Student film explores ‘Raspberry Galaxies’
Photos courtesy of Noah Sterling, Director
Written by Shelby M. Kennedy
Several senior films are in progress and “Raspberry Galaxies” may be one of the few lighthearted ones. Noah Sterling, a fourth-year film student from Irvington, New York, is constructing a film that will showcase his skills as a director with animation and motion graphics.
Having always been a fan of science fiction, it was only natural for Sterling to come across an underlying theory for “Raspberry Galaxies.” In the film, astronomers search for amino acids to develop a deeper proof of the possibility of life on different planets. They do not find amino acids, but they come across something else: an amassing cloud of ethyl formate — what gives raspberries their taste — found in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy.
Photos courtesy of Noah Sterling, Director
Sterling’s last directed narrative, “You’ll Go Far,” was accepted into four festivals, and he intends to submit “Raspberry Galaxies” into several others.
When asked why this film is important, Sterling said, “It’s cute and fun. There’s not enough cute and fun things in this world.”
He goes on to say that he decided to try a conceptual and lighthearted approach instead of a serious, heavy topic.
The story is simple and clean, but layered in fulfilling visuals and a compelling narration. A young girl watches a science show, mystified that anything in space contains something that makes up an Earth fruit. The genre of the film has been tricky to pinpoint, as it is a playful exploration of an interpretation of science. The protagonist deciphers this knowledge as the film dives into her own surreal imagination.
Sterling went on to say that creating films and balancing classes is a lot to handle.
“Making a film is a lot like a war,” he said. “Lots of boredom where nothing is going on, punctuated by super intense moments of terror where everything is on the line. A lot of nothing, nothing, nothing, coasting, ‘oh my God gotta get this done really quickly’ and done now.”
The cast has been brought together, as has the concept illustrations and the layout of the film. He aims to film at a rental house an hour out of Savannah in the coming weeks. The goal is to be finished in May.
