Star Trek: Phase II - "Kitumba" Officially Released!

Discussion in 'Fan Productions' started by Loken, Nov 19, 2013.

  1. doubleohfive

    doubleohfive Fleet Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Phase II - Kitumba

    I'm always up for news and updates. Contrary to what some may have you believe, I quite enjoy all the fan film outings that are made available. The more news, the better I say!
     
  2. walshpal680

    walshpal680 Cadet Newbie

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    Star trek kitumba

    Been waiting for years for this to be released. Is it finally been released on 1st Jan 2014 ?
     
  3. Akira8

    Akira8 Ensign Newbie

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    Nov 20, 2013
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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    It sounds like that is still the plan. They've been trying to generate hype everyday on their facebook page by posting a new screencap.
     
  4. E-DUB

    E-DUB Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Oct 28, 2011
    Re: Star trek kitumba

    Looking forward to seeing it . Read Cawley's comments re; all the negative comments and it came across as somewhat "whiney". Well, he's got NOTHING to be whiney about. He had a dream, he fulfilled it, he filmed it, and we can all enjoy (or not, according to taste) it. We should all be so lucky!

    Some words from Teddy Roosevelt;

    "[SIZE=4]It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."[/SIZE]
     
  5. GSchnitzer

    GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer In Memoriam

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    Yes, we are still on target to release the episode tonight at 12:01 a.m. EST on January 1, 2014. YouTube URL to follow.
     
  6. DCR

    DCR Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    I am looking forward to it. 2014 is looking to be the best year in Star Trek Fan-Film history.
     
  7. PattyW

    PattyW Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    They announced it will be available on the website beginning at 11:00pm ET on 12/31.
     
  8. PattyW

    PattyW Commander Red Shirt

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  9. RobertMfromLI

    RobertMfromLI Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Re: Star Trek: Phase II - Kitumba (RELEASED)

    Hi all, a post from James Cawley...

     
  10. Wingsley

    Wingsley Commodore Commodore

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    Re: Star Trek: Phase II - Kitumba

    Just watched it to ring-in the New Year!

    Phase II managed to overshoot "The Tressaurian Intersection" as the best-produced fan film to date. Really impressive production, FX, and story.
     
  11. RCAM

    RCAM Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2013
    Re: Star trek kitumba

    This was a terrific present to come home to. I enjoyed the episode very much. A few thoughts:

    Positives

    - The acting was very solid by fan film standards. Cawley's Kirk has been uneven in the series, but he's really grown over time and did a good job here. Brandon Stacy was good as Spock, as expected. John Carrigan's Kargh is always good fun, and Vic Montagna delivered a great performance as the antagonist.

    - There were a couple nice dialogue moments for Uhura, well delivered by Kim Stinger.

    - The fight scene was very well choreographed and convincing.

    - The "do we destroy the unarmed vessel?" moral dilemma was nice, though McCoy got over the "murder" pretty quickly.

    - The special effects, as well as set construction and dressing, were top-notch and did a lot to increase immersion. It "felt" like the viewer was right there on the Klingon home world.

    - This episode wasn't "The Peter Kirk Show." I was getting really worried after the last few, but he was used well as a familiar support character this time (I thought "Blood and Fire" and "Enemy: Starfleet" were the series' weakest entries, in part because of the oversaturation of Peter).

    Negatives

    - Some of the acting, notably by the Klingon informant and the Starfleet brass, wasn't great and pulled me out of things a little.

    - The audio felt a bit "off" and not up to Phase II's usually-high production standards.

    - Similarly, some of the lighting in a couple of the bridge scenes appeared off to me.

    - The script has some nice moments, but feels messy overall. There's too many ship-to-planet-to-ship relocations for the main characters; the episode would have benefited from a more streamlined approach to advancing the plot.

    Additionally, the script suffers from too much "fan service," a common but not fatal issue shared by many fan projects. The attention to Enterprise continuity (augment virus, mentioning Archer's mission) and reference to the 2009 film ("I haven't seen driving this bad since...") break the immersion factor. Moreover, if the purpose of this series is to make you feel like you're watching lost episodes from 1969, these references hurt that effort.

    I also thought the "turn" where we discover the Kitumba's hidden agenda could have been sharper and clearer.

    General Assessment

    It's obvious a great deal of sweat, love, and talent went into the making of this episode. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a pretty nice "return to form" after the last four episodes, which I thought were somewhat weak follow-ups to the magnificent "To Serve All My Days" and "World Enough and Time."

    I thank everyone who worked on this for their love of Star Trek and dedication to keeping this wonderful show alive. I critique with admiration and appreciation. It's clear everyone takes this as seriously as they would a professional production and that they pour their souls into it. Many thanks for your efforts. And, a nice way for James Cawley to go out at as Captain. It's amazing how far he's come in his dream to produce Star Trek's lost seasons.
     
  12. Duane

    Duane Captain Captain

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    RCAM raises some good points. I need to see "World Enough and Time" again but with one viewing "Kitumba" really appears to hit a high water mark for Phase II. The on location scenes really helps to bring it to life. I loved it and look forward to a second viewing soon.

    Duane
     
  13. CaptainSerek

    CaptainSerek Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    I watched it last night, I found it enjoyable overall.
     
  14. Lieut. Arex

    Lieut. Arex Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    my thanks and congratulations to all inolved Kitumba was very enjoyable job well done
     
  15. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Canada
  16. Cinema Geekly

    Cinema Geekly Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    A fine episode!

    There was at least one shot in there where the CGI was just awful and didn't fit with the rest of the nicely detailed work in the show (perhaps it was a last minute patch job? I know there were some issues on the tech side of things).

    Outside of that my only real complaint continues to be the audio, for the outdoor scenes on the audio work seemed well done, but everything on the ship just didn't sound good, too often I could hear the set creek or the sound of the dialog just wasn't that crisp. I hope the same can't be said for the next episode, and I will reserve judgement until I hear because I am hoping the sneak peek we got was all unfinished scenes without any mixing.
     
  17. JT Perfecthair

    JT Perfecthair Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    I found the editing and general pacing of the show to be excellent, as was James' Kirk, a role I truly hope Cawley will reconsider walking away from.
     
  18. lennier1

    lennier1 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Phase II - Kitumba

    Yet another great installment, though I couldn't help to constantly look for Doug Drexler's face somewhere instead of Pony Horton because their voices always remind me of the other. ;)
     
  19. Potemkin_Prod

    Potemkin_Prod Commodore Commodore

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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    I've found RCAM's statements reflect my own. KITUMBA is nicely done, and congrats to all involved. I thought it a bit rushed, though, and overly complicated. You could almost tell it was a two-parter compressed into one hour.

    My minor quibble: the transporter room entrance has a corridor to the left of it and that doesn't match up with the interior (once inside, the transporter platform is to the left).

    But all in all, a very enjoyable episode. I'm going to miss James Cawley in the role of Kirk.
     
  20. GSchnitzer

    GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer In Memoriam

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Re: Star trek kitumba

    Yes. It was a fine line to walk in maintaining the fidelity to John Meredyth Lucas' original "Kitumba" writer's draft scripts for a two-parter episode, while trying to incorporate 30 years of accumulated Klingon lore and distilling the story down to a single episode. Patty Wright (who did the teleplay) and the rest of the Producers felt that a two-parter might indeed have been less rushed and complicated, but the original script(s) actually seemed to be repetitive and draggy. I think we struck an acceptable balance given our competing priorities.

    Nevertheless, your input is not lost on us, and it's important. We value and thank all of you for all your input.