ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining, based on the graphic novel series by Richard and Wendy Pini, was spearheaded by new media actors/producers Stephanie Thorpe and Paula Rhodes after the two women discovered a mutual love for the series last fall. With the support of the Pinis, the two proceeded to create an account on IndieGoGo and raise the funds necessary to produce the four-minute trailer/short film hybrid.

Thanks to a panel at last weekend’s WonderCon convention and coverage from big-name blogs like io9 and Boing Boing, ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining went into its April 6 premiere with a huge amount of buzz. But one contributor to that buzz came from an unexpected source — the Screen Actors’ Guild. This Wednesday, the union hosted a red carpet premiere, screening and Q&A for the project — the inaugural installment in a planned series of new media screenings.

Why start with ElfQuest? SAG Head of New Media Mark Friedlander said in an interview that after learning about the ElfQuest project from its early press coverage, he and his team were interested in spotlighting it because “it had elements that represented how new media is different from traditional media.” These elements included the use of IndieGoGo to crowdsource its funds and the cast, which included notable web series stars like Sorority Forever‘s Taryn Southern and lonelygirl15‘s Jessica Rose. And it was shot under the protections of the SAG New Media contract.

The purpose of the premiere, in short, was to spotlight the SAG New Media program and emphasize its advantages to other producers — specifically, the talent pool that becomes available. For Thorpe and Rhodes, there was no choice about whether or not to shoot the project under SAG protection, because not only are they both members of the union, but so was nearly everyone else they wanted to cast in the project.

SAG has put tremendous effort into streamlining the process of bringing a project under its protection, according to Friedlander. While the standard SAG contract with producers is over 700 pages long and stuffed full of contingencies that apply to traditional production, a SAG new media contract is four pages long, and flexible for negotiation. Thanks to extensive simplification, it’s now possible to sign up a new project in a day if necessary, and SAG is currently developing a system that would make the entire process digital (currently, some real signatures and paper originals are still required).

“We’re trying not to be a burden,” Friedlander said, which Rhodes and Thorpe found to be the case — according to them, once a producer becomes a SAG signatory, all that’s required is one sheet per character of extra paperwork, plus a daily timecard signing actors in and out. And there was no financial strain; the cast deferred their fees because of the nature of the project.

Paula Rhodes, Stephanie Thorpe and Shanrah Wakefield, on the set of "ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining."

There are instances of such projects being served cease and desist letters, but Rhodes researched the issue and found that while some studios are “terribly restrictive,” Warner Brothers has a history of supporting such projects — as witnessed by the numerous Batman and Harry Potter fan films that exist online. All that matters, Rhodes said, is that you’re not making money. And being a fan film does not exclude a project from SAG protection; other fan projects, such as Star Trek: New Voyages, have worked with the guild.

Thus, the primary goal of ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining is fan engagement, at which the final product may be quite successful. Longer than a real movie trailer, but with the same structure, Fan Imagining largely eschews dialogue or voiceover, relying on visual storytelling (and the incredibly accurate recreation of ElfQuest characters) to draw viewers in. The result is that while outsiders to the ElfQuest world might find it a challenge to understand what’s happening — however, a true ElfQuest fan (I talked to a few unconnected to the project, who confirmed this) will experience no confusion as to what’s happening.

And that approach makes perfect sense, when you consider that the trailer’s purpose is to engage with that fanbase — the fanbase, in fact, that supported the project during the fundraising stage. Thorpe and Rhodes’ hope for the project is that it becomes a “rallying point” for ElfQuest fans, the theory being that if the trailer gets enough views and buzz, it might inspire Warner Bros. to speed up production on its own project.

Currently, the Fan Imagining teaser trailer and full trailer have, combined, over 75,000 views on YouTube; the livestream of the premiere was watched, according to Thorpe, by almost 28,000. There’s no word if any of those views were from folks at Warner Bros., though at least one person involved is aware of A Fan Imagining‘s existence — last fall, Rhodes received a Facebook message from Rawson Thurber, the director attached to the project, wishing her luck with “the elves and the ears.”

In the meantime, Rhodes and Thorpe consider the trailer a calling card for them as producers and actors. “In a super dreamworld of dreamworlds, the most amazing thing would be any one of us being involved with the feature in any way — but it’s not anything we need or imagine will happen,” Rhodes said.

If there’s enough demand, though, they might consider creating a follow-up project — working again with SAG to get the cast they’d need.

Photos by Beau Ryan and Andrew Deutsch, used with permission.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How consumer media will change in 2013
• OTT technologies and strategies for broadcasters
• What the shift to the cloud means for the future EPG

1. What’s the one big issue/law/attitude/restriction that you think is holding back the industry?

A lack of education and outreach from the community to change the widely held belief that there isn’t anything good on the web. I hope that we take up the challenge here and focus on changing the way people think about online content. I think that as an organization like the IAWTV continues to evolve, we’ll be in a great position to lead the charge in getting out the word that there’s more and more exciting and worthwhile content being produced all the time.

2. What industry buzzword do you never want to hear again?

Tweeps. In fact, most of the Twitter-based words are like nails on a chalkboard to me, and as we know, they’ve exploded in the past year or so. It’s probably my background in linguistics rearing its head, but I pity the historian who has to sift through our culture centuries from now.

Having said that, I do have a soft spot for “twoosh,” thanks to @ZacharyLevi.

3. If someone gave you $50 million to invest in a company in this space, which one would it be? (Mentioning your own doesn’t count.)

This is a tough question. There are a bunch of companies making strides into the future regarding how we consume entertainment and engage with it. I’ve always gravitated towards fantasy/science fiction genres, and we are really on the cusp of a new frontier here in new media: There are several companies I would immediately hand that money to, but I can’t mention them yet.

In lieu of that, Hulu is a forward-looking company that recognizes it must constantly evolve to remain relevant to users. I’m also intrigued by the newly launched Path, operating on the principle of Dunbar’s Number, which strives to provide users with an exclusive “quality network” via the fifty friend restriction. And for now, since you can only capture and send visual images, you are literally seeing the world through your friends’ eyes.

Finally, as an actress and new media producer, social networks have fundamentally changed the way I interact with my fans and friends, so I would still invest in Facebook and Twitter. Specifically, I have to credit Twitter for making our Elfquest fan fiction project possible.

4. What was the last video (that you weren’t personally involved with) that you liked enough to spread to others?

I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but it’s the truth: Secret Kitten. Nothing soothes the stress of a hard day like a pile of kittens.

I’ve also been sharing a lot of links for the series Riese, currently on Syfy.com. The creators have really impressed me with their world-building skills and fierce attention to details, and the show, with some nifty new editing and a V.O. by Amanda Tapping, has only become stronger since it initially debuted. The series finale is this Tuesday, so I hope everybody checks it out.

5. WILD-CARD: You recently successfully used crowd-sourcing to fund your Elfquest project — how was the experience of seeking out fan donations, and do you think it’s a sustainable model for creating web content?

Crowd-sourcing with IndieGogo was a wonderful experience. We set up our page and within two days we were halfway to our goal, ultimately reaching it in one week. By the end of our campaign, we finished 40 percent over our initial goal. We were a unique case since not only could Paula and I draw on our own followings as actresses and producers, but there was also a thirty-year buildup of fans all over the world who were thrilled to donate to a series we all love. Thanks to crowd-sourcing, we got a tremendous amount of press and excitement for the project, which we will shoot in early 2011.

I do think that crowd-sourcing is a viable means of raising money, and IndieGogo now emphasizes that the projects can be anything, not just entertainment-focused. My only concern is that it could burn out if creators are always tapping the same pool for donations. For example, I know five series currently raising money via this method, and as much as I’d love to, I can’t donate to all of them.

But if your project is unique and you are targeting a specific audience with your campaign, I think it can be very successful. I’d also like to stress that using a crowd-sourcing site, while making many aspects much easier, isn’t a magic money tree: As with all endeavors, you still have to hustle and promote your project.

Related GigaOm Pro Content (subscription required):

• A Guide To Online Video Monetization Options
• By The Numbers: Budget Analysis of a Web Series
• Three Reasons Hulu Plus is No Threat to Netflix

Thorpe and Rhodes initially came up with the idea after Thorpe, who was rereading her childhood favorites while home in Vancouver, British Columbia, posted one of her favorite panels from the comic to Twitter, and Rhodes, a fellow fan of the series, responded enthusiastically. The Twitter back-and-forth quickly lead to casting ideas for a potential ElfQuest movie, drawn from web video players, which lead to the idea for doing a trailer.

Rhodes reached out to Richard Pini via Facebook to get his blessing on the project, and while the Pinis have always been open to fan-created projects, Rhodes and Thorpe’s proposal struck them as something special.

“It sounded so incredibly wonderful and exciting, especially when we saw what they’d already done,” Pini said via phone. “This is the most professional, enthusiastic bunch of folks who have ever approached us; they’ve already demonstrated that they know how to make web video and get people excited about watching it. It’s a first for us and a first for ElfQuest, and we knew that we wanted to take advantage.”

Accordingly, when Rhodes and Thorpe set up their IndieGoGo campaign, the Pinis agreed to donate original artwork and personal phone calls as rewards for those donating at the VIP level. That, plus interest from the passionate ElfQuest fan base, has helped the project earn $3,230 of its $5,000 goal as of writing — in less than a week.

Thorpe and Rhodes are producing and co-directing the project, with Galacticast‘s Rudy Jahchan committed to doing special effects and A Good Knight’s Quest director Brett Register editing. A prosthetics artist has been commissioned to create elf ears directly inspired by Wendy Pini’s art, a cost which makes up a significant portion of the budget, along with food and location expenses. The plan is to shoot for two days towards the end of November — before it gets too cold, as ElfQuest characters don’t wear a lot of clothing — creating a one-to-three minute trailer.

When I say that some of web video’s best-known actresses are involved, I’m not messing around: Rhodes, Cathy Baron, Taryn Southern and Jamie Blair will star as Nightfall, Dewshine, Timmain and Foxfur respectively, and I get the pleasure of announcing that Jessica Rose (lonelygirl15), Taryn O’Neill (After Judgement) and Shanrah Wakefield (Oz Girl) will also be donning prosthetic ears. In addition, Thorpe is joining the cast as the villainess Willowill — and she’ll be wearing a costume originally made by Wendy Pini.

The project is strictly a fan one, with no intention of copyright infringement intended toward Warner Bros. Pini says that WB’s ElfQuest movie, to be written and directed by Rawson Thurber, is still in active development, with the most recent update reporting that a design group that did concept art for Avatar has been commissioned to work on a look for the ElfQuest universe. “Our thought is that the more buzz ElfQuest has in every possible arena, the better things are for the film,” Pini said. “You never know how Hollywood is going to react, but it can’t hurt.”

For Rhodes and Thorpe, it’s really about “honoring the style and tone of the series and putting that on the screen as much as possible,” Thorpe said. “It’s a magical moment when you realize that you can take something that you’ve loved your entire life and do something for it.”

“We realized we could do it, and then realized all the responsibly that comes with it. We cannot screw this up,” Rhodes added. “But with all the passion we have as fans and all the production experience we have, we can bring something new to life, and show [Warner Bros.] hard numbers about how many people are interested in this.”

Elfquest art copyright Warp Graphics, Inc. Elfquest, its logos, characters, situations, all related indicia, and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Related GigaOm Pro Content (subscription required):

• New Use For Web Stats: Finding Hot Markets, Offline
• Is Amazon The New Self-Publish Kingpin?
• Shattering the Fourth Wall To Find Web Audiences