The latest Star Wars film has been downloaded more than three million times in the last few months and the film-makers are delighted.

But this is not Revenge of the Sith being pirated - it is a so-called fan film called Star Wars: Revelations.

Revelations is a 40-minute long film made by Star Wars fans for fans and it is breaking ground due to the professional polish that has been brought to the production.

"We wanted to produce a high-calibre film," explains director Shane Felux, who lives in Virginia, in the US.

'Highest level'

"Everything needed to be at the highest level we could do. A lot of fan films can do this, the question is: Are you making a film to shoot in your back yard for fun? And if so, great.





"But are you trying to make a film and go for professional production? If so, it's a whole different mind set."
Revelations looks and feels like a professional production because it was made by professionals - but it was made by people in their own time and not for profit.

Impressive visual effects, professional lighting and sound, scores of extras and extravagant costumes and locations all give the film a lustre missing from most fan movies.


The acting and script may not be always effective - but the same criticism has been levelled at Revenge of the Sith.

"A lot of factors go into Revelations. Five years ago it would not have been possible, at least not at the cost we did it at.

"For one the film would not have been made possible without the use of broadband and the internet

'Average joe'

"Editing software, 3D applications - all of these things are becoming more affordable whereas 10 years ago or even further these thing were reserved for Hollywood or an elite.


"Now it's very exciting for independent film or even your average Joe to have a dream or vision to make a film - they can do it in their own home. It just requires a lot of dedication, a lot of work and organisation."

More than 200 people worked on Revelations and it took $20,000 (£11,400) to make - which came out of Felux's pocket - and three years of time.

Felux, who has a degree in acting and directing, and his wife, a professional costume designer, were inspired by a number of fan films that have become popular online but felt they could do better.

Mantra

The couple called many film professionals and visual effects experts to try and convince them to work for free on the project.




"My mantra is - 'you don't ask, you don't get'. If you present yourself professionally and talk to people, many times people will say yes.

"I just cold-called people. How often do you get to come out and shoot storm troopers, Darth Vader and lightsabers?"

All the props, sets and costumes were homegrown - the cockpit of one craft in the film took three months to build.

"My basement was like a sweatshop for a couple of months," says Felux.

The finished film is very faithful to the Star Wars universe - fans and casual observers will immediately recognise the iconography within Revelations.

"We are Lucasfilm's biggest fans, cheerleaders and supporters. We didn't want to do anything that would hurt their product. Being fans, we know how fans are.

Stand out feature

"We wanted to make sure it fits within the Star Wars universe so that when you watch it you know it's Star Wars."

The visual effects are the stand-out feature in Revelations and would not look out of place on the big screen.

A team of about eight CG artists worked on the project in their own time and communicated with each other online - sharing work and progress.


"The unique thing was that the online group could see each other's work. It created synergy but also competition. People kept trying to outdo each other so the bar got raised and even I didn't think it would be that good."
Felux is now working on an original project and looking for investment.

"I can make a two or three-million dollar movie that would normally cost $30m (£17m) or $50m (£28m) and I can make that back in overseas sales and DVD sales alone."

Felux says the lesson of Revelations is that the digital age means you can achieve things.

"The technology is there and it is affordable. But there are challenges. You have to find talented people, some money and to run a production takes a lot of energy to keep it going. They die very quickly if you don't feed it.

"To hell with studios, if you don't see a good thing and realise what is going on here then just get the hell out of my way because I'm going to do it myself."

On Tuesday the BBC News website speaks to a podcaster and picks out six of the best podcasts.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/ente...ent/4100284.stm

Actor/director Shane Felux spent three years and $20,000 to make his own Star Wars fan film, Revelations. He built the cockpit of a space ship in the film in his basement.


Cast and crew made the film in their own time. More than 200 people were involved the production as a whole, including a main cast of five and scores of extras.


Blue screen work to superimpose special effects and detailed backgrounds was used in much of the film. More than 30 digital artists and animators worked on the production.


The film recreates the look and feel of the official Star Wars films. Many of the locations will be familiar to fans, including this shot of a landing pad on Coruscant.


The plot of Revelations centres on the last few Jedi Knights yet to be killed by Darth Vader and takes place between Episode III and IV of the official films.


The film is available only for download. Star Wars creator George Lucas has given his blessing to fan films, as long as they are not made with any commercial intent.


Director Shane Felux said his cast gave two years of their lives to their film. "I'm very proud of the cast and crew," he said.


George Lucas says he plans no further Star Wars films. But movies like Revelations show that fans are only to willing to carry on.

I downloaded it the other day, watched about half of it before I got distracted and did something else. Meh. Anyway, the film itself is really good, for a fan-made movie. There's a certain charm about it. I can't place my finger on it, though. It reminds me of something I used to watch on TV when I was younger. Maybe an old Fox Kids show or something. Anyway, about the movie. The acting is kinda cheesy, but then again, all the Star Wars movies kinda are. The CGI is amazing, though! I love how they did it.

It looks like sh** and is a disgrace.

"When I'm dead, you can bury me head first so the critics can kiss my ass." - Me, I think

So where can you download it?

Sounds pretty cool. Im downloading it now.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I just saw this online and thought it was so cool I had to share

Kotor 2 was an awesome game. Too bad it was so buggy.

Emule P2P
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Just started downloading it now.

3.05MB of 242Mb. Not long to go Don't know when I'll have time to watch it though.....