Ryan Vs Dorkman

RYAN WIEBER VS. MICHAEL "DORKMAN" SCOTT

What began as a friendly rivalry between two effects artists explodes off TheForce.Net's FanFilms Forum and into the real world in a lightsaber battle royale.

Originally created for the forum's lightsaber choreography competition, this fight to the death will decide once and for all who is truly most skilled with a saber.

There can be only one.


(I did not make this short film, stop asking me how I made the special effects. Its a mix of rotoscoping, photoshop and After Effects.)


Visit their website at
http://www.ryanvsdorkman.com for any and all info concerning how to make this video, how long it took, or to meet the real creators of the fanfilm.

FAQs (from ryanvsdorkman.com)

How did you do those lightsaber effects?
We used Adobe After Effects to rotoscope the prop blades and add glows to them. Essentially the same way ILM does it. After Effects was also used for a variety of other visual effects you see (or don't see) in RvD.

How long did it take you to make this, and when did it come out?
We choreographed and filmed over the course of three weekends, and spent about 4 months on the effects in our spare time, finishing March 1st, 2003.

Did you guys have any martial arts or sword training when you made this?
Neither of us had any formal training of any kind at the time of making RvD. Just watched a lot of movies.


Where was this shot, and what is that thing in the background?
RvD was filmed at Carco Electronics, who built flight simulators for the aerospace industry. The machine in the background is a satellite tracking positioner, the specifications of which were top secret. After the machine was finished being built, it was shipped off to an "undisclosed location".

Where did you get the lightsaber props you guys are fighting with?
The saber props were actually built for this. They were made in several parts using a lathe, mill, and other metalworking tools. Aluminum tubing (like you can find at your local hardware store) were used for the blades.

What kind of camera did you film with?
Canon GL-1 camcorder.