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Aperture: A Triumph of Science
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This article is non-canon. |
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The subject matter of this article does not take place in the "real" Half-Life universe and is therefore deemed non-canon. |
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| Aperture: A Triumph of Science | |
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| Director |
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| Producer |
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| Story / Screenplay |
Nick Celentano |
| Based on | |
| Music |
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| Cinematography |
Ryan Anthony Martin |
| Editing |
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| Studio |
Synthetic PictureHaus |
| Released |
September 29, 2011 |
| Runtime |
00:21:46 |
| Country |
USA |
| Language |
English |
| budget |
$600 (USD) |
Aperture: A Triumph of Science is a short, independent fan film inspired by the characters and story in Portal and Portal 2. It is shot in a documentary style, featuring interviews, pre-recorded messages from Cave Johnson, an original Personality Core, and a vintage television commercial of Aperture Science's Repulsion Gel. Though the year the documentary takes place in is uncertain, the events discussed reveal that they are being interviewed just weeks before GLaDOS was activated for the last time by Aperture employees.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
A promotional and informative documentation of the inner workings of innovative science company Aperture Science, Aperture: A Triumph of Science sums up the basics of Aperture’s lengthy history through interviews and video examples. Aperture employees Susan Tiemann (Robotics Division), Gramb Oley (Projects Supervisor), Georgia Brown (Public Relations), MARV (personality construct), and Peter Brundle (Test Research and Development) are interviewed and give their personal opinions and information on Aperture and their jobs therein. Narrated by GLaDOS, Aperture’s history is also laid out in a series of clips of CEO and Founder of Aperture, Cave Johnson.
Having been filmed and prepped for release just prior to the final activation of GLaDOS, A Triumph of Science ends with a positive outlook for the company’s future, which is ironically played as a form of entertainment for GLaDOS, as she taunts the viewer that the film will never be seen, as they will have undoubtedly perished in a series of tests GLaDOS has waiting.
[edit] Production
Pre-production began in May 2011. Leading up to the release of the film, the crew released eleven short promotional videos [2] featuring Cave Johnson in his office with either original dialogue or references to the Portal ARG. The entire project was shot on a Canon Rebel EOS T3i with an 18-35mm lens over the course of several days. Most scientist interviews were done on their own day at various locations on the University of Colorado Boulder campus.
The small crew and limited budget kept them from featuring scenes with more visual effects. Andreas Barry was contracted to create a few lines for MARV.
The film enjoyed a physical screening at the CU campus on September 28th, preceded by a live performance with local musician Danielle Ate the Sandwich. The film was live on YouTube by the next morning.[3]
[edit] Valve's Involvement
The crew contacted opera singer and voice actress Ellen McLain early on. She wished to help, but legal complications restricted her from offering her talent as the voice of GLaDOS. They then contacted Bill Van Buren of Valve who accepted recorded lines (by Norma Celentano) and processed them to sound more like GLaDOS for the film.
[edit] Trivia
- In the television ad for Repulsion Gel, a calendar is seen on the wall with the date Friday, August 13th showing. This is actually an insert from the album Some Cocktail Suggestions by Steel Pole Bath Tub, of which Mike Morasky was a member.
- Hunter Wahl (portraying scientist Gramb Oley) used a 3D printer (and various other equipment) to create the prop portal gun and Weighted Companion Cube.
- Hoopie, the metal hoop, makes several cameos throughout the film as a nod to the game's developers expecting it to become a meme.
- Danielle Anderson (portraying scientist Susan Tiemann) had worked with the SyntheticPH crew before. She is also a folk singer-songwriter in the greater Denver, CO area under the moniker Danielle Ate the Sandwich. She also sang the jingle that is heard at the end of the Repulsion Gel advertisement.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Facebook page
- Official YouTube channel
- Aperture: A Triumph of Science on IMDb
