I got 2 things, ones a question =)

[Romulan_nemesis]

Hey guys. I got two things.....make it three.

First, I'd love to contribut to the Leah Brahms page.

Second, I'm announcing that I've seen lots of fan films on theforce.net, and I'm no longer a trekkie, but a trekkie/quasi-starwars fan.
You're rubbing off on me, i swear!

And my third thing...
Like I said I'm still a trekkie, and I've been watching some star wars fan films. I saw one called Broken Allegiance. I'd love to do a Star Trek fan film. How cool would that be for my senior project? Anyway, I have a question about the "sets" used in Broken Allegiance. They appeared to be computer generated, like they were shot in front of a green screen. Is that how they did it? If so/not, could someone tell me how to make a decent movie thats about...8 minutes long? Like adding in 3d ship movies, phaser bolts, and the "sets" like the cockpit of a runabout, or the bridge of a ship.
It would be most appreciated!

~Nemesis

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Can you provide a link to this "Broken Alliances"? And what's it about?


And to make 3d ships, you need a program like Lightwave or 3dMax. Expensive and complicated. I'll try to find a link to a free one called Blender.

[neoolong]

Most if not all the films use computers. The simplest used them for lightsaber and blaster effects. The most advanced use them for green screens, like you said, as well as CGI ships, etc. You need a good sized budget if you want to make something that uses green screens and good CGI.

If you want to make a decent movie with decent effects, you'll need the computer programs. However, you probably won't be able to do a lot of the stuff that some of the films have, like green screen. Or do them as well as real movies. That stuff takes a budget and if this is a HS senior project you probably don't have that kind of money. The practical effects will be a lot of your movie and they will have to compensate for it. You can make a lot of props with what you can find around, and its cheaper.

Money is a big part of making movies. Character based movies, in my opinion, take less money and are easier to make.

Some tips: 1. Make blocking tapes before you make the actual sets. It will let you know exactly how much of a set you need to create.

2. Your computer effects are not going to be as good as SW. Don't use them as your movie. They merely augment it.

3. Scrounch up what you can to make into props. The guns from SW were made from real guns. The light sabers were made from tubes from cameras. You don't need to spend a lot of money to make things look all fancy.


Good luck.

[HemlockGrey]

Aw, 3dmax isn't expensive.

Not the way I got it.

Erm...I meant...not NORMALLY...er, no, wait, I mean, not usually...argh. Words.

....-whistle-

[2000AD]

mmmmmm .... fanfilms.

I still remember how much i laughed when i first saw TROOPS

[Raoul Duke, Jr.]

Aw, 3dmax isn't expensive.

Not the way I got it.

Erm...I meant...not NORMALLY...er, no, wait, I mean, not usually...argh. Words.

....-whistle-

Yes... yes... KMD... say no more, wink wink.

[Enlightenment]

If so/not, could someone tell me how to make a decent movie thats about...8 minutes long? Like adding in 3d ship movies, phaser bolts, and the "sets" like the cockpit of a runabout, or the bridge of a ship.

That's rather like asking a doctor to tell you how to do open heart surgery. What you want to do here requires years of experience and thousands of dollars of software and equipment. An eight minute film with significant CG components is not a trivial project.

For an example of just how much skill and work is involved in this kind of thing, get yourself a copy of Blender (GPLed 3D rendering package) and make a virtual set of the Runabout cockpit. If you can make a virtual set at the kind of quality you want in under two weeks then you might have the skills to attempt a longer movie. Otherwise you'll be biting off far more than you can chew.

[Knife]

If your truely interested look closer at the site on Theforce.net. They have a whole section, atleast last time I looked, with tips on how to make fanfilms. Yeah, just checked and its still there.

Broken Allegiance was alright, but I actualy preferred KnightQuest. A Question of Faith had really good fight sequences but KQ had a really cool ship chase at the beginning.

[Crown]

Hey buddy, where you been? We haven't seen you in a while!

[Knife]

Hey buddy, where you been? We haven't seen you in a while!

Me?

[Crown]

Sorry Knife, I meant Rommie. I haven't seen him post in a while. Nice to see you too though!

[Knife]

Can you provide a link to this "Broken Alliances"? And what's it about?


And to make 3d ships, you need a program like Lightwave or 3dMax. Expensive and complicated. I'll try to find a link to a free one called Blender.

Basicly its about two padawan sith that Lord Vader was training. They decide to high tail it before the completion of their training and Vader sends a bounty hunter after them. The ship scenes are pretty good and the graphics are about Xwing Alliance grade. The lightsaber fight is alright but could have been choreographed a little better in my opinion.

[Knife]

Sorry Knife, I meant Rommie. I haven't seen him post in a while. Nice to see you too though!

No problem.