Line of Duty: a Star Trek Fan Production (Parts I & II)

[Philip Guyott]

An ambitious young officer who has dreamt of travelling to the stars soon discovers that it might not be somewhere she wants to be...

Starring Juliet Godwin, Will Leach, Paul Walenkamp, Jessica Niven and Sankari Sivaramalingam. Also Starring Ron Arthurs, Andrew Kocsis, Jesse Hislop, Dylan Ratta, Zach Clifford, Aaron Vanderkley and Frank Humpreys. Featuring Jarrod Cox, Emma Douglas, Bryson Elliott, Codey Finlay, Noah Jimmy, Cat Jones, Karin Kowi, Maggie Meyer, Mikel Talent, Julia Warnes and Ezra Vamelle.

Based upon ‘Star Trek’ created by Gene Roddenberry.

Music by Paul Baillargeon, David Bell, Venton Ray Bunch, Jay Chattaway, Dennis McCarthy and Brian Tyler. Costume Designer: Gina Vanderkley. Make-Up Effects: Sankari Sivaramalingam. Armourer: Brendan Moriarty. On-Set Assistance: Jarrod Cox and Ron Vanderkley. Visual Effects Artist: Samuel Cockings. Associate Producer: Mark Naccarato. First Assistant Director: Steven Clarke. Gaffer/Camera Assistant: Blake Thomson. Director of Photogtaphy: Clayton Orgles.

Written and Directed by Aaron Vanderkley. Running Time: 20 minutes.

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Another new enterprise era fan production by Aaron Vanderkley.
These just keep on getting better and better, especially the acting.

My only criticism is that ...

Spoiler

...the crew kept on challenging/questioning the orders of their Captain, even in battle. I would certainly like to know the backstory behind why the crew don't trust their Captain!

This video is the same film with a Trekzone interview:

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[Maurice]

Ummm...what? Was that an entire film?

 

[Tosk]

Two points of constructive criticism...(fully acknowledging that fan films sometimes just have to make-do)

The room where "the fight" was taking place was embarrassingly small. It didn't come across as a real place. (Am I crazy, or is the room a redress of the ship set? The doors looked like the rotated windows on the ship, so I assume so.) On the flip side, the location shooting looked really nice.

The story structure could probably still have had an open ending without feeling quite so abrupt.

I enjoyed it.

 

[Maurice]

I didn't follow the "story" at all.

 

[AaronJay]

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Another new enterprise era fan production by Aaron Vanderkley.
These just keep on getting better and better, especially the acting.

My only criticism is that ...

Spoiler

...the crew kept on challenging/questioning the orders of their Captain, even in battle. I would certainly like to know the backstory behind why the crew don't trust their Captain!

This video is the same film with a Trekzone interview:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Thank you for sharing, Philip. I get your point - never thought of it like that - but I can see how it might come across that way haha! Glad you enjoyed it!

Two points of constructive criticism...(fully acknowledging that fan films sometimes just have to make-do)

The room where "the fight" was taking place was embarrassingly small. It didn't come across as a real place. (Am I crazy, or is the room a redress of the ship set? The doors looked like the rotated windows on the ship, so I assume so.) On the flip side, the location shooting looked really nice.

The story structure could probably still have had an open ending without feeling quite so abrupt.

I enjoyed it.

Thanks for watching Tosk! Glad you enjoyed it. And yeah, most of the sets are redresses. The prison set we actually filmed one side of the fight first, then flipped it for the other side because we couldn't build a full set.

I didn't follow the "story" at all.

That's a shame to hear that, but thanks for watching anyway

 

[Tosk]

The prison set we actually filmed one side of the fight first, then flipped it for the other side because we couldn't build a full set.

Ah, that maybe explains a bit of the cramped feeling I felt. Cool to hear you used the time-honored tradition of the turn-around set.

 

[Noname Given]

I'll post what I said on the Youtube chat:

Excellent use of resources here. The sets you were able to create really work well. Enjoyed it quite a bit. That said, I think there was one too many 'flashback' sequences; and I would have liked to have been able to see a little more of the whole Romulan/Shuttlepod situation myself. But all around an amazing piece of work from all involved. Thanks for an enjoyable episode.

 

[Sgt_G]

I didn't follow the "story" at all.

It took me a moment to realize that most of it was flash-backs, like memories of events during her tour on the ship.

 

[Maurice]

It took me a moment to realize that most of it was flash-backs, like memories of events during her tour on the ship.

That I got. I just didn't get a "story" out of it on first viewing.

Spoiler: What Happens

I nearly turned it off during the super clumsy Klingon fight scene. But I like to give these things a chance.

So, asking honestly of anyone who liked it or "got" it: what WAS the story? She's going to resign. We get flashbacks to where she started and what drives her to leave, and at the end she does her duty regardless? Is that it? It's that simple just told non-linearly? Or did I miss something?

 

[Matthew Raymond]

One of the better fan films I've seen. Some thoughts...

• You really need some sort of narrative structure to hang the flashbacks on. Perhaps a photo album, or have the scenes dovetail into each other. As it stands, it almost seems like a random jumble.
• You should have either gotten rid of the prison scene or found an appropriate location. The difference in production quality between that scene and the others is jarring.
• You could have improved the prison scene by adding foley, cutting on action, cutting it to be faster and even speeding up the footage in some places to make their movements look faster.
• You could also use other tricks like putting the bat'leth on the guard, filming the Klingon pulling it away, then reversing the footage, then cutting to a shot of the guard falling.
  
• Some of the sound wasn't quite right. If you're having problems with echos, I've heard you could try use a shotgun mic with the gain turned down. (Hope I'm remembering that right.)
• Shoulda tested the star field on film before starting principle photography.
• Needed a beam-up effect for that one WW2 scene, or at least a beam-up sound effect over a fade-to-white closeup.
• The Romulans would have definitely found them in that amount of time out of warp. Should have had them formulate the plan and have the Captain's speech while they were still at warp, then show the scene with the shuttle leaving.
• Might have been more effective to not show the main character's friend's body. Just lift a sheet so she can see the body and show her reaction instead. Our imaginations can be more powerful than a makeup artist.

Sets are really good, and as someone said before, the location shots are excellent. Acting was good to the point of not drawing attention to itself, which is a good thing for fan films. Also, the lighting seemed really good, and the computer graphics were top notch. I think I'd give this a solid "B".

 

[Sgt_G]

I took it as:

Spoiler

The closing scene happen within an hour after the opening scene. She is planning to resign once they reach Star Base One, but when they get there, it's under attack. She hasn't resigned yet and thus still has to follow orders.

The one line I didn't like was:

Spoiler

"A lot of people died on that ship. He was one of them."

No kidding. I would have preferred:

"A lot of people died on that ship. More would have if he hadn't stayed at his post to get the ship out of the minefield."

 

[Maurice]

• You really need some sort of narrative structure to hang the flashbacks on. Perhaps a photo album, or have the scenes dovetail into each other. As it stands, it almost seems like a random jumble.

Honestly, a photo album is not a narrative structure. It's a visual shortcut to show she's reflecting on the past. I don't have a problem with the flashbacks per se, I just could not latch onto an arc in it.

• You could have improved the prison scene by adding foley, cutting on action, cutting it to be faster and even speeding up the footage in some places to make their movements look faster.

I did this to the lizard fight in TTI, which was dire as photographed. But speed ramping is tricky. If you don't do it right it's really obvious what you've done. I literally hand-picked frames to remove and small bits of action to accelerate, sometimes only a half dozen frames at a time.

• You could also use other tricks like putting the bat'leth on the guard, filming the Klingon pulling it away, then reversing the footage, then cutting to a shot of the guard falling.

That almost never works, because you have to accelerate into an action, so the bat'leth would speed up as it was pulled away.

I took it as:

Spoiler

The closing scene happen within an hour after the opening scene. She is planning to resign once they reach Star Base One, but when they get there, it's under attack.

Spoiler

I got that, too, but that's mere plot. What does the story mean is what I am not getting. What's the theme?

 

[AaronJay]

As you can imagine, we get a lot of comments on YouTube which are usually extremely positive and some which are from vile/sexist/racist/homophobic 'fans' who like nothing more than to troll something that a) is not real and b) that they didn't have to watch/pay for, so I really appreciate you guys taking the time to offer such constructive feedback on this fan film Of course, I can't do much about it all now and this is our last Star Trek project but thank you for your support and for watching!

 

[Reanok]

I really liked seeing an Enterprise era fanfilm. I thought it was well made. thanks for posting it.

 

[Auroratrek]

I thought this was fantastic! Very well done, with compelling characters and a serious, reserved tone that lends it real weight without ever getting maudlin or melodramatic. The look is professional, the acting great, and the actors seem completely invested. The flashbacks hint at an entire season's worth of stories, but long-time Trek fans can fill in the blanks. I really like the premise, too, especially where it's "Enterprise" era, when (for the first season at least) it was about humanity getting its feet wet and its fingers occasionally burned since they don't really know what's out there. Ensign Wallace I think represents what a lot of people might feel in a similar situation. I only wish it were longer and we could see more of these characters!

 

[Maurice]

As you can imagine, we get a lot of comments on YouTube which are usually extremely positive and some which are from vile/sexist/racist/homophobic 'fans' who like nothing more than to troll something that a) is not real and b) that they didn't have to watch/pay for[...]

We ran into that on "The Tressaurian Intersection", and while I did moderate the comments and delete sexist and other -ist comments, I finally I switched the settings so all the comments have to be approved before they appear, because I saw no point in giving trolls a platform for even 4 seconds. I never delete anything other than that stuff, so the good and bad comments stand, just the troll ones get airlocked.

I wish more people would moderate their comments section. Every video on the Apollo program gets trolled by Moon Hoaxers, and by leaving those there it's basically helping advertise anti-science.

 

[USS Intrepid]

Just wanted to say I’ve been watching since your first film. As someone who also dabbles in this arena I know there’s no such thing as a perfect film. Which is no more true for the viewer than for those of us that make them.

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the journey you’ve taken us on, and I know how proud you must be to complete it. Thanks for sharing the ride with us.

 

[Maurice]

Just wanted to say I’ve been watching since your first film. As someone who also dabbles in this arena I know there’s no such thing as a perfect film. Which is no more true for the viewer than for those of us that make them.

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the journey you’ve taken us on, and I know how proud you must be to complete it. Thanks for sharing the ride with us.

I want to agree with this sentiment. While I might've not always agreed with the creative choices made in these films I appreciate the effort that's been put forth.