Bro Wars: A New Hoe
My Role: I was tasked to make this Lightsaber fight look real.
Deep Sheep, a group popular for gaming and filmmaking videos on YouTube, shot a Star Wars Parody Short Film in the Summer of 2019, but were never able to finish it because the VFX needed to pull it off were prohibitively expensive Growing up, I had been a fan of theirs for a while, so when I happened to connect with them online and found out about this project, I enthusiastically offered my services to the project. It was my dream to work with them, and I was electric with excitement when they accepted my offer.
The task seemed simple at first. A little motion tracking, a little rotoscoping, boom. Real-life lightsabers. If only it had been that easy. What I didn't realize before taking on this project was that; A, it was a bit of a mess in terms of the stability of the camerawork, and B, there were a lot of complicated moves in the choreography that made motion tracking and rotoscoping really difficult. Oh, and did I mention this was my first time doing this effect?
Through perseverance, experimentation, and lots of patience, I was able to grind through each shot, hand tracking and rotoscoping the lightsaber blades into the correct positions. I added sparks and bright flashes when the blades made contact, smoke effects when objects were burned by the sabers, and I even did the final color correction and color grading, as a sort of "final coat of paint" to seal off the project. After months of hard work, it finally came together. I learned so many valuable skills from taking on this project, and I got an opportunity to work with creators that I've loved since I was a kid. I'm so grateful, and I can't wait to take on another project as challenging as this one.
VFX For UniverseOfEmily & Saber Theory
Since then I think I've gotten better at it, refining and speeding up the process while creating a more realistic-feeling blend with the source footage. I created these videos and photos for UniverseOfEmily, and Saber Theory, as part of a campaign to promote their collaboration.
