A Long Time Ago…
I was a HUGE Star Wars fan. Growing up in the 80’s, I got to see Return of the Jedi in the theaters and was always in wonder of how they made such amazing movies that captured my imagination. Fast forward 30 years and I’ve taught myself how to animate characters, I’m working as a freelance animator, and I’m wanting to make something bigger. My friend and I storyboarded this idea for a Star Wars Fan Film awards. I felt the idea was strong with the force enough to call it Star Wars: A New Employee Orientation.
That’s No Moon
That’s actually a YouTube video that was voted on by all the Star Wars fans in the world. We were voted best animation and also best comedy, but could only win one of them. This project too a ton of collaboration with my friends, long hours after my paying job nightly to complete, and a lot of perseverance. I had never made a video longer than about 2 minutes and no were near as ambitious in the sense of storytelling.
There can only be two
After winning, we were invited to do a story on StarWars.com here that detailed the journey from the idea to the final video. This article came out about a year after our win so it was really nice to revisit the experience and share it with the world as Lucas Films created another Fan Film Awards as a part of the Star Wars Fandom experience they hold each year.
The Force Awakens
So, I entered again… This time with much fewer hours, and less collaboration, but with a fun, short idea. This idea was also promoted on social media and voted on by the audience as the Best Short Video Audience Choice.
The Master
We were then invited to watch the World Premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. We were actually on the red carpet, meeting Palpatine, Padme, and this guy, J.J. Abrams. We also got to see the film and the after-party on Hollywood Boulevard. It was surreal and unforgettable. This was in the winter of 2019… so pretty good timing for the time of my life.
The Journey…
…has been wonderful and all because of some simple drawings and a concept. I don’t know if the ride is quite over, but I know I’ve been blessed with an opportunity that most don’t get.