Prelude To Axanar

Axanar represents an important moment in Trek history, both in and out of the universe. As the title suggests, this was a taster for a film centred around the battle of Axanar, the Federation’s first battle with the Klingons. Shot as a fictional documentary, it was designed to show that great fan films didn’t need huge budgets, as well as act as a showcase for the film itself. However, Paramount and CBS, who own the copyright, got wind of the efforts and threatened to sue the team. It was eventually settled, after harsh guidelines and restrictions on fan productions were introduced, but meant that the project would now be released as two 15-minute parts, rather than a 90-minute feature.

Star Trek- Horizon

Set in the prequel era of Star Trek: Enterprise, this impressive fan film focuses on the Discovery and its mission to help a Romulan defector and keep an ancient doomsday weapon out of their hands. While not the most original premise, the draw here is that, for a fan project, it’s very impressive. The effects are good for its small budget, and various elements from Trek canon make it feel like part of the universe in a seamless way. A sequel was planned but was reworked into an original project after the fan fiction guidelines changed.

Star Trek Continues

As Kirk says in the iconic intro to the original series, the Enterprise is on a 5-year mission. Although changes to the airing of episodes meant that the dates didn’t always go in order, the series chronicles three of those years. Star Trek Continues shows some of the events of the final year, giving the series a proper conclusion. The look and feel of the original series is lovingly recreated, with sets built from the original blueprints and filmed in the same aspect ratio. It also features a stellar cast including Mythbusters Grant Imahara as Sulu, and the son of original Scotty, Chris Doohan playing the role of his father. Many Trek alumni cameo, such as Micheal Dorn and Jason Isaacs. It also features cameos from other sci-fi projects such as former Doctor Who Colin Baker and Battlestar Galactica‘s Jaimie Bamber.

A Long Way From Home

The Covid-19 Pandemic disrupted everyone’s daily life, with many people unable to work or leave their houses. Film and TV projects were disrupted, with many films delayed and series shortened. This fan film was made during the 2020/2021 lockdowns in the UK. With only a few actors and locations, this fan film manages to stand alone, whilst also featuring nods and easter eggs to many other series, and films both official and fan-made.

Of Gods and Men

An unofficial 40th Anniversary celebration, this mini-series focuses on Uhura and Chekov (with the original actors reprising their roles) as they find themselves in an alternate timeline where Captain Kirk was never born, as an act of vengeance from one of his enemies. Despite not being officially endorsed by the rights holders, it did have lots of coverage on the official website. As well as several former cast members reprising their roles from various instalments of the franchise, it also credits creator Gene Roddenberry’s son as an executive producer.

Also Read: May The Fan Film Be With You

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To ensure we don’t continually focus on the same properties and characters each selected fan film will be from a different comic company. We will look at the narrative of each film and explain what makes them special.

2000AD – Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Massacre

When Genetic Infantrymen (artificial soldiers) are airdropped onto Nu-Earth they are ambushed by an army of Norts. Only one GI remains with his body intact, Rogue. Can he escape the ambush alive? 

This brief adaptation of a 2000AD staple makes up for its short length with amazing action and effective economic storytelling. Within five minutes the narration and visuals demonstrate the conflict’s scale and why we should root for Rogue, as he navigates the hostile battlefield which killed many of his comrades. The use of interesting sci-fi ideas such as storing the personalities of fallen GIs on microchips that can be stored on army items adds humour and uniqueness to the story. But it’s the exciting well-staged, nicely shot, and superbly edited action that provides the reason to watch this short. If you want a must-see action fan film, watch this.

DC – New Wings: A Batgirl Fan-Film

After fighting Clayface, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) is visited by Bruce Wayne. Bruce tells Barbara she must stop being Batgirl. However, both must put their differences aside when a part of Clayface that Barbara brought home comes to life. Can they fix the problem without Barbara’s father, Jim Gordon, finding out?

New Wings is incredibly fun. The dialogue between the characters is hilarious and the cast perfectly fit their roles, with their chemistry making them a joy to watch. Emma Catharine effortlessly captures Barbara Gordon’s youthful eagerness; Anthony Paderewski pulls off a terrific balancing act as a Bruce Wayne that pivots between dark and humorous, and David H. Horne is charming as the oblivious Jim Gordon. Couple that with some wonderful direction, impressive effects work, and perfectly timed editing, and New Wings becomes, to date, the best live-action Batgirl interpretation. 

Image – Spawn: The Recall

After young Michael disappears in a supermarket his mother tries to find him but discovers dark forces at work around her. What do they want with her and her child? 

The Recall is not just a great Spawn adaptation but a moody, horror tale that succeeds thanks to the acting of the central cast. Johanna Genet as the mother really sells her desperation as she searches for her child. Tom Maurice also does a pretty good job as the innocent Michael and Gregory Paris is a terrifying Spawn. Apart from the cast, it is also helped along by its use of dark atmospheric visuals (with mostly well-done CGI helping to realise some creative spooky images) and an eerie score that enhances the film’s tone.

Marvel – Truth in Journalism

Journalist Eddie Brock takes a documentary film crew on a tour of his life but gradually the crew realise that life around Brock is more dangerous than they anticipated. Especially considering the secret he is hiding.

Clearly inspired by Man Bites Dog, Truth in Journalism makes the Marvel universe feel disturbingly grounded through its pseudo-documentary framing. Which combined with the grainy black and white, cinema verité style presentation makes the grim story hit much harder. And Ryan Kwanten’s central performance makes Eddie Brock into an equal parts sleazily watchable and horrifying presence.  

Vertigo – Fabletown

Deputy Mayor of Fabletown Snow White and former sheriff Bigby Wolf must reunite when someone from the real world sees the Beast’s (from Beauty and the Beast) true form. Can Bigby and Snow solve the problem?

Fabletown feels like a quality network TV show. The series’ visuals are very professional. In addition, the narrative is engaging and well-paced. With a fantastic mixture of wit, mystery, action, and heart always keeping viewers invested. But the diverse characters are Fabletown’s biggest strength. All the actors do superb work and the writing gives everyone a nice amount of depth. Above all special mention must go to Emma Van Lare as the commanding Snow White, Holly Day as the sarcastic Cindy, and Jordan O’Neal as the anti-heroic Bigby Wolf. All of whom bring enthusiasm and humanity to their roles. Fabletown deserves to be your next binge-watch.

So ends our list of must-see comic book fan films. Let us know your thoughts and please tell us any comic fan films you would recommend.

Also Read: Holy Fan Films, Batman

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So, today we are going to shine a spotlight on a video from an American production company, And You Films. Which was recently released on YouTube. The project, the latest in a series of videos called “Scene Riffs”, is called BATMAN’S NEW IDENTITY!? And we’re going to be looking at how the filmmakers overcame the challenges of filming in the time of COVID-19.

Synopsis

In this parody of the filming of the opening scene of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) we see the Caped Crusader (Brendan Jackson Rogers) preparing to take down two Gotham criminals (Will Phillips and Alea Figueroa). But after the filmmakers get the take of the scene that they want they decide to do some retakes. Showing us a number of humorously creative variations on how the scene could have gone. Including cross-overs with famous figures, things going wrong for Batman, a healthy dose of product placement; pop culture references, and some flatulence.

Safety and Filming

Two of the biggest challenges the makers of BATMAN’S NEW IDENTITY faced was having to protect the cast and crew against COVID-19 on set. As well as considering how the filming process would be handled. So how did the makers get around these obstacles?

According to the company’s press release in order to make the filming process safe the number of people on set was limited to a bubble of just three people. Those people being the cast members themselves. Who also took on filming responsibilities as well as acting.

But with such a small crew how did they deal with the filming process? Director Brendan Jackson Rogers made great use of shot-for-shot storyboarding to help the production navigate the shoot. And the crew members continually rotated the duties of operating the filming equipment they had between them. Depending on who was in the shot.

Budget

One other challenge facing this team was how to produce a great film on a limited budget. Brendan Jackson Rogers said most of the productions made by And You Films have a budget of around $500 which is raised through their YouTube revenue and Patreon memberships. So how did they stretch their budget to produce this project?

The main idea behind this series of parodies was actually born out of the limitations of the budget and the safety restrictions. The team decided to create something that could be filmed entirely within the confines of a studio and with the use of a green screen. The filmmakers even humorously referred to the filming process for this video as “Quarantined with a Green Screen.” As well as this the team was also responsible for most of the production and post-production work. Including editing and creating green screen backgrounds. The only external talent on the project being John Mondelli who provided the Batman parody music. Not only did these methods help to keep the crew protected but they also helped to keep the budget more manageable.

Conclusion

This ends our look into the making of BATMAN’S NEW IDENTITY!? Which used some clever methods to overcome filming and budget limitations and the safety restrictions of the past year. If you would like to give the video a watch you will find it linked below.

Also Read: Living In Crime Alley: Batman Fan Film

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The post BATMAN’S NEW IDENTITY!? [Batman Fan Project] appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Also Read: Holy Fan Films, Batman

The post Living In Crime Alley [Batman Fan Film] appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The film described as “the epic fan film that will change the game” comes from an award-winning team and lifelong Star Wars fans; writer/director Phil Hawkins and Executive Producer Gary Cowan of Velvet Film Production.

Filmed in the Sahara Desert, Morocco, Star Wars: Origins is the culmination of three years’ work and stars Marie Everett (What Happened To Monday, Netflix), Jamie Costa (Han Solo: A Smuggler’s Trade), Hadrian Howard (The Mummy, Mi Rogue Nation) and Philip Walker.

Also Read: Star Wars: May The Fan Film Be With You

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