“‘Machinations’ was really the result of a lot of elements hitting at just the right time. Not only had we developed our core troupe to the point where we felt we could handle just about anything the National Film Challenge could throw at us, but we had access to a pool of new talent (both in front of and behind the camera) that we were eager to tap into. With production happening on the verge of the 2006 elections, it seemed natural that we would try something topical (hopefully without becoming dated too quickly). Given our production constraints, however, we wanted to keep the scope intimate, to make the story more about people than larger events, something we wouldn’t be able to convey convincingly at this scale. But even so, our guiding principle was to ensure that the film was not dependent on any ‘gimmick’ or gag (a common flaw in low-budget sci-fi attempts); while we were intent on developing our characters, we wanted to be certain that such development was derived from the plot, and not vice-versa. With some truly phenomenal graphics to set the scene and an original score that beautifully accents the film’s arc, we ended up with one of our strongest efforts to date.”