Inspired by the Next Generation's "Darmok" and the film "Enemy Mine."
There was only one creature puppet and production made use of creative editing to make it appear as if there were many more.
Everyone performed their own stunts.
A longer flashback scene was cut before it was filmed due to the 15 minute Paramount/CBS fan film guidelines and was replaced with the "sand worm venom acid trip" that is in the movie. Filmmakers agreed that there was plenty of character development, and the much simpler fever dream sequence would be much more entertaining and fit better with the movie's sense of humor.
It was Travis' idea to do the big fall down the mountain. Blackburn had planned a smaller tumble down a hill, but when both saw the larger mountain in the distance, St. John, convinced everyone it would make for a better shot. So Blackburn and St. John tumbled down the mountain with minimal injuries.