About the film
The capsule in space
Capsule is the ninth short production by Wingless Films. Directed by Jim Elton, the two-part film follows the fate of astronaut Sam (Tom Menary), who wakes aboard his training capsule to find himself adrift in space, with only his on-board computer, "Pod" (Annie Knight) for company.
The screenplay for Capsule was written in December 2010, during production of Captive, and a short script sample was released online on 20th December, showcasing the scene where Sam attempts to repair the capsule against Pod's better judgement.
Production was conducted in January 2011, utilizing the greenscreen studio at Plymouth University as the interior of the titular capsule. "Day Two" of pre-production—12th January, 2011—saw the construction of the set using props in the studio, and a lighting test. At this time, Pod was conceived of only as "a little, pulsing (blue?) circle of light". Filming took place on 22nd January, and greenscreen shooting of the training capsule and the mothership was completed on 2nd February. The latter was a custom-built model spaceship lent to the production by design student Rae Wetherill.
The film's teaser poster was released the day before the film itself, which was released in two parts on YouTube (a requirement dictated by the website's ten-minute limit on uploads at the time of release).
The film contains various references to popular culture, in particular David Bowie's Space Oddity. In addition to the premise of an astronaut lost in space, the unseen character of Jenny is an allusion to Major Tom's wife, who he "love[s] very much", in much the same way as Sam tells Jenny and his family he loves them and will miss them "very much". Further, many of the tracks on the score have titles with references to lyrics from the song, including "My Spaceship Knows Which Way to Go" and "She Knows". The title "Pretty Far Out" is a reference to a line from the Flight of the Conchords song Bowie, which pays tribute to songs such as Space Oddity. Other references appear in lines spoken by Sam, with allusions to Disembodio, Star Trek HAL-9000, the Tin Man and the speaking clock. The character of Pod was inspired by HAL-9000, though Pod's caring nature is evidenced in its blue light, as opposed to the sinister red of HAL.
Music demos were composed from December 2010 onwards, with an early demo of the main theme released online in the form of "The Spaceman" on 19th December. More demos and previews were released as production progressed, and the original score was made available on 24th February. The film includes an instrumental version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, as performed by the musician and fingerstyle guitarist JAW, and is available on YouTube. This plays over the final scene and the end credits.
The film was featured on the Nebula One (News) website, and was nominated alongside Wingless for a Limelight Film & Arts Award on 23rd May, 2011. It was given a profile page on IMDb on 10th February, 2013.
The screenplay for Capsule was written in December 2010, during production of Captive, and a short script sample was released online on 20th December, showcasing the scene where Sam attempts to repair the capsule against Pod's better judgement.
Production was conducted in January 2011, utilizing the greenscreen studio at Plymouth University as the interior of the titular capsule. "Day Two" of pre-production—12th January, 2011—saw the construction of the set using props in the studio, and a lighting test. At this time, Pod was conceived of only as "a little, pulsing (blue?) circle of light". Filming took place on 22nd January, and greenscreen shooting of the training capsule and the mothership was completed on 2nd February. The latter was a custom-built model spaceship lent to the production by design student Rae Wetherill.
The film's teaser poster was released the day before the film itself, which was released in two parts on YouTube (a requirement dictated by the website's ten-minute limit on uploads at the time of release).
The film contains various references to popular culture, in particular David Bowie's Space Oddity. In addition to the premise of an astronaut lost in space, the unseen character of Jenny is an allusion to Major Tom's wife, who he "love[s] very much", in much the same way as Sam tells Jenny and his family he loves them and will miss them "very much". Further, many of the tracks on the score have titles with references to lyrics from the song, including "My Spaceship Knows Which Way to Go" and "She Knows". The title "Pretty Far Out" is a reference to a line from the Flight of the Conchords song Bowie, which pays tribute to songs such as Space Oddity. Other references appear in lines spoken by Sam, with allusions to Disembodio, Star Trek HAL-9000, the Tin Man and the speaking clock. The character of Pod was inspired by HAL-9000, though Pod's caring nature is evidenced in its blue light, as opposed to the sinister red of HAL.
Music demos were composed from December 2010 onwards, with an early demo of the main theme released online in the form of "The Spaceman" on 19th December. More demos and previews were released as production progressed, and the original score was made available on 24th February. The film includes an instrumental version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, as performed by the musician and fingerstyle guitarist JAW, and is available on YouTube. This plays over the final scene and the end credits.
The film was featured on the Nebula One (News) website, and was nominated alongside Wingless for a Limelight Film & Arts Award on 23rd May, 2011. It was given a profile page on IMDb on 10th February, 2013.
Credits
Sam's message to Earth
Cast
- Sam .... Tom Menary
- Voice of Pod .... Annie Knight
- Jim Elton
- Creator and director
- Cinematographer
- Co-editor
- Visual and special effects
- Tom Menary
- Scriptwriter
- Co-editor
- Music composer
- Rae Wetherill
- Model maker
- JAW
- Additional music
Links
Into the unknown