***The Lightsaber Choreography Contest Begins***

Last night I talked to a friend of mine who has been itching to do a fight scene for a while. He's got a good place to practice and a couple of ideas he wants to try out... so it looks like I might just be making an entry this year.
No traveling required.

With no knowledge of this forum, he actually started talking about a loose story idea to surround the fight and get viewers emotionally involved, then informing me "But we can always shoot that part later".


EDIT:
I ran through the thread real quick, and so far this is what I've got. It may be a little early, but I'm excited.
You know the drill.

1) Kaat
2) BruceM
3) DarthKomar
4) DavidHise
5) Master_Comyn
6) Vidina
7) Jedisithor
8) Whiteley79
9) VaporTrail

 

I have some choreography planned out and practiced, but it doesn't fill a whole duel yet. What is the minimum time required for it to be a good Entry?

 

Wow, we just started working on a lightsaber fight. I guess June 1st is our new deadline then.

Since last year I got a new camera, different compression methods and a whole mess of camera practice under my belt, And the choreography we're getting so far feels like it'll look really cool.

I wish us all the best of luck, that way every entry looks amazing.

 

12.085 seconds or 09.125 if you have one or more double-bladed saber(s) in it.

 

With the present Choreography, I think I could get about 2 minutes or so... probably make a "To be Continued" thing on the end...




I might be in...

 

Vapor, I'm not officially in yet. I hope to be soon, but still not sure, logistically speaking.

 

So, in tradition, here's the current list of entrants, as far as I know:

1: Vidina
2: Kaat
3: DarthKomar
4: Demogoblin2
5: fjrsm
6: BenMcEwan(funds pending)
7: Robi-Wan(if he is allowed to enter the unreleased footage)
8: Master_Comyn (maybe)

Fill yourself on the list if i forgot it.

 

2 minutes is quite enough. "The Clash" was 2:00 and really that was one and a half minute of dueling and that's one of my favorite duels.

Please don't put a "to be continued ..." Make a full duel. Begin and end it.

Vapes already started a list.

 

Ahhh... Eclipse. What I've been trying to pass along for the last decade (it feels like) is that good choreography tells a story. Much in the same way that the best dialogue has really good subtext, what's not being told can be as important as what is. I'll give you a simple example:

In Eclipse the Jedi Master is not going to kill the Knight. In 99.9% of other films the master would say 'I will not kill you my [son, apprentice, freind, etc, etc]'. In Eclipse we let the choreography do the talking, showing rather than explaining... and isn't that the point? Why talk down to your audience? Not to knock Spiff's acting, but there's no way he could have made the line 'I will not kill you' have equal dramatic weight to the to the initial set of saber clashes and the time he hands the saber back to Primrodo.

An extended duel is a showcase of strategy. Don't waste you brainpower on obvious strikes and counters, those flow naturally. Rather, focus your creativity on those moments where the fighter has a choice, and ask yourself why; why would this particular fighter choose this particular move from all the others, and what does that say about his character? Is he trying to finish the fight quickly? Is he trying to prove a point? Is he distracted? Is he moving out of desperation, or is he confidant? What move would he never have considered? All of this can be told in a single sword stroke. It's your job as a filmmaker to make that message as clear as possible to the audience.

 

^^^

After all, film is a visual medium, not an auditory one. That's what theater plays are for.

 

Ben Burtt is going to smack you across your head.

 

And make a Re-Make of it when the rest of the choreography is done?

 

Sure, that's what most people do. They get what they can get into the competition and then they refine it later on.

 

Don't count me in just yet, but there's a good chance I'll actually make an entry this year.
Now that I know my friends are interested in this kinda stuff.

 

As long as I can set time aside, count on me being in for this one.

 

Nothing wrong with two minutes. My fight was barely two minutes last year and I got second behind Ryan. Just make it a good two minutes to win. (Something I didn't do I did get free saber hilts though, which are being used for this contest. )


Continuing Vaportrail's list

1) Kaat
2) BruceM
3) DarthKomar
4) DavidHise
5) Vidina
6) Jedisithor
7) Whiteley79
8) VaporTrail
9) Demogoblin2
10) Mae

 

You can definitely count me in on this. And will be a better entry than last years. Last years sucked for me. More prep time this time

Edit: Curious of this.. I know we've seen this in fan films but what about any LCC's.. A girl fighting? Has it always been males?

 

Did you not watch "Desperation Movie"?

 

Sure. And if you'll call it a "Director's cut", people will even pay to see it.

 

No? Link?

 

They've appeared here and there.

 

Yes, there were girls... But to be honest: No serious girl-fighter like for example a RvD with Girls, right? That's what's supposed to mean having girl involved in an entry (IMHO). I mean, cmon guys. As for me, i'm dead sure a girl could do a great job in a saber choreography. Right?


/Thath0r

 

[image=http://www.tomstockton.us/images/funny_pictures/laughing_dog.jpg]


Maybe

 

RvD3... Ronda vs. Dharma. Why not? I would watch it.


Kidding aside, having one or more girls in your fight wouldn't really change anything, would it? I mean, it's not like people will be more fond of your entry because you have a female cast. Even with its strong erotic content, "Desperation Move" didn't exactly win LCC V, and its girl was even labeled as one.