Author Topic: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:31am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 5/11/06 1:52pm (13 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor

====================================MASTER INDEX====================================



[your username here] - Welcome to TFN! grin

This is a compilation of the latest and greatest links, programs, tutorials, resources, and just about anything else that's helpful in the process of making your fanfilm. I like to call this the "everything" sticky because there are literally links to just about everything in here! Feel free to add your own links and suggestions to the mix - just please keep the discussion of programs and such to their respective topics.

Note that this is NOT a sticky about forum rules and behavior; we have other fine posts on that subject, and encourage you to check them out at your leisure.


This thread is broken down into several sections:

FAQ's & CONTACT LINKS
FREE RESOURCES (Non-Software)
HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT
SOFTWARE
TUTORIALS



Please note that some index links will take you to another thread while others take you directly to a web resource. If a thread page is opened, use your browser's scroll bar to scroll to the highlighted topic.


Older versions of this topic were done by AdamBertocci, PadawanNick, and DaftMaul. Special thanks to Tech_Krill and FigChrystie for compiling the free software links.

Enjoy!

 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:32am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 9/26/05 10:22am (2 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor
FAQ's & CONTACT LINKS

TFN FanFilms FORUM
Official FanFilm Forum FAQ
Terms of Service
Costumes FAQ


TFN FanFilms WEBSITE
Official FanFilms.com FAQ
FanFilm Submission Guidelines
FanFilm Tutorial Section
TFN FanFilms Staff Contact Page
FanFilms Cast and Crew Database

 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:33am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - - - - Date Edited: 8/27/07 12:47pm (16 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor
FREE RESOURCES (Non-Software)


FILMMAKING TEMPLATES

Dependent Films
Awesome place for call sheets, storyboard templates, etc.

Production Tools Suite 1.0
Great collection of templates, forms, proposals, and much more from our very own SilverFox.

Sonnyboo
Invoices, warning screens, you name it and this place has it.

ScreenForge
Scripting program that works with Microsoft Word.

Screenwriting.info
Good resource filled with lots of information on style, shots, and just about anything else about scriptwriting.


FONTS

TypeNow.Net
Looking to spoof a comercial? How about making a Quake title screen? If you've seen it, chances are the font might be here!

More great free fonts!

This link will take you to a collection of Star Wars fonts. (Many of these used in the tutorials hosted by TFN.)


HOSTING & DIRECTORIES

FanFilms Cast and Crew Database
Hosting Pool
Internet Publishing of your work
Web Hosting Options
Video Codecs


IMAGES

TheForce.Net Image Archive
Star Wars Pictures and Backgrounds
Lightsaber images without the glow provided by morpher-2005. You can use these for rotoscoping practice! (mirror link)


MUSIC

TFN Database
Connect with composers (or any other film-artist) in your area.

VersusMedia
Awesome place to find music for your film/project. Be sure to check this one out!

The Art of Film Scoring
General discussion on experiences, resources and technique.

Freeplay Music
Great site with a lot of free music.

One of Asoulan's threads
Night music and more.

Damn Yankee Media
Asoulan's orchestral music download page.

Tanhithion
Orchestral composer.

DarrenTomlyn
Orchestral and Celtic fiddle.

KyleNewmaster.com
Orchestral.

InvictusX
Orchestral.

More Music Download Resources:
http://www.edgen.com/music/
http://linnproductionsmedia.com/#No-Budget%20Music
http://www.digitalmedianet.com/
http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-downloads.html
http://www.soundclick.com/default.cfm?pathnow=/default.cfm


OTHER

Wiki Film School is a great collection of terms and resources - check it out!

Star Wars Name Creator 1.00 - Create your own random SW names


SOUND EFFECTS

The official how-to Audio & Effects Thread
Superb resource for anything you want to do in the sound world. Bookmark this one!

The Sound Bunker
This site mirrors all of the original sounds from the SB (Star Wars, The Matrix, etc.) plus thousands of others from games and movies.

SoundDogs
Heralded as having "Some good, some sucky" sounds, you just have to look for the ones you want...but you may find what you need in here! So check it out!

Sound Rangers
Maybe you'll find usefulness from this site. They have a free section (linked), but we don't know what quality/amounts they have.

TheForce.Net Sound FX
Hosted on TFN, you can download a bunch of sound FX (mostly from the Jedi Knight series of games). Lots of useful effects here.

StoneWashed
Great site that links out to many other sound FX sites (and hosts some of its own). You can weed through a lot here and get some nice results.

LJudo
This site has quite a comprehensive search and find feature. Quite handy.

The Freesound Project
A database with currently over 10k sound files for free. This should give many people without proper audio equipment a good way of getting great audio.


VIDEO

TheForce.Net Video Archive

Detonation Films
This site has become a standard in the FanFilms community as excellent all-around awesome stuff.

 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:33am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 11/21/05 8:27am (3 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor
HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT


Basic Ideas

Cameras

Lighting

Sound

Studio Access in Your Community


Audio Recording

Acoustic Foam

Elastic Microphone Shock Mount How-To & Follow-Up Article


Building a Bluescreen

Bluescreen: Build your own

Bluescreen: How does it work?


Dolly/Jib/Crane Instructions

Do-it-yourself Stabilizer for the XL-1 by Chris Santucci

How to make a Camera Dolly by matthawkins.co.uk

Hello Dolly! by cinevidproductions.com
(A 2x4 dolly that will turn on a 16' radius circle)

Home Made Dolly How-To by David S. Dawson
(A 2x4 dolly that will turn on a 16' radius circle)

Camera Dolly with Chair by Jorenclark.com

Jib Arm by Jorenclark.com


Lightsaber Handles

http://www.rlsasabers.com/

http://www.thelightsaber.com/

http://randomsabers.com/

http://bigyellowbox.tripod.com/

http://www.parksabers.com/

http://ryanw.michaelfrisk.com/sabershop/index.html


Other

How to build your own vacuum forming table (plus this smaller version)


 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:33am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 10/2/07 12:56pm (20 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor
SOFTWARE

(NOTE: Free software is highlighted in yellow.)

If you have a video camera there are ways to make an entire movie using nothing but freeware so be sure to take a look at the highlighted programs. Don't be afraid to check out the programs that cost money though, as generally they will help you achieve a much more professional result.


I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common problems solved.
Awesome resource - check it out!

Copying Software

Finding Cheap Software

Freeware - The Cheapskate Filmmaker's Dream

Free Audio/Video/3D/Web/etc. Software

Free Software of All Types

Yet More Free Software of All Types!

Another Great Site for Free Software!

For a change of pace, Even More Free Software!

And Another Site With Even More!

Great Free Software for Your Audio Needs

All Sorts of Good Stuff
Can't find what you're looking for? Check this page out!



AUDIO

AUDIO EDITING & CREATION


Acid XPress
Loops-based program with FX, sampling, recording, film dubbing, etc. Check this puppy out for your musical composition needs. Loops are all over the 'net.

Adobe Audition
Another great program by Adobe - this one is a great package for all your audio editing needs.

Audacity
A great audio editing/effects program - this is extremely powerful for a free application!

GoldWave
Shareware program, but works near-fully-featured for up to 150 commands (then you must save it, close it, and reopen it to keep working). But it's worth it!

Logic
Once again Apple comes through with a great piece of software - this program gives the music buffs out there amazing control over the creation of their masterpiece.

PlayerPro
PlayerPRO is both complete music editing software and a SoundTracker player. You can use it with any Mac, without any specific hardware.

Pro Tools Free
Here's the free version of the extremely well-known package Pro Tools. It's big brother has been used in sound studios and many more locations for years and is one of the standards in the business.

Sound Forge
This program gives you extreme control over tiny adjustments in the world of sound editing. There's very little you can't do to your audio with this application.

Soundtrack
This program is a great all-around audio editing/creation application for Mac that uses a gigantic expandable library of sound loops to fit your needs.

WMA-MP3-WAV Converter
Has a free version and was recommended by forum user.



IMAGES

3D ANIMATION

(see links in video section)


IMAGE EDITING


Corel Painter

GIMP
It's not Adobe Photoshop, but it's darn similar. And did I mention it was free? Available for Windows and Linux.

Paint Shop Pro

Photoshop


PRODUCTION/ORGANIZATION

Celtx
A free, open-source screenwriting tool. It's a fantastic product. Exports to PDF, TXT, HTML.

Cinergy Script Editor
A free script editor for PC (Mac version coming soon), this application looks to be a handy tool for all your writing needs.

FileMaker
Available for Mac and PC, this program is a great way to keep track of documents, staff lists, photos, and much more.

Mindola SuperNotecard for Scriptwriting
For decades, screen, television, and theater writers have used notecards to hone their craft. SuperNotecard for Scriptwriting offers distinct advantages over traditional script editing programs.

MoviePlanner
Excellent resource from Concept Work to Post Production. Keeps it all nice and neat and saves into nice small files ready for distributing. Your whole crew and cast should have this program.

OpenOffice
Don't have the money for Microsoft Office? Well this is the next best thing...and some would even say a better thing. It's a fully featured "Office" suite of tools just like Microsoft Word, Access, etc.

Pivot Stickfigure Animator
Great program for animating stick figures - try it out for pre-viz work, animations, etc.

SketchUp
Google saves the day again with this update to an already great program. And best of all - it's free!


VIDEO

3D ANIMATION


3D Studio Max

Blender

Bryce

Cinema 4D

Electric Image

Lightwave

Maya

OpenFX

Softimage

Tattoo

Terragen

Vue d'Esprit

Wings 3D



DVD BURNING & RIPPING

Adobe Encore
Never used it myself, but this application is said to be a great asset in the creation of your DVD.

DVD Studio Pro
This program gives you a lot of options for the creation and customization of your DVD on a Mac. If you want to build everything from the ground up without a lot of coding, this is for you.

iDVD
Another winner for the Mac people out there - this program gives the user a great set of options for making professional-looking DVD's on the fly.


MATCHMOVING, COMPOSITING, & VFX

After Effects
Known throughout the video industry as one of the core standards for just about any compositing work, there's very little this program can't do.

Apple Shake
With screen credit in movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this node-based compositing program is extremely powerful and has been used in professional-level productions for years.

Deep Paint 2.0

HME (Height Map Editor)
Could come in handy for creating 3D landscapes or logos.

Icarus for PC
A very powerful matchmoving and camera tracking application.

Icarus for Mac
A very powerful matchmoving and camera tracking application.

Jahshaka
Looks like a fun After Effects/Blender/Premiere all rolled into one. If I didn't have AE and Premiere myself, I'd probably use this.

Motion
This Mac application is a lot like After Effects in its uses but is geared more towards visual effects with a built-in particle engine and many other flashy features.

Particle Illusion
If you're looking for fancy-looking particle effects on the cheap, this is the program for you. You can also modify and create new emitters for nearly limitless possibilities.

Voodoo
This is another great free-but-powerful application for all your camera tracking needs.


VIDEO EDITING & CAPTURING

Adobe Premiere

Axogon
Discontinued in light of MainVision, but some people still remain faithful.

Cinelerra
A non-linear editor for you Linux users out there.

DScaler
DScaler is software that captures video, processes it, and scales it for presentation on a projector or computer monitor.

Final Cut Pro
Although it only exists for Mac, this program is incredibly powerful and has even been used to edit feature films like Cold Mountain. This is an incredible piece of software for the price!

iMovie
Don't be fooled by the price - this little Mac application can edit HD and has a great set of tools if used correctly. For less than $100 you can't beat the possibilities!

Riva FLV Encoder
Transode your existing videofiles to the advanced Flash Video (FLV) format with this free encoder.

Super
Need to convert some video files to another format? Want to do it with a free program instead of having to purchase it? Super is for you.

Vegas Video
A widely used editing program with a lot of fancy features and functions.

VideoMach
Use this to construct video clips from still images, enhance your recorded material or convert video, audio and image files between popular media formats.

VirtualDub
This looks like a dream for filmmakers on a budget. It won't replace FCP or Premiere, but if you have neither and are on a tight (or no) budget, this might be the program for you.

WinAVI
It is a very versatile program, capable of converting almost any and all video formats. It even can encode directly to VOB files to make that oh so awesome shortcut to burn a DVD.

ZS4
The new incarnation of Zwei-Stein, it it a video editing and compositing program with over 100 built-in video effects. Runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 12:34am Subject: The "Everything" Topic - Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 6/17/08 8:12am (51 edits total) Edited By: DVeditor
TUTORIALS


TFN FanFilm Tutorials
This is the "home base" for a ton of the finest Star Wars tutorials around. Bookmark this one and refer to it often!

Extracting Sounds from Video Games

Recording Environment

Software

The Gnomon Workshop
This is an excellent resource for training materials and instructional DVD's.


General Filmmaking

Guide to Star Wars Filmmaking
by Skyler "Jace Taran" Hall

The Incomplete Idiots Guide To Acting

Books - a Filmmaker's Reading Guide

The Art of Fight Choreography

Health and Saftey on film sets/location. IMPORTANT!

FanFilmEngine.com
Tutorials (some video, some written) on Blender, After Effects, Photoshop, Movie Planner, and Adobe Audition by artofwot.


Preproduction

Star Wars Fan Film Script Writing
by Nathan Butler of Prelude To Hope

How To Write A Short Star Wars Fan Film
Andrew Slater sent us a tutorial that has suggestions of how to go about writing a Star Wars Fan Film script.

Star Wars Fan Films for Dummies!
Brian Trenor wrote an informative tutorial on getting started on your fanfilm.

The Art of Storytelling

Fan Fiction Resource
A great all-around resource to use for your writing needs. The knowledge is geared towards FanFiction (obviously) but there is a lot of great stuff in here!

Character Naming / Name Generator


Production

Production Tutorial
Chris Fergo sent us a tutorial that has many useful tips on the production phase of film making.

Location sound -The Basics and Beyond
This is a very detailed article about all of the steps involved to make professional quality sound recordings on location. It has lots of information for beginners who just started with audio and it has some good advice on what equipment to buy. Very recommended.

Great audio on location
Not as detailed as the other article but shares some nice tricks not covered in the previous.

Choreography of Lightsaber Battles
This tutorial has suggestions/tips and comments about Lightsaber Battle Choreography. The topic was
initially started by Tumblemonster with a reply from LoganSaj.

Choreography Tips/Techniques

Thoughts On Staged Lightsaber Combat
Michael Haspil (Rogue428) has compiled a fantastic reference for executing convincing lightsaber duels. Using instructions, drawings, and video clips he outlines each of the basic techniques and how to combine and counteract them.

Stage Combat 101
Handy hints on planning your combat scene.

Fighting with Lightsabers
This comprehensive tutorial on lightsaber combat from a fighter's point of view was written for TFN FanFilms by John Clements, a professional swordsman and expert of historical fencing techniques.

Some Advice on the Shooting and Editing of a Fan Film
This tutorial, written by Christopher Leidenfrost (FilmJedi) has advice on scene structure, cinematography and editing techniques.

Article on Film Audio

Joy of FX's Lighting Info

Beyond Three-Point Lighting

The Art of Lighting

Cinematography and Lighting Techniques


Postproduction

Quick Tip: How to make your 4:1:1 DV footage look better

Digital Grading in Photoshop: Retouched

Compressing your final video, it's all about the data rate

Codecs and Compressions
CODEC is an abbreviation for COmpression / DECompression. It is critical in developing the fan film to understand the purpose and proper use of one.

Sorenson Compression Tutorial
Excellent tutorial for Premiere/Squeeze by Jeremy_West.

Video Codec Links and Downloads
All-around good resource for codec information and such.

The Art of Film Scoring

VersusMedia
Film music networking, publicity & promotion services.

Sound Effects

PixelMagic's Filmlook Tutorial

Another Filmlook Tutorial

60i to 24p conversion.....for free


Web Hosting

Webmaster's Resource

Free Web Hosts


Props and Costume Making

Set Construction
by Eric Lichtenstein (tcheb)

Building Your Own Lightsaber
by Brian Young

Vaportrail's Lightsaber Construction Guide

Creating Classic Costumes
by Amber of the Jedi Meditation Chamber

Build Your Own Saber

Luukesabers
Pictures of tons of lightsabers that have been constructed over the years.

Random Sabers
For your cheaper-than-ParkSabers hilt needs.


Adding Lightsabers/Lasers to Pictures and Video

How To Make Lightsabers v2
The revised version of the historic thread - updated by our very own DorkmanScott!

How To Make Lightsabers v1
The catch-all topic that has answers to virtually any lightsaber question you can think of.

Choice of Colors for Lightsabers
Choice of color for the blade of your lightsaber can be a very personal decision. It is a reflection of the personality of the knight or sith wielding it.

Official Site Databank


3D Studio Max

Step By Step Tutorial to making your Light Saber blade glow.
This is a tutorial by Brent "BrentK7" Keltner to show you how to make an object (intended for a lightsaber) glow through video post using 3D Studio Max Release 3.


After Effects

Lightsabers in After Effects
Ryan's latest video tutorial on tips and workflow for creating lightsabers.

Creating Hit Traces and Burn Marks in Adobe Photoshop by Kaat (thread)
Great tutorial on making realistic lightsaber burn marks!

Rotoscoping Lightsabres in Adobe After Effects
Ryan W and Link64PD have created this video tutorial showing how to create lightsaber glows in Adobe After Effects. Check it out!

More Lightsabers: Rounding the Ends, Contact Flashes, Ignition/Retractions, Flickering
Created by Ryan W, this information is extremely valuable for completing a realistic lightsaber effect.

Rhys' Lightsaber/rotoscoping/glows/tips Video Tutorial
Good tips and things to remember not only about Lightsabers, but working in After Effects in general.

Michael Frisk's Lightsaber Tutorial for After Effects 6.5 (Right click & gt; Save target as...)

Vidina's Tutorial Website - tips, tricks, interactive lighting, and more!

Durbnpoisn's Blasters Using the Beam Effect in After Effects

DMPjedi's Laser Video Tutorial
Uses the method and renders results as seen in The Movie Spoof 2. Uses After Effects.

"Zaps Tips on Efficient Saber Rotoing" Thingamabob Thingajig Thingamathing
Ccts.

"Zaps Tips on Efficient Saber Rotoing" Thingamabob Thingajig Thingamathing
Courtesy of MasterZap!



Animation:Master

"An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age:" Creating Lightsaber FX using Animation:Master
Toren Depor has put together this nice tutorial that shows you everything from modeling and texturing the blade to animating a duel.

Blender

DarthKomar's method for "good quality rotoscoped sabre effects" using Blender.


Combustion

Good tutorial for creating lightsabers in Autodesk's Combustion by Corrin_Wyndryder.


Commotion

Crew of Two's Lightsaber Recipe
(Uses Adobe After Effects as well)


Fireworks
Chan-Man.Net's method for creating lightsabers in Adobe/Macromedia Fireworks.


GIMP

Paul's GIMP Lightsaber Tutorial

Good Lightsaber Tutorial by Draconis


LSMaker

LSMaker Lightsaber Guide


Mainvision

Lightsabers and Energy Weapons using Mainvision (Formerly Axogon)
J. Daniel Sawyer has sent in a tutorial for creating lightsabers and blasters using MainVision.


Microsoft Picture It

How to create lightsabers in MS Picture It - created by batkins182.


Motion

Conor O'Sullivan's Lightsaber Tutorial for Apple's Motion
The first of it's kind - this is a tutorial on how to create lightsabers in Apple Motion.


Paint Shop Pro

Lightsaber FX in Paint Shop Pro
Michael Smith, (DarkLordOfSmith) describes step-by-step the process of adding lightsaber glows to your still images using Paint Shop Pro.


particleIllusion

Lightsaber tutorial using particleIllusion


Photoshop

Creating Lightsaber Blades on Existing Photos using Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Add that cool glow to a fake lightsaber photo.

Rotoscoping Lightsabres in Photoshop
Ryan W has created this video tutorial showing how to create lightsabres glows in Adobe Photoshop. This tutorial is a Quicktime movie file which helps produce great results.

Nicky Digital Solutions' Rotoscoping Lightsabers Tutorial (filmstrip)

Rotoscoping Lightsabers by alienryderflex.com (filmstrip)


Premiere

Rotoscoping Lightsabers onto an Adobe Premiere Filmstrip
Finally the equipment and the techniques are within our grasp!


Saber Light

Saber Light
Ryan Fisher has created a program that renders lightsabers in video. This program, which he calls Saber Light, can be downloaded from his site for free.


Shake

Shawn PTH's Guide to Rotoscoping Lightsabers in Apple Shake


Ulead
Creating Lightsabers in Ulead
This is for the Video Paint section of Ulead MediaStudio Pro (v. 5 or later).




Holograms & Cloning

Hologram Effect - Crew of Two
The famous crewoftwo tutorial - probably the most popular hologram tutorial out there.

Fig's Hologram Tutorial

DMN's Holograms
Stephen Schleicher from the DMNForums created this 14-page tutorial for Adobe After Effects.

Joy of FX's Holograms
Hologram tutorial for Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere.

Durbnpoisn's Cloning Tutorial


Force Lightning/Jumping/Running/Etc.

PixelMagic's Force-Lightning Tutorial

Funk-E's Lightning Tutorial

"Force" Lightning Test and Tutorial by -Spiff-

Forked Force Lightning and Electricity in MainVision (Formerly Axogon)
J. Daniel Sawyer has sent in a tutorial for creating lightning and electricity using MainVision.

Force Lightning Tutorial by IanVFX

Chan-Man.Net's method for creating force lightning in Adobe/Macromedia Fireworks.

Force Jumping
Jeff Carroll has written a tutorial showing how to create Force Jumping using Ulead Media Studio Pro 6.

Joy of FX's Force Jumping
(Mostly just gives ideas)

Durbnpoisn's Superfast Running Tutorial for Adobe After Effects

Ryan's Energy Ball
Another great tutorial by Ryan W on creating an energy ball in After Effects.


Opening Crawl & Logo Sequences

Perspective corrected opening crawls
Good stuff to think about and look over when creating this effect for your film.

Blender Opening Crawl
J. Daniel Sawyer has sent in a tutorial for recreating the opening story crawl using Blender. He has included all the required meshes as well.

Opening Crawl General Information
Jedi Toren has created this useful page packed with essential information for creating the 'front end' of your Star Wars fanfilm, including fonts, colours, logo, style etc. Everything you need to replicate a perfect opening to your fanfilm. Use this in conjunction with one of the opening crawl tutorials to create faithful results.

Everything You Need to Create an Opening Scroll in AE
DVeditor's amendment to the older After Effects tutorials on TFN FanFilms for the opening scroll. Includes everything you need from fonts to the starry background.

Opening Crawl using Adobe After Effects
This tutorial is for creating the opening segment which unfolds the story at the beginning of each Star Wars film. Although this tutorial requires the Production Bundle of After Effects, TFN FanFilms is finishing up a tutorial variance for the basic package.

Star Wars Intro
Stephen Schleicher from the DMNForums created this tutorial for creating the opening scroll in After Effects.

Wrigley's Star Wars Like Opening Title Video Tutorial
Wrigley Video Productions created this tutorial for Adobe Premiere.

Opening Scroll Tutorial in After Effects

Opening Crawl

'Lucasfilm' Logo
So you want to create your own version of the Lucasfilm logo, but don't know where to begin? Check out this tutorial which uses Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects, to help you create your own version of the famous Lucasfilm intro.


Keying, Matchmoving, Matte Painting, & Compositing

Icarus - tutorials, application downloads, etc.

Bluescreening using Adobe After Effects
Michael Hobson has created a bluescreening tutorial which covers a lot of techniques including channels. This is a tutorial you will need to learn to create effective CGI with live action shots.

Blue-Screening in Photoshop 5.0+
Darryl Roman has written a tutorial on how to use blue-screening in Adobe Photoshop.

Greenscreening using Adobe After Effects 4.1 upwards
David Nutley has created this tutorial showing how to get the most out of the Adobe After Effects keying functions, to help create good greens/bluescreening. This tutorial does not require the After Effects Production Bundle.

Quick & Dirty Video tutorial for keyframing in After Effects by bgii_2000

After Effects Color Channel Keying Tutorial by RyiokuXL

Naboo ship bluescreening in Photoshop/Premiere by alienryderflex.com (using a replica/toy)

Greenscreening in After Effects (Standard) Without Plug-ins

15 effects based on keying (Soldier losing his leg, destroyed city, etc)

ortuzero's AE vfx tutorials

Detonationfilms's Using Black Background Stock Footage in Premiere (Right click & Save target as)

Detonationfilms's Using Blue and Green Background Stock Footage in Premiere (Right click & Save target as)

Cool Backgrounds Plates from Ordinary Digital Photos (Right click & Save target as)
Elliot Press of SOE Digital created this neat tutorial on making background plates (matte paintings) from regular photos in Photoshop.

Some nice Matte Painting Tutorials

Basic Lightwrap Tutorial
Nice tutorial on lightwrap in After Effects by Shadow_of_Evil.

Technicolor Look in After Effects
How to create that classic look on your video without plug-ins. Original concept by JustinZ, FigChrystie, and Jairen.

Icarus Video Tutorials
Incredibly helpful tutorials for the free popular camera tracking program - courtesy of Effstops.

Nicky's Winmorph Morphing Tutorial

Compositing
Links, tutorials, and just about anything else related to Compositing.


CG Effects/Techniques

SciFi-3DThe standard for computer-generated Star Wars media.

How to Create a Star Sphere for CG Effects
Good solid tutorial by MKane on how to create a nice starry background for space shots.

How to Create a Simple Dogfight CG Sequence
Another great tutorial by MKane, this one details how to create a basic CG dogfight sequence.

Lighting in CGI Scenes
Darryl Roman wrote this tutorial with tips on creating good lighting for your CGI scenes using a 3D program such as 3D Studio Max.

Great Set of Blender Tutorials

Joy of FX's The Lightspeed Effect
How to re-create the lightspeed effect with 3D Studio Max.

Lasers in 3DS Max R3
Darryl Roman shows how to create laser beams using 3D Studio Max.

"Blast 'Em!!" Creating Lasers in Animation:Master
Where would Stormtroopers be without blasters? Alive, probably. No bounty hunter, smuggler, or soldier is complete without realistic blaster bolts to fire. Jedi Toren's tutorial covers everything about creating accurate and realistic looking Blaster Bolts.

Creating Planets in Photoshop
Simple but incredible method for making very nice looking planets in PS without the use of special plug-ins.

SciFi-Meshes Tutorial Section

Everything Blender
Courtesy of SciFi-3D.

Brazil and Network Rendering
Created by Chris Santucci for 3D Studio Max.

3D Studio Max Video Tutorials by Xenosgames.com (teeth and gums, quad modeling a head, uv mapping, etc.)

Creating 3D Planets Using Photoshop

PixelMagic's Tutorial for Lighting a Space Scene

MasterYodaSkywalker's Basic Terragen Tutorial

Adding 3D Objects to Real Shots


Other

Waking Life / Scanner Darkly Visual Effects Tutorial

AfterEffects 3D Compositing + "FireBreath" Test

De-interlacing with Final Cut Pro

How to rotoscope lasers in Photoshop.

Mithrawnurodo's Sparks Tutorial

SithJeff's Engine Glow Tutorial In AE

Great tutorial for a basic force rumble in SoundForge by pahket.

Some Tips on Basic VFX Stuff

A handy article about Cinepaint, Blender, and Jahshaka

Blood/Filmstrip tutorial
Fake blood without squibs. Uses Photoshop, and either AE or Premiere.

FXHome.com Tutorials (EffectsLab DV and Chromanator)

Majadero's Matrix Avoiding Bullets in After Effects (Spanish)

Wrigley's Matrix Character Raining Video Tutorial in Premiere

Good short video tutorials

Some Tutorials by IanVFX

Creating a Technicolor look in AE without plug-ins
Original Photoshop concept by FigChrystie and adapted to After Effects by DVeditor.

Ryan-W.com
The infamous Ryan Weiber, known as one of the best darn amateur lightsaber rotoers in the FanFilm community, has this website with various useful tutorials on it, including how his lightsaber technique works.

DV Tidbits - Good Stuff to Remember

Great Titles With DV Codecs


And yes, if you have other questions...try Google. tongue

 

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DarthSapient 
Registered: Jun '01
24218_Obi-Wan
Date Posted: 8/24/05 5:13am Subject: RE: FanFilms Tutorial Topic (soon to be moved) - Date Edited: 8/24/05 6:48pm (2 edits total) Edited By: AdamBertocci
Adam edit: None of us mere Managers and Moderators have the ability to delete a post made by an Administrator, so, um, here's this nice post from Sape that used to contain a Mod Squad note of some sort. We now return you to your regularly scheduled filmmaking resource thread.

 

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DVeditor 
Title: Fan Films
Evil Overlord (manager)

Registered: Dec '01
8081_ILM
Date Posted: 8/24/05 4:15pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
Thanks Adam! grin

 

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MastaKris 
Registered: Aug '05
40072_Jedi
Date Posted: 8/24/05 5:38pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc. - Date Edited: 8/24/05 5:38pm (1 edits total) Edited By: MastaKris
DV, you never cease to amaze! I thank you for all your dedication and hard work! And I'm sure I speak on everyone's behalf.

 

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~Aspiring Filmmaker~
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DMPjedi 
Registered: Mar '03
14724_Keira Knightley
Date Posted: 8/24/05 7:04pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
And the epic resource hits TFN! Hey...hey...hey guess what? I was sortof a beta tester for this whole list. I feel special.

Awesome first sticky DV grin

 

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Nate Caauwe - VFX Supervisor, Movie Spoof 2 & 3
http://PixelCorps.com
DMPjedi is not here right now, please leave a message with NateCaauwe after the beep.
Beep.
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Shadow_of_Evil 
Registered: Nov '01
14835_Sandtroopers
Date Posted: 8/24/05 7:05pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
Sucked in everyone! I saw this ages ago when I proof read it!
Who wants to touch me?

Anyhoo, that just kicks ass DV.

 

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I love climbing, because it feels so good when I stop....
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krnbanguboi 
Registered: Mar '05
22366_Clone Trooper
Date Posted: 8/24/05 11:00pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
Finally working Tutorial links.

 

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Plug-In Visuals (Forum) - http://www.pluginforums.tk
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danielhilsden 
Registered: Jan '05
14913_Obi-Wan
Date Posted: 8/25/05 6:45am Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
I really hope people don't miss the 'Everything' part of this sticky...have a look people, good stuff.

Daniel

 

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At University (Will be on from time to time)
Will be starting a project (Keep eyes peeled)
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1337mik3 
Registered: Jun '04
24067_Palpatine
Date Posted: 8/25/05 6:18pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
Awesome, I love it. Lets just hope people will read this before they post like they are supposed to.

 

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aim/videomik3
http://www.MichaelFrisk.com
It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way.
-Aristotle
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Krintar 
Registered: Dec '04
Date Posted: 8/25/05 9:10pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
"Lets just hope people will read this before they post like they are supposed to."
Hah.

 

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krnbanguboi 
Registered: Mar '05
22366_Clone Trooper
Date Posted: 8/25/05 10:32pm Subject: RE: The "Everything" Topic - Filmmaking Tutorials, Resources, Etc.
There is only hope.

 

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