(Saturday May 5, 2012) Earlier today, I was teaching young kids how yoga can help them access The Force. No, I’m not really an instructor. Simply an actress who worked on the set of First Glance Film’s Star Wars fan series Jedi Camp. First Glance held a Kickstarter campaign a few months ago to raise money for their series and, in part, to spread the message against anti-bullying. We all remember the story of the young girl who was bullied for liking Star Wars (um…that still makes no sense to me, and I’m a grown ass woman who loves these films!) It’s a great cause, and I was happy I could help spread that message.

And what a FUN day on set it was!

When I first arrived, I practically tripped on Star Wars props. R2 was just chillin on the side of the road. Lightsabers were everywhere and the kids were all practicing their moves. The crew was inside, shooting a few scenes with the leads.

After lunch, I met my cool-ass yoga instructor, Christopher (otherwise known as “The Yoga Guy”), who had already taught the kids their moves, and was going to teach me mine. Funny, we ended up just having him call out each move on the side, and I’d repeat it as if I were running the class. That’s improv baby! Mind you, yoga is not that easy… but these kids were rockstars!

Random side note: We also spent the day chatting about one of my favorite topics: Astrology. He tells me I’m a double Aries. WOW!

I digress…

Then came the levitation scene… hmmm, how to shoot a kid floating in mid air…? Oh wait, this is film, the guys will just lift him up on either side and the DP will ensure they’re not in the shot. Voila!

Last but not least (for this day anyway), I got to see some real action when they shot one of Stuart Allen‘s (Lucas) Lightsaber scenes. This kid would whoop any Sith’s butt (did you see the video?!)

All in all, I had a blast. After I was wrapped, I stayed for a few more hours just getting to know everyone on set. Such cool people! It makes me happy to see a production like this come together, and everyone having a great time in the process of making it happen. It was also one of the most chill sets I’ve been on in a while.

THIS is why I make geeky films!

The web series will be released in June 2012, right before Comic-Con, and you can find out more about it on the official site JediCamp.com.

Oh and please DO steal my video and help promote the hard work that happened here today!

Below you’ll find the making of this parody, cast/crew, costumes, photos and press.

How This Parody Came to Be

For those of you who play SKYRIM, I don’t have to explain my inspiration for this—you get it. I do, however, want to share how I got this made. That’s probably a far more interesting story, eh? Oh and this is merely one story… my experience. As a fan, not a studio with a gazillion dollar budget. (This all came out of my own pocket.)

SKYRIM fans feel my pain

I had the idea around the holidays, and started working on the storyboards (see the pic below). I wanted this to mirror not only my experience when playing, but everyone else’s as well. I was laughing my ass off when I drew the pic of Lydia, lying dead, surrounded by all my shit. My FAVORITE shot. (I also tortured my DP by making him shoot this angle 20 times to get it perfect).

Lydia, dead... again! Yes my boards are quick-n-dirty.

The final shot of Lydia with all of my goods scattered

I called my buddy (and PUCKER co-creator) Ty Huffer, and offered to buy him a plane ticket to LA if he’d shoot and edit this for me. Deal! I was able to borrow the green screen and lights from another pal… because we all gotta trade services on no budget, right? For the role of Lydia, I immediately thought of my Think Hero co-host Lauren McFall because she’s hilarious, and OMG she looks exactly like Lydia! A few weeks later, the story was locked, costumes were finished (my moi, see pics below), and we were ready to rock.

THEN SH*T HIT THE FAN.

The day before the shoot, my pal’s flight was cancelled due to a huge ice storm in Seattle. I spent the entire day calling every DP I knew, and Dennis Tzeng (CEO of Think Hero) came through for me at the last minute. Plus, he’s played the game. I was also sick, so I had zero voice to talk (during the shoot too!), so I had to do production meetings via messenger.

We finally made it to shoot day though! We set up the green screen in my living room and shot this all in one day. I directed my special FX dude (and hubby) Dane Storrusten on what I wanted to see in the acting, so he could direct Lauren and myself. To all producers/directors who are also on camera, you know this is the most difficult thing to do to get your vision across! It was perfect! Side note: If you are ever on my set, you will get treated like royalty.

SKYRIM babes! Lauren and I on set.

Once the footage was complete, I spent hours editing it together—to the SKYRIM theme song (an mp3 I found online)—and recording sounds off the actual game to make this as realistic to the world of SKYRIM as possible. Then I ran into a huge snag: I couldn’t get screen captures off my game to my Mac! So I posted my issue on Twitter, and my pal Chase Emory came to the rescue. I sent him pictures (from my phone) of the exact location and angles, and he send me HD backgrounds. Whew!

Then I handed the cut to Dane (who is the most brilliant artist I know), and magic happened! He added the coloring, backgrounds, focus, burns, dragon fire, glowing effects, and all that jazz. When I got the final cut back I was so happy!

Dane's special FX were amazing!

Then I added in all of the game sound exactly where I wanted it, and sent the final cut to my pal Dave Green of Houdini’s Tree to do a sound clean-up and add the effects I was missing… like the huge armor collision! Snag #2: While we were shooting, I had no voice, so I couldn’t do the battle cry. When I went to ADR this later on, my audio system went tits up on me. So Dave’s wife Ann’s voice is the one you hear yelling. Craziness!

I got the final cut back late, and while adding the audio track, I realized crap! We forgot the Lydia is Dead UI. Dane made me a quick graphic, went to sleep, and I didn’t end up tossing it it in—or looking at it—until about 3am. Once it was rendered, I noticed it was an ”E” (yes, Ps3 is an “X” like the image above), but I said, ya know what? It’s late, I’m pooped and I had to get the end screens from the PC anyway, so who cares. This is about the concept of Lydia. I’m OK with it.

I made some final tweaks and posted it online for you all to enjoy! And that’s how SKYRIM: To Lydia with Love this got made.

Credits

	Kristen Nedopak — Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Costumes, Lead @Nedopak
	Lauren McFall — LydiaLauren is a hilarious comedian and co-host of “Ink Hero“. @CLOSETGEEK1
	Dane Storrusten — Art Direction & Special FXDane is the CEO/Creative Director of Soulcake Creative. @SoulcakeDesign
	Dennis Tzeng — Director of PhotographyDennis is the CEO of Think Hero. @ThinkHero
	Dave Green, Houdini’s Tree — Sound Design

Special thanks to: Krishna Devine / Zach Baker (green screen), Josh Fuss (lighting), Academy of Theatrical Combat (weapons and my co-creators on Fight Class) and Chase Emory (backgrounds).

And a SUPER DUPER thanks to all of of my Twitter followers for posting and RTing!

Press

Thank you for the outlets that covered this for me! If you want to cover this or post the video, let me know and I’ll add you to this page!

Click the pics to read each article.

Girl Gamer	Think Hero
The Mary Sue	Pop Culture Monster
Pop Galaxy

After posting this on-set pic, we made it on Twitter’s “Top images for #SKYRIM!”

Then after bitching… I mean tweeting about Lydia, she found me! I laughed my ass off at over this one.

Costumes

Faery World Magazine is featuring my inspiring faery costume designs in their Jan-June (biannual) issue… and I’m on the cover! I wrote an article titled “Embodying Your Magical Self” regarding how I create my work and being an all-round fantasy geek.

A snippet:

Everyone has his or her own method of creating this happy place. For me, it’s making costumes. When I’m making things, I’m in the zone. My mind is completely expanded, my imagination soars and I’m filled with passion. It’s very meditational. Then comes the fun part. I get to wear them! Donning my hand-created garments allows me to break out of character and become someone—or something—else. Of course, it’s usually just another side of me who comes out to play. Read the full story.

The Photo Shoot

So much work went into the photo shoot for this issue, from creating new costumes to the shoot itself. I worked with the amazing photographer Tinahmaree Antoon, who is an expert at directing and creating my vision. Here are some of the final photos we chose.

Good faeries…

Naughty faery…

Costume Design

I custom created the orange faery just for this shoot! Here’s what I wrote in the article:

Aurora, the Queen of the faeries. She is graceful, poised and powerful. She is one with nature and wears flower petals, branches and berries. Orange represents powerful energy to me, yet there is something organic about it too. Christian Doir’s gorgeous Junon gown inspired me so much, that I designed my skirt to have a similar look with hand-painted chiffon and a layer of gold gauze for the petals. I wanted Aurora to glow, so I glued glass beads to various parts of the costume, including the skirt and tips of the wings, which are made from branches. I strategically placed each branch into a foam block and covered it with brown leaves. A mother-daughter team of designers hand-made my bolero (GetWaisted on Etsy).
Read the full story.

In early December, I had the opportunity to attend the Gamer’s United holiday party, an event aimed to help raise funds so kids stuck in hospital beds can enjoy video games while they recoup. A fabulous cause!

Girl Gamer (@GirlGamer) covered the event (video above) where I was interviewed… around the 2:10 mark!

More about Gamers United:

“Originally conceptualized in 2008, Gamers United is an organization bringing the video gaming community and industry together, showcasing the positive aspects of video gaming to the world. Each year we help organizations, such as children’s hospitals, in need of support. Many hospitals now use video gaming as a rehabilitative tool. Other organizations use it as a method of entertainment for those who are unable to leave the confines of their home or hospital bed. Gamers United is dedicated to giving back and highlighting the video gamer’s youthful and giving spirit. We are proving the pixelated heart is a philanthropic one.”

Follow @Gamers_United on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook, and join the cause!

(left to right) Actress Helenna Santos-Levy, Director Barry Levy, Actress Kristen Nedopak, Creative Director Dane Storrusten

The other night I was hanging with the geek gals at my place. When we get together, pretty much everything ends up on Twitter in some way, shape or form. What can I say, we’re all social mavens! After a full-on conversation regarding appropriate uses of The Force (for you Star Wars fans), I tweeted the following:

Thus spawned one of the best twitter discussions I’ve ever seen (thanks to Bonnie Burton and Star Wars). Enjoy!

Like any chick dressing like a Space Vixen needs to worry about that! I wanted to share a few pics from the ITV Fest‘s annual Halloween Bash. I made this costume a while back and repurposed it for the event. Yup, those are tubes coming out of my back ala Dune-style. I had much cooler boots, but you know how it is standing all night in, literally, killer heels… We had a blast!

© 2011 erik fischer photography

© 2011 erik fischer photography

Here is a close-up of the vest during it's creation!

]]> http://www.nedopak.com/space-vixens-need-love-too/feed/ 0 http://www.nedopak.com/geek-girls-creating-their-own-films-shows/ http://www.nedopak.com/geek-girls-creating-their-own-films-shows/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:47:18 +0000 Kristen Nedopak http://www.nedopak.com/?p=1181

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to create my own panel at LA’s first Comikaze Expo (@ComikazeExpo). It was an incredible experience, and one that deserves a bit of recognition… not to mention the powerhouse of ladies who made it a success!

Along with myself (representing Think Hero and Fight Class), the panel included: Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken), Stephanie Thorpe (ElfQuest), Crix Lee (GirlGamer.com), Helenna Santos Levy (American Reunion) and Jessica Mills (Awkward Embraces). Moderated by voice-over master Spike Spencer.

As I mention during the panel introductions, I thought long and hard about a topic that represented not only the place I am in my life/career, but what would be equally as inspiring to an audience. Women creating their own work is what I wanted to promote. Not to knock the men out there doing the same (they are kicking ass too!), but any female producer can tell you that it really is a tougher road for us. This panel isn’t about gender though. It’s about the tools needed to create your own work: hard work (REALLY hard work), perseverance, dedication and an epic passion for your craft. That was the message all of us were—and are—eager to send.

Watch the panel

Shot by Think Hero (@ThinkHero).

Press articles about our panel

• Article on Defective Geeks (by @punkagogo)
• Article on ComicBooked.com (by @RBLeMoyne)
• Article on GirlGamer.com (@girlgamer)
• Helenna’s coverage (@HelsLevy)
• Initial announcement on ThinkHero.com (@ThinkHero)

Behind-the-scenes

Leah Cevoli created an episode of On the Road with Leah (@OTRWL) just for Comikaze!

Meet the panelists

Helenna created this kick-ass PDF brochure for our panel  for everyone–yeah, we are that organized!

Photos

From left to right: Bonnie Burton (special guest), Jessica Mills, Leah Cevoli, Stephanie Thorpe, Spike Spencer, Helenna Santos Levy, Kristen Nedopak, Crix Lee

'Geek Girls' panel

My girl Helenna and I

Helenna's amazing program

Thank you again, ladies. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped spread the love! A very special thank you to Leah Cevoli who, after freaking out that I had to organize this panel in less than 5 days, talked me down from the ledge and used her superhuman powers to help make this happen. Rockstar!

Though the Comikaze event is new to LA, this panel of geek gals are convention veterans… and we’re ready to showcase how much we rock! Thanks to the Con, we have our own panel celebrating women creating their own work in the geek genre.

BUY TICKETS ($12)   |   More info: http://comikazeexpo.com

When: Sunday November 6th, 4-5pm – Room 5

Where: Comikaze Expo – LA Convention Center (downtown LA)

What: Geek Girls Creating Their Own Films & Shows
Ladies who took their love of the geek life and turned it into a career. Kristen Nedopak (Fight Class, Think Hero TV), Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken, On the Road with Leah), Stephanie Thorpe (ElfQuest, The Shelf Life), Crix Lee (GirlGamer.com) and Helenna Santos Levy (American Reunion) are producers, hosts, actresses and all-round personalities who spent time and love creating their own popular web series, films and TV shows. Learn how they built their geek personas and gain insight into the struggles and success of working in the business.

Who: Meet the panel of girls and our badass moderator! Check out the PDF brochure for our panel to find out just who these Superwomen are who are gonna rock your world this weekend!

About Comikaze: “Comikaze is unlike any other comic-related event in the US. Having spent much time researching both local and national conventions in the United States, the Comikaze Team crafted an event that will thrill and excite even the most casual comic fan. Comikaze is a multi-tiered extravaganza created by real comic fans with deep ties to the entertainment world. While Comikaze might have a classic convention vibe, it’s much more than that. The Comikaze Team did not want to make an event for industry people and hardcore fans only. Instead, they designed a more balanced event as an alternative to the standard fan convention, dedicated to the Los Angeles and geek community above all else.”
~ Team Comikaze

You guys know that I love nothing more than social events jam packed with other geeks. Throw in a good cause… even better!

Last week I attended the 4th Annual Halloween Charity Screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and The Guild and it did not disappoint! From the moment I walked in the door, the event’s producer, Steve, and all of the Whedonopolis volunteers made it an experience to remember.

My crappy iPhone pic of me and Fillion!

Not to mention, I finally (FINALLY!) officially met one of my all-time geek girl crushes: Nathan Fillion.I nearly fainted (I know, so dramatic) when he arrived with Alan Tudyk (another fav actor of mine) to say hello to fans. He was also there to encourage folks to give. This event was, above all else, for charity. Funds raised benefitted Kids Need To Read (http://www.kidsneedtoread.org), a charity created by children’s author PJ Haarsma and Nathan Fillion in 2007, aimed at providing children’s books to libraries in need and to invoke the love to read in little tots.

It was a fabulous evening and here are the pics to prove it! You can find many more photos on the Whedonopolis Facebook page.

2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Speilberg’s famous live-action film Hook, and since our swordmasters were the original fight choreographers for the film, we wanted to celebrate! With swords, of course. Fight Class brought in the leader of the Lost Boys himself—Rufio (Dante Basco)—for a fabulous two-part tribute.

HOOK PART 1: Jan and Dan teach me the fight scene between Captain Hook and Peter Pan.

HOOK PART 2: Dante Basco reprises his role for the famous fight between Rufio and Captain Hook. (Lookie, lookie, I’ve got Hookie!)