Triple F, FFF, Firefly Fan Film

[pennausamike]

And here he is...PIPEMAN!

Easy to make out of 2" pipe and fittings for the body,
a piece of 6" pipe cut in half for the shoulders,
a piece of plywood for hips/butt;
and the hard part;
2" dowels in a base and I turned the "head" out of plastic.

He breaks down into easily transported pieces.
The arms aren't glued on so he can be dressed.

When assembled, he also freaks out our dogs.

Mike

 

[pennausamike]

Some of the costumes looking like costumes

Alliance Fed Sergeant Aaron Wyatt (Starship Trooper Armor)

Alliance Fed (in the style of Skunk)

Local Law Enforcement Amber Fitzpatrick

Local Law Enforcement Deputy

One of the ex-Independent, businessmen smugglers, Buddy Lee Creek

There is still plenty to do, but I get tired of the same ol' pics being up.

Mike

 

[keelhauler]

Awesome! :thumbsup

 

[Goodwolf]

As the show used designs and items from all over the globe, I've been kicking around the idea of adding some of my Native American items to the wardrobe. I'm wondering just how badly knee high mocs would throw off the look...

 

[pennausamike]

As the show used designs and items from all over the globe, I've been kicking around the idea of adding some of my Native American items to the wardrobe. I'm wondering just how badly knee high mocs would throw off the look...

They would probably look right in place with Patience's men on Whitefall.

Mike

 

[Goodwolf]

They would probably look right in place with Patience's men on Whitefall.

Mike

Now that you mention it, one of them... might have been Patience herself, was wearing a bear claw necklace. I remember noticing it when I first watched the pilot.

 

[Kadajiroth]

Those costumes are fantastic, I can't wait to see how they're used.

 

[pennausamike]

Two new photos:

First, Pipeman spruces up the decor at the Spring SusQ Brigade-PA Browncoats Shindig.

Second, I lent my armor to the Browncoats:Redemption folks.
They were to send some pics of it "on set" my way, but haven't yet.
So, here's a shot of my armor and modded EG helmets from flickr photoset P4044344 by KierDuros.

So my SST armor will have two film credits before I have one.


Mike

 

[Bronson BB]

Hey, I'm gonna be in that movie!
I was an extra on their latest filming day.

 

[Bountys Hunted]

This looks great! You've put in a ton of work, bring the 'verse to life. Well done, damn well done!

I've got several fan films under my belt (well, 3) too darn bad we're on opposite sides of the coast! Even have some Browncoat stuff...:cool

 

[Darth Mule]

YoSafBridge wore denim in "Trash".
I imagine others did as well.
I guess I just see denim as THE frontier fabric.
Made from grow-able cotton; how can a Rimworld go wrong?

Also, Levi Strauss got his start selling "dungarees" to the prospectors in... I wanna say SF, which at that point would have been very similar to a rimworld or borderworld town. The selling points were durability durability and oh yeah... they lasted forever.

Although... they are so prevalant today that I can see them kinda breaking the believability factor if put *too* much in the forefront.

I too agree that the blue jeans are somewhat distracting on this ensemble. I'd go with a different color of denim. I'd also make sure to get some higher waisted, frontier style jeans. Just something as simple as the cut of the pants can really make or break this costume. Especially when you're using a vest with it, you don't want a big chunk of shirt belly between the pants and vest.

Something like the mal pant, but maybe in a different color. Several selections at this link:
http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/Category.cgi?category=3930&type=store

 

[wazza]

Hey Mike found your amazing thread on your fan film and noticed its been a little while since theres been any posts, just wondering how things are going? I hope the dream is still alive!!! Would love to hear of any progress made!

 

[pennausamike]

Hey Mike found your amazing thread on your fan film and noticed its been a little while since theres been any posts, just wondering how things are going? I hope the dream is still alive!!! Would love to hear of any progress made!

Yeah...welll....things aren't exactly "moving" on "Fool Me Twice".
but I haven't abandoned it, either.
I'm not a filmmaker and don't really have filmmaking aspirations beyond the two stories I want to tell with my "FMT" characters.

I'm still acquiring props and working on costumes,
just not at the same pace as when I expected to be making the film on a foreseen schedule.

Two examples, a Browncoat friend borrowed some of my Alliance costumes for his short film, "Cache".
The link to the video online is:
Cache on Vimeo

I pushed pretty hard to finish my Alliance Fed helmets,

but he only ended up using two of them.
That was still good for me tho', because it forced me to take another project off my "to-do" list.
(The only thing left to finish the helmets is, I need two cheekpieces.)

I've also acquired the metal and fiberglass pieces to build a sonic rifle.
The sonic is part of the medic's costume for "Fool Me Twice".
I like the idea of a medic being able to defend himself with non-lethal weaponry.

I still have a Facebook page for "Fool Me Twice".
Fool Me Twice | Facebook

I'll probably be updating that page in January 2012,
which is when I'm currently expecting to be calling "done" on prop and costume making.
At that point, I may re-examine the possibility of finding folks who are interested in actually putting "FMT" to video.

I add info to this Firefly Fan Film thread on a fairly regular basis,
(at least when there IS something to add)
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly Fan Film Roundup

and I put most of my online attention and info to my collection thread, here:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection
I probably have 85% of all my Firefly/Serenity stuff shown there.

If you check those threads, you'll be as up-to-date on "FMT" as I am!

Mike

 

[pennausamike]

Just a few pics already up elsewhere:

Above, a good selection of Alliance hardware, tho' the SMG's are my own design.
Below, some Browncoat character weapons.

From left to right:
Buddy Lee Creek's "AK-on-steroids" with some more detail work done; still unfinished.
Quintan Shang's silenced revolver carbine.
General/ rancher Dan Anderson's generic assault rifle (Stg-44).

 

[wazza]

WOW! I gotta say im impressed, you have an amazing collection of props! The quality is truly impressive. If you get anymore you could start to rival Firefly itself! In fact all the props look like they came from one of the episodes!

I watched your friends "short film" and well first of all kudos on the armour and uniforms they looked wonderful (although im a browncoat i am a sucker for the purple belly armour! ) I thought the guy who played Mal was amazing, he got his speech and mannerisms down perfect, there were points i was shocked at how much he was like him. It wasnt hard to believe he was Mal from days before. The music also was very evocative and it captured the feel of firefly/serenity very well. Overall i enjoyed it and was impressed at what he achieved.

Well you say your not a filmmaker but your posts suggest otherwise haha you may not be a filmaker just yet but you certainly are an artist. I truly commend you on what you are doing. Not everyone has the ability to write or create and even less have the desire, drive, skill or even oppurtinity to transform that into film.

So while it may not be progressing as fast as you like, please hang in there because looking at quality of the product so far it makes me believe this will truly be something special and also its movies like this that will keep Firefly/Serenity in the minds of everyone and bring in new fans and maybe new Series!!! I know myself and from reading other posts many others are looking forward to seeing the end result. So good luck and hope to be watching it in the near furture.

Keep on flying! - wazza

 

[Methuselah2011]

Yeah...welll....things aren't exactly "moving" on "Fool Me Twice".
but I haven't abandoned it, either.
I'm not a filmmaker and don't really have filmmaking aspirations beyond the two stories I want to tell with my "FMT" characters.

I'm still acquiring props and working on costumes,
just not at the same pace as when I expected to be making the film on a foreseen schedule.

Two examples, a Browncoat friend borrowed some of my Alliance costumes for his short film, "Cache".
The link to the video online is:
Cache on Vimeo

I pushed pretty hard to finish my Alliance Fed helmets,

but he only ended up using two of them.
That was still good for me tho', because it forced me to take another project off my "to-do" list.
(The only thing left to finish the helmets is, I need two cheekpieces.)

I've also acquired the metal and fiberglass pieces to build a sonic rifle.
The sonic is part of the medic's costume for "Fool Me Twice".
I like the idea of a medic being able to defend himself with non-lethal weaponry.

I still have a Facebook page for "Fool Me Twice".
Fool Me Twice | Facebook

I'll probably be updating that page in January 2012,
which is when I'm currently expecting to be calling "done" on prop and costume making.
At that point, I may re-examine the possibility of finding folks who are interested in actually putting "FMT" to video.

I add info to this Firefly Fan Film thread on a fairly regular basis,
(at least when there IS something to add)
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly Fan Film Roundup

and I put most of my online attention and info to my collection thread, here:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection
I probably have 85% of all my Firefly/Serenity stuff shown there.

If you check those threads, you'll be as up-to-date on "FMT" as I am!

Mike

Nice work. So what is the most current news? I know the Alliance soldiers looked different in all the "war time" flash backs. Do you do those as well? Great job on the props and costumes!

 

[pennausamike]

SNIP
So while it may not be progressing as fast as you like, please hang in there
SNIP

Keep on flying! - wazza

Nice work. So what is the most current news?
I know the Alliance soldiers looked different in all the "war time" flash backs.
Do you do those as well?
Great job on the props and costumes!

Not much to update.
My planned January 2012 update is still on my radar, (obviously at a later date)
but I have been pretty wrapped up in an all-consuming home project.
(That's in addition to my normal 7-day-a-week work schedule.)
I need to take about 5 hours some day and re-shoot the pics of many of the costumes,
which are complete or at least more complete.
But, for that one step forward, there have been a few steps back.
I haven't been in contact with the Alliance ship designer in years,
so I'm sure I'll be starting from Zero on the effects.
I've also lost the woods/barn/ command post location,
so that would require scouting and obtaining permission for replacements.

As my work and personal commitments have increased,
so has my contact with my like-minded Firefly and film-fan friends decreased.
I did put my project out to a couple of "interested" folks,
but that went nowhere.
(And I hate to do that, because I always envision the theft of a scene or dialog.)
At this point, I realize that to get my half hour of film in the can
I will have to commit to running the whole show.
Unless there is some drastic change in my life responsibilities,
that can't happen for another two to five years.

On the plus side, encouraging posts like the two above,
plus my own stubborn resistance to letting go of such a small dream,
means I just keep slowly building towards a hoped-for day when I can film my little story.
Every now-and-then I look at the five sets of Alliance armor hanging in my basement,
and I think how much I could use the money if I sold them.
And then I just KNOW that if the armor goes, the dream is dead.
Three and-a-half years to collect and build the visual centerpiece of the film;
it would just never look right without them.

I guess that is why Firefly has always resonated with me;
the final scene in the TV pilot "Serenity", where Simon says something to the effect of
"You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages...
half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives",
and then
MAL
We're still flying.

SIMON
That's not much.

Mal answers, almost to himself:
MAL
It's enough.

And so it is with "Fool Me Twice"....

Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection

PS: I never tried to replicate the wartime Alliance uniforms, in part because they used WWII German helmets,
which I thought looked a little too "Obvious".

 

[Methuselah2011]

Keep the Faith! You'll see your movie done some day.

Sadly ironic. I'm in the opposite boat. Sorta. I'm in California. I have all the resources, gear, grip truck, cameras, etc. What's holding me up is custom costumes and props. LOL. It's taking MONTHS to have those made.

My FF is actually about the War of Independence (6 years prior to the events of the show), and most everyone makes costumes from the timeline of the show, not the war, so I have to make THOSE from scratch. You're right about the German M42 helmets looking so 'obvious'. I groaned the first time I saw it. I was like 'Seriously? The "Bad guys" wear "Nazi" helmets. How obvious is that?'

I wanted to do a Fan film, but that would also mean it would have to be shot cheap. Even though I work in the Film industry, I surely don't want to pay UNION scale to everyone for something I can't make recoup my investment. Plus it's been a bad year and a lot of 'runaway production' has killed a lot of my gigs. So the point is, I can't throw tons of $$ at it (all other fan film makers would understand this)

You're lucky you have a 9-5 job in this economy. Most of us in the entertainment biz (below the line production crew) are losing our homes or are fanning out to other stuff like theater, Shakespeare fests, etc.

The hilarious thing is that I know tons of prop collectors, but they own the REAL screen used stuff and understandably don't want it used in a film. There are tons of very talented AMATEUR props and costume creators out here too on the fan / convention circuit, but they usually make only for themselves or they can't commit the time to be reliable on a deadline.

Oh well, I will watch the progress of your project with great interest. You have done more as an individual than 99.9% of the fandom. (not to diminish the completed fan films, but they had TEAMS of folks).

You're right about it being a one man operation. It's so hard to find a decent producer (there are tons who are either idiots or really well meaning folks who don't know what they are doing).

I look forward to seeing FOOL ME TWICE for real. Don't give up.

Not much to update.
My planned January 2012 update is still on my radar, (obviously at a later date)
but I have been pretty wrapped up in an all-consuming home project.
(That's in addition to my normal 7-day-a-week work schedule.)
I need to take about 5 hours some day and re-shoot the pics of many of the costumes,
which are complete or at least more complete.
But, for that one step forward, there have been a few steps back.
I haven't been in contact with the Alliance ship designer in years,
so I'm sure I'll be starting from Zero on the effects.
I've also lost the woods/barn/ command post location,
so that would require scouting and obtaining permission for replacements.

As my work and personal commitments have increased,
so has my contact with my like-minded Firefly and film-fan friends decreased.
I did put my project out to a couple of "interested" folks,
but that went nowhere.
(And I hate to do that, because I always envision the theft of a scene or dialog.)
At this point, I realize that to get my half hour of film in the can
I will have to commit to running the whole show.
Unless there is some drastic change in my life responsibilities,
that can't happen for another two to five years.

On the plus side, encouraging posts like the two above,
plus my own stubborn resistance to letting go of such a small dream,
means I just keep slowly building towards a hoped-for day when I can film my little story.
Every now-and-then I look at the five sets of Alliance armor hanging in my basement,
and I think how much I could use the money if I sold them.
And then I just KNOW that if the armor goes, the dream is dead.
Three and-a-half years to collect and build the visual centerpiece of the film;
it would just never look right without them.

I guess that is why Firefly has always resonated with me;
the final scene in the TV pilot "Serenity", where Simon says something to the effect of
"You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages...
half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives",
and then
MAL
We're still flying.

SIMON
That's not much.

Mal answers, almost to himself:
MAL
It's enough.

And so it is with "Fool Me Twice"....

Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection

PS: I never tried to replicate the wartime Alliance uniforms, in part because they used WWII German helmets,
which I thought looked a little too "Obvious".

 

[pennausamike]

Keep the Faith! You'll see your movie done some day.

Thanks! I'll just keep whittlin' away at it...

Sadly ironic. I'm in the opposite boat. Sorta. I'm in California. I have all the resources, gear, grip truck, cameras, etc. What's holding me up is custom costumes and props. LOL. It's taking MONTHS to have those made.

My FF is actually about the War of Independence (6 years prior to the events of the show), and most everyone makes costumes from the timeline of the show, not the war, so I have to make THOSE from scratch. You're right about the German M42 helmets looking so 'obvious'. I groaned the first time I saw it. I was like 'Seriously? The "Bad guys" wear "Nazi" helmets. How obvious is that?'

For what it's worth, the Alliance wore several types of uniforms in the War For Independence.

They wore this style with the German helmet,

which to me looks kinda patched together from sports gear

as seen in the flashbacks to the Battle of Du-Khang in "The Message".

Alliance troopers also wore SST armor

as seen in these Battle of Serenity Valley shots from the TV pilot "Serenity.

I couldn't find it in web-based screencaps,
but I vividly remember seeing a dead Alliance trooper wearing SST armor
in the cut scene from Serenity Valley. (The "scales" were very obvious.)
So, to my mind, there is nothing wrong with using SST armor for a wartime Firefly story.
That is even more true in regards to how "loose" canon is in the 'verse.
The Independents badges have been flipped right-side-up/ upside-down;
The Firefly Alliance badges have been shown mirrored and the BDM SERENITY Alliance badges
have also been displayed right-side-up/ upside-down.
I made my East German "Alliance" helmets specifically/originally to replace the unmodified WWII German helmets.

The 'Verse is a big place, and I feel there is lots of room for filmmakers to adapt for what they can do
and still be true to the look of the Firefly series.

I wanted to do a Fan film, but that would also mean it would have to be shot cheap.
SNIP

I'd love to hear what you have in mind and if it is far enough along (even as a concept)
I think it would be great to add it to my Firefly Fan Film Roundup Thread
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly Fan Film Roundup

Feel free to shoot me a PM, even if just to swap ideas on how to get stuff made on the cheap or to share hobby resources.

Keep Flyin'
Mike

 

[pennausamike]

Necropost on a project that isn't moving, but ain't dead yet, either:

About twenty two years ago I pulled a big piece of rolled stainless steel out of the trash at work
(seven jobs and two states ago)
because it sure looked like it had possibilities.
I tinkered with it and had a belt-fed design in mind for years, tho' I didn't do much work on it.
After seeing Firefly, and wanting props for my version, Fool Me Twice,
I modified it around the Bren machinegun magazine to make the Buddy Lee Creek rifle seen on the left:

I decided to make the bi-annual Farpoint Con visit with my sons,
and the youngest wanted to do an Independence soldier.
So, I made finishing the BLC rifle part of the preparation process.
I spent nearly every moment of my free time for a little more than a week to finish it, except it still needs weathered.

The costume combines elements from a few of my FMT costumes,
but I needed a red vest.
My solution was to buy a 3XL T-shirt at Walmart for five bucks,
cut the sleeves off, cut the front and put tan velcro strips (that I removed from the Zoe gun case)
across the front. Viola! A budget Browncoat soldier!

I wore my long sleeveless leather coat, Alliance-Fed-like-Skunk costume with sonic rifle,
and did not receive a single acknowledgement the entire day.
I guess, kinda like the Forums, time is passing Firefly by.
I saw two close-enough Mals, three hat-and-T-shirt Jayne's
and my son got a half dozen or so complements on his Independent soldier.
(I guess no comments is my reward for doing a bad guy!)

I have to take a nice picture of the flip side of my completed rifle, yet.
When I do, I'll add it in this space.



And, done.
Tho' I still haven't gotten around to weathering it, yet.
I suppose that will deserve a new post, when I get to it.

Mike