Michael Scott (filmmaker)
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Michael "Dorkman" Scott (born March 26, 1983) is a Los Angeles, CA-based independent filmmaker, best known for his visual effects work in Star Wars-related films Ryan vs. Dorkman (RVD) and its sequel Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 (RVD2), which he co-created with Ryan Wieber. The films have received a great deal of recognition on the Internet, with the former reaching #2 in Google Video's "Top 100" ranking in May 2006.[1]. As of March 26, 2007, RVD has been viewed almost 1.5 million times on Google Video, and over 2 million times on YouTube, and RVD2 has been viewed over 1.7 million times on YouTube and had 18 Honors as of March 31, 2007.
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[edit] Ryan vs. Dorkman
Ryan vs. Dorkman (often abbreviated by fans as RvD) was first released to the internet on March 1, 2003. It was produced as an entry in a lightsaber choreography competition hosted by TheForce.net, a prominent Star Wars fan site noted for its fan film-making community. According to the official TFN entry for the film, the backstory involves Ryan and Michael, or Ryan_W and DorkmanScott, as they are known on TheForce.net's forums, meeting after their friendly online rivalry over who is the better saber artist escalates too far. The fight to the death will determine once and for all who is the most skilled with a saber.
Though fan-made lightsaber duels were already commonplace on the internet at the time of its release, RvD gained attention due to the quality of the lightsaber special effects, which some compared to the visual effects created by Industrial Light and Magic.[2] It was also lauded for its careful and clear cinematography and its fight choreography, praised by some fans as being equal to or even surpassing the fighting showcased in actual franchise films.
In the spring of 2006, the short became a viral video after being posted on such websites as eBaumsworld, CollegeHumor, and (arguably the biggest boost in its popularity and visibility) the front page of YouTube as a "Featured Video." The YouTube video officially surpassed two million views on September 30, 2007, along with tens of thousands of hits at other sites.
A version of the film uploaded to Google Video has surpassed 1.5 million views.
[edit] Ryan vs Dorkman 2
After the sudden and tremendous resurgence in popularity of RvD, Wieber and Scott announced in May 2006 that they would be producing a sequel. Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 (RvD2) was shot in Atlanta, Georgia in August 2006 and has been released worldwide.
On December 15, 2006, the filmmakers released a sneak peek of the sequel on YouTube, which established the official release date as March 1, 2007. (View at YouTube)[3]
The film's score was recorded on February 11, 2007 with a 57 piece orchestra at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. To accomplish this goal, film composers Gordy Haab and Kyle Newmaster donated their time and talents to the project. The film's creators used a PayPal link to solicit donations from fans, in order to pay the musicians. M.B Gordy (lead percussionist from Battlestar Galactica) provides the percussion.
Though the internet release was March 1, 2007, the filmmakers announced a premiere screening of the movie, open to the public, on February 24, 2007 at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theatre, Los Angeles. The film was also screened the same evening across the country at the New York Comic Con.
Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 was released as scheduled on March 1, 2007. (View at YouTube)
[edit] Other fan film work
[edit] The 65th Sense
Michael contributed the visual effects to this USC student thesis film, a parody of The Sixth Sense. This was his first visual effects job.
[edit] The Formula
Michael was a visual effects supervisor for the Star Wars fanfilm 'The Formula', directed by Chris Hanel and Steve Phelan. It was during the post-production process of this film that he felt the workload was too heavy, and brought Ryan Wieber, who would also earn the credit of visual effects supervisor, on board. This was their first direct collaboration on a project, and ultimately led to a friendship between the two former rivals.
[edit] Contract of Evil (aka "Darklords of the Sith")
An exploration of Darth Maul's past, pre-Phantom Menace, the film features a battle between two other Sith Lords, Darth Wroth and Darth Anarcis (taken from anarchy). Michael was post-production/visual effects supervisor on the film. Although the trademark Star Wars text crawl at the beginning of the film identifies the film as "Contract of Evil", the film was uploaded to YouTube by the filmmakers under the title "Darklords of the Sith".
[edit] Crossroads of Destiny
A follow-up project from the creators of "Contract of Evil", the film takes place many years prior to "The Phantom Menace", focusing on a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprenticeship to Jedi Master Shaak Ti. The film becomes a battle between Shaak Ti and a strange creature (identified in the credits as Kiloss), who wants to take Obi-Wan and train him in the ways of the Dark Side. Other Star Wars characters to make an appearance in the film are Even Piell and Ki-Adi-Mundi.
[edit] Sandrima Rising
Michael is heavily involved with the upcoming fan films project "Sandrima Rising". According to a March 1, 2008 blog entry, Michael was "[fight] choreographer, director of photography, actor, visual effects supervisor, visual effects artist, and editor on the project", and is currently working on the visual effects for the film with a deadline of July 2008. Michael also states that, with the exception of RvD3, "Sandrima Rising" represents his retirement from fan filmmaking.
[edit] The Monkey's Paw
Before Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 was released, Scott directed and starred in an adaptation of W. W. Jacobs' The Monkey's Paw. Teresa Berkin costarred as the mother. Although some liberties were taken from the original story--the name of the family, the way the family got the paw, the father dying instead of the son, etc--the film was well received on TheForce.Net's fanfilms forum. The film is available on YouTube.
[edit] The Descendants
On September 17th Michael Scott released a trailer on YouTube for an adaptation of the Dark Horse comic The Descendants. Starring Ray Park, the trailer was made as a showcase of their abilities with the aim of raising funds for a full production.
He stated in the videos comments:[4]
“At this point, we have three things:
1) This teaser
2) Ray Park
3) Dark Horse producing
Hopefully from posting this we'll also get:
4) Word-of-mouth.
We're trying to get funding for the full project, but we don't know yet what form it will take. At this point in the negotiations with certain groups, it could become anything from a theatrical feature to a TV miniseries to a collection of webisodes posted right here on YouTube. It's up in the air at the moment.”
The trailer can be viewed on YouTube
[edit] Notes
- ^ Ryan vs Dorkman . com
- ^ Cited by Wieber on his site[1], but the text has since been changed.
- ^ http://ryanw.michaelfrisk.com/ryan_vs_dorkman/rvd2.html
- ^ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
