Much of the film was shot on the University of California, Irvine campus, late at night during winter break when the campus was deserted.
The film was shot with a 16mm TV news camera that only filmed in 1.37:1. To frame shots for a widescreen ratio, Tyler Norman used the top and bottom lines of the broadcast-safe marking in the viewfinder, which roughly corresponded with 1.85:1.
The ship's crew are named after science-fiction screenwriters Glen A. Larson, Roland Emmerich, and Bob Gale.