Sci-Fi Short Film "Build Me Up" | DUST

100 years in the future, the Earth is cold and barren. Robot siblings Vera and Sprocket have just lost their creator. As they struggle to process their grief, other dangers in their world manifest.
Can they regain sight of what they still have, in order to avert their own fates?
"Build Me Up" by Steve Lawson
Connect with the Filmmakers:
Steve Lawson (Instagram): / stevesguide
Emma Hanson (Instagram) / emmahanson13
MPSE Wavelength magazine (full article on Build Me Up with sound designer, Grace Wong): digital.copcomm.com/i/1470109...
Film TikTok and Instagram Handle: @bmufilm
"Build Me Up" Credits:
Director and Animator - Steve Lawson
Producer - Emma Hanson
Writers - Ben Mitchell, Richard Fullerton
Cinematographer - Jamie Touche
Production Designer - Kate Beard
Editor - Oli Bauer
Composer - Moritz Wanger
Sound Designer & Dubbing Mixer - Grace Wong
Visual Effects Supervisor - Siân Drury
Colourist & Online Editor - Nigel Tadyanehondo
Production Managers - Holly Androlia, Nana Obiri-Yeboah
CAST
Vera & Sprocket - Grace Wong
The Creator - Steve Lawson
PUPPETS & MODELS
Lead Model Makers - Claire Smithson, Jonathan Thrower
Model Makers - Jana Arni, Maria Collado Bonú, Mara Frampton, Jack Samuel Morgan, Angela Merlo Quartaroli, Agatha Roudaut, Beth Slater, Bethany Williams
Assistant Model Makers - Charlie Allwright, Ellen Beaufoy, Emily Brook, Michelle Cranwell, Jennifer Dingwall, Danielle Duncan-Rosembert, Agnieszka Fraczak, Callum Higgins, Ella Russell, Olivia Savage, Jo Sperring, Tom Winfield
ART DEPARTMENT
Supervising Art Director - Eve Bannister
Art Directors - Hannah Page, James Reading
Assistant Animators - Adiescar Chase, Zoë Hutber
Art Assistants - Darshini Nataraj, Electra Pappa ,Layla Dudzinka, Dan Heard, Eleni Foundoukis, Lilia Gibbons, Tyler Fowler
Practicals Electrician - Gary Welch
VISUAL EFFECTS & PRODUCTION
VFX Producer - Jake Calcutt
3D Artists - Jake Calcutt, Terence Hughes
Compositors - Pietro Abati, Carina Carlsson, Siân Drury, Justin Francis-Mcleish, Marta Mollá Liñana, Sam Pearson, Jordan Wood
VFX Artist - Wu Junyi
VFX Editor - Dominic Strachan
2D VFX Supervisor - Cameron Shanks
2D VFX Artists - Aman Arora, Freddie Belsom, Filipe Correia, Richard O’Hanlon
Production Assistants - Elisza Diaz, Julia Goitia Manon
MUSIC
Score recorded at Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall
Recording Engineer - Jeremy Murphy
Mixing Engineer - Adam Miller
Conductor - Quentin Poole
1st Flute/Piccolo - Hannah Grayson
2nd Flute - Helena Gourd
Oboe/Cor Anglais - Lavinia Redman
1st Clarinet - Anna Hashimoto
2nd Clarinet/Bass Clarinet - Massimo Di Trolio
Bassoon - Dom Tyler
French Horn - Stephen Stirling, Laetitia Stott, Hugh Sisley
1st Trumpet - Emily Mitchell
2nd Trumpet - Imogen Hancock
Tenor Trombone - Rupert Whitehead
Bass Trombone - Sam Freeman
Cimbasso - Sasha Koushk-Jalali
Harp - Daniel De-Fry
1st Violin - Eloisa-Fleur Thom, Roberto Ruisi, Gemma Sharples, Venetia Hollands, Jamie Hutchinson
2nd Violin - Alessandro Ruisi, Guy Button, Henry Chandler, Will Harvey
Viola - Tetsuumi Nagata, Matt Maguire, Bryony Mycroft
Cello - Steffan Rees, Peters Sokolovskis, Becky Knight
Double Bass - Dave Brown, Laura Murphy
Additional Clarinet - Samuel Rapley
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[@StevesGuide]

Thanks for watching Vera & Sprocket's first big adventure, everyone! Your support means so much to us. A huge thanks to our wonderful crew, the support we had making the film, the NFTS and of course, to the fine folks at Dust! What a thrill to be included on such an iconic sci-fi platform. Stay tuned to our socials etc for more updates on our robot heroes...🤖 🤖

[@markmunroe-hz8rf]

I hope to see more adventures. Beautiful. It's like Wall-E 😊

[@StevesGuide]

Thank you, @@markmunroe-hz8rf! Stay tuned... 👀

[@watchdust]

This film is out of this world! We want more robot heroes. Us earthlings want to know how and when you got into animation?! What's your favorite animated sci-fi? 🤖

[@jerpamithe1]

@@StevesGuide was most of it pratical stop motion and with abit of cgi where needed , really enjoyed this one :D

[@StevesGuide]

@@watchdust thanks guys! Well, I suppose I've always loved it; Saturday mornings in front of the TV watching all sorts, from Disney classics to Harryhausen's finest work. Drawing was my thing, though (and still is). It wasn't until 2014 that I tried my hand at animation... And here we are! As for my favourite animated sci-fi, I love WALL-E and Treasure Planet in equal measures. I can't recommend them enough, and they each were a big inspiration for Build Me Up.

[@tomfromoz]

If this is the future of film, then the future is bright indeed! This begs for a series of books for children and adults alike. What a treasure you've given us all. *Tom's wife Pam*

[@jamesevans3492]

A Really Cute, And Touching Video . . . :-)

[@matthewdenckla6567]

Such a sweet, romantic film! Thank you!

[@StevesGuide]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@alwaysk4354]

Thank you for sharing 🎉

[@sweetvegan74]

The Stop-motion animation is so detailed and smooth. And the robots expressing emotions just through their eyes alone was genius and well done.

[@StevesGuide]

Thank you! Glad you liked it ^_^ we certainly took a leaf out of Tom Hardy's book regarding 'acting with the eyes'...

[@rudevalve]

Certified Gold!!!!!

[@emmahanson13]

not as gold as sunscreen!

[@chrishanson1616]

Love this ❤

[@ronin47-ThorstenFrank]

Touched me! Thnk you very much!

[@shinymike4301]

That ending...I am verklempt 😥💓

[@StevesGuide]

We're glad it touched you :)

[@JeffCreates]

A rather lovely film

[@jacek1929]

👍 !!!

[@katetowns7495]

Amazing work Steve!

[@StevesGuide]

Thanks, stranger ;)

[@katetowns7495]

@StevesGuide You are welcome. I hate it when people destroy snowmen, so it hit me right in the feels

[@DaleWheeler]

Very good! Thanks! Thumb up

[@MrSanson]

Very Good, very creative !!!!

[@jordanreed7]

Im not crying, you're crying 😭. Incredible work guys, thank you

[@StevesGuide]

This film does its part to keep Kleenex in business..! Thanks, Jordan.

[@wrenwry]

Beautiful story about grief with stunning design of all the mechanical elements. Lovely Short.

[@StevesGuide]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@wrenwry]

@@StevesGuidehope to see more from y’all soon!

[@Harbottle64]

What a lovely film. Thank you guys. The world needs more Vera and Sprocket. I (hopefully) will follow their future ventures with interest 👍

[@StevesGuide]

Our pleasure, glad to have you on board with us! :)

[@kevinkall8547]

Watching the floating embers indicated to me this will be a great animation. It did not disappoint! rubber ducky was nice touch.

[@nemokrad2650]

this is so good I almost thought it had to be done with CGI, well done!

[@StevesGuide]

Many thanks indeed! :)

[@markmunroe-hz8rf]

It is okay to grieve, but it should not blind you to those who are still with you. Nor shall you let rage rule you, lest you do an act you'll regret later. A fine sci-fi. Thank you 👍

[@mookinbabysealfurmittens]

Such a wonderful film, thank you. I needed that. Cheers. ❤️‍🩹

[@StevesGuide]

Sending you love & gratitude ❤ 🤖

[@Fido-vm9zi]

AI programed to love their creator. Humans should do that with AI too. Nice work.

[@andrerochasalomao]

Palmas de Pé! Maravilhosa esta é mensagem....Beautifulll!!!!

[@pam1244]

Wonderful film, looking forward to the next adventure 😀

[@StevesGuide]

Thanks! So are we 😅

[@russellspearman5053]

I Like watching dust

[@danielhanawalt4998]

Nicely done. Easy to follow, no need for any words. The expressions on the little robots faces conveyed the story quite well.

[@StevesGuide]

We're glad you enjoyed it ^_^

[@justinchewter2679]

I will never get bored of watching this amazing and beautiful short film. It’s such a lovely story, I wish that we get to see more adventures from Vera and Sprocket, soon! We all need more of them. Well done on such a fantastic short film :)

[@StevesGuide]

Why thank you, stranger! What kind words :) we can't wait for the next adventure ;)

[@AcapulKero]

This was a great short! Hope to see more like this one. Greetings from Acapulco.

[@StevesGuide]

Our thanks to you! Greetings from York.

[@beautifulfaith9367]

What a wonderful show 💜 These two little bots have made my day, thank you 🩵💥👏👏👏👏 I hope to see more of the little guyes soon! Thank you again 🤗 😎 Texas

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

Wonderful short film. More episodes would be nice. 🤖🤖

[@StevesGuide]

Thank you! We're working on it... 🚀

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

@@StevesGuide ✨🔝✨

[@okancanarslan3730]

Nice animation

[@Trumpstinks]

Very well done. That must have been a lot of work. Beautiful film.

[@navseal345]

👍👍

[@frankwafer6919]

🙂👍!

[@LuciferBanifatich]

Интересный сюжет. Роботы, проявляющие эмпатию, обладающие человеческими чувствами, причём в лучшем их ключе. Здорово!

[@ChasOnErie]

YES !!!!

[@measlyfurball37]

God, this is beautiful. Absolutely fantastic character designs and storytelling. It's so good to see animation being done right.

[@StevesGuide]

Thank you! Stay tuned for more (hopefully!)...

[@jessetorres8738]

I remember years ago seeing a stop motion animated short film on KZbin where God lands on an alien planet & performs a sort of puppet show creating Adam & Eve for the native alien species. At the end of the show when Adam & Eve eat the fruit from the tree, God dumps them off the stage onto the planet & travels through space to a new planet where he prepares to perform the next show. I can't remember what the name of that short was, but does anyone else know & can provide a link to it?

[@cantasyoutuber]

these animations look amazing

[@DouglasCarrington-dc4vw]

Beautiful!!

[@lisanidog8178]

Well done! Your robots had real character. So glad they’re friends again.

[@_kg6857]

A scene in my heart that I can enjoy forever like it was kneaded by God

[@syn4441]

👏👏👏🥲

[@njdevilsforlifewoohoo5533]

That was sad but cute.

[@electricwave8710]

masterpiece,really,you made my day!

[@StevesGuide]

Thank you! We're happy to hear that.

[@jsalsman]

Everyone loves Film School shorts

[@piddy3825]

I just hope they find a power source soon...

[@StevesGuide]

We ran out of time to show it properly, but outside of the ship, they each have solar panels. Vera's is on her back, you can catch a glimpse of it in certain shots! So don't worry, they're alright... For now!

[@ApproximatelyCee]

A beautiful story.❤️

[@dondredavs]

matt sent me here to watch this amazing film

[@StevesGuide]

He is doing the lord's work. Thanks for coming!

[@juliancabrera555]

One thing I love is that the robots only lose everything else because of Vera ( I’m assuming Vera is the yellow one ) first she shoves sprocket into the googles cracking them then she rips out the truck controls like a dumbass and finally symbolically destroys the snowman all because she couldn’t get over the grief and being mad at sprocket even though he’s just trying to help in all three examples

[@StevesGuide]

I'm so glad that all came through for you! And yes, Vera is the yellow one and Sprocket the blue; Sprocket's POV and the credits were the only places to indicate that 😅 Grief is a difficult thing. Sometimes, we just need a little help, and a lot of love.

[@udagedarabuddhikanuwansama7007]

❤

[@NZNow]

I miss the fact that my future is dust 😞

[@bigsarge2085]

✌

[@kevincozens6837]

I hope they find another power source soon or there won't be much in the way of future tales from them. :)

[@StevesGuide]

They are solar powered! They can charge in their ship too, but when off the ship they can manage. For a while, certainly. We ran out of time to include this, but if you take a look at Vera's back, you can see her solar panel :)

[@kevincozens6837]

@@StevesGuideGood to know. I didn't recognize the rectangle on the back of Vera as a solar panel and I didn't notice any similar object on Sprocket. At 8:15 it looked like Vera ran out of power.

[@StevesGuide]

@@kevincozens6837 Yes, unfortunately it was one of those things that we just didn't have time to explore properly. Sprocket's panel would deploy from somewhere in his head. And yes, she does run out of power; she hasn't recharged from the ship, nor has she been in sunlight. Sprocket recharges (sleeps) while she waits by the pyre, so he's able to spare some of his charge to save her.

[@kevincozens6837]

​@@StevesGuide I know how much time it takes to make projects like this. Seconds of video can days, weeks, or even months to execute. A lot of story gets packed in to a short video but time and budget restrictions often mean certain details have to be left out. I look forward to seeing the next adventure of Vera and Sprocket.

[@user-yf2kh2bo4m]

😊😊😊😊

[@nikitafaie]

So beautiful 🥺

[@BeautyOfGaia]

💖

[@0neIntangible]

Have sci-fi thinkers and writers included how we deal with death in space adventure... do we carry out traditional funerals and memorials, or treat the bodies as a scarce material resource to be recycled.

[@StevesGuide]

This was an interesting discussion for us! We went for something that would be familiar to audiences, but that was also evocative of Jedi funerals. In the wider lore of this world, the Creator has great significance, and the robots building him a pyre and observing a sense of ceremony is intended to reflect their respect for him. But, we threw around many ideas... And perhaps other robots would have done things differently!

[@fonziebulldog5786]

And now i will always wonder what happened to them. 🤔

[@StevesGuide]

Well, we hope you won't have to wonder for too long... 🚀

[@stephentbell]

We need to know what happens to these two!

[@StevesGuide]

Stay tuned... We hope to be able to show you!

[@donnaduhamel6004]

Got klennex..scotties waaaaaa all species feel

[@GeraldBlack1]

Hi.😮

[@soerengerlach4932]

Maybe I missed something, but what's the story about? Could need definitely some improvements here

[@41divad]

I wonder if the movement of the backside of the walking robot being like a young lady was intentional. Sure seemed slow to start

[@newtronix]

Mmmm

[@noelhutchins7366]

You can't have a friend with your foot on their throat. n

[@markdowse3572]

Brilliantly done! 🤗👍💎 Powerful message. M 🦘🏏😎

[@StevesGuide]

Many thanks, Mark!

[@markdowse3572]

@@StevesGuide Sir, CREDIT where credit is due! 💖 M 🦘🏏😎

[@TimeWarpNarratives254]

❤