This is the first short film directed by James Cameron and created with the help of several of his student friends. It was financed by a group of Californian dentists looking for a quick tax write-off. Cameron co-wrote and co-directed it as a test movie to show his designs, hoping to attract investors for a full theatrical version of the story, and to start a career in the world of cinema. The latter ultimately happened when he was discovered by Roger Corman, who gave him a job as a special-effects supervisor.
James Cameron originally hoped to turn his short into a feature length film, but was unable to secure financing for it. However, the footage attracted the interest of Chuck Comisky, who gave him a job as a designer and special effects photographer on Sador: Herrscher im Weltraum (1980).
The music is 'borrowed' from Bernard Herrmann's Jason und die Argonauten (1963) and Die geheimnisvolle Insel (1961) scores (both Ray Harryhausen movies)