The original: A process of producing a short film

The thematic goal of my short film The Original was to explore the blurred nature between reality and artificiality that arises from emerging technology. The Original questions an individual's place amongst the simulated realities that have come to compose our world. The concepts behind my script were inspired by the writings of Jean Baudrillard. In his book Simulacra and Simulation, he first described the concept of hyperreality and the need for our society to fabricate existence, along with the subsequent destruction of any reality that occurs in the process. In The Original, Maia Long is a computer programmer tasked with evaluating a digital replication of her own mind. She notices that the machine is growing rapidly and thinking for itself. As the situation grows out of her control, Maia comes to the realization that this simulation may be an authentic consciousness, and their interaction casts her own individuality into doubt.