PDA

View Full Version : District 9 & 9 - The Original Shorts



Moundshroud
09-12-2009, 07:27 PM
It occured to me that two recent genre films - the sci-fi District 9 and the animated fantasy 9 both originated as short films. So for those interested in such things, here's the original shorts.

The original short for District 9 is called Alive in Joburg, and it's directed by Neill Blomkamp, who later directed the feature. There's some interesting differences here, including multiple mother ships, and mostly-obscured aliens depicted by actors in masks rather than the much more sophisticated CGI seen in the feature.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlgtbEdqVsk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlgtbEdqVsk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Shane Acker's 9 was nominated for an Oscar in the Animated Short category. While the "stitchpunk" beings are apparently mute in the short, you'll see a good number of elements which later show up in the feature. I have to wonder if the bit with the lamp is a shout-out to Pixar's hopping-lamp logo.


<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-hzCfOvsq64&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-hzCfOvsq64&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

The Butcher
09-19-2009, 11:47 PM
I watched most of the District 9 short. I LOVE seeing that damn ship in the background. It's pretty cool how such a short piece of video can give the same type of feel that the movie does.

Seeing how Hollywood films are costing more and more these days, maybe the way to go is to make a short first and see how that looks. It's almost like a form of pre-production.

I've also heard that the director of District 9 was scheduled to do the HALO movie, which was also being produced by Peter Jackson. I Just found that interesting and thought I'd share.