They're Made Out Of Meat 

I'm curious how everyone found this video? :-) - Stephen, Director

I love that Bens character doesn't breathe out the smoke presumably because he doesn't yet understand lungs

I wondered why he has to explain the flapping meat sounds to the other alien when their entire conversation has taken place via flapping meat sounds. Then I realised maybe it's like a Star Trek translator only it has a holographic component, so we see and hear their meat disguises but they're a hovering cloud of electrically conductive gas and a vibrating rock respectively.

RIP Terry Bisson. I made a short film of his classic short story They're Made Out of Meat back in the day. Only met him once... the coolest of dudes. Sorry for chopping up your story Terry. #terrybisson - Director

Director here. Who wants an audio commentary of this film... and what questions answered?

I love how they are smoking, but never inhale or exhale smoke, nor do their cigarettes seem to burn down.

This is top notch writing. It's like a mix of MIB and the twilight zone. If there were a full length film with this quality of writing; I'd watch it intently.

The best part of this whole thing is when the shriner guy says "The ones you probed" and half-laughs while he's saying the word probed. That was the best performance by any actor in the history of acting.

My meat brain derived enjoyment from this.

This mini movie cleverly solves the Fermi Paradox.

RIP Terry. This film will always be my favourite adaptation of his work.

When I read Bisson's short story a dozen years ago, it stuck with me. He had it just right. I didn't think anyone could ever really get it right it in a short film, but you nailed it. Noonan and Bailey were perfect, the diner, the clothing, everything. A few years ago, just after I first saw your film, I played it for my class. I teach high school physics, and had a really good rapport with one class. We had some time to kill, and I like the kids, and wanted to share this cool, strange video. Their reaction was great. They liked it, but weren't really sure what to make of it. Like they weren't certain they got the joke, so they went back and watched it a few more times. Getting a high school kid to think isn't always easy, so good work.

This is one of the best short films ever created. This is genius.

Hey everyone. Director here. If you have discovered this video, please subscribe to my new RU-vid channel... where I am making short video documentaries about people in Lisbon :-) - ru-vid.com

It's just two guys talking to each other in a run-down diner and yet I keep coming back to this. Excellent work, Sir.

I saw this originally MANYYY years ago on a cable on demand service and still to this very day it sticks with me. A real, bizarre classic. Thanks for all the meat!

Apparently, I'll just rewatch this over and over every so often. I love this skit so much.

Guy was so disturbed by the idea of talking meat that he went insane, moved to Detroit and invented the drug called Nuke

To this day this remains one of my favorite short films, you did a really good job working within the constraints and using common props and costuming and simple cinematography to make everything completely surreal. Big props to the actors too, they did an amazing job with their lines. This is the kind of stuff big film needs to pay more attention to, the craft gets so lost in special effects these days that you just don't see stuff this authentic anymore, especially not outside of arthouse oscarbait films.

Man I watch this every couple months. What a great dialogue. The mystique of the guy reading the tabloid… does he know? Ben Bailey of Cash Cab fame and Tom Noonan in a wildly inappropriate drum major? outfit a perfect character actor for the role. I had my son (12) watch this with me he plays saxophone and absolutely loved the tune and is going to ask the band teacher to show him how to play it. Chefs kiss man!

I remember reading this short story as a kid and being instantly captivated. This film absolutely does it justice and fills me with the same curiosity.

This is amazing little gem. Evidence, that you do not need hollywood stars and budget of millions of dollars to make a interesting, good movie. Thanks for uploading :)

Fantastic. I'm glad there's an official version I can link to now - I've been linking to other rando's accounts for YEARS AND YEARS

It's great to have this version uploaded. The sound quality is much better, which adds so much to the atmosphere of this piece. It's also weirdly fun to watch at a speed of 0.75 or even 0.50.

This is the most brilliant piece of absurdist satire I've seen in a very long time. love it. watched it several times. shared it. everyone must see this.

Bud, you nailed this one. The actors were just right, the weird patrons of the shop, the sound effects and that awesome sax.

This is, hands down, the best reenactment of this short story ever.

This is one of my current favorite short films and I love introducing folks to it! Thank you for this excellent interpretation of this hilarious story. My favorite line is "my gawd, this is altogether TOO MUCH"...we use that line a lot at home.

i’ve watched this probably 24 times throughout these years.

Such a tight film, good showing not telling with the paranoid guy, excellent performances.

Best short film there is

This has long been one of my favorite short films. So glad you've got a better version up here

I remember reading this back in the old days of newsnet. It stuck in my brain like something almost apocryphal. I only stumbled across your adaptation today upon learning about Terry Bisson's passing. It really captures the mood nicely. I always imagined it with two beings having a discussion on the bridge of a spaceship, but this is brilliant. Thanks for tickling my memories today.

Amazing short story. I love how it puts humans with the rest of the animals. We belong there.

I know Terry Bisson and I sent this to him. He enjoyed it.

Such a masterful adaptation, I think about this once a year at least

The music is really good too. Spot on.

Ah man thanks for posting this high quality version, this film has stuck with me for 17 years now.

This film is truly a gem and I periodically watch it and share it with my friends.

I saw a clip of this on another video and couldn't for the kife of me remember where i saw it. And then i found this gem again

"i've lost all ambitions unworthy of me, i just want to be the one you love.."

RIP, Terry Bisson. 💔

Hey, I read this short story years ago! Great job with the adaptation! It's a very different interpretation than what was in my head, but definitely funnier!

This is one of my favorite short films ever and I've lost count of how many people I've introduced it to. I'm hoping it was shot on film and that you can one day post a sharp, high-def transfer of it online, Stephen.

I love this adaptation. When I taught high school, I used to show it to all my classes. So eerie.

I met Tom Noonan at a convention and bought a signed portrait and TOTALLY blanked on what to say to him and was mad at myself for not asking about this short film. One of my favorites. I'm not a fan of documentaries so I haven't watched all your other channel but I checked it out and can tell you put a lot of work into them. If I find out you put out another short film (or a FEATURE Length???) I'll totally be excited to check it out.

I've loved this since seeing it back in the early 2010s when I was still an undergraduate student. Now I show it to my students when teaching philosophy of mind. Fantastic short film.

this is the cutest thing ever. im so happy i found out ab it on reddit. these characters r perfect!

This is literally so underrated and it also gave me the concept of how the story worked! Earned a like

Bloody brilliant 👌

The sax player actually existing in-world is a nice touch. The melody brings something of John Zorn's "book of angels" series to mind.

Ben Bailey is a freaking _LEGEND_ he’s a KING! I love him

i wish this crew made Lovecraft movies. Like for example The Picture In The House and i hope that if they do they stick as close to the story as possible.

Its seriously freaking me out how much that guy looks like Peter Dinklage

I watch Ben Bailey's stand up comedy specials. He's hysterical! This is my favorite version of this story. The guy in the fez does seem on the edge of breaking character, about to crack up laughing a couple of times. Notably on the word "probed". At a guess I think he was mentally substituting a different verb. Him checking out the waitress made me wonder if he's one of _those_ aliens, who ... ahem ... _probe_ people in the dead of night to get a little really really strange, if you hang the gist of my drift. But what was that crunching sound Mr. Fez made when he moved his jaw sideways? Just some precipitous TMJ? Or some deliberate Foley?

Just absolutely amazing all around

Would love to see a higher quality copy of this--excellent film!

There are a bunch of videos of this story. This is the one I keep coming back to. I thought sure this was part of an anthology series. And I am glad now we have an OFFICIAL version of this video.

This is one of my favorite short films and I dont quite know why, it's just... Stuck in my thinking meat for good haha

Twin Peaks vibe here. Excellent work.

The vibe is amazing and the music is just perfect!

I discovered this along with several other amazing sci-fi short films on my old DVR package many many years ago. I don't know why but it popped in my head just now

5:27 the house of cards is glued together

Hey that's Chris Pratlow from The Wire playing with the cards!

Best editing ever. Bar one tiny mistake and one doubtful artistic choice - everything is so tone-perfect. Each cut enhances the story, nearly each shot is worth pausing and appreciating the framing. This is a forgotten gem that should be shown in editing class. And don't get me started on the music - I come back to this clip every few years just to listen to it.

Surprising what "meat" can do. Although some can barely walk and chew gum at the same time.

Just stumbled on this, and its already iconic.

I once took a huge dose of shrooms and had this vision of myself and everyone I know as "blobs of meat" indistinguishable from each other. It was strange but comforting because the meat seemed just like a suit, there was something inside but not connected. Difficult to describe. I can't wait till we get Disclosure.

I remember this was a free feature on one of my cable movie channels years ago. I enjoyed it then and thought of it randomly now and watched it again. Just struck me that that's Tom Noonan, who I really liked in Robocop 2.

Watching this feels like a fever dream. This is incredible 👏🏽.

Thanks for posting the full version with credits and all!!

RIP Terry Bissom.

Superb. I remember watching this sooooooo long ago. Would love to see more of these :) Cheers

I too read Terry Bisson's short story a long time ago. The film captures it beautifully, with the added advantage of being able to juxtapose the conversation of the aliens with the mindless activity of the teens at the other table. Very effective.

This is perfect. I watch it ever 6mo, and every time it's just as perfect.

SO well cast

David Lynch would be proud

@Stephen so many year pass by I remember watching this in highschool this was my favourite short

gravy on everything

Tom Noonan looks so much like Peter Dinklage to me in this

Love this adaptation of Bisson's wonderful short story--out of all the films and radio plays I've seen, I think yours is the best. I show this to my Science Fiction class each year and pair it up with Quammen's "Face of a Spider" to get the students talking about what it means to see the world from the perspective of creatures that are so different from ourselves. Just wanted to let you know how much my students and I enjoy your work!

Thanks for posting the full version! Always loved when i stumbled across the other one with a gajillion views. It always made me scary smile while watching it, good luck out there fellow meat (i assume)

"Spare me" is my favorite line from the older one

I aspire to have the same facial expressions as Ben Bailey does in this film.

I really enjoy this short film..... Thank you for making it it's brilliant.

😍 This was really well done!! The beats in this were impeccable!.

As to the lack of alien contact or radio signals: One - the inclusion of mitochondria in cells by endosymbiosis - either having a prokaryotic bacteria consumed by a another, or the other possibility of phagocytosis of a proto-eukaryotic cell - has the possibility of really being a rare event. As one astrophysicist mentions, a biological bottleneck. For instance, life probably exists in other worlds - but mainly as a "prokaryotic slime" So maybe the bottleneck is not so bad... But for two - even if it is more frequently possible than one can imagine, the chances of a species to not self-destruct might be even more unlikely. The "L" factor in the Drake Equation. May answer the Fermi Paradox... So the chances of the existence of an "intelligent" civilization (ever noticed that all the radio telescopes looking for it are pointed AWAY from the Earth?) ever overlapping to the point that either of them will be able to detect some sort of RF or other form of transmission (something like neutrinos would be good since they'd have less attenuation thru interstellar/galactic gas/particles/objects) is HIGHLY UNLIKELY due to: - the vast distances involved - each using a different form of technology for communication - AND THE BIG ONE: - they SELF DESTRUCT when they get advanced enough to do so, limiting the time they exist (that "L" factor in the Drake Equation). As the narrator in this vid mentions at about 12:49 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IxXaGzUnBRI.html , he goes on to state that the lack of contact with other intelligent civilizations is: "... because of the in-built and unavoidable stupidity of intelligent beings." "Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe." ~~ Frank Zappa (1940-1993) And at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IxXaGzUnBRI.html he mentions: "If this is the reason for the great silence, then I suppose we might take comfort in the fact that we are not the only idiots to have existed in the Milky Way. " Nice way to look at it... I guess. Our higher power radio and television transmissions over the past 100 years have passed between 12,000 to 59,000 star systems, or which only about 4 or 5 have planets that may harbor life. And that's most likely, they only contain the aforementioned "prokaryotic slime". And furthermore - imagine if a sophisticated extraterrestrial species DOES come across our transmissions, the first would be things like Howdy Doody, and Ralph Cramden telling his wife, "To the moon, Alice!!" Lovely... "Y'know, I've noticed an infestation here. Everywhere I look, in fact. Nothing but undeveloped, unevolved, barely conscious pond scum, totally convinced of their own superiority as they scurry about short, pointless lives. " ~~Edgar the Bug in Men in Black (1997)

What is the name of the song at the beginning after 0:06? I have been searching it for years, but to no avail.

Dude make more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why haven’t you done more!!?!?!?

This video has aged very well. Years later, we're still made of meat.

Hilarious... Thank you, Strange people. :)

Btw, the waitress & the cook seem to be violating several health regulations.

I really like this video.

"We probed them...all the way through." Is it bad that I'm watching a zombie show and got the sudden urge to view this again? It's probably bad.

this feels like its out of men in black

Its like Twighlight Zone if it were a comedy I love it.

Brilliant :D

Excellent work! I just wish it hadn't been trimmed. It still works, but a wee bit of the essence has been lost.

I remember finding this with 'StumbleUpon' almost 16 years ago, absolutely insane

I've been talking about this short film and not remembering the details correctly for 20 yrs!! I always circle back and go, "ooooh yeah" I didn't remember right. I have a bunch of funny ideas for the next film whenever you're ready! I'll pass em off in an email and u can do whatever u want with em.... Just make a second and lmk!