"Polaris" - Page 14

Admiral Buzzkill · December 13 2009, 05:32 PM

Yeah, we didn't actually leave the stage until close to 4:00 AM. The last part of the work was Maurice directing us all in second-unit stuff that covered Azra and used a lot of the crew in walk-ons. Everyone was both exhausted and pretty high.

Okay, maybe that last was fumes from the paint used to dirty down the set we built Saturday morning. And BTW, Gaitanis was remarkable...as were each and every one of you. I'll get some stills online as soon as I can.

The personal high point for me, really, Friday evening - and you know that was only because I finally touched Paul's ass.

USS Intrepid · December 13 2009, 05:45 PM

Yeah you did seem to enjoy the ass touching a tad too much.

4.00 am though. That's dedication!

lennier1 · December 13 2009, 06:22 PM

Looking forward to the finished version (hopefully as paid version since there aren't the usual fanfilm strings attached).

Although that bridge will always remind me of a Trek Tardis.

Admiral Buzzkill · December 13 2009, 09:03 PM

USS Intrepid wrote:

Yeah you did seem to enjoy the ass touching a tad too much.

Is that even possible?

4.00 am though. That's dedication!

Well, we wrapped around two, but we cleaned up while A-Team finished the ingest and back-ups. I have a little part of all of you forever now, on two disk drives. Oh, and someone had to videotape my rant against Gil Gerard.

lennier1 wrote:

Although that bridge will always remind me of a Trek Tardis.

That works.

USS Intrepid · December 13 2009, 09:22 PM

Dennis wrote:

Oh, and someone had to videotape my rant against Gil Gerard.

I'm betting on Maurice. I look forward to watching it on the extras.

Admiral Buzzkill · December 14 2009, 05:50 AM

USS Intrepid wrote:

Starship Polaris wrote:

And I'm estatic that Nick is willing to go to the lengths he has to in order to work with us.

You say that now.

And I say it again.

Some of the crew folks headed out to the stage to break down and get lighting equipment ready for return this afternoon. Alex, our Director of Photography, showed up with a text message from DS9Sega asking that we get an insert shot of a really cool prop piece that he was concerned that we missed during production. I got excited about lighting up even a tiny bit of the set and shooting it for a minute - just me plugging and unplugging this little panel on the wall, establishing it in its active and unpowered states while Alex shot footage of it. For one more minute, the ship lived.

And then it was over. I find myself crying suddenly when I try to tell friends what I witnessed this week - a bunch of folks eager to create some really beautiful stuff. I was a bystander a lot of the time, but I was there.

USS Intrepid · December 14 2009, 03:58 PM

Dennis wrote:

And then it was over. I find myself crying suddenly when I try to tell friends what I witnessed this week - a bunch of folks eager to create some really beautiful stuff.

I don't think you're alone there.

MikeH92467 · December 14 2009, 08:06 PM

Dennis, at the risk of being overblwon I have to say I think you are on the verge of crossing into a new frontier: web-based productions that make money! Hopefully, anyway. Seriously, I remember when Hollywood was wringing it's collective hands over how VCR's (then DVD's) were going to be their ruination. It turns out recorded media are a multi billion dollar part of the industry, with direct to video being a big part of that. Hopefully, there's some sort of movement within the inner circles of the tv/movie industries to tap into the potential of direct to web. It could be a great way for them to cash in on the "niche" markets that they've always said weren't lucrative enough to go after.

Admiral Buzzkill · December 14 2009, 10:48 PM

The studios don't get the web, and I will say selfishly right now that I hope they never figure it out.

I enjoy Starbucks, but if I were going to run a coffee shop I'd prefer that it were my own in my own little neighborhood of Silver Spring rather than one of theirs.

lennier1 · December 14 2009, 11:04 PM

Depends on how you look at it.
Sanctuary started out as an independent online project as well and today it' s one of the few shows on SyFy that don't suck. But then again the show owes a lot to Amanda Tapping's popularity and her influence as one of the producers.

IcecreamLtDan · December 15 2009, 02:11 AM

Well, Dennis IS famous, so maybe that will have the desired affect here.

Admiral Buzzkill · December 15 2009, 03:43 AM

I assume that's meant in jest.

Barbreader · December 15 2009, 05:39 AM

Famous is a relative term.

Admiral Buzzkill · December 15 2009, 06:06 AM

Maybe, but there has to be a threshold.

Maurice · December 15 2009, 06:32 AM

I served as the Assistant Director (not technically the 1st A.D. since we had no 2nd A.D.) on the Polaris principle photography last week, and I have to say it was a complete kick to do. It also kicked my ass!

In most any group of this kind you find the people that you can count on to get things done and those who will slack off. Fortunately, on this crew the balance was more in favor of the go-getters than the other.

As the A.D. my job was the run the set, which means to get the shooting schedule together and to make sure that everyone gets what they need, preferably before they ask for it. I think I was reasonably successful in this at least some of the time because in many instances when Dennis would say something like "John needs power for the sewing machine" I'd seen to it five minutes before.

Because I came into the project late, and the set wasn't done when we started, the first few days we tended to assemble the schedule on the day. When we fell way behind on our first two days I came up with a strategy to maximize coverage and knock out most of the closeups of the supporting cast in blocks, meaning there would be time to get the more complex master shots without having to spend a lot of time getting the closeups later. I am proudest of Wednesday, when we knocked out 11 pages of script, when our previous best had been about 5!

We still went over on several days when I'd hoped not to, but part of that was just the crew was smallish for this scale of production, and some members of the crew, whilst hard-working troopers, were new or newish to film production. At one point I had to chew everyone out because I couldn't get the set quiet. Grrrr! As I say, no one loves the A.D.!

The biggest problem I had were not having a dedicated script supervisor (Lucy Faria did the job when not on set, but she was often on camera), which meant my lunch and dinner breaks were often spent sitting on the set floor, spreading out the pages, and trying to figure out what we'd covered and what we'd missed.

The fun stuff was working with my boyfriend to detail and decorate the sets (we planted a nice Star Wars in-joke in the "brig" that I don't think they got in shot), talking some of the actors into doing funny bits during takes to break tension, and directing second unit type stuff, including security camera footage of a "redshirt" death, which looked fast, brutal and fantastic.

A lot of fun! But now, two days after we wrapped, I'm still exhausted and my feet hurt from being on them 12-14 hours a day for 8 days!

My heartfelt thanks to Dennis for giving me this opportunity to help make this happen.

December 13 2009, 05:32 PM	#196
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: "Polaris" Yeah, we didn't actually leave the stage until close to 4:00 AM. The last part of the work was Maurice directing us all in second-unit stuff that covered Azra and used a lot of the crew in walk-ons. Everyone was both exhausted and pretty high. Okay, maybe that last was fumes from the paint used to dirty down the set we built Saturday morning. And BTW, Gaitanis was remarkable...as were each and every one of you. I'll get some stills online as soon as I can. The personal high point for me, really, Friday evening - and you know that was only because I finally touched Paul's ass. __________________ "I think [J.J. Abrams has] done a great thing for Star Trek. I’m very grateful to him. We all owe him a lot. When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful." - Leonard Nimoy

December 13 2009, 05:45 PM	#197
USS Intrepid Commodore Location: Dundee, Scotland, UK	Re: "Polaris" Yeah you did seem to enjoy the ass touching a tad too much. 4.00 am though. That's dedication! __________________ Star Trek: Intrepid

December 13 2009, 06:22 PM	#198
lennier1 Commodore Location: Germany	Re: "Polaris" Looking forward to the finished version (hopefully as paid version since there aren't the usual fanfilm strings attached). Although that bridge will always remind me of a Trek Tardis. __________________ Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.

December 14 2009, 08:06 PM	#203
MikeH92467 Vice Admiral Location: Tampa, FL	Re: "Polaris" Dennis, at the risk of being overblwon I have to say I think you are on the verge of crossing into a new frontier: web-based productions that make money! Hopefully, anyway. Seriously, I remember when Hollywood was wringing it's collective hands over how VCR's (then DVD's) were going to be their ruination. It turns out recorded media are a multi billion dollar part of the industry, with direct to video being a big part of that. Hopefully, there's some sort of movement within the inner circles of the tv/movie industries to tap into the potential of direct to web. It could be a great way for them to cash in on the "niche" markets that they've always said weren't lucrative enough to go after. __________________ "The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self-awareness." Annie Savoy

December 14 2009, 10:48 PM	#204
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: "Polaris" The studios don't get the web, and I will say selfishly right now that I hope they never figure it out. I enjoy Starbucks, but if I were going to run a coffee shop I'd prefer that it were my own in my own little neighborhood of Silver Spring rather than one of theirs. __________________ "I think [J.J. Abrams has] done a great thing for Star Trek. I’m very grateful to him. We all owe him a lot. When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful." - Leonard Nimoy

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

December 14 2009, 11:04 PM	#205
lennier1 Commodore Location: Germany	Re: "Polaris" Depends on how you look at it. Sanctuary started out as an independent online project as well and today it' s one of the few shows on SyFy that don't suck. But then again the show owes a lot to Amanda Tapping's popularity and her influence as one of the producers. __________________ Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.

December 15 2009, 02:11 AM	#206
IcecreamLtDan Commander Location: North Carolina, USA	Re: "Polaris" Well, Dennis IS famous, so maybe that will have the desired affect here.

December 15 2009, 03:43 AM	#207
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: "Polaris" I assume that's meant in jest. __________________ "I think [J.J. Abrams has] done a great thing for Star Trek. I’m very grateful to him. We all owe him a lot. When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful." - Leonard Nimoy

December 15 2009, 05:39 AM	#208
Barbreader Fleet Captain Location: New York, New York	Re: "Polaris" Famous is a relative term. __________________ Star Trek Reviewed links to hundreds of Star Trek Fan Films and Reviews

December 15 2009, 06:06 AM	#209
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: "Polaris" Maybe, but there has to be a threshold. __________________ "I think [J.J. Abrams has] done a great thing for Star Trek. I’m very grateful to him. We all owe him a lot. When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful." - Leonard Nimoy

December 15 2009, 06:32 AM	#210
Maurice Rear Admiral Location: Maurice in San Francisco	Re: "Polaris" I served as the Assistant Director (not technically the 1st A.D. since we had no 2nd A.D.) on the Polaris principle photography last week, and I have to say it was a complete kick to do. It also kicked my ass! In most any group of this kind you find the people that you can count on to get things done and those who will slack off. Fortunately, on this crew the balance was more in favor of the go-getters than the other. As the A.D. my job was the run the set, which means to get the shooting schedule together and to make sure that everyone gets what they need, preferably before they ask for it. I think I was reasonably successful in this at least some of the time because in many instances when Dennis would say something like "John needs power for the sewing machine" I'd seen to it five minutes before. Because I came into the project late, and the set wasn't done when we started, the first few days we tended to assemble the schedule on the day. When we fell way behind on our first two days I came up with a strategy to maximize coverage and knock out most of the closeups of the supporting cast in blocks, meaning there would be time to get the more complex master shots without having to spend a lot of time getting the closeups later. I am proudest of Wednesday, when we knocked out 11 pages of script, when our previous best had been about 5! We still went over on several days when I'd hoped not to, but part of that was just the crew was smallish for this scale of production, and some members of the crew, whilst hard-working troopers, were new or newish to film production. At one point I had to chew everyone out because I couldn't get the set quiet. Grrrr! As I say, no one loves the A.D.! The biggest problem I had were not having a dedicated script supervisor (Lucy Faria did the job when not on set, but she was often on camera), which meant my lunch and dinner breaks were often spent sitting on the set floor, spreading out the pages, and trying to figure out what we'd covered and what we'd missed. The fun stuff was working with my boyfriend to detail and decorate the sets (we planted a nice Star Wars in-joke in the "brig" that I don't think they got in shot), talking some of the actors into doing funny bits during takes to break tension, and directing second unit type stuff, including security camera footage of a "redshirt" death, which looked fast, brutal and fantastic. A lot of fun! But now, two days after we wrapped, I'm still exhausted and my feet hurt from being on them 12-14 hours a day for 8 days! My heartfelt thanks to Dennis for giving me this opportunity to help make this happen. __________________ * * * "Star Trek…at times sparkled with true ingenuity, and pure science fiction approaches, and at other times was more carnival like, and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form." —Rod Serling, 1970"