Baelin’s Route follows the computer-character Baelin and his scripted loop around the fantasy world of Azerim. However on this particular journey Baelin bumps into a nasty Adventurer in the middle of an escort mission, overseeing a young NPC girl named Willow. After deciding he’s sick of the quest, the Adventurer turns on Willow to intentionally fail his quest, however Baelin intervenes and saves Willow. It’s now up to Baelin to escort Willow through the harsh world of Azerim back home to her family.
– A shot of Baelin looking out over the plains of Alderkeep
Baelin’s Route is our first real opportunity to explore the world of Epic NPC Man (beyond Honeywood at least). From the vast forests of Lightwood, to the depths of Schmargonrög, Azerim is a world we cannot wait to explore with you!
It’s difficult to see on the map below, but we’ve marked out Baelin’s typical route he takes through Azerim. It’s big. Like, really big. From Honeywood he ventures through forests, open fields and farms, deserts and mountains. But as you can see, the world is MUCH bigger – and still expanding!
There is so much we want to explore within the world of Azerim, and Baelin’s Route really is the first step in creating bigger and bigger stories from within it.
– An outline of Baelin’s daily route he takes walking around the world of Azerim
We are three friends who realised we have two main passions. Filmmaking and gaming. We joined together to create what Viva La Dirt League is today.
We have three primary shows on our YouTube page; Epic NPC Man, Bored and PUBG Logic. Together we have made over 600 sketches with no plans of slowing down. WE WANT TO MAKE MORE! MOOOOOORE!
– From left to right – Adam King, Alan Morrison and Rowan Bettjeman
We see this as a natural evolution of VLDL. We want to continue bringing 3 weekly sketches to our social pages, but the idea of creating legitimate short-films (and eventually feature films) is something that really excites us.
Baelin’s Route is the first real step in making this happen. It’s going to prove to you (and us!) that we are ready to take this next step and create bigger and better projects!
Baelin’s Route is a big step toward our Epic NPC Man feature film – which has already been written! All 160 frikken’ pages of it. We genuinely believe that this short-film is the first step toward making the feature in all of its epic glory-ness!
– Baelin and Willow near the borders of Schmargonrög
Visual effects are going to be VERY important in Baelin’s Route! From capturing the epic landscapes of Azerim to the awe-inspiring magic used by Baradun and the Orcish Mages in battle, this is easily the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken.
In saying that, we’re so glad that we can reunite with our friends at Cause+FX for Baelin’s Route. They are true masters of their craft having brought the likes of Ash vs Evil Dead and Sparatcus to life. They know how to do fantasy. They know how to do awesome.
Check out some of their work here – http://www.causefx.nz/works
– Baradun and his Knights of Kalabor face down an Orcish threat
There are some pretty ridiculous costumes and prosthetics required to bring Azerim to life. From the Knights of Kalabor (Baradun’s personal army) to the Orcish hordes of Schmargonrög, we really need the best of the best.
Enter MAIN REACTOR!
We’ll be collaborating with Main Reactor for both costumes and prosthetics on this undertaking. They are INCREDIBLY talented, having brought many fantasy worlds to life including The Chronicles of Narnia, Bridge to Terabithia, Legend of the Seeker and more! With their help we’ll truly be able to bring the world of Epic NPC Man to life!
Check out some of their work here – http://www.mainreactor.co.nz/
And their IMDb credits here – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2258904/
It wouldn’t be a kickstarter without some prizes!! And BOY do we have some prizes!! Check out everything below (remember all prices are in NZD).
Please note designs are not finalised for t-shirt / mug / tote bag / pins.
Please also note the ‘Swag Bag’ reward is just a collection of the x4 limited edition items (t-shirt / mug / tote bag / pins). There is no additional bag.
Please also also note the poster design will be revealed after the film has been cast. We’d rather wait until we know what all the characters will look like rather than guess!
Our STRETCH GOALS (all NZD) will allow us to accomplish more and more for the film! Including what is listed below!
“What happens if you go beyond the listed stretch goals?” I hear you ask! Well… it depends by how much… but lets just say EPIC NPC MAN CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (ENMCU) ANYONE?!?!
^ Confirming again – these prices above are in NZD!
We don’t need to go into too much detail here. We live in Middle Earth. We are absolutely spoilt with natural beauty.
As our stretch goals above lists, if we hit $700k NZD we’ll be able to get the cast / crew / props / costumes / everything down to the South Island and film in some of the most beautiful places on earth!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We’re so excited to bring this story to life – and hopefully many more! Can’t wait to share it with you!
Every production has their risks and challenges. From weather to technical difficulties and everything in between. Filmmaking has no shortage of ways of making it difficult to complete a project. However, after almost a decade of making content we are absolutely confident in our abilities to bring this project to life!