Project
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VULCAN
Year
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2024
Category
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Industrial Designer
Film maker
Prop maker
Set designer
Costume designer
Cinematographer
Director
Synopsis
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Rhett Lennox is mysteriously awakened early from cryo-sleep aboard a spacecraft, only to trigger an alarm while hacking a malfunctioning door, drawing an alien threat. Meanwhile, ruthless Weylan-Yutani executives exploit the alien for profit, until Gorman’s android assistant rebels after witnessing their greed. As survival and corporate ambition collide, chaos ensues in this gripping sci-fi thriller.
Project
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VULCAN
Project Vulcan is the result of a year long labor of love trying to capture and interpret the magic of the alien series. It is the culmination of bringing the worlds of film and design together to make a cohesive and compelling story set within the world of my favorite series. This short is just a glimpse into the alien universe, another hopeless tale of cooperate greed and sacrifice, amongst the unrelenting alien threat.
Process
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Cinematography
Inspired by the camera direction of Alien (1979), Project Vulcan adopts similar techniques to build suspense and evoke emotion through its set pieces and character interactions. Ridley Scott’s Alien often used the camera to foreshadow events or shift focus away from the speaking character, creating a unique storytelling rhythm. By letting the camera follow its own logic, rather than simply tracking the lead, the audience could spend more time with the ensemble and gain a deeper understanding of the relationships at play. With the limited time available for Project Vulcan, I aimed to emulate this approach—telling a story through the environment and treating dialogue as a kind of narration. This allowed the audience to focus on the actions unfolding within each scene, enhancing their engagement with the story.
The making of
Process
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Direction
Taking on the role of director was an interesting challenge, as it meant coordinating shots and collaborating with a team to bring my vision to life. Throughout the process, I approached the project with the mindset of creating a polished 10-minute short film, even though I knew it would eventually be cut down. This perspective allowed me to keep the camera rolling longer, ensuring I captured the highest quality shots possible. By treating each scripted moment as though it were part of a much larger production, I was able to elevate the overall quality of the work.