Losing Gravity

What happens when an everyday slacker gets his helium dose wrong? HELIUM MAN. Also the first narrative short by Backyard director Nick Piper which recently debuted with rave reviews in the comedy genre at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival (and moving on to the prestigious Atlanta Film Festival later this month).

Transitioning to shorts has been a long time coming for the director who specializes in special effect commercials. But, it wasn't until he had a dream based around the concept of losing gravity that gave him an idea worth committing to.

"Stock markets were crashing, the world was spiraling into a recession. What next?" he said, "No more gravity?" It turns out that making one person float is a bit less complicated than making gravity disappear altogether, and so the adventures of Helium Man began.

For Nick, the easiest part was writing the story. On the contrary, "Producing the bloody thing," he says in his 'Home of Chip Butties' North England accent, wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Not to mention organizing technocranes, multiple camera crews, a rigging crane (the same one that made Tom Hanks weightless in Apollo 13), and nearly 100 extras.

"I'm getting a producer for the next one," says Nick of the short which would have cost nearly $2M if it weren't for lots of helpful folks in the industry who volunteered time and gear.

Keep your eyes peeled for a feature...