Grounded: A beautiful short that’s a little too enigmatic

Posted: September 19, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: The Future of Film | 1 Comment

Browsing io9 this morning I noticed they were promoting a short film called Grounded. It’s beautifully shot and well worth sitting through. Here’s a link to the film:

Because there is no dialogue what we are watching is essentially a silent film. We are reliant on the actors, music and imagery to let us in on what the story is about.

There is a story however I felt that it was trying a little too hard to be enigmatic. A significant look here, a flinch there and a (stunning) piece of action is not enough. Clearly the director has been heavily influenced by the mystical denouement of 2001: A Space Odyssey but I would like to know why we’ve gone to this planet and who the characters are.

Watch it anyway.  Despite my misgivings it’s only 8 minutes long and it never ceases to amaze me what film makers are now able to do with very little budget.

So that’s what my name looks like in print?

Posted: September 9, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Competition, Cool Stuff | Tags: , | Leave a comment

That’s Ariadne right there!

I previously mentioned that a small story (tiny in fact – it’s a piece of flash) was picked up by an anthology.

I travelled down to the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron to pick it up. It was a long way to go but worth it. The facility is literally amazing. It looks remarkably like a V mothership crashed in the Oxfordshire countryside.

This is not a movie poster of the Synchrotron!

Unfortunately I neglected to take any pictures while I was there but I am hoping that I can get some copies from the site office. There will be another update once I have them.

You can find Ariadne on page 16 of the Light Reading Anthology. But don’t stop there take the time to read some of the other submissions. I discovered that the illustration  was used on the cover. Gosh. Colour me flattered.

Go ahead and read – those digital versions are all free.

ps. I am not sure if there’s going to be a print version. There was some talk of a PoD edition but I don’t have any information on that just now.