Space, the final frontier... I've been messing around with ideas for an animated Trek film in my spare time for a while now, and I'm getting to the point where I feel like it would probably be more fun to collaborate with others rather than keep it all to myself. My hope is to find some people who would be in to coming on board for story development and writing, but I'm totally open to any other kinds of contributions as well. Or if you're just interested in the project and want to know more ask away!
Are you familiar with: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Femtrekz/ or what is done at Go!Animate? This is a good short one (there are many, some good, some bad) Star Trek: The Derelict An 'animated graphic novel' in four parts, by RoTV. Rating: 3.5 There is music, and sound effects, but the words are in boxes for narration and word balloons. No voices. The show is well written, and tightly edited. It is very reminiscent of real TOS. The message, that you catch more flies (and other insects) with honey than you do with vinegar. The limitations of the media are less in your face because of the graphic novel format. You don't expect acting, so it's not missed. They make the best use of these resources. It's also entertaining and well directed. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afWVydJJmgk (3:02) Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcouBBhEKek (3:36) Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veq0bhNJf_0 (2:47) Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQdj9pSESqo (5:14)
Thanks for that Barb! I'm watching that one now and it's good fun. Great job to whoever put that together! I am familiar with go animate and other pre-made asset services, but maybe I should clarify; Triton is going to be a fully realized animated production. The promo image above is actually taken from the development work I've done on the project so far.
I might be interested in helping. Maybe with the writing and voice-over acting. PM with more info when you can.
Andymator, I'm glad you're not following in the go-animate style. I'm looking forward to your original animated Star Trek series.
Thanks man! I don't have a site running at the moment for the project, as it's still really early in development. I guess that's another thing I'd need help with heheheh. I really don't want to show everything right out of the gate, that would spoil it for everyone! But here's a concept painting for the bridge of the U.S.S. Triton. It's not final, but it should give people a good indication of where I'm going with this. Hahah, hopefully that's a good thing! But does the Vulcan look Vulcan?! Thank you! I've spent quite a bit of time developing the art direction, and this is what I do for a living. This project is just something fun and entertaining to do without all the hassles of the business-end in the animation business. I'm looking forward to your first full length episode too!
I would have to agree. Although I am a long-time member and animator at GoAnimate, I hunger to make a more stylish Trek toon. Triton looks very promising. Is this going to be a flash production? I, too, am hoping to produce a new Trek animation (outside the GoA studio), possibly a motion comic. And I also might be interested in helping on your project. Let me know. :-)
Yeah, it's going to be based on the 2009 film. I know that this will probably turn some people off, but it's something I have thought alot about. There are many other fan films that have chosen to emulate the original Star Trek series, and this kind of makes Triton a little bit unique. Thanks Ro. I am going to be using Flash, though it will be traditionally hand drawn frame by frame animation. The look of the character art will pretty much be exactly what you see in the promo poster at the top of the thread. Send me a PM when you can about helping out!
Here's some more info from the guide/bible that I'm working on. This should provide a setting for what I'm looking for; really classic science fiction stories with a lot of emotional resonance. Strong characters that you care about getting into fantastic adventures and situations. THE PREMISE The crew of the Federation Starship Triton sets out to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before. THE BACKSTORY On stardate 2258.42, the romulan renegade known as Nero began a massive attack on the Federation, destroying the planet Vulcan along with most of it's six billion inhabitants before being defeated by the Starship Enterprise near Earth space. In the wake of this destruction Starfleet has become increasingly politicized, with a shifting focus towards defence and combat readiness. THE SHIP The U.S.S. Triton is not the finest or most advanced ship in the fleet. She is smaller and less impressive than the flagship Enterprise but still a formidable craft, more than capable of dealing with the inherent dangers of outer space. Officially the Triton is assigned to border patrol duty in a backwater sector on the edge of Federation space, though it's unofficial mission is to continue Starfleet's primary purpose of scientific discovery and exploration of the unknown.
Sounds cool. And my I also say that Ro is one of the top writers at Go!Animate, and his writing deserves better animation.
Hey everybody! I'm still looking for some good story submissions! Also, somebody who I could join forces with to make an official website to try and drum up some interest in the project. In the meantime I'll just post a couple of brief character bio's as I think them up. None of this is really set in stone, and if the right story comes along that requires any of this to change I'm totally cool with that. The idea here is just to create some basic character archetypes that might be interesting and work well together. Any ideas or critiques are welcome! (On this or any other aspect of the project).
Hahaha! It's a terrible disease that has spread throughout the Federation! Symptoms include lack of pupils, hard angular features, and sketchy lines appearing in the most inconvenient of places... EDIT: A few more thoughts on potential character development for Becker. What I was trying to hint at with the estranged wife bit in his write-up was that he really is a wanderer at heart. It's difficult to articulate properly, but I suppose a good way to think of it is that while he is physically human, he was born and raised in space, technically making him an alien. At least that's how he feels anyway. This has led to his perpetually feeling alienated and unable to settle down someplace. His home is "out there", among the stars drifting through the galaxy. He would obviously have an innate desire for that sense of belonging he sees in others, but at the end of the day he is who he is.
I would be interested in helping out with animating in this, perhaps if it was more than just a look and a name at the moment. If the concept of the show was unique and not a clone of TOS the way TNG was-( even though it did it well). Great artwork by the way. The characters are well drawn. I have been learning flash for about 18 months you can check out my goanimate series. Like Ro said, I am also striving to leave goanimate style of animating and make something from scratch. In fact I've already written a story concept and pilot episode for a spin off in the 24th century. Maybe this is of interest to you lol. You can check out my latest work here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MownEABZ2mc