Private Project

Welcome to Mercury Bay

Duncan -- a passionate UFO enthusiast has dragged his two friends, Ryan and Zack to the outskirts of town to search for evidence of UFOs. After several hours, Ryan and Zack are fed up and ready to leave. Just as they are leaving, Zack sees an alien spacecraft above their neighbor, Mr. Winters, which promptly begins pulling him up into the sky. In a panic, Zack, Ryan and Duncan must work together to save Mr. Winters and themselves - while Duncan must also choose between saving his friends and finally proving the existence of aliens.

  • Patrick Thompson
    Director
  • Patrick Thompson
    Writer
  • Amr Rashaad
    Producer
  • Michael Verastegui
    Key Cast
    "Duncan"
  • Masun Stander
    Key Cast
    "Ryan, Zack"
  • Patrick Thompson
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Winters"
  • Patrick Thompson
    Animator
  • Alex Bridges
    Animator
  • Michael McClellan
    Animator
  • Amr Rashaad
    Modeler
  • Eduardo Rojas
    Modeler
  • Kayla Kostage
    Modeler
  • Nick DeMaioribus
    Lead Technical Director
  • Eduardo Rojas
    Storyboard Artist
  • Patrick Thompson
    Storyboard Artist
  • Amr Rashaad
    Look Development Artist
  • Kayla Kostage
    Rigger
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Science Fiction
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 27, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • SCAD 2019 Senior Showcase
    Savannah, GA
    United States
    May 30, 2019
Director Biography - Patrick Thompson

Patrick Thompson is an animator originally from Chevy Chase, Maryland. Animation has been a longtime passion for Thompson, who began animating short Flash cartoons at the age of twelve. Thompson began studying animation at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland before transferring to Savannah College of Art and Design in 2016 and graduated in the spring of 2019. Prior to Welcome to Mercury Bay, he worked as an inbetween artist and animator on a handful of 2D senior films at SCAD. Thompson animates in both 2D and 3D and strives to constantly improve and make each of his projects better than the last, hoping to make entertaining projects in both mediums.

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Director Statement

Ever since the earliest sketches, the core of the story was based around the dynamic between a trio of dysfunctional friends, who will bicker and clash, but still stick together in times of need. As the film entered preproduction, the crew explored and pushed who these characters really were and in the end created a more interesting and entertaining cast. I have come to realize that when I first came up with Welcome to Mercury Bay, it subconsiously became a tribute to the people I grew up with and some of my more eclectic interests.

The idea of a dysfunctional group of friends is such a fun concept to me because it reflects the group of friends I grew up with in my childhood neighborhood. No matter what we said or did to each other, we were inseparable. As we’ve grown older and matured past the more dysfunctional behavior, we still maintain that closeness, which I think shows the true depth of our friendship. The world of Mercury Bay is an amalgamation of numerous influences, incorporating elements such as 1960s space age designs. It also incorporates the weathered, beaten look of ghost towns, especially those that surround the Salton Sea such as Bombay Beach and Salton City. Ultimately, the world is all that is left of a retro town, long forgotten by most outside of the few who still live there today, such as our protagonists. As the film entered preproduction, the film began to increase the retro influence and include elements to 1950s science fiction and b-movies.