Private Project

Aftershock

A club of undergraduate college students at USC fall into a race against time to send their rocket, Aftershock II, on its mission to become the highest and fastest civilian built rocket in human history.

  • Collin Nelson
    Director
  • Collin Nelson
    Writer
  • Collin Nelson
    Producer
  • Ryan Kraemer
    Key Cast
    "Himself "
  • Jayna Rybner
    Key Cast
    "herself"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    science, drama, suspense, space
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 9, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - USC School of Cinematic Arts
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Collin Nelson

Collin Nelson is currently obtaining his BFA in Film & Television Production at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. His unique perspective combines his many interests, ranging from science, history, and philosophy, while focusing on the complexities of the human experience and connection.

He is an award winning filmmaker who’s most recent film, A Soldier’s Dilemma, was nominated at the All American High School Film Festival and won at the Academy Award and BAFTA qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival. Collin was a winner of the Silver Award in cinematic arts by the YoungArts foundation and attended the 2025 Miami Arts week. He co-directed his high school's bi-annual feature length film in his senior year of high school. Collin is continuing to pursue his passion in storytelling by creating documentary and narrative short films.

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Director Statement

My first word was moon and by the time I was 15 months old I had memorized all the planets from a mobile over my crib. When I was 8, I attached a bunch of balloons to an inflatable space shuttle, and a gopro, hoping to send it to space. As I grew older, my wild dreams of filming space became more grounded, telling stories about the worlds of science fiction and the characters that inhabit them. However, in my first week of USC, I saw a flier that could make my childhood dream a reality: telling the story of a group of visionary engineers with the goal of launching the highest and fastest amateur rocket into space. Aftershock represents my lifelong dream come true. A story defined by setbacks and failures, but a story of making the impossible real.