Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
18 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 6 S ince its debut in 1977, few properties have spawned as much ancillary content as the original Star Wars trilogy. With prequels, sequels, series, comics, novels, video games and more, Star Wars has become an industry unto itself, com- plete with dozens of projects created by fans. And as filmmaking tools and techniques have improved and become more accessible, the quality of those passion projects has dramatically increased. Now, the fan-created film Entrenched may have passed them all, earning its creators the attention of Hollywood elite, including well- known directors, and even ILM VFX veterans. In February 2025, the father and son filmmaking team of Navaz and Roman Dowling, operating under their Bad Beetle Entertain- ment banner, began work on Entrenched, a short film set during the events of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. The 15-min- ute film follows Rebel troops on the icy world of Hoth, as they stand against an overwhelming Imperial onslaught. But instead of filming on a sound stage or on location as the 1980 film did, or in front of LED walls like The Mandalorian, the Dowlings used Lightcra Technolo- gy's Jetset tool and a single greenscreen to turn their small garage into a virtual production stage. "We initially started Bad Beetle as a way for Roman to express himself as a filmmaker on his own terms, which led us to tools like Jetset that allowed us to create things we weren't sure were even possible until we started using them," said Navaz Dowling. "We stud- ied and learned what we needed on the fly and brought in friends willing to help, and the response has been mind-blowing. It proved to us we can do incredible things with the right tools." The creation of Entrenched and the formation of Bad Beetle is in many ways indicative of the current state of Hollywood, includ- ing the rise of independent, full-stack creators. Rather than follow- ing the expected path and attending film school, Roman started to teach himself the skills he needed through easily available tutorials and welcoming online communities. He began by experimenting with Blender and was soon creating realistic digital environments. That led Roman and his father to discover Jetset, a tool created spe- cifically to offer teams of any size the ability to track performances in real time against a virtual background, all on an iPhone. Aer experimenting with Jetset for a few weeks, the Dowlings reached out to Lightcra founder Eliot Mack and its chairman Bill Warner, who offered their guidance and expertise, leading the father and son team to turn their garage into a studio. That led to a brief three-minute teaser for Entrenched being featured at Mack's "AI on the Lot" presentation in May 2025, and from there, the attention of Hollywood. The reaction to the teaser was so immediate and over- whelmingly positive that the Dowlings elected to take their time and reshoot several scenes, giving an already polished production a pro- fessional shine. "Hollywood is currently at an inflection point as studios and in- dividual productions are wrestling with ways to adapt and save on cost without sacrificing quality," said Mack. "That's what Jetset was created for, and Navaz and Roman are proving that you can do more with less if you have vision, talent and the right tools for the job." To create Entrenched, Roman initially began by building several digital environments, which they could then view against live per- formances in real time by pairing an iPhone running Jetset with a Blackmagic 6K camera. That offered Roman the flexibility of writing minimalistic scripts that could be adjusted during filming to offer the best look and action. From there, they proceeded to test different greenscreen options before electing to use a loose, draped screen, in part to show that a tensioned screen wasn't necessary. Actors were able to mimic the movement of being in a large space using treadmills to walk, while others had their movements run through MarionetteXR to create keyframe data that Roman was able to later animate using Cascadeur, another tool he learned along the way. Navaz, an experienced 3D scanning specialist, created props and pieces of apparel using 3D printers, while a family friend han- ENTRENCHED FROM A GARAGE TO HOLLYWOOD: HOW A STAR WARS FAN FILM MAY SHOW THE FUTURE OF FILMMAKING.