For years, film student Bill Parker had a nagging idea for a short movie: He’d show those letters from the “Star Wars” opening scroll raining down on Earth and exploding.
But the visual effects necessary to make his short film weren’t available or affordable to him. Until now.
Using a couple of computer programs, including one that packages computerized explosions, the 20-year-old from Warrenville, Ill., produced his fan movie in December. The video went viral, getting 460,000 hits on YouTube.
“Today, in 2010, it is a lot easier and cheaper to do this stuff,” Parker said. “When I finished it, I was really impressed with it… I was pretty surprised at how well it took off.”
The video — called “Star Wars vs. Star Trek” — features more than a dozen realistic-looking explosions hitting the streets of Warrenville, and a 3-D, flying model of the USS Enterprise, “Star Trek’s” chief spaceship, equipped with laser beams.
Parker’s short movie is one of scores of online videos popping up with visual effects that just a generation ago would have been possible only for big Hollywood studios, with big budgets and armies of computer animators. Today the falling cost of computing power and cameras, along with the free distribution possible over the Internet, are giving everyday people more chances to follow their creative instincts.
Of course, big Hollywood productions, such as James Cameron’s “Avatar,” are advancing special-effects technology to expensive new heights. But even with a small budget, there are enough special effects available to people creating videos inspired by existing franchises or entirely new imagery for original shorts.
“It’s amazing and refreshing what one can create without needing a huge studio,” said Alex Billington, editor at the movie blog Firstshowing.net, which often posts these types of videos. Cheaper effects “will simply show that you don’t need Hollywood to make…