Short of the Week

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Sci-Fi Tim Webber

FLITE

Using state-of-the-art virtual production techniques comes one of the most technically impressive sci-fi shorts of recent memory. In London 2053, a world champion hoverboarder finds herself imprisoned in a luxury skyscraper apartment by her controlling manager. With the help of a well meaning stranger she engineers an ingenious high-rise escape, but soon finds herself riding for her life.

Play
Sci-Fi Tim Webber

FLITE

Using state-of-the-art virtual production techniques comes one of the most technically impressive sci-fi shorts of recent memory. In London 2053, a world champion hoverboarder finds herself imprisoned in a luxury skyscraper apartment by her controlling manager. With the help of a well meaning stranger she engineers an ingenious high-rise escape, but soon finds herself riding for her life.
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FLITE

Sci-Fi about Abuse in 3D Animation
Directed By Tim Webber
Produced By Simon Whalley & Diarmid Scrimshaw
Made In UK

FLITE is a film I’ve been eagerly awaiting for much of 2023. Rare is it that a short film trailer drop feels like an event, but, back in May, FLITE got that treatment from the Hollywood Reporter, and in-depth writeups in specialized industry publications soon followed. This is not the norm, but not every short film can claim an Oscar-winning VFX Supervisor as its director, someone whose fingerprints are all over several of the most beloved and acclaimed films of the 21st century.

Tim Webber is that director, and also the Chief Creative Officer of the VFX powerhouse Framestore. The former Oxford Physics student has pioneered some of the approaches we now bundle under the umbrella of “virtual production” in his career, perhaps most notably on the 2013 Alfonso Cuarón film, Gravity, and now applies that expertise to his own turn in the director’s chair.

Flite Short Film Tim Webber

Rehearsals saw the actors “able to explore the world of FLITE using VR headsets. The actors could experience what it was like on a futuristic Tower Bridge or tour Stevie’s apartment”.

We’ve had a passing interest in virtual production here on Short of the Week, but, as I detailed in this 2021 film review, when we discuss LED screens, Unreal Engine, motion capture, and off-the-shelf digital assets it has been mostly to reference how they might “democratize” production and allow individuals or small teams of creators to produce work where the imagery and ambition far outstrip their budget. FLITE is different. While not a massive production, Webber and his team are working on the cutting-edge, incorporating proprietary tools in a proof-of-concept not only for the world of FLITE but also for a VFX pipeline that would allow virtual production techniques to scale to massive blockbuster productions.

Of course, we’re not a VFX trade mag, so a more pertinent question for us might be, “Is this film any good?” I’m pleased to announce that I’m a fan! While arguably over-stuffed even at a healthy 15min runtime, each of the film’s elements entice—a thought-provoking sci-fi premise of memory visualization and recovery is complemented by the sheer kinetic thrill of hoverboarding in a futuristic London. The gorgeous wonder of the overall world-building is a pleasure to exist within, but the human element is not ignored, and FLITE’s actors, especially its star, Alba Baptiste (Netflix’s Warrior Nun), have the magnetism to sell the emotions of narrative, as we invest in her story of a young abused star fighting for her liberation.

“We needed to develop new techniques that would retain the subtleties and nuance of the performances”

That human element arguably is FLITE’s defining feature, and something of a riddle, as clearly much of the film is CG. Webber teased to us that, “to be true to the characters we needed to develop new techniques that would retain the subtleties and nuance of the performances, keeping a level of humanity often missing from CG humans.” But what does that entail? I recommend an in-depth conversation Webber had with Ian Failes of Befores & Afters for a more technical discussion (and highly recommend the print issue which also includes a Q&A with Short Award winners Miguel and Tran of Voice In the Hollow) but, long story short, the film is a complex combination of unreal engine previz and motion capture, but also LED screen-lit filming that, critically, captures facial performances.

Still, Webber tries to be a bit cagey on the particulars, noting that he is “reluctant to tell people”. From the Q&A with Failes, he admits that he is often asked at screenings, “Which bits have you filmed? What bit haven’t you?’ And I quite like that.”

We quite like it too, as there is a degree of immersion to the world of FLITE that is rare in sci-fi shorts, and rather than hyper-focusing on what elements are added to photography and how (which I often do with other sci-fi shorts), the novelty of the approach makes it easier to simply sit back and take in the film on a pure storytelling level. Audiences have appreciated it too, as the film took home the “Best Genre” prize from Los Angeles’ Hollyshorts festival recently. However, I think of the film as one made for the internet, and I can’t wait for the world to discover it. We’re excited to host FLITE’s online premiere today, please enjoy and let us know what you think!

Framestore YouTube Channel