Eye Auton: Let's make this SAIT student Film!

As a part of SAIT's Film and Video Production's 4th semester group D cohort, we aim to produce and direct this entirely student run production to it's fullest potential, and secure it's spot into the end of year screening! Eye Auton is a 10 minute short film. The concept was designed by student Jace Byford who is also the writer of this project. Myself Hudson Hayward, picked up the idea as producer, and with my team of co-directors: Aidan Hayward and Chloe Umbach along side a crew of 30 others, we want to go big and have this Calgary made film highlight what SAIT student are truly capable of when they work together.

Here's a quick proof of concept filmed and edited by Jace Byford. This should help visually demonstrate a sneak peak at what Eye Auton is aesthetically going for. If we want to make Eye Auton as best as it can be, however, we need to push beyond the low budget production value of this proof of concept. As such, we have grand ideas with regards to our goals in, filming locations, props, set design and wardrobe. We specifically want to give our art department the resources to truly bring the script to life. With proper funding, we can obtain location permits easier and give our enthusiastic art department a budget to go all out with and truly make Eye Auton the visually striking film that we want it to be.

So what is the story of Eye Auton?

To give a brief overview, it is an experimental 10 minute short film that embraces alternative story telling. It's genre is rooted in Avant Garde, Sci-Fi with aspects of thriller suspense and what we refer to as 'Analogue Punk' design. We don't want this to be a standard student film and aim to really push the boundaries in terms of story telling and design.

To give further insight into what this film is about, here's our logline and synopsis:

Logline:

Subject 87, is captive by a digital delusion and brutal reality. Mental torment and convoluted desires force the making of one final choice...

Synopsis:

Subject 87, is trapped within a desolate cybernetic reality called: ‘The Stasis’. An autonomous program known as: 'The Eye', exists as the governing force of this world. Longing for human form and refuge from its digital confines, it casts illusions in the form of a woman: ‘Valerie’. Subject 87 is drawn in by this vision of his past as he wanders The Stasis. A journey that bridges reality and technology, as they blend together and become one. Or is it a battle between a wasted man and the omnipotent Eye? An ambiguous outcome is achieved, one that stands to question the very meaning of humanity.

We have even started working on an original soundtrack for the film and this can attest to our dedication to respect any small detail we can. From music, lighting and actors: this is our time as final semester film students to really push our knowledge and make something that really can represent the amount of time we put into this program over the last 2 years. We have a large crew of extremely dedicated people and I know that that dedication will pull though for us in the end!

Who are we?

Of course we are all SAIT students, but going beyond that, we are a group of 30+ individuals from all over the globe. From all corners of Canada, to Mexico, Chile, India, Brazil and Mauritius we form this crew. We all landed here in Calgary Alberta 2 years ago, a group of aspiring film makers. Now we have learned so much and need to truly put those skills to the test. Eye Auton is that test and I hope that we can get even a bit of help to bring this vision to life.

When?

Eye Auton is Scheduled to move into production in the first 2 weeks of February. The film is set to release by April 2025, and any funding will help move the project through pre-production, production, post and into the distribution and even screening. Let's just say that no funding will go to waste, and anything left over can be put forward to help in the organization of SAIT's end of year student run screening event!

About Us

Born and raised in Calgary, Chloe has always loved the creative arts. Starting in theatre and soon making her way into filmmaking, her love for the visual medium sent her to SAIT. Wanting to make a long-lasting impression and leave SAIT strong, she wants to bring these characters to life. To put her skills to the test, she decided to step up and flip the audience’s expectations by taking the characters in an unexpected direction.

I would specifically like to highlight a bit on my own story, alongside that of my twin brother. Myself Hudson Hayward the producer and Aidan Hayward one of the directors, have been working on our own films of various degrees of production quality since we were 10 years old. Years and years of leaning this artform in our own way built the path for us to find our way into film school. But that path was not an easy one. Originally from the small mountain town of Hinton Alberta, we found ourselves in the slightly bigger town of Starthmore AB. And there, for 2 years we worked earning every cent from the ground up to afford the tuition and housing costs to make the move to Calgary. As a result, we have learned to take on any challenge and learning moment we can inside of this course. We don't want those 2 years of hard work to go to waste of course! And in our time at Sait, we have discovered our skills as this tag team producer, director duo.

Now here we are, a director and producer of Eye Auton, and this is our chance to leave our mark on Sait and truly demonstrate those skills as best we can!

Thanks for reading! And I hope that you can consider supporting this project.