For my senior thesis at Ithaca College, I set out to make a short film that would be technically challenging. In that case, I believe I succeeded in that this project has since been put on hold. However, I do feel very proud of the crew that I got to work with on this project and the work that we did finish and learn from.
Idoneum Bello (Latin for "suitable for war") is a short film that tells the story of an artificial intelligence robot that wakes up with a simple goal: to escape its confinement. The film is a reflection of the role of AI in society and specifically its use in warfare. In 2022, AI, and generative AI specifically, was just starting to transform our cultural and financial landscapes. The short was primarily inspired by George Lucas' student film THX-1138. I'll include the film's treatment below, but scroll down if you want to see more about the film's production.
Strewn across an operating table, a human-sized ROBOT lies lifeless, plugged into a number of computers. The computers whirr while a few mechanics operate a console in another room. The console is filled with buttons, dials, and screens. A MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE turns up a dial slowly. Power draws from the operating room and feeds into THE ROBOT. A blue light on the robot gets brighter before the lights in the room flicker and then go out -- a few flashes on THE ROBOT’s body flicker as fast as a heartbeat. A light flashes at the same pace on the console.
THE ROBOT puts its hand on the main door to the room and slowly opens it. In front of the room is a long, empty, neon-white hallway. THE ROBOT takes its first steps. We see it through the lens of a security camera. THE ROBOT runs its hand down a wall. It notices the sound of the security camera moving and looks up at it. It moves closer. THE MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE flicks a switch and the images of life, society, and nature flash before THE ROBOT’s eyes. It imagines itself walking out of the facility into the world. THE ROBOT’s heartbeat is now speeding. He’s crawled up in a corner. THE MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE watches intently. THE ROBOT looks up at the security camera as it stands slowly. THE ROBOT looks forward and starts running.
Searching for a way out, THE ROBOT makes a few turns, and THE MAN AT THE CONSOLE begins typing and pressing buttons. THE ROBOT turns a corner and begins to walk down a hall when it sees a door closing in front of it. THE ROBOT hears another large door at the end of the other side of the hallway and walks towards it. It looks up at a security camera which follows the ROBOT as it passes by. THE ROBOT runs down another hallway and a few more doors open as THE MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE presses buttons. Eventually, THE ROBOT finds itself in a larger room, the door closing behind it.
In this room, THE ROBOT looks around and hears the sound of another robot powering up. THE ROBOT turns and sees a slightly bigger robot, its movements much stiffer. With a gun in hand, it aims at THE ROBOT. THE MAN AT THE CONSOLE flicks another switch and the lights go out inside the room. The larger robot fires its gun lighting up the room in flickers. THE ROBOT dodges the attacks and disarms the larger robot. After a moment of silence, the large robot falls to the ground. THE MAN AT THE CONSOLE switches the lights back on, and we see the aftermath, with THE ROBOT gone.
THE ROBOT runs down a hallway, turns a corner, and passes by a mirror -- the body of a human is reflected for a split second. THE ROBOT pauses and then walks back to the mirror. Instead of the human body, it now sees a reflection of itself. It inches closer, now face to face with its mechanical copy. It stares at it. It places its right hand on the mirror. The hand slowly becomes a fist. The ROBOT sees glimpses of life with a human form and it winds up its fist and punches through the mirror. The version of THE ROBOT in the mirror grabs THE ROBOT and pulls it into the mirror itself. The two robots begin to fight. After a series of punches and dodges, THE ROBOT gains the upper hand and beats its duplicate into the ground. It stands up and looks down at the battered and destroyed robot. We then see THE ROBOT standing in front of a broken mirror. THE MAN AT THE CONSOLE watches through a screen and flicks a switch. A door begins to open at the end of the hallway. The robot looks at the door, looks at the broken glass, and runs towards the light. THE ROBOT runs outside, blinded by the brightness of exterior light.
THE ROBOT begins to run across a field outside and into the distance, but then suddenly falls to the ground. THE MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE holds his finger on a button that reads “Standby”. The robot lies on the ground convulsing as he looks off across the field. THE MAN BEHIND THE CONSOLE grabs a clipboard and checks off a box that reads ”Approved for War”. Two men come up behind THE ROBOT in military uniforms and drag its body back inside. Outside, we see the entire facility in the middle of nowhere.
When we began production, I knew I wanted to reach out to my friend Jared Soto (with whom I had worked on lonely robot, which also inspired this short) about making the film in 3D. I knew Ithaca College had a motion capture lab in the Department of Physical Therapy, but to my knowledge it had never been used for anything in the arts. So, I pitched this idea to Jared and also to Professor Brad Lewter, who I had been told by my professors was THE guy to talk to about this idea. As I mentioned, I knew this project would be a challenge, so I also reached out to Ryan Carty for more VFX support.
Once we discussed the project, Professor Lewter offered to help oversee a motion capture session with us to get a performance captured. Additionally, I reached out to Henry Bulkeley to be associate producer and Mason Risser about being our motion capture performer, and after they agreed, we booked everything.
Prior to the session, I tried fleshing out parts of the edit that I felt would be tricky and would need specific timing in the performance. Mostly we worked on choreographing the short's fight scene that happens inside a sort of mirror dimension. These are a couple of the assets I made before getting things recorded.
During the session, we all met up and got to work recording all the performances that would be necessary to tell the story. With the ingenuity and the expertise of all the people in the room, this was one of my most memorable experiences as a filmmaker.
Once the session was over, we were in post production. Jared and Ryan got to work creating the digital sets and cleaning the motion captured data in Blender and Houdini, respectively. I focused on getting the edit down and beginning work on sound design. All of us were in communication with each other and sharing updates on our progress. I met up with Olivia Comolli to record Foley for the film.
All was going well when, of course, our deadline started to catch up with us. What was originally going to be the entire film ended up becoming only a trailer. Still, we put all of our effort in making it as good as it could be. I worked in After Effects to create the titles, Ryan and Jared were sending beautifully rendered shots for the edit, and everything was starting to come together.
In the end, the final trailer represents all our collective efforts on this ambitious project. The trailer screened at the State Theatre of Ithaca along with all the other student thesis films, and I remember just how proud I felt of the team and the project. I learned so much about myself as a creative through this film and I still love to share it and discuss it when I can.
