You Can Make Movies With Drones and CGI, Sure. But Why Not Make Them the Stars?

Autonomous drones, lasers, and computer rendering play increasingly vital roles in filmmaking, but what makes Liam Young's moody, futuristic films so unusual is these technologies are not tools, but stars. The Australian architect-turned-filmmaker considers his films In the Robot Skies, Where the City Can't See, and Renderlands Trojan horses bringing these technologies into mainstream consciousness in a positive, even creative, way. If people give, say, LIDAR, any thought, it's probably within the context of autonomous vehicles or that lawsuit against Uber. But Young sees a compelling story. "We tell stories about what these technologies might mean," he says.