A few months back, scifi.com launched a feature which enabled users to assemble their own BATTLESTAR GALACTICA movies by mixing home-made material with visual effects and music content from the series (provided through the site).
When this happened, I thought it would be exceedingly fun if Lucas and his minions did the same thing for STAR WARS. I mean, there are a ton of cool fan movies out there (some of them surprisingly well done). And, presumably, there are an infinite number of folks (like myself) who'd like to goof around with making a STAR WARS film of their own...but lack resolve, resources, or both (like myself).
As it happens, this very feature is about to be incorporated into the impending relaunch of The Official STAR WARS Website. On Friday, the redesigned site will deploy with an array of new features. One of these features allows users to integrate their own home-made material with 250 scenes/musical selection from all six STAR WARS movies. And, in an uncharacteristic frenzy of fan officialization, the site will also present a bevy of STAR WARS fan films...some of which have never been distributed on the Internet (is such a thing possible?)
Much of this is being made possible by a company called Eyespot, whose browser based, drag & drop editing application should make assembling material quite accessible & user friendly.
Instead of regurgitating a press release, I'll share more about this by giving you the actual press release itself. There are more details within this piece (including the reveal of some mini-documentaries about the making of the films, etc.), so read on.
StarWars.com Selects Eyespot to Help Usher In the Next 30 Years of Star Wars Entertainment
Relaunch of Site to Debut User-Generated Star Wars ‘Mash-Ups and Provide Hundreds of Videos and New Features, Including Eyespot Video-Editing Tool
San Diego and San Francisco, Calif. (May 24, 2007) – Star Wars fans can connect with the Force in ways they’ve only imagined beginning Friday, May 25, when StarWars.com launches a completely redesigned website that empowers fans to “mash-up” their homemade videos with hundreds of scenes from Star Wars movies; watch hundreds of fan-made Star Wars videos; and interact with Star Wars enthusiasts from around the world like never before.
With an innovative, interactive home-page design that allows users to navigate to multiple Star Wars worlds, a new video focus, and groundbreaking “Web 2.0” features – including a unique online multi-media mixing platform from Eyespot – the new StarWars.com will unveil its redesigned website on May 25 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars Saga.
Among the most compelling features of the newly redesigned StarWars.com is the incorporation of an online video-editing tool provided by Eyespot. It allows users to add their own video shots to more than 250 scenes and music taken from all six Star Wars films and create their own Star Wars movies to share with others.
StarWars.com is also unveiling a new collection of hundreds of videos – many never before seen on the Internet – that will let fans enjoy some of the best user-generated Star Wars videos from across the web, including such cult favorites as “Chad Vader,” and five years worth of Star Wars Fan Movie Festival shorts, co-presented by AtomFilms.com. StarWars.com will also showcase extensive mini-documentaries that explore the making of the Star Wars Saga.
“Since 1977, Star Wars has been built on the idea that our fans are the reason we have been successful, and they have long shown their enormous creativity and desire to have fun and express themselves through Star Wars. Our new site brings our fans innovative tools like the Eyespot editor that let them just that in exciting new ways,” said Jeff Ulin, Senior Director of Distribution and Online for Lucasfilm Ltd.
“Eyespot’s creative technology allows Lucasfilm to protect its intellectual property while offering a media playground for fans to have a fun and accessible experience due to our product’s extreme ease of use,” said Jim Kaskade, co-founder and CEO of Eyespot. “We couldn’t be more honored to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of this monumental movie series.”
The May 25 relaunch is just the start of a series of exciting new additions to StarWars.com. In the coming months, continually added features will give the global Star Wars fan community unprecedented new content, new games, and new ways to share the 10,000-page site, which is visited by millions of users every month.
“We want the new StarWars.com to empower fans to make and watch Star Wars videos, play games, and share their love of Star Wars like no other site on the Internet,” said Bill Gannon, Director of Online Operations for Lucasfilm Ltd.. “StarWars.com already features blogs, special in-depth sections for kids and video gaming, the Hyperspace fan site, and the comprehensive StarWarsShop.com, making it unlike any entertainment themed website.”
Innovation is nothing new to StarWars.com – the website has always been a leader in utilizing the newest Internet technologies. “In 1999, we were the first to host the online premiere of a trailer, which was the biggest online event the Internet had seen to that point, and nearly a decade later we are ensuring that StarWars.com will remain one of the most innovative and fun entertainment sites anywhere on the web,” Ulin said.
StarWars.com is the Internet’s only official 365-day-a-year entertainment destination for Star Wars fans and is produced by Lucas Online, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd., as a digital destination for entertainment, education, reference and e-commerce for Lucasfilm’s intellectual properties and businesses. To learn more about the entire StarWars.com experience, visit the website at http://www.starwars.com.
About Eyespot
Eyespot’s browser based solution fosters creativity and discovery while empowering consumers to play with copyrighted media without having to download clunky software or learn new skills. The drag and drop editing application allows anyone to upload, remix, and create new video from the community’s vast pool of popular and legally-accessible content ranging from movie, television, and music clips or from user generated content. The company has been selected as a trusted partner by many of today’s most compelling brands and media entities, including Paramount Pictures, NBA, Jive Records, Lucasfilm, Ltd., among others. Eyespot can be found on the web at http://www.eyespot.com.
Okay, this is all pretty groovy.
As a next step, maybe someone will conjure-up a similar application that would facilitate the intuitive/easy/quick rendering of basic visual effects & animation. I know the matter is not simple, and such a gadget would be a highly improbable creation at best, but...man...I'd REEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYY LOVE that.
The new site reveals Friday May 25 - in exact conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of STAR WARS (can you believe it? Good God I feel) old. Also, by no coincidence, the STAR WARS Celebration IV begins today.
