The story, set over a hundred years from now, is about the arrival in our solar system of a massive fifty kilometer cylindrical spaceship (more or less ripped off in Star Trek: The Journey Home).
It is told from the perspective of the astronauts whose mission it is to intercept and enter the giant spacecraft. What happens next? Go discover!
Back to adaptations - the occasional computer game does not sate the desire to see this on screen (the big, silver one that is). Of course the BBC produced its own very worthy radio adaptation of the novel in 2009 which allows the listener to imagine the splendor of space and Rama itself. However - that just simply is not good enough, is it?
Morgan Freeman was mooted to be interested in a film version of RwR but sadly nothing ever came of it. Now at last, thanks to Vancouver Film School student Philip Mahoney (sound design) and visual media by Aaron Ross (from a previous project), we finally get a glimpse of just what RwR might look like if given the full movie treatment.
It would be marvellous if some Hollywood big wig were to see this and decide to go ahead with creating what, in the right hands, could turn out to be a science fiction movie masterpiece. Hopefully he would take on Philip Mahoney (showing just how important sound is) and Aaron Ross - with the awesome graphics - to work on (if not lead!) the project.
If you haven't had quite enough - here is a short making of the original film (Ross' project) that we are sure you will find interesting.
Publish Post
7 comments:
Hey RJ and Kuriositas readers,
This is Phil Mahoney, the sound designer/composer of this piece. I just wrote a long message to post on io9.com and rather than altering it slightly to fit your site, I thought I would just repost it here. Thanks SO much for finding my final and blogging about it. It is because of you that 7000 people have watched it in the last 36 hours. I also hope it gets made into a film and that they hire me to do sound and music. :)
"Hello Folks,
My name is Phil Mahoney and I'm the VFS Sound Design student in question. I was thrilled when a friend told me about this article on io9.com. Just wanted to write and talk about it for a few reasons, mostly to thank io9.com (and original poster RJ Evans from Kuriositas.com), and to acknowledge all of the nice comments people have made. Thanks so much for the kind words, everyone. They're appreciated. But I also wanted to explain the project a little, and to clarify a few things.
I studied Sound Design at Vancouver Film School from October 2008 to October 2009. It's an intense one-year program that teaches you everything you need to know about sound. It was a huge investment in time and money, but I had a great time. I worked hard and got a lot out of it. From day one, the instructors tell you to start looking for a final project. It's pretty simple: Scour the internet and any other sources you can think of for a 3-4 minute video that you can do the sound for. As in *all* of the sound. You have the chance to breathe life into blank canvas of previously existing video, and tell the story through sound. You do this in the final two months of the program. I looked around and found a few videos that I liked. The only snag is that VFS requires you to get written permission to use the video. I didn't get my first or second choice. In both cases it was pretty disappointing.
But then I found Rendezvous With Rama.
This film was created by Aaron Ross, who attended the Tisch School Of The Arts at NYU. It was, I believe, his final project in 2001. I say "I believe" because I don't actually know Aaron. I contacted him and asked him permission to use his film, and he was very generous and forthcoming. He signed the required form and I had the freedom to have a go at it.
So that's the first thing I wanted to clear up: Aaron and I did not work *together* on this film. He created the visuals in 2001 in New York, and I recorded, edited and mixed the sound in 2009 in Vancouver. I also wrote the music - I am primarily a composer and have been scoring for twenty years.
The truth is, I had never heard of Rendezvous With Rama when I found this film. I knew Arthur C. Clarke, of course, but 2001 and its sequels were all I was really aware of. When I realized the short film was based on a book, I decided I should probably read it, at least to the point where the film ends. I also tracked down both video games and played them a bit. Armed with all of this knowledge, I was ready to tackle the film.
It was difficult in some ways though. Aaron intended his piece as a trailer for a film that didn't exist. I didn't want my final to be a trailer though. By moving the title card from the very end of the film to where it is now, I transformed his trailer into a short film. However - as my instructors informed me, it was still difficult for this piece to stand on its own, especially for people who have never read the book. It ends with everyone wanting to know what happens next. I needed to write a script that would help the story along and complete it as much as I could. I spent a lot of time carefully writing the script. I had to do my best to have a cohesive story, but I also wanted to be faithful to the novel. I kept the names of the characters (in my original credits, which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtol9B-baoc), but I also changed little things for the sake of the project - keep in mind that this was primarily for school, so I had to cater to my instructors and to the average viewer to some degree. For example, the second door in the film is actually the third in the book - but if I had called it the third, it wouldn't have made sense. So, the "inane dialogue", as someone called it, was a necessity for my purposes. However, I'm quite proud of my script and don't consider any of it inane.
Thanks to everyone for the comments - especially the ones that say that Hollywood should hire me. I agree. I am actively looking for sound design and composing work. If anyone wants to watch any of my other projects, here is my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/Philsy1971
Oh, and I got 91% on my final. :)
Phil Mahoney
Vancouver"
Thanks for the clear up, Phil - it is great to get a response from you! We all hope that you do get that Hollywood job!
Wow, 10000 people have watched my sound design project, all because of your blog post about Rendezvous With Rama. Thanks so much RJ! :)
Phil
Crikey!
That is one big figure...! Fantastic! I love the internet... my little blog was picked up by a much bigger website and whooosh!
It makes you wonder what else is out there that deserves huge views and does not get it...
But brilliant - and really happy that RwR is doing so well...
Over 11000 now - just checked! :-)
Please tell me that guy did not really say, "We've reached the front door."
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