Star Trek: First Frontier on Kickstarter

Discussion in 'Fan Productions' started by Bixby, Apr 6, 2015.

  1. jackoverfull

    jackoverfull Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I think something like that was the idea once it suddenly activated itself in the meeting room, but I didn’t get it was already active in sickbay (why bring it to the meeting room at all, then?).

    Truth be told, until they started talking about it at the meeting I didn’t even know there was a device at all and even now I’m not sure what it was supposed to do (beside blowing up). Uops!
     
  2. scifieric

    scifieric Captain Captain

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    Thank you, Irishman! I think they only model they actually used of mine was the exterior of the shuttle craft. I made a shuttle interior and the first model they bought from me was the Pike-era USS Enterprise ... and then they didn't use that (or the shuttle interior) either. Dang!

    And yes, this is my first credit in a production. No one has ever asked before!
    Thank you VERY much, my friend!
    Thank you very much!
    Thank you very much!
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2020
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  3. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I long for the days when a pilot is just an episode, like the original series. Not sure why so many fan films have to be this huge emotional epic with set ups and intros out of the Deep Space Nine School of Tragedy.
     
  4. thribs

    thribs Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I enjoyed it but the sound mixing was very bad. Did Christopher Nolan do it? :)
    They also missed a bit of continuity with Archer dying the same say the Enterprise launched.
     
  5. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Fixed that for you :)
    @Maurice touched on this as a common trope, but it has been around since the foundation of the show, so I guess people go with what they feel is familiar.

    Star Trek: First Frontier on Kickstarter
     
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  6. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 Admiral Admiral

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    I guess that going the "tortured/reluctant" captain route is just a desire to avoid the "Mary Sue" trap. I remember a Rockford Files episode where Tom Selleck played the irritatingly perfect detective Lance White. It was a great gag and really played against the hard-boiled detective trope. The problem with something like that it takes a talented and skilled writer to pull it off. Productions like this show just how hard it is to make one good, stand-alone episode, let alone do a series. A chain...the weakest link...etc
     
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  7. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well, I said Deep Space Nine because that was more of a "tragic past of the main character who doesn't want the job but warms to it by the end while we are given laborious introductions to everyfrickingbody in the cast and the sets and then we cap it with a giant assed space battle." The Cage gave us a guy who, I presume, wanted the job when he took it and is now tired after years of dealing with the stress of command and finally losing valued members of his staff. There's a bit of a difference between a guy who doesn't want the command and a guy who did but just needs a week off. "First Frontier" is the former.
     
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  8. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Part of April seemed to be he had wanted to be a captain (or at least out in space), but then bad stuff happened, which is why I felt the Pike analog was appropriate.

    And part of my comment was just tongue in cheek ;)
     
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  9. marillion

    marillion Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Quibbles and concerns about CGI and sound quality aside, seeing Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure, War Games, etc...) in the cast was pretty neat!

    My hats off to the production!
     
  10. Forsythe

    Forsythe Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    I have a hard time nit picking a labor of love.
    That said, the sound needs a rework.
    Fan films are funny. One aspect is lacking, while the other excels.
    In this instance, good actors, terrible sound.
    I hope they fix it .
     
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  11. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I was interested in the story's time period, and the fact the producers created their own 11ft miniature. As some have observed, the "reluctant/depressed" captain bit (and the alien with a family who does not support the relative's career choice and/or is making any sort of cultural arguments) is a one-time only trick. After that--within the world of Star Trek--and its instantly derivative, and tiresome. The plot was hit and miss and could have benefited from being edited down by five minutes or more. Probably a bad pacing thing that gives that impression. Yes, its a fan film, and a lot of hard work was put into it, but its missing the kind of heart a first ST adventure should have (or 2nd pilot in the case of WNMHGB).

    I do wonder why the Phaser rifles were altered to be so..hmm...dingy? They looked more like an assemblage of rusty plumbing parts than the original prop.
     
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  12. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    it would be nice to have a captain that likes being a captain "I get this huge cabin, duty free booze, and I can set my own course because I'm avoiding getting served papers for child support. and my skant is made of velourr.. there is absolutely not one bad thing about being a captain."

    ok i haven't watched the entire thing yet, and with the snarky comments in the credits and also because I don't like it so far, i probably wont.

    So my thoughts, such as they are:

    I kind of hate that they convinced Nichols to be involved in this pile of crap, presumably the last of the "big" full length fan productions. I hope she was fully aware of what she was getting her name attached to, anyway.

    Captain April developed his British accent later in life? did he make a deal to swap with Carol Marcus?

    The SFX are.. well some are OK, some are Birdemic level bad. They would have been better off just being consistently good or bad.

    They shouldn't have used an existing sound track. It's jarring.

    A species that lives to destroy for the sake of destruction is kind of stupid.

    awkward line of the century: "Robert if my wife were half as radiant as yours, I'd want to be near her too". uh.. does this mean he doesn't have a wife, or he does albeit one lacking sufficient radiance, and that's why he's on a space station? Also, can that spider Charlotte write radiant above her bed in the morning?

    Professional Wilford Brimley Impersonator Barry Corbin was a surprise. It's nice that April's dad showed up to give Robert some advice about diabeetus

    things I did not know: If you're stuck on a space station that's too close to an exploding spaceship the thing to do is "Everybody run" to some other part of the space station, presumably.
     
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  13. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    He was my favorite part.
     
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  14. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    Found this by accident on Youtube. I agree the sound mix is poor, the acting is ok however the show comes across as a 2020 version of a 1960's show set in the 23rd century, rather than a 21st century production version of the 23rd century. Discovery and the Kelvin movies did it much better.
    Also maybe the makeup budget was very low, and the casting director had limited vision but in universe Starfleet should be more than 'White North Americans in space'.
     
  15. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    I thought Paramount had issues with longer productions like this. Didn't they set a cap of 15 minutes or somesuch after Axanar got their attention?
     
  16. Ryan Thomas Riddle

    Ryan Thomas Riddle Vice Admiral Admiral

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    When the guidelines were implemented, CBS stated any production that was in progress before the guidelines were established could go forward as is. First Frontier was one of those productions even though it took them years to cross the finish line.
     
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  17. jackoverfull

    jackoverfull Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    30 minutes (2 15 minutes segments), but those are “guidelines”, they don’t necessarily sue or CaD every production that breaks them (and so far they haven’t sued anyone til they were released, I think). Also, they have unofficially stated that productions that were shot before the release of the guidelines could be completed as they are.

    What surprises me the most in this production is the prominent use of the TWoK soundtrack, which is of course something expressly prohibited by the guidelines (and, since paramount/CBS don’t necessarily own that music, put the authors in risk of being sued by third parties).
     
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  18. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The guidelines are ONLY guidelines. They even state that they are legally not any kind of 'implied contract' either. CBS still reserves all rights to pursue ANY legal remedy if you use the Star Trek IP. Following them doesn't 100% ensure you WON'T be sued, and not following them doesn't mean you will be sued either.
     
  19. USS Intrepid

    USS Intrepid Commodore Commodore

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    This exactly.
     
  20. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I believed they were grandfathered due to when they started their project.
     
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