It was fifteen years ago today. Fifteen years ago, we rolled videotape on the first shot of the first scene of what would prove to be one of the longest and most arduous projects we’ve ever undertaken. It doesn’t feel like it was fifteen years ago. Time is weird.
Since finishing Episode 7 last year, and (more recently) moving all the episodes to Odysee, it’s felt strange to take a step back and look at the series as a whole. I used to cringe through the old episodes, but now I look back at all of it with nothing but fondness. Earthbound was the crucible that forged our filmmaking skills in an insanely fast amount of time. Between 2007 and 2012, we ran through five cameras’ worth of evolving picture and sound quality, leaping all the way from the home movie quality of VHS tape up to shooting in 1080p HD at a more professional-looking film framerate. We learned how to composite in After Effects, how to use a green screen, and how to rig and animate 3D models. And we learned so much about receiving constructive criticism from friends and commenters online. All thanks to Earthbound.
To commemorate this 15-year anniversary, I decided to do some more digging through the footage archives and see if there was anything unreleased that was still worth uploading. Hopefully you guys like what we found…
Newly released online for the 15th anniversary, it’s the barely-seen, half-hour “Christmas cut” of Earthbound from Christmas 2007, representing our first attempt at editing together an Earthbound episode.
This film was originally created as a surprise Christmas present for Anton, who was kept in the dark about the project while Elliott and Phil snuck around Alva recreating scenes from Earthbound (as well as their favorite YouTube series, EB Saga). When the brothers revisited the project a year later with Anton in the loop, this footage was reconstituted into what became known as Earthbound Episode 1 and Earthbound Episode 2.
The biggest difference with this early cut is a completely different set of scenes for the introduction surrounding the meteor, Buzz-Buzz, and Starman Jr. These original scenes were shot day-for-night, with a blacked-out night sky created in post. The subplot with Lier X. Agerate and the Mani-Mani statue is completely missing. Finally, this cut comes to an abrupt halt as soon as Ness meets Apple Kid in Twoson, but the film ends with a never-before-seen trailer featuring a few unfinished “coming soon” scenes, including an unused scene featuring Phil playing Everdred.
It’s the hilarious outtake & raw footage reel from the infamous bonus Earthbound episode, From the Fans with Love! Filmed in the summer of 2012, our last summer of filming Earthbound projects together.
On June 1, 2012, a screening of the first three Earthbound episodes was held for Reid Young (of Fangamer and starmen.net fame) at the home of Charlie Verdin and Jeff Benson. These are the highlights from the audio recorded during the screenings of Episode 1 and Episode 2.