Controlled Demolition

Controlled Demolition

Inspiration

I was inspired by the raw, emotional power i realized i was able to harness when imagining the suffering of children in war torn areas and demostrate how peace and normalcy can be snatched away in an instant. of survival films. I wanted to tell a 90-second story that contrasted a child's peaceful, innocent world with sudden, visceral chaos, putting the audience right in the middle of a terrifying event.

What it does

This 90-second (1:29) film is a complete micro-drama. It tells a 3-act survival story from the perspective of a child trapped in a building as it's being demolished.

How we built it

This film is all about pacing and sound. I used AI to generate the chaotic, "in the rubble" scenes, including the "POV" shots from under the debris. Mainly imagining what it actually feels like to be trapped and buried under layers destruction and the vareid levels of fear, trama and madness it must evoke.. The sound design is the star—the initial silence, the sudden explosion, the muffled sounds, and the final, haunting breath.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was telling a complete story (Peace, Chaos, Rescue/Trauma) in exactly 90 seconds. I had to be ruthless in the edit to make the 1:30 "Micro-Drama" time limit.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This is a masterpiece of pacing. I'm proud of finding a way to take the camera inside the forbidden rubble of topic as well as imagery. The film just as the topic is incredibly tense and traumatic, and the final shot of the girl's eye lands with a huge emotional impact.

What we learned

You can create incredible suspense by holding on a shot, like the fall, for just a beat longer than is comfortable. The runtime limit was a creative feature, not a bug.

What's next for Controlled Demolition

This is a complete, standalone short film. It's a "proof-of-concept" for a future disaster/survival feature.

Built With

• fal
• freepik
• kling
• leonardo
• minimax
• openart
• veo3