Star Wars Fan Film in 3D & Teenage Son of Predator!



It's a news headline so nice that I just have to say it twice: IT'S STAR WARS IN FREAKIN' 3D!!! Mind you, it's not official Lucasfilm-produced Star Wars; it's a fan-made CGI animated short called The Solo Adventures by Daniel L. Smith and Jeff Scheetz, a short that won Best Animated Feature at this year’s Star Wars Fan Movie Awards at Celebration V in Orlando, Florida. It's a great short by itself (the actor who does the voice of Han Solo sounds almost exactly like Harrison Ford) but the anaglyph 3D really makes this short something truly special to behold. For the first time, you get to see iconic Star Wars vehicles such as the Millennium Falcon, a Star Destroyer and TIE Fighters flying around in 3D. (Of course, you can also watch this same short in 2D, but where's the fun in that?)

I've known for quite some time now that George Lucas has considered converting all six of the Star Wars live action movies into 3D. However, I'm surprised that he hasn't released anything in 3D for his Star Wars: Clone Wars CGI animated TV series, since that would be much easier to convert. I've argued before that CGI animation is the ideal format for 3D presentation, and the Solo Adventures short provides a tantalizing glimpse of how awesome a 3D CGI Star Wars series would be.

The Official Star Wars Blog recently posted an interview with Jeff Scheetz. Also, if you're going to watch this wonderful short in 3D, do it right and pick up a pair of high-quality plastic anaglyph 3D glasses--not the dinky cardboard anaglyph 3D glasses.

Speaking of animation, check out the animated short "Predator's Teenage Son" at the College Humor site. It's a funny parody of the Predator universe (complete with subtitles), and the sudden cameo appearance at the end is a hoot!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Tron: Uprising (Part 1 of 4): Characters

Image
This month marks the one year anniversary of the cancellation of Tron: Uprising , which aired on Disney XD for 19 episodes. Set between the events of Tron and Tron: Legacy , Uprising chronicled the events shortly after Clu’s rise to power within the stand-alone Grid created by Kevin Flynn. Personally, I think that Tron: Uprising got a raw deal from Disney. It’s a fantastic addition to the Tron saga that went on to win both Emmy and Annie Awards , yet Disney clearly had other priorities and was willing to toss Uprising aside without so much as an official cancellation notice. Even to this day, Uprising has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray and I’m wondering if it ever will. In honor of this amazing animated series that was cut down in its prime, I have decided to do something that Disney won’t. Since there will never be an official Tron: Uprising art book, I have searched across the Internet to find a selection of art from Uprising that I can share here on my blog with ...
Read more

FOUND: Mechanical Shark from Universal Jaws Theme Park Ride

Image
When the Universal Studios Theme Park in Florida shut down its Jaws ride back in January 2012, Jaws fans everywhere were devastated. Yet even though this part of the Jaws franchise is no longer operational, some of its sharks are swimming around out there … including places such as Frederick, Maryland. A few days ago, I was contacted by a fellow Jaws fan named John Ryan, asking me if I knew anything specific regarding the sharks from the Universal Jaws ride. He was asking because he thought he found one and is trying to verify its authenticity. We spoke on the phone and exchanged a few emails, and here’s what he told me about his find: “I've been collecting Jaws memorabilia for decades and when I found this incredibly rare gem sitting in a backyard in Frederick, Maryland, I wondered about its connection to the state. The current homeowners said the shark was already there when they purchased the property. They also told me it had been the subject of neighborhood rumor for y...
Read more

Machine Robo's Magnificent Robot Combiners

Image
I don't collect Transformers merchandise, but I see articles and advertisements about it when I browse through Japanese robot toy sites. From what I can gather, one of the latest product lines for Transformers is called "Combiner Wars" , a line that consists of five or six transforming robot toys that combine into one bigger robot. Combiner robot toys have been around for a long time, and Transformers had quite a few of them even back in the '80s. Yet of the many combiner robot toys I've seen over the years, the ones that have consistently impressed me were the ones released by Bandai under the Machine Robo line. Whereas other robot toy lines are stuck in the novelty of combining smaller toys into a bigger toy, Machine Robo has used the concept of combination to promote creative play. Read on for a review of how Machine Robo has built upon its combiner toys throughout the years.
Read more