"Hourglass" | SCIENCE FICTION Short Film

Inspiration

My new Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi novel "Hourglass." Ten years ago, I started writing a cyberpunk/sci-fi thriller about a Biohacking cybercriminal named "Nero" who gets entangled with two beautiful Colombian twins while trying to save the world from the same comet that destroyed Atlantis 12,800 years ago. I imagined there would one day be digital tools to bring this story to life, as vivid as it was in my own head. And here we are.

What it does

Provides a provocative glimpse of my new science fiction novel about biohacking, seduction, and philosophy - set in a dystopian near-future world drunk on virtual bliss that mirrors an empire long lost to time...

How we built it

Video: Kling Image Gen: Started with OpenArt and switched to Krea using flux LoRA modeling Voices: ElevenLabs Music: Suno Editing: Adobe Premiere Scripting: Me — I appear at the end with the actual print book (yes, it’s real)

Challenges we ran into

The trailer did NOT go viral and result in a surge of book sales, but the biggest disappointment of the entire project was how rude and cruel the anonymous commenters of the internet were in their response to what's objectively a pretty well-produced book trailer/short film. The internet is already "over" the novelty of AI trailers.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Completing what qualifies as my first short film.

What we learned

Ai filmmaking is seductive; I got carried away by animating different scenes from my story. The trailer is too long, I know. After watching it, you might say, "This gives away the whole story!" I can assure you that even this 10-minute trailer is only the tip of the thematic iceberg! I originally envisioned turning the Hourglass story into a feature film or serialized story using AI, but I quickly realized something: I don't love AI filmmaking - the constant prompting, the disappointment when outputs miss the mark - it's tedious! However, I am proud of how it captures the aesthetic and hints at the thematic depth of my story.

What's next for "Hourglass" | SCIENCE FICTION Short Film

I released the novel, Hourglass #1, earlier this year and am now putting the finishing touches on its sequel, Hourglass #2: The Trident, The Tachyon & The Temptress, which will be released before the holidays. I may succumb to the temptation of creating another AI book trailer for it.

Built With

• adobe
• chatgpt
• eleven
• kling
• premier
• suno