“AstroNots,” a fun Australian short that just played the Fantasia Film Festival, is about an astronaut who admits, just before launch, that he isn’t really an astronaut. He’s faked his way to the top.
The film has done some impressive deception of its own: Its space shuttle cockpit looks shockingly convincing for an indie short shot on a budget. Director Andrew Seaton and his team outfitted actors Adam Dunn and Aaron Glenane, who co-wrote the film, with impressive flight suits — and placed them in a shuttle with many elements borrowed from a much higher-budgeted production. (The team isn’t aren’t allowed to say which production.)
“Astronots” comes from the Sydney production company Mint, whose co-founder, Matt Samperi, also handled the film’s atmospheric cinematography.
We talked with Seaton over email about imposter syndrome, replicating past space-mission films, and making people happy.
MovieMaker: What was the inspiration for “AstroNots”?
Andrew Seaton: We were actively looking for a short film to produce whilst developing a feature film. We wanted something we could dive into but still be achievable on a small budget. Our good friend and long time collaborator Adam Dunn pitched us this idea and we fell in love with the premise and the huge amount of comedic potential it had.
We did underestimate the time and resources a custom shuttle interior set, bespoke astronaut costumes and over 100 VFX shots would take, but we are happy we committed to it.
‘AstroNots’ Director Andrew Seaton on the Power of Repurposed Buttons and Dials
MovieMaker: You hear so much about exceptional people who have “imposter syndrome,” it was refreshing to see a movie about an actual imposter. What’s your relationship with imposter syndrome, if any?
Andrew Seaton: Everyone has felt like a bit of a fish out of water one time or another and we’ve all experienced imposter syndrome so the idea of this film I thought would resonate with a wide range of audiences.
MovieMaker: Can you talk about how you created a credible version of a shuttle launch on a presumably small budget? What efficiencies or tricks did you discover along the way?
Andrew Seaton: “AstroNots” was made on a relatively small budget of around $10K AUD [about $6,500]. We reached out to some organizations we thought would be interested in the film and were fortunate to get some sponsorship from non-alcoholic beer brand Heaps Normal. This sponsorship helped immensely.
My intention with the design of this film was to make it look and feel like a hollywood blockbuster astronaut film. Think Apollo 13, First Man or Gravity. I wanted it to feel familiar to our audience so that when we reveal one of our crew is not prepared, it feels like a rug-pull moment and takes the audience by surprise.
To do this we designed a familiar-looking shuttle interior complete with light up buttons and dials that were repurposed from a much larger budget sci-fi film. We were able to repurpose these items which gave us the look we were after but at a fraction of the cost.
MovieMaker: What was your biggest obstacle?
Andrew Seaton: I’d say our biggest obstacle was production design — creating a convincing space shuttle cockpit, along with legitimate NASA space suits and helmets — on a shoestring budget. This meant a lot of problem-solving and time dedicated to the project from our production designer, Eloise Cochran, and costume designer, Tia Sebastian. But we definitely feel like it paid off.
MovieMaker: How do you hope people feel after viewing AstroNots?
Andrew Seaton: After viewing “Astronauts,” I hope people feel happier than before they started watching it! The film is a humorous and light hearted two-hander where the stakes are high. This all makes for some great comedy, and so first and foremost the goal is to make people laugh and enjoy themselves.
You can read more about Fantasia here and more about Mint here.
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