Space Brains Press Kit

Fact Sheet

Space Brains is a fortnightly podcast that discusses what is good and what is great about science fiction movies.
Hosts Surrey Hughes and Mark Regan love science fiction films and aim to share that love with the audience. This is not a show that dishes dirt or talks to a negative point.

‘Science-brain’ Surrey, is a published author and IT professional.

‘Cinema-brain’ Mark, is a filmmaker and media teacher. Together they share the science and cinematic elements of each movie they review.

The podcast explores classic, recent, blockbuster and cult films. The hosts occasionally interview special guests such as Hamad AlSarraf who wrote and directed “In Paradox” (2019).


The space brains are from a wondrous and heart-warming part of the galaxy and hence they joy-watch. This means when they watch science fiction films, they deliberately look for the positives and try to get the most from the experience they can.


Space Brains began in 2019. All episodes are recorded, edited and published in Mandurah, Western Australia.

Who is it for?

If you like to talk through movies with your friends but you want to learn a little more or gain a bit of extra insight, then Space Brains is for you. You might be a script writer and movie director, an author or a fan. Regardless your background, if you like insightful and positive discussion of science fiction movies, you will like Space Brains.

Format

Each episode of Space Brains focuses on one movie and follows the same basic format. Every 5th episode covers a “classic” movie that has demonstrated particularly endearing or enduring traits.

  1. Introduction to the movie.
    When it was released, who wrote, directed and starred.
  2. The number 1 take-away.
    What stood out as interesting or unusual (often light-hearted)
  3. Hope, Warning or Experiment?
    Each movie is categorised as one of hope, warning or as an experiment. A movie of hope tends to show humanity succeeding against external forces or disasters. A warning serves as a cautionary tale about meddling with forces unknown while an experiment is a movie that puts people into a “what-if?” scenario to see what might happen.
  4. Co-host catch up.
    Mark is a film-maker and script writer while Surrey is an author and podcaster. During the catch up they discuss relevant projects or lessons they have learned. It is also a chance to learn more about them.
  5. The ladder.
    While the ladder isn’t about comparing one movie to another, it is about each host’s relative preference. All the movies reviewed are worth watching for one reason or another.
  6. Plot discussion (spoilers).
    An in-depth walk through of the plot taking note of unusual or interesting points and highlighting the best scenes and their impact.
  7. The science behind the movie.
    Surrey discusses some real-life science that inspired or is depicted in the film.
  8. Film making technicalities.
    Mark, a film and media teacher by trade and  director by passion, discusses some of the technical film making aspects. Things like the use of lighting, framing, sound and editing.
  9. Next episode’s movie.

Release Schedule

Space Brains endeavours to release an episode every two weeks on a Saturday.

Cast and Crew

Surrey Hughes (Space Brain One)

Surrey has watched and read his way through an impressive amount of science fiction.  His background as a software engineer and solution architect place him firmly in the “nerd” camp and he loves it.  His father, a PhD of nuclear physics, introduced him to the scientific method, Scientific American and New Scientist at an early age.  His mother introduced him to creative pursuits and fantasy novels encouraging him to write. So other than Space Brains Surrey also writes and produces Exit Plan, a contemporary fantasy audio drama podcast and is writing novelisations of Exit Plan while putting the finishing touches on his epic fantasy series The March of Duthaan.

Expect more science oriented podcasts, fantasy musicals and novels in the near future.

Surrey Hughes

Mark Regan (Space Brain Two)

Mark Regan is a fan of film. He is a filmmaker, photographer and writer. Mark fell in love with science fiction at a young age and started to create short films with his siblings. In fact, his first script writing experience as a teenager was writing fan fiction, an entire episode of The X-Files (Mark still believes Chris Carter should make his episode).

He studied and experimented with creating films at university. He has being writing and producing short films his whole adult life, with the goal to make science fiction feature films one day. . Mark loves the way science fiction can take an audience to an altered version of reality but still deliver a meaningful learning experience for the audience.

Media

Mandurah podcast Space Brains achieves international reach

https://www.perthnow.com.au/community-news/mandurah-coastal-times/mandurah-podcast-space-brains-achieves-international-reach-c-1167713

 

Mandurah podcast Space Brains reaches film feature directors

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/6863713/mandurah-podcast-space-brains-reaches-film-feature-directors/