High above the earth in a circular space prison, two cell mates find their relationship challenged when their respective home nations begin a warring conflict. Filmmaker Kevin Staake’s sci-fi drama Noah’s Belt is an intriguing work for two key reasons. Firstly, through the ongoing prescience of its premise which explores how patriotism can create friction within seemingly friendly relationships, and secondly, through the technical means in which it was animated using the Unreal Engine. It’s also a work grounded in performance with actors Nikolai Nikolaeff and Aidan Bristow, whose credits range from Call of Duty to Halo, bringing the highly conceptual nature of the story together with a back-and-forth dynamic that turns and evolves in a riveting manner. Joining DN for a conversation as Noah’s Belt arrives online, Staake outlines the initial creation of his politically charged story, the organic flow of ideas he encourages during performance capture, and the lengthy but rewarding post-production process of creating a detailed world within Unreal Engine.
How did you arrive at this politically charged story of two space prisoners conversing over their complicated social histories?
The idea for Noah’s Belt initially came early in the pandemic, sparked on May 30th, 2020, while I was hunkered down quarantining in a Brooklyn apartment and watching SpaceX launch the Crew Dragon to rendezvous with the I.S.S. where they’d be greeted by Russian comrades. I found it fascinating and hope-inspiring that two countries who’ve had such historical animosity, on the brink of war for decades, could still work together, maybe because they’re 250 miles from the Earth’s surface. There’s a real phenomenon that both professional and non-professional space-goers experience when viewing the Earth from above, which is feeling the precious fragility of the planet, and realizing how absurd our issues and differences look from such a vantage point. It’s truly the ‘look at the big picture’ feeling. Additional inspiration came with the 2020 presidential election, wherein the U.S. felt divided into two countries, with an ever-present threat of ‘civil war’ in the air. I considered what it would feel like to kill or be killed by a fellow American, simply due to a difference in loyalty to a party or ideology. I do believe simple shared humanity will always prevail over any construct if given the chance.
There’s a real phenomenon that both professional and non-professional space-goers experience when viewing the Earth from above, which is feeling the precious fragility of the planet.
This was of course a politically charged project to make, which luckily Epic Games wasn’t deterred by. Backed by production companies Pomp&Clout and Mathematic, I packaged the script, visual deck, budget, questionnaire and submitted for a Mega Grant to make the film with Unreal Engine. After two months of nail-biting, we were approved for the grant, which had me in utter disbelief.
What does pre-production on this kind of animation look like?
We dove into pre-production in the Fall of 2021 with only a few months of runway until production. During this time I drew a crude vision of the ring-like orbiting structure that would be composed of 100 capsules. For the capsule interior layout, I made a blueprint to convey dimensions, where the bedrooms are, the doors, windows, chairs, toilet, control panel, putting green, etc. I really had fun nerding out on this.
Was it then a case of bringing in other collaborators to flesh out those various elements?
The visual world of Noah’s Belt came to life through the visual artistry of the talented people at Mathematic, starting with concept art of interiors, exteriors, characters, and hero props. This allowed us to establish the ultimate look of the world we’d be working within. I then made storyboards for the film which were used to direct a pre-visualization of framing, camera movement, positioning of talent, background, and so on. This helped give us a solid sense of timing and pacing, but we’d yet to incorporate any real flesh and skin to build out the environment.
I’m guessing the production period of Noah’s Belt consisted mainly of the performance capture, how long did it take to get everything you needed from your actors?
Production was a tiny window compared to prep and post, as usual. We had a rehearsal day and two days of performance capture at Rouge Mocap in Marina Del Rey in the Spring of 2022, immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which was very fresh in everyone’s hearts and minds. The set looked like a garden shed, if the shed had no floor, roof, or walls. It was purely studs and joists. This wooden skeleton was made directly in proportion to the capsule file, and it worked perfectly. As empty as it was, I could see and feel the ultimate capsule, but my job didn’t take place in the capsule. That was up to actors Aidan Bristow and Nikolai Nikolaeff who thankfully were already pros to this sort of work. In addition to their traditional acting capabilities, they’d performance captured for the likes of Call of Duty, Halo, and Love, Death and Robots. Beyond performance, Nikolai and Aidan brought great ideas, for example, the chicken feather that Aidan finds in the beginning wasn’t written. It was Nikolai’s idea on set and it’s subtle, but I loved it. It’s so invaluable to have that collaborative open dialog between director and actor where any good idea can shine through and land in the film.
Were you able to see images of their characters interacting in the final mapped out space during that stage of production?
At the time of performance capture we were behind on coloring the space and reaching a final look on the characters, but working in Unreal Engine what I found to be very helpful on set was the ability to see the physical space the characters are in, if they’re interacting with the environment naturally, what items will be included in the background, what items could be added into the background, and so on. But by far the best advantage of working with Unreal on this film was being able to put the camera anywhere. I didn’t want to abuse and overuse this ability to the point of gimmick, but one of my favorite shots of the film is the very first, literally pushing through the window to enter the capsule and story.
It’s so invaluable to have that collaborative open dialog between director and actor where any good idea can shine through and land in the film.
How much of a challenge was it bringing all these ideas together in post?
Post was the most arduous portion of the process. Upon reaching a locked edit, each cut had the film coming more and more to life with color, texture, lighting, shading, and meticulous attention to the Metahuman characters and environmental details. Sound and music really pulled everything together in the end, cementing the general tone, punctuating key moments, and bringing out all the emotional beats.
How long were you working on those aspects of the film? Did the prescience of the story change over that time?
This post process took about a year and a half, finally finishing and exporting just as the conflict with Israel and Palestine erupted. The relevance of the subject matter has been unfortunately ever-present when at each major checkpoint of this long project there’s been some sort of domestic or international atrocity between groups, parties, or nations. However thin, I still hold a thread of hope that someday similar stories will feel untimely and irrelevant.
What do you make of the similarities between Noah’s Belt and the Black Mirror episode Beyond the Sea? Obviously, they were created at a similar time so there was no knowing of the other being made but it must intriguing as a filmmaker when a work touching on similar themes arrives within close proximity of your own work.
Such a great question about the Beyond the Sea episode. When that season of Black Mirror came out I immediately raced to Beyond the Sea because it sounded so similar. The emotions are mixed between an anxious, “Oh shit, someone beat me to the punch!” and a flattered, “Ok, I must be on to something!” I really love that episode and what they did with it. I’m honored that Noah’s Belt would even be mentioned in the same sentence as Black Mirror. Equally similar is the feature film I.S.S. that releases this very week! From what I gather it’s nearly the same premise of Noah’s Belt, but set on the I.S.S. The actual I.S.S. in terms of collaboration between American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts was absolutely the initial inspiration for me.
By far the best advantage of working with Unreal on this film was being able to put the camera anywhere. I didn’t want to abuse and overuse this ability to the point of gimmick.
The further East US vs West US inspiration came during the 2020 presidential election, when ‘Civil War 2’ became a common buzzword. And I chose a prison system because I wanted two characters who were punished and sentenced by a powerful group/puppeteer, much like as voters we’re ‘sentenced’ to be Democrats or Republicans, and to unquestioningly wave a red or blue flag for a higher power. Long story short, it’s fascinating to watch the current zeitgeist draw many people towards similar stories, but with such rich variety.
What do you think the future holds for films being created in Unreal Engine? Do you think it’s something we’ll see more and more of?
Needless to say, the future for Unreal Engine is bright. They’re always improving the software and every time I see a new showcase I’m blown away, especially when they unveiled the new ‘foliage tool’ last year. It can create these vast natural landscapes, forests, meadows, rivers, etc, with a randomization that gives that true imperfection feeling of nature, rather than the old school way of trying to manually randomize tree placement but still feeling an unnatural sense of grid, pattern, or intention to the placement. It’s a tool specifically applicable to what will hopefully be my next Unreal Engine project, a historical fiction short surrounding the Lewis and Clark expedition. Many trees will be needed.
And what else does the future hold for you?
2024 will be a pivotal year for me. While writing features and directing shorts I’ve primarily been the West Coast EP at the production company Pomp&Clout, specializing in commercials, music videos, AR, VR, and all things short form. After serving nine plus years at P&C, the company announced closure on 12/31/23. It was a close-knit company of five core team members including me, and I love those guys like brothers. One actually is my brother. I’m now flipping my weekend warrior writing/directing into being my full time job. I’m actively pitching a feature now, with another in development.
In terms of shorts I’ve got a few I want to make. One would be in Unreal again, the other a traditional live action narrative, and two short documentaries. Much like my films to date, each one is very different from the last in terms of story and format. I love finishing a project and making a sharp turn into a fresh new world.
AWESOME!
Thanks Ronald! We’re big fans of Kevin’s work.