Behind the Scenes

This is basically to highlight some of the Special/Visual FX that I have worked on or am working on.  Most of this stuff hearkens back to more than a year ago.  I had a copy of Photoshop LE and a digital camera.  I'd seen a couple of fan films and wanted to see if I could do it.  The results are archived here.  Not all the FX on this page were used, or will be used, in "Sith: Apocalypse".  Some of these are just ideas I was playing around with or concepts that I am learning right now and wish some feedback on.   Take a look around, and thanks for putting up with me indulging myself.

I apologize but some of the links are suffering technical difficulties.  Namely, the file server they were one was moved and the computer I'm using now doesn't have them.  They'll be back up around Sept 02, hopefully.

 

	Although I'd like to say this was my first lightsaber test, it really isn't.  It is the second.  The first was done with one of the toys and me rotoscoping over the plastic blade.  This is the first test with props from the fan film.
	This was an attempt to duplicate the "Force Lightning" effect popular with Emperor Palpatine.  I was tired of seeing "Force Push" in all the Fan films...so Lord Venge uses "Force Lightning" with impunity.
	This was my first test in the daylight, without an actual dowel to rotoscope over.  Call it the Lord Venge concept shot.  (The script was still a tiny gleam in my eye, at this point).
	My brother poses here as a good Jedi using a Force-energy ball concept-thing I was coming up with.  He wasn't able to be in the film, but he bore a lot of my pre-production abuse.
	My original concept was to actually rotoscope the Jedi remote droid for the movie.  Thank God I learned better.  Here is an early concept shot for the remote and remote combat.
1st Light Saber Test (ASF) Saber Duel Test (ASF) Predator Effect (Divx) Sith Vanishing Trick Sith Training (DIVX) Gladiator Jedi Test   Dancing Battle Droid   Flame Saber FX Test (QT Format)   Mike versus Mike	These are all various FX tests.  Most of which cover visual FX elements that were needed for the film so I had to prove that I could accomplish them.  The first one was made in early 2000 immediately after I watched Clay Kronke's "The New World" .  It was shot with a Logitech web cam and FX done in Adobe Photoshop.  It was unrefined, but it proved I could do it. Saber Duel Test - is just that.  Me and my brother in my backyard, wacking the crap out of one another with wooden dowels and a couple of toy saber hilts.  You'll note the film was called "Jedi Apocalypse" at this point. Predator Effect - this came from an experiment with trying to erase the wooden dowels when the saber was turning off.  I messed up with the rubber stamp tool and caused a "lensing" effect.  I wanted to see if I could recreate the Predator's infamous cloaking device. Sith Vanishing Trick - When you see "Sith: Apocalypse" it will be obvious.  Stole this idea off of an episode of "The X-files" where the lone gunman are fighting a virtual woman.  She whips her sword around and vanishes.  I loved it. Sith Training - This one opened my eyes to the CGI realm.  This was my first venture into the 3D realm.  Using a download remote model from SWMA (created by Osvaldo N. Colombo). Gladiator Jedi Test - ZIPPED had to zip it because the ASF wouldn't run correctly for some reason and I got tired of troubleshooting.  This was made for a sequence that was supposed to be in "Sith: Apocalypse".  Sequence was cut due to weather and time so very little of this effect actually made it into the final film. Dancing Battle Droid - Just me having a little fun with motion captured character studio stuff.  Still learning. (this is made using the Burningham Studios' Battle Droid model) Flame Saber FX test - is a very crude example of a concept I'm working on for a future project.  Just trying to see how things could be done.   Here's an old one I just rediscovered on my hard drive and decided to put up. More to come....hopefully......soon?