PRODITION - Official TFN Release Thread

TFN Fanfilms and Jeremy West are proud to present Prodition.

In this sequel to Power of the Sith, a hidden threat is carrying out assassinations of the Jedi. Three Jedi younglings set out on a journey to find the assassin and bring him to justice, but their path will take them into the very heart of betrayal.

You can check out the film here.

 

My review. For all my reviews, visit THE FAN FILM MENACE


Read an interview with creator Jeremy West here



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Dreamland Digital has a very cool logo. Dreamland Digital, who, incidentally, is Jeremy West (joined by Scott Till), also makes an attractive crawl, although it moves far too quickly to read.

Absolutely top-notch space battling ensues. Admittedly the camera moves would be liable to make one seasick if the screen was much bigger. But the modeling is great and the effects are nifty. I do love Jedi starfighters.

The Jedi here are children. This could be problematic. Granted, of course, West's films are done in the spirit of family fun (either that or his grown-up friends refuse to act), and one can hardly fault the man for engaging in a fun, constructive and positive bonding experience with his children. But it sure makes it hard to accept a 'serious' story, which, so far, we've been led to accept.

I choose to think of the kids as being brought up in an Ender's Game-style environment. Maybe Jedi are like that.

The kids are actually pretty good, though, not the recipe for disaster one might expect. Well, the older two are, anyway. The youngest does his best for his age, which is all we can ask. (Is it my imagination, or is the first one to speak putting on an English accent?)

The Gary Coleman reference is funny but extraordinarily out of place. (Did the kids even understand the reference?)

But I do love the user of hyperspace rings.

Is "don't touch the beam / good safety tip" a reference to "don't cross the streams / important safety tip" in Ghostbusters?

Wow. Darth Zorn has a freaking awesome mask. Is that a mask or makeup or what?

Childlike potty humor ensues. And herein, again, marks Prodition's big problem. I don't get the sense that West had his mind made up if he wanted to make a serious film or a comedy.

I haven't commented on the great digital environments, or nifty decapitation effects, or awesome-looking fighter droid. The effects work is wonderful here. Given the obvious effort in the production of this tale, and the attempts made to impart a serious lesson within it all, I wish the goal had been clearer from the get-go, because every time the film changes tone, it suffers.

But the final credit and post-credits gag alone make this worth a watch. See, comedy has its place...



B-
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Rick McCallum loves you!

 

Great! You and the kids must've had a blast doing this.

I loved the blooper takes also.

Congratulations on a job well done!!

(BTW, how many takes does one need to catch a saber ona string?)

 

JediTAC's Official Review - PRODITION


SPECIAL REVIEWER'S NOTE:
From time to time throughout my review, I will refer to the term "this level of FanFilm." By this I mean that there are, obviously, varying "levels" of FanFilm productions - from lower budget/scale films to the high-end budget/scale films (i.e. Broken Allegiance, Tydirium, Sins of the Jedi, Revelations, etc.). As such, I believe that a FanFilm should be reviewed and judged on it's own merits and within it's particular level.


Now, with that being said . . . . . . . . . .

Someone has been putting much of his spare time to excellent use.
BRILLIANT .... ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT !!!

First off, to say that this film is a sequel (or in any way related to) Power of the Sith is sort of like comparing an old Thunderbirds episode to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Don't get me wrong, Power of the Sith is a very cute and entertaining film, and remains well-received for what it is. However, PRODITION is an infinitely more advanced and well-produced project.

First off, I have to say that the visual effects work (for this level of FanFilm) is excellent. The spacecraft animation and fluidity of movement is virtually flawless. While the close-up shots fo the "Jedi-Spacecraft" were just on the side of "high-end computer game" quality in terms of the texturing and such, the effects were, nevertheless, very very well done. It appears to this reviewer that many many hours were well-spent in perfecting the spacecraft motion paths and action sequences. (I especially found impressive the scene where the Jedi Starfighters emerge out of hyperspace. The quick-to-slow animation was, in my opinion, right on the money).


Let's talk about ACTING for a moment.

Okay, it's obvious that the primary actors in this FanFilm are small children. But you know what, for the effect the FanFilmmaker was going for - it worked PERFECTLY. In fact, I thought that the kids did a FANTASTIC job. I mean, some of the lines they had to speak would give even an adult actor some trouble. On top of that, the comedic timing and delivery of the children made the film that much more enjoyable to watch. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. (I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of those kids have a professional acting career as part of their destiny).

I need to ask a question to the Producer ... were any of the CGI backgrounds lifted from any of the LucasArts video/computer games ?? I am not trying to say that they looked that way and/or that the film's Visual Effects Artist did this ... only that I was impressed with the backgrounds and level of detail involved. (Let's be honest, this is quite a giant leap from the effects of Power of the Sith to PRODITION.) Giving the benefit of the doubt to the PRODITION team, I found the CGI work to be VERY VERY well put together and presented - again, for this level of FanFilm.

I also very much enjoyed and found refreshing the Producer's decision to utilize some unique make-up effects for the Darth Zorn character. (Finally, someone realizes that not every Sith within the Star Wars Universe has to be human).


IN COLNCLUSION . . . . . . . . .
I found PRODITION to be a most EXCELLENT FanFilm. I have to give very high kudos to the FanFilmmakers for taking their skills to a much much higher level than their introductory offering in Power of the Sith. PRODITION clearly represents the type of production that can be achieved with the right amount of time and dedication to furthering one's learning and skills within the various FanFilmmaking areas (visual effects, compositing, editing, sound design, cinematography, etc.).

HIGH MARKS to the PRODITION team.
I was most thoroughly entertained. I'm looking very much forward to the future adventures of Padawan Jaden and his brothers.




JediTAC
The Moulton/Siskel/Ebert/Roper of the FanFilm World.

 

Note to all: I got a sneak preview of this flick from a source that will remain nameless. The review was written, like, last week.

I just happened to wake up about the time Fenn posted this.

You'll note that I could not have been able to download watch the whole movie, write a decent review and update the site in the time between Fenn's post and mine.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

I'm jealous that my son has a copy on DVD and I don't.

Prodition is a fantastic movie for kids, something that's woefully missing in the fan film scene. It's got kids, funny kid humor and some cool effects. It's lightyears ahead of Power of the Sith, and even Jeremy gets his hand at wielding a lightsaber instead of getting hit on the head with one.

**Spoilers**

I like the way the opening starts with ships seemingly in battle. Instead, it's a high tech game of tag. The "Your it" line is a dream come true (if you're living vicariously through your children). I remember wanting to have an X-Wing as a child and to play tag in my ship? Forget about it.

Darth Zorn is a cool character because he doesn't have to look evil; his make up says enough. And since this is for kids (I would think), his hamming it up is forgivable. He can be kid evil, because that's the tone of this movie.

What does bother me is when Jedi Jarkee (I thought he said Jockee, like the shorts, so it was a wasted laugh) arrives, Jedi Ryan and Jedi Tyler are suddenly gone. A shot of them sitting down and eating pudding during the saber fight would have been enough to remind us that they were there; the seem to disappear when I thought this was their movie.

The robot bit I didn't see coming was cool; you can't cut off a villians head and expect it to be for kids. Hey, make him a robot and everything's fine. And it helps with the line, "It not good to see something so ugly twice in one day."

Jarkee has his moments to be funny and say witty lines, but he doesn't seem to be as amused with himself, sometimes too serious.

After the kids are let out of their trap, they take off. I had hope they would have joined the melee with Zorn and Jarkee, or at least one while the others fought with the flying gun. Oh well.

They all escape and all is well.

There are some moments that are missed opportunities, but given that this is an off-time project, I can imagine there was a list of "wouldn't it be cool ifs" that could have gone into this flick.

Considering the scope of this film compared to POTS, I think it's a job well done. It's more kid friendly than most fan films, and I think those with even younger kids will get a kick out of it.

I'm glad TFN decided to host Prodition. As I said earlier, there are few children-based fan films that are kid-safe. I recommend Prodition.

The effects are decent and the keying gets better as the movie progresses. I can tell where DVMattePro came into the picture based on past posts.

I give it an B+. <--*note the Bertoccian grade

Be sure to watch the credits and is that DurbPoisn staying on target?

 

Hey everyone! Darth Zorn here just posting a hello and relaying my excitement (along with many others) as "Prodition" makes its debut here. I hope everyone will enjoy the film. I'm also sure that Sir Jeremy is close by keeping an eye on this great forum.

Thanks already for the first review Adam...a B- huh? AWESOME that means we still get to keep our jedi scholarship...lol (jk). Seriously though, all comments and critique's are greatly appreciated. Thanks for being the first to do so man. I know I'm fairly new here on these forums, but everyone here has been helpful and inspiring in many ways. A great group of people with a great common interest.

Well I'll slide out for now with a note to be mindful that this film is fun in sight as well as sound so keep youre eye's and ears out for anything interesting and let us know what you come up with. And now our feature presentation....

 

Front page link doesn't work. Needs /theater/ put in the link.

 

I've been in correspondence with Jeremy, and have given him a lot of my comments on the film...

To summarize?

I thought it was great. It felt like a kid's movie, and was inspirational in that sense that it could be done well. In Episode I, I felt like Anakin was a completely unrealistic child - over talented in some areas, and nearly disabled when it came to dialogue. "OOOoops"?!! Jeremy however, has given us kids who look, talk, and behave like kids - and it's nice to see. Man - do I ever miss those days! That's the great thing about Star Wars - is kids can fly starships more sophisticated than NASAs, carry high explosives and lightsabers, and zoom around on rocket-sleds. Dude.

I thought Zorn's acting was definitely Kid-evil - though he deserved what was coming! And I got a big kick seeing my favourite Captain Solo as a Jedi - and singing. Jeremy really has a friendly, fatherly charisma about him that shows beautifully on screen, which I really admire. He's got some pretty lucky kids.

I thought the CG was very well animated - which is them most important aspect of the art so far as I'm concerned. The lighting was also quite good - and I looked at it carefully to see how it was done. The textures weren't photo-real - but they were more than good enough to sell it. So far as special effects are concerned, I have a huge amount of respect for the work put into this.

I personally loved the Willis line, as well as "Come get some!" Good stuff.

-Spiff

 

DLing the Hi-Res version now. I have 4 percent complete and 6 hours left to go.

Cheers on his grandfathers 56k with loving memory's of the past!

 

I love it. Beautifully done. The plot twist with the traitor -- I never saw it coming. The plot twist about what Zorn was -- I never saw it coming. Impressive.

Zorn is extremely well-executed; his mouth movements never looked off to me, and I could not discern where the mask ended and skin began, though I tried.

Your keying is so good that when I saw then sabre-fighting in a large green room in the outtakes, that was the first time I registered that the environment wasn't real.

Superb. You are to be commended.

-Paul

 

Great job

This is one that I will watch over and over again

Jarkee is the man

 

Great job to Jeremy and all involved. I really liked this film, it was refreshing to watch a kid-related fanfilm such as this. The CG was beautiful and the countless other effects were very well executed as well. This is a feel-good film that should appeal to everyone...I am impressed. Congrats for getting hosted for the second time...quite an achievement!

-Brad

 

The plot twist with the traitor -- I never saw it coming

Clearly this fellow doesn't know what "Prodition" means

-Spiff

 

Yeah, I saw this elsewhere on the net a week-or-so ago, too. (Gotta catch up on those fan film site updates guys. The rest of the net is getting ahead of you. )

Loads of fun.
Love the bloopers.
Glad to see it hosted.

Keep up the great work Jeremy!!!

Have fun.

 

Hey everyone- First off I want to thank everyone here on the boards. I could not have finished the film without all of the advice, input, tutorials, and encouragement that I got here over the last 2 years. I also want to thank the guys here at TFN for hosting the film.

thanks for the replies so far. I'll try to answer some questions and comment a bit....

Adam- Thanks for the official review! Although as soon as I find out who leaked the film to you early, I shall chastise him.

I made the crawl intentionally fast in order to cut down the time it takes to actually get into the film. I had to re-edit the opening theme music to match the quicker pace and mercifully trimmed about 20 or more seconds from the crawl. I would have cut it completely, but I still needed to setup some things for the film, and besides- I still think the crawl is cool. Call me crazy.

About the kids- I knew that some people would not like the film because it had children it in, but I make no apologies about that. I love being able to make a Star Wars film with my kids and they love seeing themselves in the Star Wars universe. Some people will hate it, and some will like seeing kids in here. Hopefully there's enough entertaining stuff in here that most should find something that they appreciate.

Since this was a sequel to Power of the Sith, I intentionally wanted to keep the campiness from the original in here but I also wanted to apply what I've learned here over the last 2 years and try to make the best film I could. Parody is what I do best, so I tried to keep it as light as I could while still trying to maintain a decent story and do the best I could with the effects.

Good catch on the Ghostbusters reference. I figured if anyone would get that it would be you.

Zorn's mask is a latex facial appliance bought from an online Halloween costume shop. I wish we could have done more with the makeup and do his whole head, but I'm fairly pleased with how the makeup looked on camera.

MKane- A good rule of thumb on when to stop trying to catch a saber on a string is when one gets hit in the chimmy-chongas. You just pray you got a decent take sometime before that.

JediTAC- Thanks for the kind words!

The only thing lifted from a LucasArts game were some textures and a few sounds. I modeled alot of the control room on my own, but also kitbashed some stuff off Sci-Fi 3D to get what I was looking for. Everything was modeled and animated in Lightwave. Still being a newbie to LW, I spent several months working on models and animations. I'm surprised to be getting so many compliments on the CG work. It doesn't hold a candle to the work that others around here have done, but it serves its purpose in the film.

Oh, and just for the record, Jaden isn't one of my boys. He was played by Alec Mangum, and he was convinced he was in a real Star Wars movie. Really cool to see his face during the premiere of the film last month for about 70 friends and family members. Tyler and Ryan are my kids though.

About the AtomFilm contest. I don't know if this is parody-ish enough to be considered in the contest. It's not out of the question for me to pull something together for that, but I'm pretty fried right now and don't know if I'll put forth the effort needed to get it in.

SamS- Love the pudding idea! Where were you when I was writing the script?

The keying did improve some once I started using DVMatte Pro, but it might also be from the fact that all of the saber stuff was done in that really cool Green screen studio. It was great to be able to be 20 or more feet away from the screen and that was vital for improving the key. In fact, alot of the stuff in the green room was keyed in one pass with DVMatte. The stuff in the blue room needed up to 12 layers to key with any success, but that had more to do with spill and an incorrectly lit blue screen that had too much yellow in it. Lots of lessons learned there.

Oh, and no that's not Durb in the end credits. That's Mike O'Neal my dir

 

I downloaded the hi res version and all I got was the sound

Oh well, I'll try the other versions and see what happens.

Edit: Actually I was playing it on a Mac. The medium res version worked just fine. Pretty hillarious stuff! Sometimes I couldn't tell what the kids were saying but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I bet they had a blast.

Great stuff!

 

That's weird. I just downloaded the large and it worked fine on my PC. It's just standard Sorenson3. Did you try to play the video on a secondary display? I've had issues where some QT files would only play on the primary display in a multi-display setup.

 

I'd like to start out by saying, no, that's not me. I was never even in Virginia Beach before the premiere.

Anyway...
I don't think it's gone unnoticed that Jeremy and I have struck up a good friendship during the time that this film was being produced. Jeremy contacted me in the middle stages of post production to act as sort of a consultant. What he really wanted was for me to rip into the scenes one by one and tell him everything I could find that was wrong. In some ways I still feel bad about how hard I was, but that's what he wanted - no sugar coating. It's a really weird feeling when you tear apart someone's work and they thank you for it.

Well, that's what my job was with this thing. And for my interest in the film, I was very happy to see where my recommendations were considered and scenes were redone to that effect. It was a real trip to see the completed film in order after all of that.

Now... About the film itself.
I loved it! A tremendous amount of effort went into this film and you can tell! Everyone has already pointed out all the things that I would normally say. Besides, I think I've already said all I ever will about the effects.

My favorite part is the space tag scene in the beginning. That was a very original concept in itself. Awesome stuff! Especially considering that Jeremy still considers himself a newbie with Lightwave. Zorn is a great character too. (It was funny meeting Scott without his makeup on, at the premiere. He looks so completely different.)
Everything about the movie was loaded with new and original ideas. There was really nothing typical about this film at all.

After all... This is a fantastic, ambitious effort that I'm sure will continue to be well received for a long time to come. Great work, Jeremy! I look forward to the time when you come back from your filmmaking break!

 

Oh, man! I loved this movie! POTS is one of my favorite fanfilms that I've downloaded, I love the humor in it... and this gave me a very fulfilling and very large second helping of it. It is very obvious that your skills and talents have grown, and I really commend you for putting them to such wonderful use. Congrats on being hosted, it is well deserved. I adored the allusions to other things/movies in the film, and your children are halariously adorable. Wonderful, wonderful job!

-DeadEyesSmiling

 

I'm not going to waste your time with a huge review.

Basically, I loved it! One of the best fan films I've ever seen. The kids performance wasn't the best acting ever, but they brought something to the film which is very lacking. Personality. Also the visuals were excellent.

All in all, great film. Hope to see more.

 

Spiff -- Indeed, I didn't know what prodition meant... And still don't, as it's not at m-w.com. Enlighten me?

-Paul

 

Paul- I didn't either until I went to dictionary.com to look for alternate words for "betrayal". I saw Prodition and said- "that's the ticket".

Other useless bits of info....

Darth Zorn's name actually means something in German.

The planet Dolor means something in Spanish. (although the reason it is named such doesn't really make any sense in the movie because I cut a big section out of the beginning. I still liked that name for a planet though so I kept it.)

 

I looked it up too when I saw Jeremy's thread about the premiere... so I typed into Google and *poof* out came more vocabulary, just like that. A thesaurus is a marvelous thing.

-Spiff

 

Durbnpoisn, "Zorn is a great character too. (It was funny meeting Scott without his makeup on, at the premiere. He looks so completely different.)"

Well gee whiz thanks Ken...was great meeting you too. You've got my 2&1/2 year old daugher hooked on the Oobi EP3 trailer. She loves it!

I thought Zorn was a great part to play. Jeremy really gave Zorn some good creativity and at the same time allowed me to add to his sarcasm and wit...heck just look at the blooper reel (laughing like Pee Wee Herman & Doing a Line from Batman...thought I looked more like Jack Palance than the joker). I think originally Zorn was to be a bit more evil. There were scenes written with him going in to take out a band of Jedi origially...obviously cut due to time constraints and script revisions. I would love to do a backstory film on Zorn...who knows, maybe it could happen. Either way I enjoyed donning the mask and makeup...I applied it mostly myself but I'm sure Jeremy must've slathered about three gallons of spirit gum on my face for most of the shoots. He didn't want any loose seems and by Darth_Paul's comments I guess it was worth the extra adhesive...lol. Of course I think Jeremy kept putting the stuff on because he saw how funny it was watching me try to eat chinese food in it and wanted to make sure that thing wasn't coming off until the premier. Believe me cheeseburgers are a little easier than noodles and rice...glad that video wasn't captured for the film. I think I still am buzzing on that spirit gum remover...phew! All craziness aside though. It was a great time and I'd do it again for Jedi Master Jockey...um Jarkee anytime ;0)