Written by Charlotte Beck. Photo courtesy of Morgan Epps.
With the development of AI in the news every day, we’re left wondering if the robot apocalypse is on the horizon. What do robots do after they defeat the human race? Animation senior Morgan Epps has an idea: they party.
Epps is directing their senior thesis this year, titled Gearbevel City. The short film takes place in a post-human world where, “Robots have perfected everything, so all they really want to do is party,” says Epps. The short follows Jambot and their rival Musebot as they face off in a DJ duel, but in order to win, Jambot’s secret passion for dance must shine through.
With a concentration in concept design, Epps came up with the characters for class. “For some reason, I was drawing robots the entire week before the class, and I was making this character, and I was like, ‘This character is kind of like me, like my robot-sona,’” says Epps.
Going into their second year at SCAD, they were in a weird place and felt more like a robot than a person. “What helped me was doodling robots for some reason, because they were just so square,” says Epps. “They’re so blocky. Usually, when I draw I do very bouncy things and big shapes. But I was really feeling like, ‘I need to just drop that and be square.’”
Epps breathed their own identity as a non-binary person into their robots. “I didn’t want to gender them,” says Epps. “They’re robots.” Fans and animators of Gearbevel often gender the main characters due to their blue and pink color schemes. “It does kind of annoy me when people misgender Jambot and Musebot,” they express. Epps advises viewers not to focus on their gender and instead “focus on their character and who they are as robots.” Much like non-binary people in the real world who are told to fit into a gendered box, these robots “are supposed to be programmed to do a certain thing but in reality, they’re just what they are, they do what they want to do.”
Production for Gearbevel started in fall of 2022 and the twenty-student team is working diligently to get ready for its premiere. The three-minute film is Epps’s directorial debut, and they were nervous at first. “It was hard for me to figure out how to be a director because I’ve never directed before and I’m still learning as I’m going. But I’m just glad that I have a team who is so passionate about the project and love what they do. We have a lot of respect for each other.”
Epps is ecstatic to see their robots come to life. “One of my lead animators, Chris London, made this awesome 2D rig for the head of Jambot, and it’s so beautiful—I don’t even know how to describe it-–It’s gorgeous.” They’re most excited to see the dance sequence on the big screen, as the team is basing Jambot’s movements after Epps, and they storyboarded the entire scene. “That’s the main thing that I’ve just been waiting for,” says Epps.
You can watch Gearbevel City at the walk-in showcase on May 31st from noon-11:00 p.m. at the Trustees Theatre. Attendance is first come, first serve. If you’re interested in joining the Gearbevel team, they are currently seeking volunteers to help with 2D animation, cleanup and illustrations. You can reach out to Morgan through the film’s Instagram, @gearbevelcityfilm, and follow the account for Gearbevel City updates.
Charlotte Beck is a junior graphic design major and the creative director at District. She leads the design of District’s publication Square 95, as well as SCAD’s Port City Review. Charlotte is also a lover of all things music and poetry.
