Lithium-Ion
Two robots take a contentious conversation over a vital need (battery juice) to a whole new level in this satirical animated short film.
-
Spencer TerryDirector
-
Eli GistPre Production
-
Project Type:Animation, Short
-
Genres:Comedy, Animation, Sci-fi, family
-
Runtime:6 minutes 12 seconds
-
Completion Date:November 1, 2017
-
Production Budget:0 USD
-
Country of Origin:United States
-
Country of Filming:United States
-
Language:English
-
Shooting Format:Virtual
-
Aspect Ratio:16:9
-
Film Color:Color
-
First-time Filmmaker:No
-
Student Project:No
Distribution Information
-
Amazon VideoCountry: United StatesRights: Internet, Video on Demand, Theatrical, Free TV, Console / Handheld Device
Ever since he was eight years-old, Spencer Terry had been intrigued with film-making. He and his buddies would construct sets and scenes with Lego Bricks and film stories that ranged from the storming of Omaha Beach to time traveling in the Jurassic Era. In the beginning of his high-school career, he started working in 3D computer-graphics and a year started work on an animated short.
Spencer released the short on YouTube and Amazon Video on November 6th, 2017 during his senior year. The film was a large stepping stone into the industry of film-making. He plans on attending Brigham Young University for formal education in computer science & animation.
I approached this project not having the slightest clue of how it would come about. I was quite ambitious to start it, but with the knowledge I had at the beginning of pre-production, there was no way I'd be able to release such a thing.
Lithium-Ion was a huge opportunity to learn about the film-making process. The short itself took over a year and a half to create, though a decent chunk of that time was experimenting on the characters' animation and the buildings' construction, along with other items such as lighting, rigging, and look development.
As a first-time animator, I didn't want to overload myself by making things too complicated. The characters had to be very simple, though emotional enough to portray feeling. Lithium-Ion was also projected to be a funny and satirical film. I tried to make the contention between the two robots very "bouncy" and even ridiculous at times by using absurd tactics such as captivating the antagonist with a trash can or rocket. Both ideas eventually backfire on the main character, and the results in the end aren't in favor of either robot.
I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I have been given to produce this work.