''Megan'' is a

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

film that pays homage to the

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yustman ...

franchise. It was released on YouTube on July 31, 2018 and immediately went viral.

Synopsis

When a young Scientist becomes entangled in a military mission to deliver the only antidote that will save mankind, she finds herself not only fighting for survival but also being confronted by demons from her past.

Production

The film was produced by Jean de Meuron and Giuseppe Mercadante, with Olcun Tan producing the VFX. Once the script was ready and with the lookbook in hand director Greg Strasz, Giuseppe Mercadante and Jean de Meuron pitched the idea to several leading industry vendors. Companies like

RED Digital Cinema Red Digital Cinema (''Red Digital Cinema Camera Company'') is an American company that manufactures professional digital cinematography cameras and accessories. The company's headquarters is in Foothill Ranch, California, with studios in Hollyw ...

, Helinet Aviation, International Studio Services,

Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...

and Gradient Effects believed in their vision and decided to support their project. The script was written by Giuseppe Mercadante and Greg Strasz on a story written by Jean de Meuron, Giuseppe Mercadante and Greg Strasz. The film was shot in 3 days at

Hollywood Studios, Helinet Aviation, the Los Angeles River, and Venice Beach. The heavy VFX work was done by Gradient Effects, known for their work on

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

and Thor: Ragnarok. The "ashes" that are seen following the crash scene were previously used in Stranger Things' "upside-down world".

Reception

On August 1, 2018, a day after release, the proof of concept went viral, picked up originally by

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

SYFY Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

, the Spanish '' El Mundo'', Geek Tyrant, then spread to several major publications like

Indie Wire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...

, the French

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

, ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', and PopSugar.

Accolades

''Megan'' has won awards at various festivals, including the

HollyShorts Film Festival The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Award®-qualifying independent short film festival located in Hollywood, California. History Founded in 2005, the yearly festival programmes feature an eclectic mixture of short films of various g ...

and

London Short Film Festival The London Short Film Festival, founded in 2004, is a film festival held annually at various locations in London, in January. The festival celebrates short film production. Each year the festival appoints an international jury who award prizes wor ...

References

External links

''MEGAN - 'CLOVERFIELD' - PROOF OF CONCEPT''
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

*{{IMDb title, 8709288 American short films 2018 short films 2010s English-language films