Friday, November 11, 2022

RvD2: behind the scenes

Years ago, in 2007, while I was still a relatively young teacher at Sookmyung Women's University, Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 came out. It was the amped-up sequel to Ryan vs. Dorkman, a prize-winning fanfic lightsaber battle crafted and acted out by two SFX nerds and Star Wars fans—Ryan Wieber and Michael Scott—who wanted to do their own lightsaber battle. The fight choreography was good for the first movie, if a little rough, and after the pair entered their video into a lightsaber-fight video contest sponsored by TheForce.net, they won first prize. Wieber and Scott (who is nicknamed "Dorkman") filmed their sequel in 2006 and released it the following year. RvD2 is a much more polished affair with more imaginative choreography, special effects, and even an original musical score played by a 57-piece orchestra in Hollywood. In case you've never seen RvD2, click here.

Below is a behind-the-scenes look at how RvD2 was made. I found the documentary fascinating. The viewer follows the progress of the video from rough cuts to the final, polished product, learning a great deal about layering, masks, rotoscoping, the integration of practical effects, image stabilization (and realignment), and so much more. A lot of work went into the making of this short fight scene. Watching the documentary allows you to appreciate both the effort and all the little details that are easy to miss.





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