Voyager
Film • Prop Construction • Special Effects • Visual Effects • May 13, 2014 • MFA Thesis Film // University of Texas at Arlington
Hammond Aerospace & Voyager Film Website 5 Pages
Explore the futuristic subsite for Hammond Aerospace—featuring the mission to make space travel affordable, cutting-edge aerospike sciences, interactive orbital freight calculator, and the dedicated "Pushing the Limits" film documentary with set photography and practical miniature effects.
Edison, an aerospace engineer, steals a prototype spacecraft to rescue his wife Suzanne’s lost mission in deep space while confronting the breakdown of his marriage.
Voyager served as Brendan Feltrup-Exum’s MFA thesis film and the culmination of three years of graduate research at UT Arlington in Film Production, Special Effects, and Visual Effects.
Built upon Joseph Campbell’s monomyth in 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' and Christopher Vogler’s 'The Writer’s Journey,' the narrative explores the archetypal hero venturing into the unknown.
The vast, unforgiving vacuum of deep space functions as a literal and emotional metaphor for relational grief, distance, and the terrifying vulnerability of confronting personal loss.
Refusing advice to abandon a space film due to its technological complexity, Brendan pushed himself to master every mechanical, practical, and visual discipline required to bring the Kepler ship to life.
Full-scale 20ft Kepler spacecraft interior set designed and hand-built by Brendan and Bruce Feltrup-Exum
Lead actors Christian Heep (Edison) and Cheryl Allison (Suzanne) suited in 3M respirator helmets and flight suits
Zero-G wire suspension test along the 20-foot 6061 T6 aircraft-grade aluminum I-beam
A twenty-foot full-scale spacecraft set, an overhead aluminum I-beam suspension rig, and a custom lens-axis rolling camera rig brought in-camera zero-gravity to life.
Over five months from September 2013 to January 2014, Brendan and his father constructed the 20x8x8 ft cockpit set using 2x4s, MDF, 8 functional computer monitors, 4 status photo displays, and analog gauges salvaged from an airplane boneyard.
Consulting with Brian Scheffer at Theatre Arlington, who educated him on theatrical flying techniques and how to construct the illusion, Brendan installed a 20-foot 6061 T6 aluminum I-beam with a cam hoist trolley to suspend Christian Heep in a full-body harness, allowing seamless floating down the corridor that was later cleaned in post using planar camera tracking.
To achieve a continuous optical roll as the actor drifted through the umbilical corridor, Brendan fastened a Lazy Susan bearing wheel to a tripod mount, center-balancing the camera with Magic Arms to freely spin on its lens axis. For the tragic flashback, a 1986 Jeep Cherokee rolling chassis was loaded with live pyrotechnics for a spectacular, single-take explosion.
Handcrafted physical spacecraft miniature detailed for lighting and surface texture passes
Optical thruster flare passes, practical smoke, and multi-pass space composites
At NAB 2014, Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) reviewed the set photos and praised Brendan’s ambition, sharing vital insights on lighting balance between interiors and space exteriors.
Visual effects veterans Mat Beck and Todd Masters (True Lies, Falling Skies) provided critical guidance on high-speed miniature cinematography, lighting angles, and maintaining scale.
After experiments with slow-motion filming, Microsoft Kinect 1.0 & 2.0 scanning, and a custom 0.06mm Structured Light Scanner (SLS), Brendan collaborated with UTARI (UTA Research Institute) on robotic 3D scanning before finalizing the look with photographed miniature passes composited into cosmic environments.
Corporate support from Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, 3M, KERA/PBS (Master Control Room), Alliance Texas, and ATX Air Services provided the essential hardware, wardrobe, and aviation hangars to realize the production.
Project:
MFA Thesis Film // UT Arlington
Date:
May 13, 2014