The Andromeda Factor

The Andromeda Factor is my tribute to a science fiction series which ran on BBC TV in the UK in the autumn of 1961.

This video lasts about 12 minutes and sets the scene for the rest of the story. I have slightly changed some of the plot details, and put my own interpretation on where the plot could go, particularly the final scene. Otherwise the basic idea is the same.

As you may know, I am studying music production for film, so this (particularly the sound design) has also been done as part of my learning process and coursework.

Technical notes and commentary.

Why have I done this?

My father told me about it, and how, as a 10-year-old, he was half scared to death by one of scenes. The result was that his parents would not allow him to watch any more of the story. Unfortunately most of the recordings of the seven episodes were deleted, with only fragments remaining. I did some research on Google and have tried to create a more modern interpretation of the story, while still keeping the feel of the original. For example, I have kept the look and feel of the opening titles close to the original.

The music.

I created the music after I had completed the video. The music for a film is nearly always the last component to be added. The composer will get a ‘rough cut’ of the film from which to get the cues and timings. The director and/or the producer of the film will give the composer a brief on what is required. I had originally thought of writing a ‘musical’ score, probably influenced by my hero Vangelis‘ score to Bladerunner, but when the visuals were finished a dark soundscape seemed more appropriate. The only truly ‘musical’ section is the one where Christine starts to follow Andromeda’s voice, and through to the climax of that scene. You will probably recognise, at that point, my tribute to Bernard Herrmann‘s music for the Hitchcock film ‘Psycho‘ (1960).

The visuals.

Every scene and image has been generated using artificial intelligence (AI). This is the first time I have attempted to do this on such a scale. The laboratory/observatory, the internal rooms with computers, the android, Andromeda and Christine were all animated from AI images created from my text instructions. The animations created by the AI typically last from 5 to 10 seconds. They are best created by giving the AI an initial and a final image to work from. So the trick is to create a sequence of images that depict what you want to happen. For example, the scene with Christine following the voice needed about 10 images and 10 animations generated from them. Each short animation then has to be carefully cut and merged to blend in with the previous one.

My comments.

I set the story in 1981 rather than 1961 because the visuals generated had an 80s look to them, particularly the computers. Setting up a series of connected animations can be tricky, and I am aware of some small continuity glitches. These were unavoidable for me at the present time. Some of them actually added to the feel of a scene and do not detract.

It is very difficult to progress a complex storyline with no dialogue. To solve this problem I had to introduce the News Report scene. This gives the basis on which the story unfolds. At other places where the plot needed to be explained, I used messages on the computer screens. I’ve had a lot of fun creating this. I hope you enjoy it and don’t get too scared.

By Elizabeth Moonlight