Four psychedelic rock songs. A medic caught in the addiction she treats. A world where escape comes at the cost of giving up control.
Shopski Animation announces Staring Into Nothing, an eighteen-minute animated sci-fi rock opera exploring digital addiction through music, mature anime and immersive Eclipsa sound.
Written by Atanas Shopski and co-directed with Maciej Moszoro as the Shopski-Moszoro Duo, the film brings together an international team whose credits include The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, X-Men ’97, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, Autómata and many more.
Currently in compositing and final edit, Staring Into Nothing is a passion project about the desire to escape – and the painful journey back to yourself.
Four songs, four psychological worlds
Built around four psychedelic rock songs written by Steven Rogers, Staring Into Nothing follows the emotional structure of a rock opera. Music carries the audience deeper into Hannah’s experience, while connecting dramatic scenes move the story forward.
Each act draws on a different artistic inspiration:
- Impressionism: the light, movement and overwhelming stimuli of Hannah’s new world.
- Romanticism: the euphoria, longing and emotional excess of a new addiction.
- Surrealism: the dream logic of trauma, where memory, guilt and identity collide.
- Baroque and Expressionism: a powerful final movement toward action and reclaimed agency.
The film’s visual world changes with Hannah. What begins as an energetic introduction to the city becomes an increasingly intimate journey through her subconscious mind.
The voices and artists behind the film
Claire Margaret Corlett leads the cast as Hannah and Hannah’s Clone. Known as Sweetie Belle in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Stacie in the Barbie films and Tiny in Dinosaur Train, Corlett takes on the film’s central dual role. She is joined by Arson Alfaro as May and Jamie Treselyan as Medic Man.
Animation production is handled by NOVA Animation in South Korea, with Jae Bum Lee as animation director. His credits span The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, X-Men ’97, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood and Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.
Concept artist Konstantin Vidkov Titis, whose credits include The Expendables, Autómata and Rambo, helps shape the film’s world. Frank Calico, whose work includes character design for the League of Legends K’Sante film, brings his distinctive sensibility to its characters.
The core team also includes Leon Bitner on color script, Marcin Klos on editing, and Atanas Shopski on storyboard and animatic.
Sound that surrounds the story
Music and immersive audio are developed at Marshmellow Skies in California, working closely with Emmy-nominated chief engineer Claus Trelby.
Trelby’s career includes work with Sting, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock. Together with Ken Caillat, he mixed five Joni Mitchell albums in Dolby Atmos, including Joni Mitchell at Newport.
With Eclipsa Audio, the film extends its psychological worlds into immersive sound. Vaudeville handles sound design, bringing experience from productions including World War II with Tom Hanks, LEGO DREAMZzz and Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends.
A new chapter for Shopski Animation
Following The Secret Key, Staring Into Nothing continues Shopski’s exploration of mental health through animation and music.
Its central creative impulse is to make digital addiction emotionally tangible by drawing a parallel with substance addiction: the seduction, the loss of control, the consequences and the difficult work of recovery.
The project also marks a further step in the Shopski-Moszoro Duo’s vision for mature Western anime – meaningful action, drama and science fiction developed through international artistic collaboration.
Produced by Steven Rogers, Kevin Moran, Atanas Shopski and Maciej Moszoro, the film brings together production work across the United States, Germany and South Korea, with directing and producing collaboration in Poland.
As the film moves toward completion, Shopski Animation will share first looks, artwork and behind-the-scenes stories from the people bringing it to life.
Follow the journey here as Staring Into Nothing takes its final shape.