There is a great abundance of Star Wars fan films and honestly I don't like most of them. Some of them have too fake fight scenes, some are too long, and some are way heavier on VFX. Most of the time it's all about showing the result from a "how to make a light saber in Premiere" tutorial. But this short film is different and I liked it.
No, it's not in the gear. Although the film was shot on expensive cameras it's not the gear that makes the film. Look at the camera angles. Look at the camera movement in the opening scene. Listen to the sounds and the music. See the fight choreography. See how the actors played their characters. See the VFX and color grading. There's so much going on and all of it is packaged in a nice story and that makes the film captivating. Could they shoot it with a DSLR? Absolutely. Would the audience notice? I doubt that. Imagine all of that shot on an ARRI Alexa with bad sound, awkward camera angles, and bad acting; it would be a total waste of their and our time.
It's also quite interesting to take a look behind the scenes and see how it was all shot:
Be sure to check out the YouTube channel of BigPuddleFilms for more content like that.
![Behind the Scenes of the 'Game of Thrones' Ship Battle [Spoilers]](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/small-16-9/s3/lead/2017/07/game_of_thrones_ship_battle_bts_video_lead.jpg)
Very well done and pretty good acting but not a very believable plot so...perfectly complements the movies! ;-)
I admit the story could be polished here and there but overall it's a good film that kept me interested until the very end.
Interesting from a cinematic point of view and I did like the beginning. Again, very well shot and good acting but what little storyline there was, wasn't.
I agree with everyone. It was beautifully done but the story is so very incomplete. Unless it's their intention to make a prequel or sequel.
Yes, I agree with you too.
Call me jaded, but making a Star Wars fan flick is psychosis. I mean, you have no life. I don't care how well made the thing is, unless you're just trying to get work at Disney (and most of these people are not), you have some serious problems, and you don't really realize how embarrassing what you're doing actually is.
I understand you quite well and that's why I started the article with the fact most of these are not well made. In this case they used light sabers and "remote powers" as tools for fight which are the only reference to the original. I'd never do a Star Wars film myself (as I don't feel doing sci-fi at all) but the way this one was made looked cinematic and the ending was not expected (and even felt incomplete).
The problem with the story ending is very common with most short films.
I understand the production level, these folks aren't amateurs, production-wise. The problem isn't the story ending, the problem is that they've wasted their time, money, and talent on a dead end.
That's something only they can tell. I don't know their intentions, I don't know the purpose they made this for. Was that just for fame and glory in their "free time" or was that just for portfolio... I don't have a slight idea.
As I said, I'm not a sci-fi fan, nor a Star Wars fan, but I watched it from a standpoint of a filmmaker who appreciates the efforts of the team with a few notes already said above.
I think it depends on why they did it. If you're trying to improve your skills as a film maker, what difference does the subject make? If the only reason they're trying to be film makers is to have the force be with them...
On the bright side, I don't think we have to worry about psychotic Star Wars fans reproducing! ;-)
This is a pretty advanced production. These folks don't strike me, production-wise, as amateurs. When you consider the amount of work that went into this, you have to stop and wonder why you just want to say "me too!". These people could have conjured up a short pilot of a completely original story in the same time they did this embarrassing crap, and much further proven themselves as serious filmakers on all fronts. They could then try to sell said pilot to a studio and perhaps start their own Sci-Fi franchise. It's a surprising lack of vision on their part.
Excellent point. I think their lack of creativity would have been more obvious in an original story, though. They couldn't "conjure up" an interesting subplot to an existing story so an entirely new concept was probably far beyond their imagination. JMO
Fighting sequences are weak (the girl movements are not definied or strong), also the lightsaber effects are poorly done.
I dont have a problem with fanmade star wars films, but i didnt like this one.