Sci-Fi Short Film Starian - DUST
video description
Beware of spoilers!
Starian by Eric Zaragoza\r
Plot: two teenage girls surviving after accident on a planet making their own star Or something\r
Negatives: 1) sound noise > information: majority of the girls talk and almost all of the mother is very hard to understand, while majority of the storytelling important facts are presented by talk; 2) I know it is not always important, but here I missed some background info: how the girls survived on the planet; 3) some illogical or unclear things: why there are walking from somewhere to somewhere else, when they could do it in the first place, why the sky views are differing between scenes so much; the girls were in perfect state it keeps raising questions about their survival; 4) rewatching helps to better grasp some details of storytelling e. g. the year of the mother recording video would be nice to have a chance to find it for the first time, but I was focused just on trying to figure out what she was saying\r
Positives: 1) music; 2) visuals both real (landscape I suppose) and CGI\r
Personal note: What can I say, I like short haired women\r
Summary: Interesting idea, but realization has some flaws which ruin the potential of good enjoyment
Date: 2024-04-01
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Comments and reviews: 34
phantomcorps3373
I am an actor and filmmaker. I respect that these filmmakers were passionate enough to make a short story. The location was pretty cool! If I could make some suggestions.
1. Get some more experienced actors in your piece. The people that were in it were fine, but felt more like cosplay people who were asked to be in a short film. I don't know the full details of your casting process, but it felt the the actors just showed up with no preparation. It could also be that they are just really young and are still learning. No hate! Just being honest.
2. Get someone to edit and craft the story into a more lean piece.
3. Going back and forth between a recording and the story proper is a good technique, but maybe even subtitles for the commanding officer's lines if the chaos in the background drowns out her dialogue. Unless not hearing what she had to say was the point, then bravo.
4. Keep doing what you are doing and use every project as a learning experience.
Otherwise, it's good to see you went out and tried. Keep it up!
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I am an actor and filmmaker. I respect that these filmmakers were passionate enough to make a short story. The location was pretty cool! If I could make some suggestions.
1. Get some more experienced actors in your piece. The people that were in it were fine, but felt more like cosplay people who were asked to be in a short film. I don't know the full details of your casting process, but it felt the the actors just showed up with no preparation. It could also be that they are just really young and are still learning. No hate! Just being honest.
2. Get someone to edit and craft the story into a more lean piece.
3. Going back and forth between a recording and the story proper is a good technique, but maybe even subtitles for the commanding officer's lines if the chaos in the background drowns out her dialogue. Unless not hearing what she had to say was the point, then bravo.
4. Keep doing what you are doing and use every project as a learning experience.
Otherwise, it's good to see you went out and tried. Keep it up!
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smeggerknee2448
Audio jumps from shouty in her cockpit to INAUDIBLE muttering on the planet.
Viewers willing to put up with poor video, statistics show they ABANDON films with audio problems.
For the love of FILMS a lot of effort went into making this.
Did it not occur to you to view this yourself on SEVERAL formats. to see if there might be issues
It might help to test this, and upload a fresh recording, it is little wonder that nobody is getting the plot since the audio makes following any dialogue a struggle.
This is not a RANT.
This is ME taking the time to help you to get those DISLIKES turned into LIKES.
This is not the only dust upload that has butchered audio like this.
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Audio jumps from shouty in her cockpit to INAUDIBLE muttering on the planet.
Viewers willing to put up with poor video, statistics show they ABANDON films with audio problems.
For the love of FILMS a lot of effort went into making this.
Did it not occur to you to view this yourself on SEVERAL formats. to see if there might be issues
It might help to test this, and upload a fresh recording, it is little wonder that nobody is getting the plot since the audio makes following any dialogue a struggle.
This is not a RANT.
This is ME taking the time to help you to get those DISLIKES turned into LIKES.
This is not the only dust upload that has butchered audio like this.
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Johnathonaaron
Great job on this. Loved the visuals and was intrigued to see what destroyed the ship. Really want more. To all the critics, this is a short film; it's in the message. Would they be able to see the view the planets before the rocks sure but maybe the first girl was too upset to appreciate it until that point. Could a budget get three actresses with the same accent since they are all related Sure but then you wouldn't have the diverse acting styles between them. I thought the acting was great they felt like two young sisters completely different in their priorities.
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Great job on this. Loved the visuals and was intrigued to see what destroyed the ship. Really want more. To all the critics, this is a short film; it's in the message. Would they be able to see the view the planets before the rocks sure but maybe the first girl was too upset to appreciate it until that point. Could a budget get three actresses with the same accent since they are all related Sure but then you wouldn't have the diverse acting styles between them. I thought the acting was great they felt like two young sisters completely different in their priorities.
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bryanfisk7904
The dialog is a mish-mash on contradictory statements. The ship crashed because of 'contact' with an alien. The two girls are obviously the children that were put in stasis.
The dialog goes on to say You do remember what happened to our ship when the last one was released. So the container obviously contains an alien of similar capabilities as the one that destroyed the ship. The video ends with I think I'll name our star. which is nonsense - the darn thing is an alien; not a star.
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The dialog is a mish-mash on contradictory statements. The ship crashed because of 'contact' with an alien. The two girls are obviously the children that were put in stasis.
The dialog goes on to say You do remember what happened to our ship when the last one was released. So the container obviously contains an alien of similar capabilities as the one that destroyed the ship. The video ends with I think I'll name our star. which is nonsense - the darn thing is an alien; not a star.
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kd5nrh
Ay, yes, the most irritatingly idiotic spaceship trope: There's the giant flat spot we want to get to. Now let's find a place to land at least ten miles away and go in on foot, because a civilization with interplanetary travel clearly can't have portable ground vehicles.
Right up there with the way they can always find exactly what they've been looking for for decades as soon as someone tells them which planet it's on. Because, you know, we can find any object anywhere on Earth so easily.
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Ay, yes, the most irritatingly idiotic spaceship trope: There's the giant flat spot we want to get to. Now let's find a place to land at least ten miles away and go in on foot, because a civilization with interplanetary travel clearly can't have portable ground vehicles.
Right up there with the way they can always find exactly what they've been looking for for decades as soon as someone tells them which planet it's on. Because, you know, we can find any object anywhere on Earth so easily.
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joey6818
Awesome movie, the canisters were celestial creator modules. The first ones created planets that the two women released into the sky at this part of the planet. The last one was special because in addition to creating the energy source of a star it also had the artificial intelligence it downloaded from the spaceship's computers which unfortunately caused the crash. This last canister ensured a new human colony will have guidance and will thrive.
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Awesome movie, the canisters were celestial creator modules. The first ones created planets that the two women released into the sky at this part of the planet. The last one was special because in addition to creating the energy source of a star it also had the artificial intelligence it downloaded from the spaceship's computers which unfortunately caused the crash. This last canister ensured a new human colony will have guidance and will thrive.
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fredbarrett5581
I believe James Cameron got away with the close proximity of planets in Avatar, great job. Great effects, audio suffered in some scenes. It's just me but I would have liked a little more meat to the story but maybe I missed it. You folks are very talented and I look forward to seeing more of your films. People out there commenting, please try to be more constructive and less mean. There was a lot of work put into this.
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I believe James Cameron got away with the close proximity of planets in Avatar, great job. Great effects, audio suffered in some scenes. It's just me but I would have liked a little more meat to the story but maybe I missed it. You folks are very talented and I look forward to seeing more of your films. People out there commenting, please try to be more constructive and less mean. There was a lot of work put into this.
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jarahkaren8074
Costume design with no apparent purpose: girls who can't see a massive planet in the sky above them until they round the bend: and they are running hard (using a Pythonesque silly run style) to get somewhere but then just faff around when they arrive.
Poor plot leading to nothing much.
A perfect candidate for 'Sunday Night Marathon: The Worst of Dust'.
But, potential is evident.
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Costume design with no apparent purpose: girls who can't see a massive planet in the sky above them until they round the bend: and they are running hard (using a Pythonesque silly run style) to get somewhere but then just faff around when they arrive.
Poor plot leading to nothing much.
A perfect candidate for 'Sunday Night Marathon: The Worst of Dust'.
But, potential is evident.
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EduardoSilvaLopez
REACTiON LOG:
0: 17: Record! In only 17 seconds you managed to show a complete absurdity in your setting! Can you explain us how the heck could you reach another STELLAR SYSTEM IN 25 YEARS FROM NOW!
0: 29 - LOL! Now ir is 15 YEARS!
4: 25 - Unrealistic sky. Planet with oxygen (so near)
. and I cannot understand a word. No subtitles. Thats it, thumbs down.
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REACTiON LOG:
0: 17: Record! In only 17 seconds you managed to show a complete absurdity in your setting! Can you explain us how the heck could you reach another STELLAR SYSTEM IN 25 YEARS FROM NOW!
0: 29 - LOL! Now ir is 15 YEARS!
4: 25 - Unrealistic sky. Planet with oxygen (so near)
. and I cannot understand a word. No subtitles. Thats it, thumbs down.
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Sokx41
Without subtitles and with rather poor voice reproduction, especially inside the damaged spacecraft, it was very difficult to discern what was being said. I believe the two young women were the daughters of the woman who died in space craft, and object that pulled apart was perhaps their mother's ashes to be shot into space in remembrance.
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Without subtitles and with rather poor voice reproduction, especially inside the damaged spacecraft, it was very difficult to discern what was being said. I believe the two young women were the daughters of the woman who died in space craft, and object that pulled apart was perhaps their mother's ashes to be shot into space in remembrance.
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beharford
As others have suggested, there certainly are improvements that could be made, but I gotta say, I liked the uniforms, I loved the skyscape (that is the stuff that dreams are made of, and the location was awesome. I am always in utter awe at the amount of work and planning that has to go into even a short production.
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As others have suggested, there certainly are improvements that could be made, but I gotta say, I liked the uniforms, I loved the skyscape (that is the stuff that dreams are made of, and the location was awesome. I am always in utter awe at the amount of work and planning that has to go into even a short production.
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Luthiart
2045 Was that a typo Who thinks we're going to achieve interstellar space travel in less than 25 years We can't even go to THE MOON anymore!
Then there's the bad sound, lousy costumes and annoying characters. I almost bailed on this 2 minutes in.
I hope this was a student film.
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2045 Was that a typo Who thinks we're going to achieve interstellar space travel in less than 25 years We can't even go to THE MOON anymore!
Then there's the bad sound, lousy costumes and annoying characters. I almost bailed on this 2 minutes in.
I hope this was a student film.
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brockjazz8838
I agree with the comments on plot, sound, and please CC! DUST's short sci-fi films are GREAT though, because we need new sci-fi that isn't the boring old tripe of magic Star Wars and overdone Star Trek, let alone the many bad sci-fi movies made recently. Keep up the good work!
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I agree with the comments on plot, sound, and please CC! DUST's short sci-fi films are GREAT though, because we need new sci-fi that isn't the boring old tripe of magic Star Wars and overdone Star Trek, let alone the many bad sci-fi movies made recently. Keep up the good work!
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annemckeon6532
Well I didn't have a clue what that was about and I agree, the background music drowns out the dialogue.
Also the film is set in 2043 or 45. That's only down the road from 2020. I doubt space travel will have advanced that far in 20 yrs
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Well I didn't have a clue what that was about and I agree, the background music drowns out the dialogue.
Also the film is set in 2043 or 45. That's only down the road from 2020. I doubt space travel will have advanced that far in 20 yrs
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r. j. martin1818
2045 Not by any Earth calendar. Plus, there's no way so many planets, moons, or whatever can be so close together and leave one with a stable surface and atmosphere. This production was in much need of a space science consultant.
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2045 Not by any Earth calendar. Plus, there's no way so many planets, moons, or whatever can be so close together and leave one with a stable surface and atmosphere. This production was in much need of a space science consultant.
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cloneengineer1716
Two people behaving like juveniles ( and zero kit or supplies on a desert planet ) like that (on the planet) won't last long in space [ face palm ] and the plot - isn't. Pretty girls and special effects, OK, music was confusing.
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Two people behaving like juveniles ( and zero kit or supplies on a desert planet ) like that (on the planet) won't last long in space [ face palm ] and the plot - isn't. Pretty girls and special effects, OK, music was confusing.
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dust
Please check sound calibration before posting! That was mostly inaudible due to noise/voice ratio and having to manually increase/decrease the volume by -50% between scenes. thats a recurring issue on Dust
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Please check sound calibration before posting! That was mostly inaudible due to noise/voice ratio and having to manually increase/decrease the volume by -50% between scenes. thats a recurring issue on Dust
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chianasgeek6730
Well, this looks kinda interesting but unfortunately, the dialogue is mostly inaudible under the sound effects or the music. And, of course, no subtitles. Oh well!
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Well, this looks kinda interesting but unfortunately, the dialogue is mostly inaudible under the sound effects or the music. And, of course, no subtitles. Oh well!
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cherryscarlett
_two girls: (safe and sound)_
3: 00 SCIENCE. Commanding Officer: (space ship blows up)
IEG: _yea, I see. what went wrong there. _
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_two girls: (safe and sound)_
3: 00 SCIENCE. Commanding Officer: (space ship blows up)
IEG: _yea, I see. what went wrong there. _
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etim7714
This vid SERIOUSLY needs some subs!
What the woman onboard the ship is saying is unintelligible due to all the noise in the background!
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This vid SERIOUSLY needs some subs!
What the woman onboard the ship is saying is unintelligible due to all the noise in the background!
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sonpopco-op9682
2: 44 someone clearly doesnt understand how light works.
Little itty- bitty sun is still behind Jupiter which should be unlit.
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2: 44 someone clearly doesnt understand how light works.
Little itty- bitty sun is still behind Jupiter which should be unlit.
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danclayberger770
I don't know what I just watched and without closed captions I could not understand what was going on. This gets a THUMBS DOWN.
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I don't know what I just watched and without closed captions I could not understand what was going on. This gets a THUMBS DOWN.
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1SCme
It looks like they had a few bucks and some special effects left over from making a real short, and decided to scrap this together.
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It looks like they had a few bucks and some special effects left over from making a real short, and decided to scrap this together.
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etherraichu
what. Did I miss like a few minutes in there Also you can't just cram a Jupiter into the sky, it would tear a planet apart.
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what. Did I miss like a few minutes in there Also you can't just cram a Jupiter into the sky, it would tear a planet apart.
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bendia77
Could not make out the dialog - either inside the noisy spacecraft (I assume) or out amongst the rocks. Gave up at 3: 19.
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Could not make out the dialog - either inside the noisy spacecraft (I assume) or out amongst the rocks. Gave up at 3: 19.
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ruzahel6287
Ok so I gathered from the comments, they released a star and on the return trip they died from a freak accident
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Ok so I gathered from the comments, they released a star and on the return trip they died from a freak accident
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idkwhoknew908
Well What if you Film i can see I enjoy. Now They your Films are too Dark. Very Hard to see. Lighten up.
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Well What if you Film i can see I enjoy. Now They your Films are too Dark. Very Hard to see. Lighten up.
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brucerumrey8894
during the science office dialogue you could of had subtitles, the costumes were great, video was great
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during the science office dialogue you could of had subtitles, the costumes were great, video was great
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eneastavora1943
I didn’t get this one. What was that (the device) A power plasma flare The girls were cute though
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I didn’t get this one. What was that (the device) A power plasma flare The girls were cute though
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fluchtigziege3202
seems like very lame try hard thing lately is called dust. another one to add to the shitheap lol
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seems like very lame try hard thing lately is called dust. another one to add to the shitheap lol
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johnmikell7078
Im dumb, how do yo go full cscreem U do i can deatch hoizontalydonht discard. x'lput Me back i: on
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Im dumb, how do yo go full cscreem U do i can deatch hoizontalydonht discard. x'lput Me back i: on
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richardhead8981
SPOILER ALERT: The thing inside the capsule was the same thing in the trunk of the repo Rambler.
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SPOILER ALERT: The thing inside the capsule was the same thing in the trunk of the repo Rambler.
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HebaruSan
Humans have left the solar system within 25 years of now Please tell me this was a high school project.
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Humans have left the solar system within 25 years of now Please tell me this was a high school project.
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markharris5107
I thought it was a flare that was left to them to signal and get saved off that planet.
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I thought it was a flare that was left to them to signal and get saved off that planet.
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