Mission/Purpose:
I have been a fan of Mortal Kombat since I can remember. I had a Game Gear when I was 4 and that game was the sole reason, I ran through all of AA batteries. I grew to love the fatalities, but I was really enamored at the character design of the ninjas. When I grew up, I became very crafty. As cosplaying became more popular, I decided to design my own cosplay uniform. I was inspired by my mother who used to make my sisters and I’s costumes for Halloween. I figured my 6-foot Division 1 football body would be able to pull off the Mortal Kombat Ninja look well, and not fall short like many of the cosplayers I saw before me. To take it a step further, I wanted to bring to life the character using animation and special effect for an amazing YouTube video. I asked myself, what if a Black person made a Mortal Kombat Short film? It would have cool costumes, guns, great music, and a mission.
I have been a fan of Mortal Kombat since I can remember. I had a Game Gear when I was 4 and that game was the sole reason, I ran through all of AA batteries. I grew to love the fatalities, but I was really enamored at the character design of the ninjas. When I grew up, I became very crafty. As cosplaying became more popular, I decided to design my own cosplay uniform. I was inspired by my mother who used to make my sisters and I’s costumes for Halloween. I figured my 6-foot Division 1 football body would be able to pull off the Mortal Kombat Ninja look well, and not fall short like many of the cosplayers I saw before me. To take it a step further, I wanted to bring to life the character using animation and special effect for an amazing YouTube video. I asked myself, what if a Black person made a Mortal Kombat Short film? It would have cool costumes, guns, great music, and a mission.
What was the role:
Character Design, Costume Design, Director, Video Editing, Sound Design, Compositing and VFX, and Photo Manipulation.
Character Design, Costume Design, Director, Video Editing, Sound Design, Compositing and VFX, and Photo Manipulation.
video of the costume making process.
My goal was to eventually make all the Mortal Kombat ninja costumes. I started out with Noob and Ermac because they were both of my favorite characters in the game. Noob Saibot was the only black ninja and much like the black power ranger, it spoke to me personally. With that inspiration, I took a trip to Walmart to get fabric, a needle, and thread. I have never used a sewing machine before, but I used to stitch up rips in my clothes when I was in grade school. I drafted out some sketches for designs, cut the fabric and stuck it to my body. Since this was a one-man operation, I had to rely on a mirror and phone images to check my work. I made a mask, hood, vest, pants, belt, and shoes in total.
My goal was to eventually make all the Mortal Kombat ninja costumes. I started out with Noob and Ermac because they were both of my favorite characters in the game. Noob Saibot was the only black ninja and much like the black power ranger, it spoke to me personally. With that inspiration, I took a trip to Walmart to get fabric, a needle, and thread. I have never used a sewing machine before, but I used to stitch up rips in my clothes when I was in grade school. I drafted out some sketches for designs, cut the fabric and stuck it to my body. Since this was a one-man operation, I had to rely on a mirror and phone images to check my work. I made a mask, hood, vest, pants, belt, and shoes in total.
Projekt Noob Video
I when it came to the video, I was fortunate to have friends that were interested in helping me out. I drafted out a script showing Noob Saibot rescuing a girl from a robbery. It was a simple premise, with room for us to execute some stunts. Much of the visuals were done in After Effects with green screen work, and compositing.
With many of the visual effects, I wanted to stay true to the character. Noob can create doppelgangers and can teleport. Those effects were simple with planning ahead of time.
I when it came to the video, I was fortunate to have friends that were interested in helping me out. I drafted out a script showing Noob Saibot rescuing a girl from a robbery. It was a simple premise, with room for us to execute some stunts. Much of the visuals were done in After Effects with green screen work, and compositing.
With many of the visual effects, I wanted to stay true to the character. Noob can create doppelgangers and can teleport. Those effects were simple with planning ahead of time.
With many of the visual effects, I wanted to stay true to the character. Noob can create doppelgangers and can teleport. Those effects were simple with planning ahead of time.
After a few hours of shooting the video, I spent time laying the video files in Premiere Pro. I reached out to a SoundCloud producer to see if I could use a song he produced. He is in Australia, so I was pretty happy he responded and granted me access because it really set the mood of the visuals.
Once the scenes were laid out, I began building out the effects in After Effects with green screen footage and motion graphics. The dynamic link feature is great in After Effects because it allows me to make edits in After Effects without having to export out footage. Saves tons of time.
The biggest thing with this project compared to other I have done is the fact that I must direct the actors to make a believable performance. Unlike working with myself, having a cast adds value to the project if I could get them to understand and see the vision I have for it. Thankfully they were able to contribute to it in their own unique way.
It was a fun little project that didn’t blow up like I hoped it would, but I had a blast creating this from a simple idea.
