One of the things that’s complex in working with a story that is as human as Depleted is finding different ways to show the world that exists. While filmmaker collaborators will help us flesh out the world of Depleted in this regard, I really wanted to have an additional perspective that we could show in the prologue, Depleted: Day 419, besides that of Jenna Whitmore, the main narrator. It was always my intent to have two versions of the film: one with narration and one without. While the narrated version would be the one I preferred, I wanted the film to work even if there was no narration. However, as I began to think more about it, I realized that I actually wanted three versions. The third one would allow a pirate radio station to be heard when Jenna is in her appartment and in vehicles.
Pirate radio stations are a major element in the world of Depleted, although their range is limited to small communities and enclaves for the most part. Because Jenna lives on the outskirts of a town, it makes sense that she’s close enough to hear the town’s pirate radio station. Once I started thinking about this, I realized that this wasn’t just a cool idea, but that this would give me a way to bring in gossip, insight, and story plot information that will become important in the feature film. As such, each of the three versions of the film will give viewers more information and alternate perspectives on the World of Depleted, as well as insights into the secrets of how the world collapsed and hints as to who may have seen it coming. (We might even have a fourth version with different news from the radio that will be hidden somewhere.)