TMP Deepfake

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies I-X' started by Pauln6, Dec 12, 2018.

  1. Peach Wookiee

    Peach Wookiee Cuddly Mod of Doom Moderator

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    I thought that looked pretty cool.
     
  2. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've tweaked the scene in Kirk's quarters. Music track needs syncing properly and the original music in a couple of the audio clips needs scrubbing but on my basic free editing software I think that would take more time than I am willing to commit at this stage. The dialogue does fit, it does make sense in the context of the scene, it adds a sliver of interpersonal interaction, it is a call back to Rand's former role as Kirk's yeoman, and it doubles Rand's dialogue in the movie! I don't know exactly what Deep Video Portrait will require to get the lip syncing so I just looped three images from the transporter scene as a placeholder for the timing of the scene. Since most of the dialogue is off camera, I will only have to worry about one line.

    I realise that most people think this is a nutty waste of time, but I'm intrigued to see how horrendous the finished product might look. :-D
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2019
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  3. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Honestly? Pretty awful. They already have coffee, so the dialog makes no sense.
     
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  4. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Tut tut. If you recall in Corbomite Manoeuvre and Balance of Terror Kirk forgets to eat during a crisis and in Man Trap Rand takes food for other crewmen as a favour. She doesn't have to ask McCoy because she knows that he eats with the crew. So, in fact, the line is rock solid canon ;-p.
     
  5. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Even if so, it still makes no sense contextually. Had that line been in the script it would have been struck long before it reached the stage, because it adds nothing and raises questions. To an average moviegoer they'd be, "Huh, why is the transporter lady there and offering to go to the galley?"
     
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  6. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    But I'm not undertaking tweaks to impress the average movie goer, that ship sailed 40 years ago. I'm trying to add in slight character moments that might utilise up coming technology in consideration of a repeated fan criticism (and Nimoy's comments in the documentary up thread) with which I agree. Fans know that Kirk and Rand have history. Plus character moments are not really intended to move the plot forward.

    Now there is also tech that can convert your voice to the actor's voice and might allow more interesting dialogue additions but for now, I'm stuck with existing TOS dialogue and Rand... spent a lot of her time as a space waitress.

    What I'd really love is a senior crew briefing scene where the recurring cast get to bounce around ideas about how to explore the interior but I think I'd struggle to find a TWoK era conference room that wasn't already full of people in maroons and Inserting TMP characters would be professional level CGI. I'm crazy but not THAT crazy. Tiny inserts and an extra line here or there will have to do.

    [Edit] Actually it might be possible to source some dialogue for the crew to spitball ideas. I'm thinking beaming a probe outside the tractor beam, sending it in using thrusters only to take passive scans of the interior. Maybe fit it with a warhead just in case. That sort of discussion.
    Immunity syndrome has some discussion about probes, as does Star Trek VI. It might be possible.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2019
  7. Qonundrum

    Qonundrum Vice Admiral Admiral

    Surely you can't be serious? :biggrin:

    The director's cut replaced, among other noises, a sharp klaxon with a wimpy whatevertheheckthatwas because it seemed more important to keep the audience napping as opposed to giving them all myocardial infarction via a loud unsettling, alerting noise when least expected. On the other hand, I'll admit that it was a good choice to truncate the humanized computer voice screeching "alert!!" or whatever a tad. I'm sure audiences got the hint... and tinnitus...

    What they really needed to do is to make an automaton on the Bridge capable of performing ancillary tasks, while announcing "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!" followed by prompt asking of the officers if it should start preparing toast, muffins, teacakes, buns, baps, baguettes or bagels, croissants, crumpets, pancakes, potato cakes, hot-cross buns, waffles, and DEFINITELY flapjacks! Then can call the automation "Walkie Talkie Toaster".

    I'm going to go hide now...
     
  8. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    More of a Twiki fan myself...
     
  9. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    One thing I didn't "get" about the director's cut, until much later, is this:

    During the Epsilon 9 scene, when the station crew is viewing the IKS Amar's bridge, we hear the station computer voice saying "Intruder unidentified. Believed luminescent cloud to be enormous power field surrounding alien vessel. Imperial Klingon Cruiser Amar continuing to attack." There's also a screen showing these words as they scroll past.

    The DE removed that voiceover, plus the screen showing the words, and replaced the latter with a shot of the Amar's captain speaking in Klingon. Turns out the voiceover was actually an English translation of what the Klingon captain was saying!
     
  10. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I quite liked the translation scene. It should be fairly straightforward to add computer dialogue to any scene where the characters are sitting and looking pained, which is a lot.
     
  11. grandmoffjon

    grandmoffjon Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Yeah, it was taken out to omit the revelation that there's a vessel inside the cloud. Many lines alluding to that in the beginning were taken out of the DE because later Spock says there's a vessel inside the cloud like it's a discovery when we've been told numerous times that in the theatrical cut. It makes Spock look like a tool a little bit. So in the DE, it's Spock's discovery of what's inside the mysterious cloud.
     
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  12. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hmm yeah I suppose that comes back to what would the average moviegoer thunk vs what does a fan think. We already know there is a ship in there. Just because Spock is smart, doesn't mean everyone else has to be dumb ;-p
     
  13. grandmoffjon

    grandmoffjon Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    I think it's a choice really... either they all know from the start there's an alien vessel and so Spock looks dumb to say it later or they don't even though it's the most likely answer and Spock is the one to confirm.
     
  14. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's not a question of Spock looking dumb. The Klingons were closer to V'Ger for longer and both they and Epsilon Nine were using active scans. He's extrapolating from less data.
     
  15. grandmoffjon

    grandmoffjon Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Omiting doesn't mean they didn't know, it just spares an audience from redundancy.
     
  16. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I guess it adds a bit to the mystery if it isn't stated early on that the cloud is suspected to contain a vessel. Then until proven otherwise, it could possibly be a living organic cloud creature like something out of TOS.

    Visually impressive, though I think it detracts from the meditative, contemplative, Zen-like nature of the original duel, which was more like something from a Samurai film than Wuxia. I remember reading that when ESB came out, some viewers were miffed over Vader's faster and more aggressive "cowboy-like" fighting style in the duel with Luke, seeing it as messy and inelegant.

    Kor
     
  17. grandmoffjon

    grandmoffjon Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Exactly.

    Cool story, ESB's fight is a bit more ballet-like and aggressive... of course you can chalk it up to the mind games Vader was playing on Luke and Luke's own aggressive inexperience. This fight is the video is mostly well done technically but it goes so overboard at times that it veers on being funny. It's at parts too excessive... reminds me of the one in Revenge of the Sith that just goes overboard at the end.
     
  18. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah I wasn't really a fan of the SW updates, even putting Greedo aside. I'd be more inclined to make the Prequels less CGI heavy rather than the other way around. I think the fight above is technically impressive but not something that I'd watch in preference to the original. Less can be more, and I preferred the fan cut of the prequels which cut R2D2 and C3PO to the point where they are just two background droids and not the same characters.

    That said, I'm impressed that it was possible to make something that technically complex.

    As far as TMP goes though, I like all the background dialogue from the SLV, although it needs to be quieter, so I don't mind that Epsilon 9 makes a comment about there being something in the cloud while all is chaos around them. It adds a bit colour and atmosphere, makes the wider Federation feel more real compared to, say, the childish vision in NuTrek, where everyone outside the Enterprise seems incompetent.

    People prefer one of the different versions for different reasons. This is one of the reasons why I am playing with the notion of tweaking the movie. I'm almost certainly the only person in the world who will think these changes have any merit but that's fine as I'll be the only one watching them. :-D
     
  19. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    That was apparent to me in the theater in 1979. You could always hear him speaking in Klingon with the translation playing over it.
     
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  20. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This Star Wars fan edit is even more full on with better pacing.



    It makes me wonder if some version of the memory wall might be possible, or even an alternate version where they sneak a shuttle through the orifice by cruising on thrusters only.