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"I need you to help me with something... Think of it like it's a game, like a memory game." What if we lived in a world where all of our memories were stored into a digital database? Now is a short film written and directed by Justin Zachary, and plays with that concept. The story is about a computer scientist who digs through his girlfriends memories only to discover a haunting truth that he's desperate to cover up. Zachary also stars in the film, along with Susanna Ericsson, Craig Braun, and Francesca Fondevila. I like the low-key sci-fi elements, subtle and simple but just enough of an edge to make this a believable "near future" story. This reminds me a bit of Ex Machina, and you'll see why once it gets into it. Definitely worth a watch. Thanks to Justin for the tip on this. Brief description from Vimeo:...

Give this one a chance, people! Another new sci-fi short has debuted in full online this week, and it was another we featured the trailer for previously. It's a film called Seed, directed by Tyson Wade Johnston, set on a planet named Gaia, where "an isolated mission and discovers unearthly horrors". Justin Zachary stars as the merc in this. While I know the reaction to the original short trailer when first posted it was very negative, I think this final product is pretty damn good. The visual effects are improved, it is a bit long, but tells an interesting story with some sleek, minimal, impressive sci-fi visuals. Try to enjoy what it does show. Watch the full-length short film Seed, made by Tyson Wade Johnston, in high def from Vimeo/YouTube: Set in the year 2071, where technology has brought mankind to the brink of colonization on a planet named Gaia,...

Why Watch? An astronaut (Justin Zachary) patrolling a desolate planet alone discovers a dangerous threat to all of civilization in this sci-fi short directed by Tyson Wade Johnston. From the desert setting, to the hovering ships, to the brief phone call back home to his daughter on video chat, this has all the visual trappings of a modern war movie without a war. There’s even a bit of “Heart of Darkness” thrown in for good measure. It’s all atmosphere, which is a credit to Zachary’s acting (he’s also all alone out there on the limb), but the massive-feeling, professionally polished CGI gives him a ton of help where it can. We’ve been seeing a lot of science fiction short films with solid graphics cropping up lately, and this is another one that certainly stands out. What will it cost you? Only 13 minutes. Skip work. Watch more short films.

In a film landscape filled with inflated budgets, inflated egos, and bloated and lifeless tales with about as much substance as a Loony Tune, it's always nice to see an indie filmmaker come on strong and make good.

Case in point ... Tyson Johnston. After debuting his short film Exist online at Bloody Disgusting Tyson was met with an overwhelmingly positive response and now as a result a feature film version is officially on its way.

"I locked myself in my bedroom with my two co-writers Justin Zachary & Brendon Bradford. We all collaborated and came up with a story that we would love to make, and a story that people would love to check out," Johnston says of the feature length film. "It is going to be extremely entertaining. Trust me. We're sticking to the premise of the short, using the same actors and we've added a lot more depth to their characters.