Erik Wernquist is recognized, and rightly blamed, for unleashing the animated sensation Crazy Frog to an unsuspecting world in 2009. A frenetic frog zipping through cityscapes has become an iconic visual of that time (how was that 14 years ago!?), but Wernquist’s latest venture is a far cry from his previous whimsical endeavors.
In his new short film, titled ONE REVOLUTION PER MINUTE, Wernquist paints a vastly different canvas: a breathtaking depiction of humanity’s reach into space and what our future beyond Earth might look like. This film, lasting just over six minutes, showcases the Swedish animator’s transition from Crazy Frog’s warped cityscapes to intricate panoramas of outer space.
The film seamlessly marries whimsy with realism as it takes us aboard the SSPO Esperanta. For fans of classic science fiction, the Esperanta is reminiscent of the colossal rotating space stations seen in movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey. These stations, by their design, use centrifugal force to simulate gravity, a feat that Wernquist captures with both scientific accuracy and poetic license. Wernquist says he made the short film to explore his “fascination with artificial gravity in space.”
The fictional planetary orbiter, with a radius of approximately 1,476 feet (450 meters), spins at one revolution per minute, generating an artificial gravity of about 0.5 g along its main deck, as Wernquist explains on his YouTube page.
Throughout the film, the Esperanta appears as more than just a space station—it’s a luxury liner of the stars. Viewers are treated to scenes of the station in orbit around Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune. As the film draws to a close, a surprise spacecraft arrives, taking the Esperanta on an adventure beyond our solar system.
With Esperanta, Wernquist “wanted to create a leisure-like environment, such as a hotel or cruise ship, and explore what the views could be like onboard when the orbiter visits some of the worlds in our solar system,” he wrote. Fascinated with the resultant light and shadows, he kept most of the artificial lighting off and only allowed natural light to illuminate the interior. Wernquist writes: “As this made the place appear quite desolate, I found it interesting to imagine someone being onboard, alone…”
Inside, walls come alive with mirrored reflections, a sprawling swimming pool claims the floor, and wine glasses sit with deceptive steadiness on dining tables. The viewers are consistently reminded of the space station’s rotation through ever-changing shadows and perpetually shifting exterior views.
For those left yearning for more of Wernquist’s unique storytelling and visual mastery, his portfolio contains gems like his 2014 scifi short film Wanderers, the music video for Jamie XX’s “Gosh” (which briefly features rotating space stations around Mars), and the surrealistic A Warm Place, which depicts eerily tall and perplexingly empty apartment buildings.
For more spaceflight in your life, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and bookmark Gizmodo’s dedicated Spaceflight page.
Trending Products
