About this project
What CYGNUS is and how it was made.This is a solo personal project.
I am a big fan of science fiction, astrophysics, videography, and explaining complicated things in an understandable way. I was very inspired by a particular song one day, and I wanted to create an amazing story that connects them all. CYGNUS is what came out.
It is fiction, but the physics underneath it is real, extrapolated using existing physics and science fiction concepts.
Where it started
With a song. Sail, originally by AWOLNATION, and specifically the version by Elohim and Schepetkov. I heard it one day and thought, "Wow, this sounds like an epic trailer song." But there was no trailer to go with it, so I decided to make one.
What it takes after
I am very inspired by Denis Villeneuve, mostly Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Restrained, dark, patient, textured. Frames that let a thing be enormous without explaining itself.
The story and the designs are inspired by some of my sci-fi favorites like Halo, Dune and Tron. Very old architecture at a scale that makes people look small, and a universe that had been busy for a long time before anyone showed up to look at it.
What I used
I made this project using various generative AI tools and lots of learning. All it took was a couple subscriptions, a $10 domain purchase, and lots of patience. Specifically, I used:
I am still figuring most of this out! I would strongly encourage others to try these tools themselves for their own passion projects and would be more than happy to share what worked and didn't work for me.
Where it goes
Ideally a mini-series one day! That needs more time and more people than I have right now, so for the moment it is a website and a lot of test footage (trailer coming soon).
If you make things, music, sound design, visual effects, writing, production, and this looks like something you would want to work on, or if you just have a question about how something was made, I would love to hear from you.