FILMMAKERS who raised more than £10k to fund their science fiction project have revealed a behind-the-scenes peek at a unique prop to mark their first day of filming in Blackwood.

Director Terry Cooper and producer Adam Neal created the concept behind sci-fi film Offworld, which follows a group of humans crashing on new planet 110 years in the future.

After pulling themselves from the wreckage, the survivors are forced to travel 300 miles to their base before hundreds of people in suspended animation on board the ship thaw out and die.

Although the majority of the film will be shot on location around South Wales, filmmakers revealed pictures on social media of the flight deck of the Tantalus II, a huge prop built in a converted garage in the Cefn Forest area.

The prop cost around £700 and contains flashing LED lights and detailed design, adding hefty production value to the low budget film.

A post on the film’s Kickstarter page this week said the set-building team were working on the set and “finishing off small details and giving a good polish down before cast and crew arrived”.

The statement added: “We would like to thank everyone who helped on building the set.

“Also we would like to thank Craig White for lending us his garage to build the set, giving us power and the occasional cup of tea.”

Ystrad Mynach author, actor and the film’s director Mr Cooper is stepping behind the camera as director for the first time for Offworld and is excited about the finished product.

He cast the film by calling on former colleagues and scouting at sci-fi conventions and said he also receives around “10 emails a day” from prospective extras.

The film is now fully cast and is around “a fifth of the way through shooting” with crew heading out on location at Parc Penallta in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, on April 10.

Last year, the company behind the film, Sky Bot Entertainment and Black Rooms, set up a Kickstarter fund where they aimed to raise £2,500 towards production costs.

After a swell of support from 240 people and donations coming from Australia and Japan they were able to raise £10,000 to fund the project.

The finished film will use a mixture of models, practical and computer generated effects and location shoots to create and a trailer is expected this summer.

Upon completion, the première for the film will take place at Cineworld in Cardiff and the Maxime Cinema in Blackwood followed by a small cinema tour.

To find out more about Offworld visit www.facebook.com/OffworldFilm.

Alternatively, follow updates from the the film’s shoot next month on www.kickstarter.com/projects/1962670634/offworld-british-scifi-feature-film.