Legacy of the Spellmaster: D&D Fanfilm

"In a time of myth and legend, an undead specter is haunting the land and stalking its people. After a long search, a lone young wizard has cornered the abomination in the wild and directly challenges its black magic in an effort to banish the monster from the realm."

So here you have pure homegrown produced movie in every sense of the word. Shot, edited, produced, directed, and starring ME. I made this in the desert outside my town in the summer of 2002, mainly to prove that I could do it, to prove that I could make my own fanfilm and match wits with the big boys (this was back before Youtube was anything more than a wild fantasy, and you could still count amateur productions on the Internet on two hands). This was uploaded at the time to the cinema board of a UK based movie enthusiasts hub, where hundreds of movie makers shared films created with a particular brand of FX software, and on that forum its been downloaded over 14,000 times.
Most of the FX here were created with that software "Amateur Light and Magic," but there's also much to be said for simple reversed footage. ;)
Some items of note:
-It was shot over a period of 4 months, as I knew how it started before I figured out how to end it. I figured I would just shoot what I knew and figure the rest out later (as a result you can see the undergrowth change color throughout the movie).
- Yes, I did it ALL myself, up to pressing REC on the camcorder and then running into frame to act out my part.
- Not a single original sound remains. Everything was dubbed over in post (courtesy of my wide selection of horror sound effects).
- The only spell effect that survived every single storyboard and reshoot was the Flying Sword of Black Magic (Mordenkainen's Sword for the D&D literate), an effect I was going to MAKE work even if I couldnt make it work. Acting it out was easy, but it took over a dozen separate renders in the software to get it exactly right (by comparison, the two shots with the flaming skull took only 3 TOTAL).
- And yes, I do play both roles (surely you noticed that at no time is the villain and protagonist on the screen at the same time? ;) )

For the completionist, the opening crawl here isnt the same one I uploaded those many years ago. Back then I succumbed to Excessive Exposition-itis and gave it a full 60 seconds overload. Heeding the cries of my fans, this is the lean and mean version.

So watch and enjoy! This is the origin of the "MUSE" in my name. Those rubber monster gloves? You didnt notice them in my production logo before every one of my new movies? Go watch, and you will...
(Now you know the rest of the story.)

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Dungeons
• and
• Dragons
• Live
• action
• roleplay
• role
• play
• D&D
• spellmaster
• undead
• wizard
• halloween
• fanfilm
• lord
• of
• rings
• gandalf
• hobbit
• harry
• potter
• sauron

[NGPMusic]

This is fucking awesome, Love the use of monty python LOL

[lordofthe21century]

Love how you randomly throw in Monty Python clips into it :P Totally works for the scene though :)

[mulg1]

Well, to be honest with you, I think thats what you would want, I think there is some talent at work here. Its good to remember however, that above all else in story, plot is the most important, and all manner of special effects can get old quickly, but a good plot will never fail to satisfy. Aristotle held that plot is the most important component in drama. There was some vague plot here, and there could have been more, with dialogue, without a need for masks, (human evil is always scarier)

[capndax2000]

Nice compilation and recreation

check out some movies by shadowyn films on you tube.

soul Searching, and the christmas Wintertide.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

There you are. The final battle with Sark. A swooshing sound that wasnt electronic or corny sounding. Worked perfect.

[MithraisAugustus]

The discs?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Tron. Go watch the fight scenes and listen real carefully. ;)

[MithraisAugustus]

ok, I went through the cast and crew list of Black Hole, and the only person of the major players to make what could be conservatively described as a sci fi movie was McLoughlin. However, Disney did go on to make Tron in 1982.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I think, here and there, there is a smidgen of Dragonslayer in there somewhere. I know I've used the firebreathing sound in other movies, and the Ulrich teleportation is a short and sweet "fizzle" sound. But its not the primary sound of the sword.

You were the closest when you mentioned Black Hole. Making that movie gave someone the confidence to make another sci fi movie a few years later...

[MithraisAugustus]

Dragonslayer