Help kickstart a Power Rangers fan film into action

If you’re of a certain age — young or old — you probably know all about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark TV show which has changed hands many times over the years (at one time under the ownership of Disney, briefly), and the fan adoration for the characters shows no signs of abating. Some fans are so devoted to the show that they’re taking to making a fan film based on the 90s show called Zordon of Eltar: A Power Rangers Fan Film. That fan is, in fact, CliqueClack’s own Cisco Davis Jr., who has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help finance the making of the film. We like to show our Clackers some support, so we sat down at the CliqueClack headquarters deep in a mountain somewhere to find out exactly what makes Cisco tick and why he wants to do this film.

CD: So Cisco, tell our readers a little about yourself.
CDJ: I’m 28 years old and work two jobs, one as a production technician/cameraman at a local television studio and the other as an E-Sales Assistant at a BMW Motorcycle dealership. In my free time I tirelessly grind away at expressing myself creatively because I can’t seem to function properly without it. I’ve spent many long hours and weekends formulating ways to tell stories and game plan the best way to go about tackling them.

CD: Tell us a little about this fan film. How did the idea come about?
CDJ: Zordon of Eltar is a fan film that’s actually supposed to serve as a re-imagined prequel to the hit show from the early 90s. The idea began to snowball when I thought about doing a typical Power Rangers fan film just for fun that was going to be nothing more than a fight scene followed by some credits at the end. I’m naturally a storyteller so that didn’t sit well with me. Upon watching the series over again from the beginning on Netflix, much to the chagrin of my roommates who had to suffer through it (bless their hearts), I realized that there were tons of plot holes and inconsistencies to the backstory behind the series. And having always wanted to direct a Power Rangers film it occurred to me how neat it would be to instead do a project that explores the murky and befuddled backstory.

CD: So why a Power Rangers film at this point in time?
CDJ: I’m a Power Rangers fan. At a very young age I knew I wanted to be involved with movies and filmmaking. Well it just so happened that around the same time I had all these budding dreams and aspirations of becoming a professional filmmaker that I had my childhood mind captivated by the Power Rangers TV show.

Most people don’t know at all that beneath the hokey children’s comedy and run-of-the-mill action scenes is that the foundation for a very solid universe exists. And as a natural storyteller, that universe is well worth exploring and making an adventure take place there. There’ve been enough Star Wars and Star Trek fan films. Stargate though… Hmmm. (j/k)

I basically care so much about the source material that I’m going out of the way to make it that much more interesting to me. It says a lot about how a children’s show can impact a kid’s childhood because 20 years later I just feel like giving back.

CD: And what have you done so far with the film?
CDJ: So far I’ve gotten a solid story outlined and ready to go and I’m even currently working with some INCREDIBLY KNOWLEDGEABLE members of the Ranger community who have been delightful enough to answer questions about the mythology behind the series. While my fan film will be a remake and creates new origins behind the hit show, I still respect the show enough to at least want to know exactly what the history is.

I grabbed a few friends with acting and modeling backgrounds and got them to help to help me see this vision come to life. I’ve done several tests for visual effects and still have a few more that I’d like to tackle to make make this a low budget production. I am five weeks into having learned visual effects thanks to the Hitfilm 2 Ultimate VFX software program. It’s easy to learn and gets the job done. It has opened so many doors to me that I never thought possible. If I could be a Hitfilm poster child then sign me up! Because it is the best thing that has ever happened to me as a filmmaker.

Of all of the projects I’ve ever worked on in the past, this was one of the first ones to actually look very close to how I saw it in my head.

CD: I know you’ve completed a trailer, so what can you tell us about it?
CDJ: I put together a teaser trailer/concept trailer to help the audience get an idea for the scope of the film and the world I’m trying to create. I put in a variety shots to give different glimpses into the universe and also set up the two main characters. It only took four weeks to put together as a beginner in visual effects so I only hope to get better.

CD: I can tell you I’m very impressed with what you’ve accomplished. And now you’re putting the project on Kickstarter to help raise some funds?
CDJ: I’m trying to raise at least $1,500 to help finance this film. It may not sound like much but that’s really all we need to make this production happen. The funding would go towards the purchasing of 3D models, upgrading the cardboard costume pieces we made to a better material for the camera and commissioning some artwork for landscapes and animations. We need this budget to make a believable alien universe.

CD: That sounds very doable. Anything else you’d like to add?
CDJ: We’re doing this fan film to have fun. The only end game in this for our team is to have fun creating a project we want to see for ourselves. The added benefit is that we can share this project with others for free.

So there you have it. We would love to see Cisco accomplish his goal so we’re putting this out there to the CliqueClack universe to help make that happen. You can visit Cisco’s Kickstarter page for more information, and have look at the trailer right here! And be sure to “Like” the official Facebook page. If successful, maybe we can talk Cisco into launching the world premiere of the completed film right here! Stay tuned for details.