Produced by Bleeding Edge Productions
This FAN film is not affiliated with Nintendo and will NEVER be distributed at a monetary charge. Bleeding Edge will make no profit from this film. It will be FREE to watch online when done, and any screenings will occur FREE of charge to those attending.
A Legend of Zelda Fan Film
Feb 21 - NEW VIDEO + TRAILER! - view below
Legacy Visits Ohio Renaissance Festival
October 15th, 2015
On October 10th, 2015, we organized a promotional visit to the Ohio Renaissance Fest where we would be shooting some of our film next summer. The director took her three main cast members to the event in the hopes to raise awareness for the project among those people thought to be most interested in a fantasy film / Zelda adaptation.
And the response was stunning.
In preparation for the event, friend and ally to Bleeding Edge, Tifani Ahren Davis was called upon for her costuming talents, and in one month crafted the base costumes for Link and Ganondorf. The costumes turned out to be quite stunning, but with the ORF visit being their first time testing out their costumes, some malfunctions were expected. There is still much to be perfected especially in the look of Ganondorf, who continually lost bits of his costume throughout the day, handing Stephonika piece after piece (mostly of white leather) to add to the growing collection of Ganondorf inside her satchel. The Zelda costume was a cosplay that Arielle Solkovica made herself and has been perfecting since 2009, and is not necessarily the costume she will be wearing for the film, but it was the best representation of Princess Zelda for the event.
The moment the four entered through the castle gates, they were greeted by eager fans delighted to see the Zelda triumvirate out together, "the whole set" as they were sometimes referred to. Every five steps another fan of the games was stepping up to ask for a picture, and after pictures were taken, the cast handed out a business card with information about the film. All who took a card (one hundred in the shape of rupees were made by hand for the event), were excited to hear about the possibility of a film being shot so close to them.
As they continued throughout the festival grounds, being asked for photos the whole way, the group explored the shops and took photos outside of various places. They even stopped to take a rest and upon Arielle's suggestion took a few promotional photos on a nearby bench, which turned out beautifully.
They even stopped into an art shop, Nigel Sade, to explore some artsy culture and reflect on their journey thus far.
Next up, the group encountered the Queen and her entourage, seasonal character actors who bring more life and magic to the experience of the festival, and our cast was much loved among the ORF players. They gathered and spoke to each other in character for quite some time (and some players even broke character just to speak Zelda with them). There was a flirtatious game of eyebrows passed between the Queen and Ganondorf, and they even encountered one of their biggest fans of the day, a young lad decked in Whovian attire.
Some time later, they all congregated in the nearby chapel where the Queen was to hold a knighting ceremony. Our Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf all participated and received not only certificates boasting of their knighting, but giddy humming and talk from the players in regards to our characters. Watch below as all three go through the ceremony and some of the chatter they shared beforehand. Also, meet our Whovian fan and witness his magic.
After the knighting ceremony, the group made their way to the Aleing Knight Pub, where they took in some song, food, and more good talk from the locals. They came here to rest, but there was none to be had for too long, for more fans flocked and asked for more pictures. They then made their way to the jousting field early to get some good seats for the show. They took this opportunity to finally rest, a place where no one asked for pictures (until after the joust), and they sat and continued their meal and drank some mead in peace, reminiscing on their adventure thus far.
Then the jousting began! It's father against son in this epic battle of horses and sticks!
Watch below an account of the jousting fun. We have quite a bit of footage, so it was edited down into the following video:
After the match, the Zelda entourage made their way through the streets of town, taking pictures with fans as they went. Even the director took a few selfies with the cast in costume, and then we check in with Princess Zelda to see how the adventure is going.
They made their way through town, Link and Ganondorf enacting a funny skit at the stocks, meeting a huge fan in a Majora Mask, Steve Hannon (who invited the crew to check out his Ewok Village location), met up with the Kamikaze Fireflies, and as they waited their turn in line at the archery game, took more and more photos with swarms of fans.
The time to try their hand at archey finally arrived, and Link and Stephonika stepped up to the plate. Twelve arrows among them, it was a test of skill, as neither had before shot a bow. They both did their best, and though it was difficult, there were some surprises. We'll let the video below show what they accomplished and the fun they had while slinging arrows.
After the test in archery, the group decided it was best to make their way back to the entrance since it would likely take them an hour to walk a few blocks of the fest, while being stopped so often. On their way, they saw camels (and Link failed at flirting), Ganondorf battled yet another knight (he's constantly picking fights), and Link visited a pottery shop.
On their way out, they stopped to take more promo pictures on this very beautiful bench with a gorgeous backdrop. The images are stunning and evoke a lot of emotion.
Link serenaded the crowd on their walk out, and they stopped to take more pictures with fans, and waited so that our new friends at Aradani Studios could grab their good camera to snap a few pics of our adventurers.
Alas, they at last approached the front gate, and before departing, they took one last opportunity for some promo shots.
And then the final ceremony was upon them. The ORF players came out onto the parapets and said a farewell to the crowd. Stephonika even happened upon David Smith in the crowd. He is the stunt choreographer for some of the festival's events, and was the crew's tour guide on their second visit to the grounds before it opened for the 2015 season. There with him was his son, Ben, a through and through Zelda fan as well.
As the Legacy team departed the Festival, emotions were running high. None of them wanted to leave; they had experienced something truly magical and heartwarmning. As the four walked side by side through the gate and came to the otherside where all the remaining ORF players were gathered, lined on either side of the gate leading out into the grand parking field, the players began to sing and hum to main Hyrule theme from the games. If emotions weren't high yet, they were now.
“When the Fest players started singing the Zelda theme as we left, side by side, I could have almost cried from being so happy," said Stephonika. "The official cast adored us enough to make that grand gesture. I will never forget that moment."
Suffice it to say, our day of PR at the Renaissance Festival was as much fun as it was work, and we hope to return next season after we shoot "Legacy."
Ben Smith with the Legacy team.