The third volume of Love, Death & Robots may’ve been a little less edgy and messed up than some of the previous seasons, but it sure wasn’t short on visual splendor. In an exclusive clip, director Emily Dean breaks down the making of one of the most visually evocative shorts of the batch. In “The Very Pulse of the Machine,” a lone astronaut treks across the surface of one of Jupiter’s moons, while dragging the body of her fallen teammate with her, and starts to question the nature of reality as she knows it. Around her, the world shifts and changes.
Like most of the other Love, Death & Robots shorts, “The Very Pulse of the Machine” is based on a short story. Dean talks about how she used the descriptions in the text — in this case, the pillars seeming to turn into dancing women — to create the vivid visuals, inspired by French artist Moebius. She also filmed herself dragging a sled across the beach and falling onto a mattress in order to provide the animators with some specific references for movement.
All three seasons of Love, Death & Robots are available to stream on Netflix. Check out our breakdowns on just how much love, death, and robots are in each, in case you were thinking about sitting and watching them with your parents (season 2 and 3 may be safer bets).