nerds I need your star wars knowledge

Hey TFNers! I am about to embark on my first fan film...And you should be proud, I am well on my way. This one is going to be hush hush. The story line, for that matter. Why? Because I want to be undercover. No, well because the truth is this is unlike other fan films, as far as the story goes. The cast consists of characters I have created, with the help of Zayn. Because she is my Star Wars Directory. So I would also like some random information about what you love in fan films. Think of your favorite, and why it was and post it. I want to create a film that can reach to new rookies and old wookies. I am having alot of help on back ground and so I can get the facts right. I need a lot of support! I am so excited so here, right now, post away. I've come a long way. I blame you all. Thanks

Okay, first of all ..... your use of clever rhetoric and words is totally cute.


Okay ... let's see, I can better start off by listing what I think is a bit tired in FanFilms these days:
* Jedi's in brown robes
* Sith with Maul-esque painted faces
* Stories set within the Episode III.5 to VI time frame.
* Cliche' dialogue straight out of the Star Wars films.
* FanFilm centered around a Jedi/Sith


Things that used to be tired, but you can probably get away with these days:
* Double bladed lightsabers ( minimum spinning)
* Sith's with black robes


Things I would LOVE to see:
* FanFilm set within Ancient times (ala, Tales of the Jedi, or earlier)
* New space effects (wormholes, new spaceship designs/animations, etc.)
* Intelligent dialogue
* Creative locations/sets
* Creative shot composition and effects (variety of angles, slow-motion effects, filters, etc.)
* More blaster v. saber action sequences (if done right)
* Use of non-humanoid characters (if possible)




JediTAC


P.S. (Who you callin' a nerd ... GEEK ??!!)

better a nerd than a geek...I agree with tac, don't feel discouraged to add sabers to your film even though people use them a lot, if you can do something oringal with them people will love it

HAha of course there are going to be sabers. Come on here Just a new twist. Man I have so many ideas flowing in my head right now i think i iwll be done with part one in 3 days YOu guys are very h elpful thank you

I would put a lot of thought into cinematography (spelling?). It seems to be neglected sometimes. Some of these movies will have two or more characters just standing around gesturing vaguely while going through lines of dialogue. They'll be standing in a fixed camera position that seems to have been selected merly for the purpose of getting everyone in the same frame with no real thought to dramatic effect.

Hope that helps you out.

Cliche' dialogue straight out of the Star Wars films.

Isn't that a good thing? Or have I misread and you mean ripped off dialogue?

He meant no ripped off dialogue.

Who you callin' a nerd?

o btw I'm not a nerd! If you need the see my pic then i'll show you

But isn't the classic, "I have a bad feeling about this," like, trademark for Star Wars films? I agree that using it ten times in a twenty minute film is too much. But even the greater novelists like Timothy Zahn use the line at least two or three times.
Personally, I like that line. It's just one of those funny things that isn't over the top - like "This is such a drag."
I agree with TAC on most of those things, however. Jedi storylines are too frequent and it'd be nice to see something pre-saga or even post-saga. Remnant Empire officers and troops trying to build again what was lost. Maybe even some series of Galactic Senate events (not necessarily involving Palaptine) that show why some people might favor an Empire as opposed to a "democracy." After all, not ALL of the Empire's forces were made up of clones, so some people had to believe in what the Emperor was trying to do, right? Amidala herself said the Senate and courts do things too slowly. And don't forget the many systems that were out of the Republic's reach.
I may be alone here, but I feel CG is too strongly used. I personally liked some of the hard, realistic looks of models. Done right, the model can far surpass the CG version. And if you're better with your hands than with a computer, you can make it look a lot more real than some of the Fan Films out there that are dependant on CG. Although the downside is that they do tend to get somewhat expensive if you keep blowing them up, and then there is the definite issue of safety to be concerned with. But with the right people, you can make it work.
Dialogue, again as TAC pointed out, seems to be written overnight or not carried well by the actors/actresses. Think back to the interesting lines of ANH and ESB...
"Don't try to scare us with your sorceror's ways, Lord Vade. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes."
"Well you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun them. ....... Well don't everybody thank me at once."
"Ancient weapons and hokey religions are no match for a good blaster at your side."
"You came in THAT? You're braver than I thought."
"Who's scruffy lookin'?"
"Never tell me the odds!"
"YOU are in command now, Admiral Piett."
The original trilogy was just bursting with great dialogue and actors who passed them off beautifully.
Finally, saber battles are great. Most would argue that a Star Wars movie just isn't a Star Wars movie without one! Do it with dual blades, with two handed combat, incorporate actual body combat...but whatever you do, MAKE IT LOOK REAL! So many fan films are great, but the coreography just looks so much like it's only to impress, and not at all molded to seem as if the combatants are actually trying to attack or defend. Just show-off. If you have the ability, use some gymnastics too.
And the last thing on fights (be it saber, hand-to-hand, or vehicular) please make them neccessary to the story. I like gun fights thrown into a movie, but not randomly for no reason. They need to be there for a particular purpose. John Woo is pretty good about this.
I'm sure whatever you do, however, will come out being just another great addition to TF.N's multitude of excellent films! As long as you're pleased with your results, that's all that matters, right George?


PS: I hope I did not come off in any way harsh or as if I was bashing any fan films, generally or specifically. I have downloaded just about ever film TF.N has to offer, and each one of them is a great piece of work by their creator's. I think everyone here has done a great job with what they have to work with, and that no one can really "do better" than anyone else, just differently.

Iclude Jar Jar, or a similar type of character in your film.

So Hayden's cuteness really turned your opinion of Star Wars right around, didn't it?

Here are some things I would like to see, in general terms:

? More complex storylines. The good guy versus bad guy and/or good guy runs from bad guy and/or this guy faces that guy has been done to death. I want a multi-faceted conflict with intrigue and cunning, and an unpredictable and surprising telling. Things like this have been touched on (BA's pregnancy was very subtle) but never really been done all the way.

? Interesting dialog. I think a lot of folks don't spend enough time writing good dialog. It feels to me like a lot of films use dialog that just barely gets the point across, usually without subtlety or flair. The worst case is stealing passages wholesale from one of the movies. I swear if I here "I've got a bad feeling about this" one more time....

? Basically, I want people to spend more time writing an polishing a good script. As hollywood has proven time and again, the best actors, directors and special effects in the world can't save a bad script.

? a giant mutant killer Aardvark. I don't know why, I just think it be cool to see some stormtroopers getting mauled by one!

-tm
*Hayden's got nothing on me!!*

1. Explosions

2. BIGGER EXPLOSIONS

3. HUGE EXPLOSIONS ACCOMPANIED BY SHOCKWAVES!

4. Jar Jar getting decapitated with a lightsaber. And then saying "Mesa head came off!"

death to jar jar....hmm...I like it...I like it a lot hun...

"Stories set within the Episode III.5 to VI time frame."

Well, crap.

::smirk::

"Cliche' dialogue straight out of the Star Wars films."


Would Maru be considered with this?

Well, In my fanfilm, I can't promise Jar Jar's death, but I can promise HUGE explosions. And not those royalty free artbeast stock footage stuff. I made my OWN explosions. Too bad they are all CGI...

I am figuring that if I write 5 pages a day, I will have completed part one by...Tuesday...hmm..sound great to me. But things won't go as planned. But hey I have to start somewhere. Thanks for the input, I pretty much expected: no cliches, no more brown robes, more explosions, better dialogue, and of course, better acting. I for one, am sick of horrible actors.Well BA was pretty good and I know some others are. So not to knock anyone down. Keep the opinions coming and flowing from your fingers to the keyboard folks.

I think we need more character development. And I'm don't just mean good acting. I mean a romantic story, like in AOTC, except not so fast and corny. Or maybe an element of revenge. A Jedi is not supposed to take revenge, but maybe a Count of Monte Christo type story would be cool. Also, I think we need better choreographed lightsaber battles. Not that I can say much, cause in my fanfilm that was shot over a year ago, the choreography pretty much sucks. Maybe some big explosions, or Jar Jar dieing, yeah, that'd be cool.

I gotta tell ya .. I really like Jedi_Jewel.
She's direct, blunt and to the point.

Remind you of anyone ???

So Jewal, I can fully expect to see a giant mutant Aardvark devouring a couple of unfortunate Gun Guns, right?

Eeeeexcellent!

-tm

::LMAO:: TAC...is someone flirting?

Y'know, I've been thinking about how everyone is saying AOTC's love story was just too fast, too soon, too corny. Well, I can't say much for the corny part, but let's think here a moment. The thing that led us to believe and accept Han and Leia's relationship is that it was developed as we all feel Anakin and Amidala's was done - long drawn and over time with many hardships between them. It wasn't so quick to come along.
But consider that Lucas has one hell of a story to tell this time around. He needs to tell of the fall of the Republic, the rise to power of Palpatine, the progression of Anakin to Jedi, then embrace of the Dark Side, Anakin and Amidala's romance and then future children, the obliteration of near all Jedi, the creation and recruitment of the Empire, the inception of the Rebellion led by Princess Leia... There is just SO much to tell between three movies. THREE movies to tell all of these origins. Now I don't know about you, but I'd have a hard time telling an appropriate love story in a 2 hour movie while also telling about three side stories (Obi-Wan and the Clone Army, the Jedi Order, the Senate, Seperatists and Palpatine, and Anakin and Amidala - and that's not including the substories like Anakin and his mother, Jango Fett...). It's just too hard to do. And it can't continue on into the third movie. There's even more to tell there than in Episodes one or two. To also contiune Anakin and Amidala's relationship into marraige then would not leave enough room for everything else.
I think Lucas needs to be given credit for his telling of this portion of the story. In ANH, ESB, and ROTJ, he wasn't constrained because he could change anything he wanted any time he wanted. He wasn't bound to telling a large backstory within three movies. No he was creating the future of the story.
Hopefully what I've said made sense. I'm not looking to change opinions, just give a little bit of the other side to the argument. I too thought the love story was too quick. But could I have done better in telling everything Lucas has to in three 2 hour movies? Doubtful. Could any of you? Maybe, maybe not. You're the only one who would know that. Could Lucas? If he could, my money is all placed on, "he would have."
We all do what we can with what we've got. And now I realize that AOTC's love story wasn't near as bad as it could have been, and in my opinion, probably as good as anyone could really have done it. And even with my new insight comes the appreciation of TPM, Jar Jar and everything Lucas has done so far.
This is Star Wars. This is Lucas. And I thank him for giving us two more spectacular movies, and soon, a third.

Thanks for hearing my rant.

Good lord, Jewly is gonna do a fan film? (runs for cover and changes his cell phone number so she can't call him to help)

*doing way to many fan films these days*

Ryusui - I can see your point, and I can well understand the difficulty in the job he had, but I'm sure he could have made his life easier if in the 1st Scene Anakin and Padme share she doesn't call him a little boy!

I'm not knocking the film at all, but after this line I think he made his life much harder than if at the 1st meeting she could have been impressed by the man he was starting to become.

Just my 2p.

Sorry Jewel, you can have your thread back now.

Pete

You're so sweet to give me back my thread, and so nicely too Shawn of course you want to help me Dont u wuv me haha Ok well anyways everyone says they want major changes but in order to do so you have to be open to them when they do happen. Last night I was on page 3 now it's 9am and I'm on page 5...Hopefully I'll stay focused...
I feel corny asking this...But I need everyone to make up 5 girl names and 4 guy names...bECaUese i'm horrible at it. All mine sound lik "Guadalalalalalllaammmatootoo".