Are any of the fanmade Trek productions actually good?

Discussion in 'Fan Productions' started by Nacluv, Sep 5, 2012.

  1. Nacluv

    Nacluv Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I have neither seen nor hardly read anything about the fan productions. But I've become curious about them the latest months, a fact I was reminded of in my TOS fans - What's your second favorite show? thread.

    So does anyone here has any experience of those productions?
     
  2. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    That is very much an individual call. I certainly think you have to take them at face value. They are fan productions, after all. That being said, I have watched quite a few and have enjoyed them. As long as the story draws me in, any acting issues I may have often drift into the background. My question is - Have you seen any and if so, which ones and what did you think of them?
     
  3. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I know some hate it, but I loved Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. I think it's a cute little epilogue to TOS. www.startrekofgodsandmen.com

    As for Phase II/New Voyages, "To Serve All My Days" and "World Enough and Time" were enjoyable. The rest... aren't as good, IMO.
    (although I loved seeing a live-action Mr. Arex in their latest mini-episode!)

    If you like Star Trek: The Animated Series, Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes is a must-see: www.farragut-animated.com they're very authentic.
     
  4. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    Well, I am in the first "Starship Exeter". Literally "phoned in" my part. (Actually, I mean it was filmed here in Australia and posted to Jimm Johnson.) I'm biased, but I love the way it fondly lampoons every TOS cliche, except Kirk getting the girl.

    http://therinofandor.blogspot.com.au/2008/07/creators-commentary-starship-exeter.html

    The link mainly has the director's commentary versions, but I believe the regular sections are on Youtube as well. Jimm has allowed the official site to lapse, but the sections are also available as free video podcasts from iTunes.

    [​IMG]
    TOS Senator Therin by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

    The second episode still lacks an ending, trapped in a loop of post-production, but supposedly coming realsoonnow.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2012
  5. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I can't speak for Starship Farragut, I haven't seen it. But I agree with your recommendations for Of Gods and Men, and Phase II. I haven't seen all the episodes of that yet, but the ones I have seen were very well done.
     
  6. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    I'll be honest, I enjoyed Phase II's version of "The Child" more than TNG's.

    A few minor nitpicks: I wish the Deltan, I don't recall her name, was bald. Peter Kirk wouldn't have been old enough to be a Starfleet officer in Phase II. He looked about 14 in "Operation: Annihilate!" so he'd be 17 at the oldest here. Xon was redundant.

    Otherwise, this was a solid piece of work.
     
  7. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm impressed with the jobs done on Exeter, and Phase II. Pretty well done, for fan productions.
     
  8. Rulius

    Rulius Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    What happened to Exeter?
     
  9. RB_Kandy

    RB_Kandy Commander Red Shirt

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    I just got through watching Starship Exeter - The Savage Empire, it was good, I liked it.

    The thing is about watching these fan films, you must view them as fan films. That's a bit hard to explain.
    You must view these films as a shoe string budget film made by amateurs who want to capture the spirit of star trek; not as a company trying to make a blockbuster film.
     
  10. Sector 7

    Sector 7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You make a good point, because this addresses my problem with them: bad/amateur acting takes me out of the story and lessens the experience for me. Even some of the movies I worked on had the same issues. I'll try to be more forgiving in the future. Thank you, RB_Kandy.

    KingDaniel, thanks for the links. I'm headed over to Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes....
     
  11. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    It's in the queue. :)
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  12. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

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    There's a big personal problem I have when I'm watching fan films/low budget films in general. I hate video. The look is off putting, it takes me out of the experience every time and I can't take it as seriously. For the same reason I dislike recent Michael Mann films. Public Enemy, Collateral, Miami Vice, they look so incredibly cheap, even though they aren't, and it takes me out of the scenes every single time.

    There's something about that contrast between "great sets" or "good actors" and then "horrible camera and sound" that puts me totally off. For some reason, I can take a bad set and bad acting if camera and sound is great, but not the other way round.

    The worst thing is when, even though they only have only low budget video cameras, they decide to use shaky cam and zooming and focussing and over/under exposure and similar things as stylistic device. That makes it look even cheaper and more unprofessional. Stuff like that ruined "Of Gods and Men" for me for example.

    The thing is, in my opinion, one should not try to "ruin" the image on purpose when you already are on a low budget. Try to make it look as good as possible.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012
  13. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've only seen two. Of Gods And Men, which has heart in right place but is a little shaky. But I was very impressed by the animated Aurora. http://auroratrek.com/
     
  14. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Star Trek: Aurora, The Tressaurian Intersection, and World Enough and Time are all good.
     
  15. Galileo7

    Galileo7 Commodore Commodore

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    Agree. :techman:
     
  16. RB_Kandy

    RB_Kandy Commander Red Shirt

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    See, me and you are different in that regard. I can tolerate some pretty terrible special effects, even poor picture quality, I can even handle never getting to actually see the monster, spaceship, or whatever because the budget was so small they couldn't afford a passable prop, so they just elude to it being there off camera.

    The one thing I cannot tolerate is the bad acting.
    I recall a year ago seeing an independent film on youtube, and this woman read her line which was "Well maybe that will teach you a lesson"
    the other woman said "yeah, you got what you deserved, Benny."

    And they had read their lines so bad, I just stopped watching half way through the film.
    The first woman, who made the statement "Well maybe that will teach you a lesson"" said it like she was asking a question.
    I mean it really sounded like she was asking him. It was like "well... maybe? That will teach you, a lesson?"

    The next line of dialogue from the other woman was read so monotone it was like she was reading out loud the words off of a street sign like "303 railroad boulevard intersection 2".
    The tone and moods were so off.

    I recall this Nickelodeon show when I was little, called Fifteen.
    The actors were unbelievably bad, it was the first time I ever noticed this thing called "acting".
    The scene that made me crack up was where this guy comes into the restaurant and says, in the most matter-o-factly way possible "Dillon was just in a motorcycle accident, they took him to the hospital"
    And the girl, I think her name was Ashley, said in the most panic attack way possible "Calm down Jake! just calm down! Tell me! Tell me from the beginning what happened!"

    and I swear it's like they got the right dialogue but they completely switched the mood.

    Me and a friend used to email each other short reviews of movies we seen. I noticed that I would give movies like Underworld Awakening a 0 out of 10, but give Independent films, even 20 minute ones like this http://cinemassacre.com/2004/05/17/legend-of-the-blue-hole/
    An 8 out of 10.
    Legend Of The Blue Hole by James Rolfe, is a College film he made back in 2004, and it does a great job of "telling a story".
    Underworld Awakening is a multi million dollar movie that is just poor CGI and one pointless action scene after another. There was no story to tell as far as I can remember. It had something to do with vampires and some half wolf half vampire kid.

    As I was saying, some people like me can handle bad FX and even cardboard scenery, if the actors are good, and it tells a good story. But other people, like you, want to be swept away by the ambiance of an elaborate set, and striking visuals. And to each to his own.

    There are of course movies like Beatlejuice that are good stories, but wouldn't have been good movies if the environment, music, and special effects hadn't been done right.

    Here is one more bit of advice for anyone that wants to love fan films, but can't get past the shoe string budget: Imagine that instead of going to the movies tonight, you are going to watch a play.
    You sit there and watch the actors perform with no special effects, often less than convincing props, and cardboard back ground for environment.
    If you're the sort that can appreciate a great play, than watch a fan film, and keep in mind "it's like a play" and that may help your mind to let go of the expectations of mind blowing FX and earth shaking surround sound.
     
  17. The Castellan

    The Castellan Commodore Commodore

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    I like Phase 2 for video and Nova Trek for comics.
     
  18. USS Kongo

    USS Kongo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I agree about Aurora. That was extremely well done and very enjoyable. :techman:

    Of Gods And Men was fun to watch from a long-time fan's POV, but it's an acquired taste.

    Sean
     
  19. RB_Kandy

    RB_Kandy Commander Red Shirt

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    I just got through watching Starship Exeter - The Tressaurian Intersection.
    I really really loved it! it is split into 6 youtube videos, and appears to end on a cliff hanger. And it is unfortunate that there will be no new episodes :(
     
  20. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    For the record, the thrilling conclusion is in production—see Maurice's post upthread.