a far distance and then assembling it over years. The idea is that humans only have to do this once and then traveling from one gate to the next takes merely minutes after that but setting up the initial one took like decades. It is maintained by a small crew on shift work but with the Acceleration Gate they have quick access to home, anytime. It's like a futuristic catapult but with the sci-fi feel of something like the original Stargate. The overall diameter is 500m and I prefer it to be a thin structure. Alex suggested that these gates would have to be almost like a mix of airports and large service way-stations that you'd get on highways due to the maintenance requirements. He created a series of concepts inspired by a mix of blade runner type of business and complexity + neon signs but closer to my original idea. The look transitioned a bit more into Mass-Effect type of designs with a more obvious space-port gate. These concepts are currently being built as 3D models by Sajeel Shukla. Stay tuned for more work in progress soon.

#theskybeneathourfeet #spaceelevator #torontokyo #proconpictures

[theskybeneathourfeet]

Jonathan Baker: The male hero of the story is like an Ender Wiggin in his early 20s. The character is extremely smart and kind, while understanding the necessity of physical exercise, as well as complete focus in all situations. Physically, he is somewhat like the Tron: Legacy dude. Prior to joining Space Command, John’s clothing is rather casual and was mainly driven by Priscilla Parizeau’s storyboards. The wardrobe for the shoot is being fully handled by our clothing designer Talisa A. Timla! The real challenge was his ISC costume. The guy is like a sponsored soldier, so his suit is more like that of a Gundam pilot but with sponsoring logos all over. We had multiple very talented artists working on the logo designs simultaneously, which will be attached to the final suit after the initial costume fitting. I was really thinking along the lines of Pacific Rim just less worn and shinier, since John’s suit would be new. Like a pro race driver of intergalactic war. During the early stages of pre-production Sue Jang took on the task but could unfortunately not dedicate as much time towards this project as she was hoping to, due to her other professional commitments. To move things forward, we migrated the task to Patrick Chen who did a wonderful job seeing the designs through to final with a list of nit-picky notes which I was constantly providing. I basically wanted a wet suit underneath and some motorcycle protectors on top. Probably a variation of different greys, and ultimately something cool that would make sense while looking awesome on screen. The process included some back and forth with our Production Designer Mai-Anh Tran to make sure we’ll be able to recreate everything within the physical world. We ordered a bunch of motorcycle gear and have scheduled our first official costume fitting for the end of May.

#theskybeneathourfeet #proconpictures #costumedesign

[theskybeneathourfeet]

Lisa Jogoo: The female lead has to transition from a naive young Wizard of Oz Dorothy type of girl into the Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen. The ideal candidate would be able to portray both these extremes emotionally as well as aesthetically. To tell the story, her wardrobe had to evolve through three different stages: 1. Summer dress when she is still at home The concept was for deciding how short, long, revealing, etc. it should be and what type of feeling it communicates. I really didn't want to make her a sex object like most female costume design always ends up looking. This is more of a hot summer practical nice dress of a small town farm teenage girl. Toronto-based artist Jacqueline Li handled the conceptual development of this, emphasizing Lisa's free spirit and lifestyle. The tricky part was to adapt the wardrobe into the physical world, which was handled by international fashion and clothing designer Talisa A. Timla with a variety of options before going to camera. 2. Young business woman in the big city outfit Something elegant and sophisticated but with a touch of catholic school uniform. Again, without making her a teenage boy fantasy though. Jacqueline Li also took on this task but approached it with more of a kit-bash technique, working more within the limitations of the currently established office culture because the movie's not so distant future reflects a similar social image to what we're used to today. The final products will be provided by Tendu for our upcoming shoot in July. 3. Fighter plane pilot of the future Basically a jump suit with a steampunk flair. I wanted it to be like a flight suit but without losing Lisa's female shape. In an ideal world, I wished for a life action version of Tatiana Wisla (タチアナ・ヴィスラ) or Alis Agrew from Last Exile but with more attractive boots! We had Sébastien Hue and Nika Rukavi work out the early stages of the costume and help me figure out the logistics of the suit before getting Steve Hong on board. Whatever we would come up with needs to be made without breaking my wallet, so my brief to Steve basically was something between April O'Neil and Moon Bloodgood from Terminator Salvation. This had to be realistic in the physical world. Meanwhile we were in constant contact with our wonderful production designer Mai-Anh Tran who would have to obtaining all the materials once we had the measurements of the actress, and create the final suit in time for our first costume fitting at the end of May. Once Steve's character conceptual art was complete, we had to hurry and cast the perfect actress in order for Mai-Anh to be able to hit the deadline, or else the entire production schedule would snowball down to hell.

#theskybeneathourfeet #proconpictures #milanschere

[theskybeneathourfeet]

CG Society is hosting A SKY BENEATH OUR FEET themed contest based on and around the Space Elevator from the movie.

Brief: Create your vision of a space elevator set in an Earth environment of your choice using digital matte painting techniques. Your image is not limited to a view of Disnemerika's main elevator in Torontokyo but you are free to set your scene in your own future vision of any place you want.

#artrage #cgsociety #theskybeneathourfeet #milanschere #proconpictures #davidluong #blizzard #spaceelevator #mattepainting #conceptart

[theskybeneathourfeet]

Creator's statement:

I believe that in our day and age almost anyone can make a movie and what you watch should not be dictated by a system established a hundred years ago. Making a movie is not a privilege reserved for a closed group of millionaires and should be driven by passion instead of profit margin. Technology has come so far that we can practically make a movie on our home computer today. The problem is that the face of the consumer market is shaped by every single one of our actions. Which movie or video we watch on any platform and what we like or share across our social networks directly results in the quality of the entertainment products the world throws back at us. With "The Sky Beneath Our Feet" I'm attempting to prove that we can all be creators if we follow our dreams, and that audiences will finally start choosing their content instead of accepting what's on the menu. I'm basically making the movie I want to watch and in doing so I can maybe inspire others to do the same. By documenting my journey I hope others will learn from my mistakes and find ways to improve my methodology in order to move us all forward as one. With the amount of material available, the true privilege is having people watch and enjoy your work because time is the most precious commodity.

#theskybeneathourfeet filmmaking digitalbolex milanschere proconpictures spaceelevator torontofilm

[theskybeneathourfeet]

After bringing Seema Schere as Supervising Art Director onto the project and discussing the film with award-winning cinematographer John Minh Tran, it was clear that the look of the movie was going to be as special as the story. Heavily inspired by super 16mm cinema, we started to digitally manipulate the large amount of location photography taken in and around downtown Toronto in order to establish the visual language. The development of this mood was mainly driven by the emotions that the script is trying to communicate and should tastefully compliment this enticing tale about feelings too difficult to describe with words. Warm tones were essential for the romantic nature of this piece, underlined with the purple colour variation for sadness and a somewhat muted contrast level to mimic something like old fashion photography. Ultimately, the goal was that our visual imagery should be able to find its way into the heart of it's audience like a beautiful vintage postcard from a time and place that is definitely set in the future but will remind you of the past rather than a cliche science fiction setting.

#theskybeneathourfeet musicbed

[theskybeneathourfeet]

THE SKY BENEATH OUR FEET is a science-fiction love story written by Milan Schere. In this vision of Earth, corporations have replaced governments, while war has become the most popular form of sports entertainment with hero soldiers receiving the same type of fame we dedicate towards professional athletes today. The story follows Lisa, an inexperienced beautiful young woman from a farm in Ontariansas, who moves to Torontokyo, where she first meets the love of her life, Jonathan. After a wonderful relationship starts blossoming, both apply to the Intergalactic Space Command of Disnemerika and Jonathan goes off to explore Gliese 581 C, an Earth-like planet discovered in recent years, while Lisa stays behind and unexpectedly becomes a key figure in humanities stance against the surprise alien attack back on earth. As promised, he continues to write her each day while they are separated, even though she has no way of contacting him and his messages don’t reach her until he goes missing in action during his scouting mission. Throughout the story she ultimately develops into a strong independent woman and they both learn what is important in life, as they’re trying to deal with the hardships thrown at them on daily basis. This short film is a mesmerizing love letter from the future, which will inspire its audience while delivering a captivating emotional thrill-ride with a unique fast-paced storytelling style. The Sky Beneath Our Feet is an exciting film experience that will stand out from the multitude of movies being produced nowadays.