Deep within a burning stronghold, a lightsaber hums ready for battle. In the darkness of deep space, locked phasers target an enemy ship. For thousands of fans including myself, those descriptions easily conjure up scenes from two of the most profitable theatrical and television franchises of all time: Star Wars and Star Trek.

Many of the two franchises' legions of fans are either actively working in the Video and Film Production Industry or want to. The enthusiasm for the characters and stories inspired by these science fiction sagas have led to hundreds of fan-made low budget films being created every year.

With cameras, animation software and non-linear editing systems being accessible to anyone with an 'idea', fan filmmakers can make their interstellar dreams come true. Distribution of fan films is easier than ever, with the help of video sharing sites like YouTube and Veoh. Among the massive amount of SW and ST fan films, two standouts are the film Star Wars: Forced Alliance and the animated internet series, Star Trek: Aurora.

Both productions are extremes concerning manpower and production resources used. By Hollywood standards they are considered "low-no budget" films. Yet, the high quality (or 'production values') of both projects clearly shows what fan filmmakers can achieve.

On the 'high-end' is Forced Alliance by Randolph Bookman and Gerry Santos. The short film set in the time after Return of the Jedi centers on a rough and tumble cantina and two fugitive Sith trying to contact the reformed Jedi Order. Amidst the many authentic-looking costumed and specially made-up actors, Forced Alliance has the look and feel of a 'real' SW movie.

On the no-budget end is Tim Vining's 3D animated series, Star Trek: Aurora. The short animated films set in the later years of the 'Kirk and Spock' era, focuses on a human/Vulcan pair of female cargo haulers and their hundred year-old starship Aurora. Despite having no budget, Aurora also gives the viewer the look and feel of an authentic ST film.

The two projects couldn't be more different from each other. What makes them similar is the high degree of dedication to the work great fan-made films possess. As a filmmaker, I wanted to know what motivated these individuals and the tools they used to do their work. I was fortunate to talk with the films' creators about those very things:

Is filmmaking your primary job?

Gerry Santos [SW: Forced Alliance] - Yes, I work as a Production Manager and I make independent films between jobs.
Randolph "Randy" Bookman [SW: Forced Alliance] - Yes, I also work as a Production Manager and as an Assistant Director.
Tim Vining [ST: Aurora] - No, it's not my primary job. It's a big part, however. I'm actually an Illustrator and manage the Medical Illustration Department of the firm I work for. I'm their Primary Video Editor as well.

With such high production values in your films, why create fan films instead of original works?

Randy - Originally Gerry and I were between jobs and wanted to do a movie of our own. We decided to make a Star Wars film not as a fan film, but a 'pitch film' after hearing about a live action SW series to be made in Australia. Once word got out we were making a SW film, people got excited and serendipity helped us get it made.
We got invited to a local museum's SW party and met George Lucas. He was very nice and offered to look at the film when we got it completed. He's revolutionized filmmaking and it was awesome meeting him.
Gerry - Everything definitely started rolling after meeting George Lucas! People got really excited about the project and we got so many people and so much gear for next to nothing!
Tim - I wanted to do something people were already interested in. I was halfway through making Aurora's first episode when I heard other people were making fan films. It would have been depressing to have done something original and no one wanted to watch it.
Randy -I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten the same response from people if we had made an original work.

What tools did you use to make your films?

Tim - I use an off-the-shelf Intel-based iMac and Final Cut Pro because I'm more familiar with them, but I also use a motion capture system that is PC. My workflow includes Poser, which I make my characters with, Cinema 4D to build sets, Apple Motion to do smoke effects and (Adobe) Photoshop.
Randy - We used a Sony F-900 High Definition camera because we wanted to show we could shoot Forced Alliance the same way Mr. Lucas did the last three SW films.
Gerry - We used a mixed bag of software and platforms despite doing our main edit in FCP. We needed to get the work done, so we based all our clips on QuickTime. Everyone used software that could output clips to QT so it wasn't a problem to work cross-platform.