Browsing YouTube, as I often find myself doing, I am invariably exposed to Star Wars content.
After all, I’m a Star Wars fan. YouTube knows this. What I quickly noticed is that a fair number of these videos are not based on any of the films, comic books, video games or novels, otherwise known as “canon.”
They are original fan films.
Initially, my gut reactions were: Yeah, whatever. How good can they be?
I began watching some fan films out of morbid curiosity. Among the first were; The Lost Patrol and The Lost Starfighter, each focusing on X-Wing squadron missions. I was curious as to how good the visual effects and the stories were. One was a thriller/mystery, the other a lite comedy. Overall, I found them to be… impressive. Very… you know. Near flawless visual effects and great overall execution.
Thus, my journey down the Womp rat hole of Star Wars fan films began.
I have certainly not watched them all. There are hundreds. Perhaps thousands, produced worldwide. The filmmakers range from professional studio VFX artists, stunt choreographers and performers to a couple of teenagers with a camera and the Adobe Premiere lightsaber plug-in.
The creativity is refreshing; straight-up action pieces, character dramas, mysteries, comedies, parodies, animated, you name it. Stories that expand the Star Wars universe and give it continuous life.
One film, Star Wars: Origins, even creatively ties the legend of the Jedi into ancient Egyptian culture. There is no limit to the imagination and some even have multi-part stories such as I.M.P.S., a “The Office” styled series following a squad of Imperial troopers.
Among the most impressive films are Darth Maul, Birth of a Monster, Hoshino, Odyssey, Troops and Duality, the latter two being pioneers of the format. High quality productions.
These and many others have racked up millions of YouTube views and Lucasfilm, with help from AtomFilms, even hosts a yearly fan film competition to showcase the year’s best.
Yet, for as well made and impressive the “big budget” productions can be, the smaller fan films are not to be overlooked under any circumstances. Watching straightforward efforts such as Dark Jedi and The Thing About Betrayal are a pure joy because it’s impossible not to see how much fun the filmmakers are having creating their own sliver of the Star Wars universe.
In addition to the variety of stories and styles, it should go without saying that you’ll also find a vast variety in production quality. These are fan made films after all.
As filmmaker, I know all too well the difficulty of committing anything to ones and zeros. It’s a herculean effort. Some look and feel just as slick as the best Hollywood offerings, while others might as well have been shot on VHS. Not everyone was put on this Earth to perform in front of a camera and for some, this is the first time they’re figuring out how to choreograph a duel or edit unnecessary dialogue from a scene or sequence.
So with that in mind, the focus should always be the spirit of the filmmakers obvious sincere intentions.
These people love Star Wars. Enough to put the time, energy and financial resources into executing a passion. Never a trivial feat.
And I would be remiss if I don’t give special mention to the forefather of all Star Wars fan films, if not the entire fan film culture itself. 1978’s Hardware Wars by Ernie Fosselius. To this day I have never forgotten Augie “Ben” Doggie, Princess Anne-droid, Fluke Starbucker, Ham Salad, Chewchilla the Wookie monster – Cookie Monster dyed brown with a bandolier strap! – and the post dubbed dialogue.
But, how does one pull off a Star Wars fan film? Star Wars is an intellectual property and there’s no way Lucasfilm, or Disney for that matter, is going to let anyone profit off of the brand.
And they don’t.
However, Lucasfilm fully understands that Lucasfilm wouldn’t be Lucasfilm were it not for its legions of loyal fans.
So, Lucasfilm’s guidelines are simple: You can’t profit from your creation and you must make the film with your own funds. No crowdfunding. Otherwise, have at it.
Because of this, there is now a treasure trove of Star Wars films waiting to be discovered.
Have fun exploring.
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