By Michael Martin
The sci-fi short film Incursion takes place in a future Los Angeles where possible alien sightings are occurring. Frustrated with his day-to-day life in a rundown RV, a lonely young man named Mathew makes the equivalent of a 21st century wish to his AI intelligence unit named E.V.E. What he gets is not at all what he expected.
Jump To Section
- The Making of Futuristic Sci-Fi Film, Incursion
- The Pre-Production Phase of Incursion
- Creating Production Value
- Building the Alien Spaceship
- Behind the Voice of E.V.E.
- Building the Incursion Alien Suit
- The Young Filmmakers’ Thoughts on Their Future Plans
**SPOILER ALERT! This behind-the-scenes article contains plot spoilers. We recommend that you watch the short film above before reading any further!**
The professional-looking Incursion was made by a trio of high-school filmmakers from El Diamante High School in Visalia, California. Based on a story idea by Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey would both direct and write the script. The creature effects, costumes, and sets were handled by Lillywhite and Sam Zurek shot the film. The lead character Mathew is played by Eric Cregor, his AI unit E.V.E. is voiced by Lucia Jones, and Landon Hulsey performs the extraterrestrial being.
SWSCA co-founders Matt Winston and Erich Grey Litoff chatted with the three student filmmakers and their teacher Jeff Watamura from El Diamante.
(SWSCA co-founders Matt Winston and Erich Grey Litoff with El Diamante teacher Jeff Watamura and award-winning student filmmakers Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey, and Sam Zurek.)
The Making of Futuristic Sci-Fi Film, Incursion
Matt Winston starts off the conversation with, “We're here today to discuss this wonderful short film you created through the Media Arts Academy at El Diamante High School.” He asks, “Our first question for you is how did this idea hatch?”
Noah Lillywhite reveals that the creative seed that became Incursion began with a Halloween costume. Noah constructed the elaborate alien at the center of the film before there was any thought given to making a short.
(Noah being suited up in the original Halloween alien suit. Check out the detail on the 'brain arm'!)
Noah says, “Basically, it all stemmed from 'Wata' (as the young men affectionately refer to their teacher Jeff Watamura, one of the Media Arts teachers at El Diamante High School) telling me to make a film with the alien suit. And so then I just got Kai and Sam to help out and it just went off from there.” Noah continues, “That was it. Jeff just said, all right, you got a great suit. Now make a movie around it.”
Noah elaborates on how he gathered a small team of friends to help him produce the film. “I was like, Kai, I know you do a lot of stuff in [El Diamante's] Media Arts Academy, I’ve seen your work. I think you could bring a lot to the script in terms of creativity and ideas.” He continues, “And Sam had previously helped me out on a freshman film. And so I was like, Hey, Sam, you want to come out and help? And he was like, yeah, for sure.”
Kai continues by discussing how Noah approached him. “Noah first told me, hey guys, I made this costume for Halloween and Watamura wants me to make a movie. Can you help write a script for it?” He continues, “I was like, well, okay, and then we contacted Sam to help us [shoot the film] and it turned out really, really well.”
Jeff Watamura remembers his reaction when Noah, Kai, and Sam showed him some initial footage. “I was like, all right, we've got something here. And they kept going and going and that’s how they ended up with the final product.”
(Lonely Mathew played by Eric Cregor often talks to his Artificial Intelligence unit named E.V.E.)
In the film, Mathew discovers that an Artificial Intelligence device doesn’t understand when a human is kidding or being sarcastic. Kai says, “While writing the script, I remembered a little story we read called 'The Monkey's Paw' [by W.W. Jacobs] and how you should always be careful what you wish for. So we kind of made that with an AI twist.”
What Mathew doesn’t know is that when he snarkily wishes for his Artificial Intelligence unit to help him, ‘get away from all this’, E.V.E. takes the request seriously, arranging for an alien to take Mathew away from it all. Literally. Kai smiles. “And so E.V.E. found the newest thing that can take you away from this planet. And so it contacted the alien and the alien came and took Mathew away on its spaceship!”
Kai mentions the chemistry between the three. “I really think it's ‘cause we're all good friends with each other. We all showed up at Noah's house and we ordered food and then we just sat around a computer typing, more and more, and then we ended up with the story. We all know each other and we all know what we're good at. And so we all combined that and did the best that we could.”
The Pre-Production Phase of Incursion
Once the script was written, Noah gathered costumes, props, and other set details. They then began a very detailed pre-production phase including lighting and early shot tests. Impressed by their professionalism and hard work, Erich Grey Litoff, co-founder of SWSCA, asks the filmmakers how they handled the complicated pre-production on Incursion. “How did you pull this off? Because you can't just show up and shoot.”
Sam says, “A lot of this learning about pre-production did come from the Media Arts Academy here at El Diamante. A lot of that credit goes to our teachers Jeff Watamura and Ellie Hebert.” Kai says he also learned a lot by watching behind-the-scenes and making-of videos. “I was like, okay. So that's how they did it. Like, you know, working in production, getting everything ready. Let me see if I can take some of that and apply it to the films I'm making.” Matt chimes in, “It's a testament, as you said, to your chemistry, as creative friends, your instructors, and the El Diamante Media Arts Academy, and obviously behind-the-scenes features. What a great way to learn how to do stuff.”
Creating Production Value
Matt, Erich, and the rest of the SWSCA team were impressed by how much production value the team managed to cram into their short film. There are two main locations. The first is Mathew’s RV where he lives alone and the second is the interior of the alien spaceship. The young filmmakers would keep the shoot for Incursion to a nice tight crew due to COVID restrictions. Noah says that his brother made some suggestions about lighting and creating a hazy environment but that it was primarily the three creative teens behind the camera.
Matt tells the young filmmakers that the viewer learns so much about Incursion’s lead character from seeing how Mathew is living. “Erich spent years in set dressing and art department and that's part of the storytelling." Matt says, “It's a small story, but it's told very well, and it has a real professional look to it.”
The RV used for the set belonged to the lead actor Eric Cregor’s family, who the three filmmakers had worked with before. Noah, Kai, and Sam wanted it to be clear that Mathew was a slob. “We ordered pizzas, got a bunch of drinks, and then just left it out in the trailer. So it was basically three teenagers making a mess and not cleaning up. And that's basically how we [dressed the set].”
(Mathew, played by Eric Cregor, in his messy RV.)
Sam specifically notes Eric’s performance as the lonely Mathew. “Eric was totally believable and not only that, he was very easy to work with. He was always open to criticism and his line delivery was always flawless.” Sam says, “He also turned out to be a pretty great friend, always positive on set, and that was something that really helps with production.”
Kai adds that between takes, it was a set filled with laughter. “Every time we would cut, Mathew would make a joke. So we’d spend like 10 minutes after each cut laughing.” He also says that Eric was, “Super nice and easy to work with.”
(The alien attacks a S.W.A.T. team in Hazmat suits that have entered Mathew's RV before it whisks him away from Earth.)
Building the Alien Spaceship
(Mathew wakes up to discover he is on board an alien spacecraft.)
The other location in the film was an atmospheric spaceship interior filled with backlit control panels and greasy-looking pipes. Noah reveals that they built the impressive alien spaceship set in the family garage. He says his mother didn’t get to park there for several weeks. They built the dramatic set out of foam, PVC pipe, packing pallets, and lights from the home improvement store. The set was then painted and weathered to appear lived in. Finally, his mother said, “I need my garage back.”
(Behind the scenes on the alien spaceship set in the Lillywhite family garage.)
Behind the Voice of E.V.E.
Another important element of the Incursion world of the future is the voice of E.V.E., Mathews AI unit. Noah says that, “Because of COVID, getting actors was very difficult.” For the monotone yet tender voice of E.V.E., the filmmakers would use the online service called Fiverr. “Fiverr is a very good resource in terms of finding people who can do really good voiceovers. And that's what we used. We found a lady from the UK.” E.V.E. would be performed by British voiceover artist Lucia Jones. “And I think it turned out pretty freaking good.”
(The voice of E.V.E. is performed by voiceover artist Lucia Jones. Image courtesy Lucia Jones.)
Building the Incursion Alien Suit
Matt brings up the other star of the film, the incredible alien creature suit which won an honorable mention in a prior creature contest at SWSCA. To quote Matt, “That suit is so bad-ass, we understand why Jeff wanted you to build a film around it.”
(Noah built many of the alien suit pieces for Incursion out of EVA foam and plastic tubing.)
Noah constructed the form-fitting suit from a sculpted chest piece, EVA foam, and tubing. The actor inside Noah’s alien suit would be Kai’s six-foot two-inch friend Landon Hulsey. “I told him, hey, I got an alien suit. Do you want to play an alien? And he's like, yeah!”
(The chest piece for the alien creature was sculpted, molded, and then cast in latex backed by foam.)
Noah talks about how they discovered a problem in transferring a suit built for himself to the larger Landon. “One of the big things is that the neck area and head were built to fit me. So when you put it on, there was a big gap between the bottom of the latex piece and the actual helmet. So we're like, oh, you can see his neck. We had to just stuff some cloth in there to cover it up.” The helmet was also too small. “I had to remove some foam and then just cram his head into it. At the end [of the shoot] we were like, we need some oil to get this off his head. It's not coming off.”
(The creature from Incursion with Landon Hulsey inside.)
Kai mentions another issue discovered while filming with the suit. “In that cramped trailer while filming it got hot in there fast.” Between takes, they would take off the alien helmet. “Because he was already sweating in there. It was, I think, that was one of the biggest parts is to make sure he doesn't overheat.”
(Landon Hulsey in the hot, tight-fitting creature suit.)
(The final Alien suit by Noah Lillywhite. Photos by Lincoln Lillywhite.)
(More photos by Lincoln Lillywhite about Noah Lillywhite's final Alien suit.)
Matt shares that the same problems that plagued the El Diamante filmmakers also routinely occur on big-budget film sets. “If it makes you feel any better, even the original Predator suit, they had to do all kinds of stuff to cover up problems throughout the shoot. You know, there would be gaps in the suit and they would add a new bit of costume to hide it. So that's how it's done. You did it right.” Matt smiles, “This conversation, we might as well be talking to professionals that worked on set. I mean, you guys are experiencing and solving problems like seasoned pros do in the movies.”
(Kevin Peter Hall as the Predator on the set in Mexico.)
The Young Filmmakers’ Thoughts on Their Future Plans
Matt and Erich are interested in hearing what everyone thinks about the positive response to their film and what they plan to do in the future.
(The future looks bright for student filmmakers Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey, and Sam Zurek.)
Sam talks about the trio’s future. “I really hope in the future we can continue to work together. We're going into production for a World War II film. I won't give away too much but very exciting stuff is happening. I'm just excited to keep working with these guys. Working with your friends, you never work a day in your life.” And the future does look bright for the three filmmakers. Not only did Incursion win Best of Show at the Slick Rock Student Film Festival, it also just won a Student Production Award of Excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Congratulations!
One of the trios’ teachers at El Diamante High School, Jeff Watamura, says about his response to the film, “I saw the final product and I was blown away. I've shown it to everybody I can show it to. I show it to every staff member that I come in contact with. I'm super proud. And for them to go do this on their own is a testament of, of a little bit of what they've learned, but you can see that they enjoy filmmaking and the process. And that was super cool as a teacher.”
Noah talks about seeing the finished film and the results of the team’s hard work. “It's kind of hard to describe it. It's just seeing something that you've worked really hard on, and spent long hours every single day trying to get it, seeing it on a screen is really, really cool.”
Kai says that everyone he’s shown the film to has really enjoyed it. “They always freak out when the alien shows up and then they figure out the AI is the one that called the alien.” And he credits his mother for giving him his creativity and his father for introducing him to the wonders of The Terminator, Aliens, and Jurassic Park.
Sam thanks his folks, too. “I have to give a huge shoutout to my mother and father. They saw the film and they were blown away. Even my friends, you know, blown away. To see that, especially after a lot of hard work, is the most satisfying feeling.”
Noah also doesn’t forget where he came from. “My mom is always a really big help on set. Giving rides to actors and crew members who can't drive. Getting food for us like the pizza we used in the film. So when the film is done, she's always really excited to see the finished product and she's just sending it out to everyone she knows and they're all like, I want to see more, what happens next? It's just really funny to hear those kinds of reactions.”
How about advice for young filmmakers?
Kai keeps it simple, “Do what you believe in.” Noah says, “Don't hold yourself back. If you have a cool idea, even if it seems too ambitious and people maybe are saying, oh, I don't know, give them examples, give them a reason to believe that you can make that.” Sam agrees with Noah. “Some advice I'd definitely give is don't be afraid to get out there. I've made so many mistakes, but you learn from your mistakes every single day. So, don't be afraid to make mistakes, but don't be intimidated by a project or an idea. That's your idea and your ability to control that idea and make it into something, that's really gonna be your path to success.”
Erich Grey Litoff cannot hide his enthusiasm for the brilliant young creators from El Diamante High School. “You guys are doing great work.” And Matt Winston has high praise for Incursion, the filmmakers, and their upcoming projects. “This movie blew us all away.” And, he adds, “You guys are part of the future of sci-fi films and creature creation.”
