Now on-line, Craig Sheeler's production of a new Star Trek web series: http://youtu.be/ofvvWIqJtGM
Star Trek Secret Voyage: E01 Whose Birth These Triumphs Are
- Thread starter Potemkin_Prod
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It was out of synch -- re-dubbed? -- at the beginning. It got better as it went along.
Here's the Vimeo version: https://vimeo.com/47136546
I am looking forward to watching this.
Not just you. And I had trouble making out a lot of it the first time through. Had to watch it a few times to get enough of it to follow the story.
Nevertheless, this shows promise, and I'm looking forward to more.
I have a serious crush on the xenobiologist! 
I have a serious crush on the xenobiologist!
Hey, I saw her first! LOL
I have a serious crush on the xenobiologist!
Hey, I saw her first! LOL
Great looks, plenty of smarts and a good shot! A Trekker's dream if I ever did see one!
Well done, though it's taking me a little while to wrap my head around not having Kirk as captain of the Enterprise.
We'll see how it goes in future episodes.
We'll see how it goes in future episodes.
Secret Voyage's first episode was a good first effort, still with some rough edges, but I encourage the group to keep at it, and like all the other fan ''studios'', to strive to keep polishing their films with each installment.
I would just have a few comments on some elements that, quite frankly bugged me as I was watching:
(1) The randomly-placed cutaways to ''reaction'' shots of Mercer as he listens to Admiral Hernandez smack more of nightly-news type of cutaways, rather than clear emotional reactions by the actor to what is being said by another (4:44 to 4:57 ; 5:00 to 5:40)
(2) I realize this is a fan-film, but the sight of what are supposed to be members of Starfleet, as far as I know a semi-militaristic body, sporting some VERY unmilitaristic hairdoes takes me right out of the story. I'm speaking about the red-headed security guy (13:10), Banks the geologist (13:19), and Albright the super-curly-haired security guard (13:39)
(3) At the 21:57 mark, there are two totally different cast shadows of what is supposed to be the same crab-like monster, one shown before the end of ''act 1'', and another at the beginning of ''act 2''
(4) Too many jump cuts! At 23:53-24:30 as Jones and redshirt search around, and at 34:17 as Mercer approaches Dr. Bernice, to name two examples. Longer takes broken with tighter angles on the characters would make those bits less jarring...
(5) Maybe I've been spoiled by Starship EXETER's B'Fuselek, but I just find U'nara the Andorian to try too much to play ''Vulcan Lite'', rather than a different interpretation of alien. Also, she shouldn't really respond to a question by saying ''yeah'' IMHO. I don't think in TOS, the actors ever said anything but a proper YES (well except in ''A PIECE OF THE ACTION'' perhaps)
I would just have a few comments on some elements that, quite frankly bugged me as I was watching:
(1) The randomly-placed cutaways to ''reaction'' shots of Mercer as he listens to Admiral Hernandez smack more of nightly-news type of cutaways, rather than clear emotional reactions by the actor to what is being said by another (4:44 to 4:57 ; 5:00 to 5:40)
(2) I realize this is a fan-film, but the sight of what are supposed to be members of Starfleet, as far as I know a semi-militaristic body, sporting some VERY unmilitaristic hairdoes takes me right out of the story. I'm speaking about the red-headed security guy (13:10), Banks the geologist (13:19), and Albright the super-curly-haired security guard (13:39)
(3) At the 21:57 mark, there are two totally different cast shadows of what is supposed to be the same crab-like monster, one shown before the end of ''act 1'', and another at the beginning of ''act 2''
(4) Too many jump cuts! At 23:53-24:30 as Jones and redshirt search around, and at 34:17 as Mercer approaches Dr. Bernice, to name two examples. Longer takes broken with tighter angles on the characters would make those bits less jarring...
(5) Maybe I've been spoiled by Starship EXETER's B'Fuselek, but I just find U'nara the Andorian to try too much to play ''Vulcan Lite'', rather than a different interpretation of alien. Also, she shouldn't really respond to a question by saying ''yeah'' IMHO. I don't think in TOS, the actors ever said anything but a proper YES (well except in ''A PIECE OF THE ACTION'' perhaps)
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Congrats to the makers for getting this out there. But color me surprised that they didn't come onto the board to promote it.
Making a film of any length isn't easy, so kudos to this group for finishing.
That said, I have to say that whatever merits this show might have, it's difficult to judge them because of one thing: the sound. The audio quality is very very uneven, and it's often difficult to make out what the characters are saying. The uneven audio levels, noise, and even inconsident "room tone" in scenes is very distracting. Sound trumps picture, so my advice to the producers would be to put a lot more effort into getting good sound in future productions.
Making a film of any length isn't easy, so kudos to this group for finishing.
That said, I have to say that whatever merits this show might have, it's difficult to judge them because of one thing: the sound. The audio quality is very very uneven, and it's often difficult to make out what the characters are saying. The uneven audio levels, noise, and even inconsident "room tone" in scenes is very distracting. Sound trumps picture, so my advice to the producers would be to put a lot more effort into getting good sound in future productions.
I second what Maurice posted - I wasn´t able to follow the story completely because I couldn´t hear what the actors were saying.
I did like the actors and their performance and I applaud everyone who tries to produce a full episode of trek - it is an awful lot of work, not only in front of the camera, but foremost after the actual filming. And there is what needs massive improvement for the next episode.
The editing was at times not that good, especially in dialogue, where sometimes very shot cuts were done that disturbed the flow.
The greenscreen work was pretty bad. Not only where the rooms lit to dark and different from the filmed elements, but the motion of the camera was not matched. If tracking this is too difficult, then just refrain from moving the camera - or just tilt the camera, so you can easily track that in a compositing software.
The visual effects of the Enterprise were pretty ok, but the shots on the planet need also major improvement. The phaser beams were much too slow and should be brighter than the environment.
The movement of the fighter (why this is a ship of the expanded Star Wars universe remains a mystery) was very jerky, especially in scenes were the camera moved. And what happened to the color of the clothes (especially the blue one) and the sky. They kept changing all the time...
What I liked was the castle and it´s appearance and the integration of the landed shuttle.
I´m sure the rest can all be improved for the next episode.
I am looking forward to it...
I did like the actors and their performance and I applaud everyone who tries to produce a full episode of trek - it is an awful lot of work, not only in front of the camera, but foremost after the actual filming. And there is what needs massive improvement for the next episode.
The editing was at times not that good, especially in dialogue, where sometimes very shot cuts were done that disturbed the flow.
The greenscreen work was pretty bad. Not only where the rooms lit to dark and different from the filmed elements, but the motion of the camera was not matched. If tracking this is too difficult, then just refrain from moving the camera - or just tilt the camera, so you can easily track that in a compositing software.
The visual effects of the Enterprise were pretty ok, but the shots on the planet need also major improvement. The phaser beams were much too slow and should be brighter than the environment.
The movement of the fighter (why this is a ship of the expanded Star Wars universe remains a mystery) was very jerky, especially in scenes were the camera moved. And what happened to the color of the clothes (especially the blue one) and the sky. They kept changing all the time...
What I liked was the castle and it´s appearance and the integration of the landed shuttle.
I´m sure the rest can all be improved for the next episode.
I am looking forward to it...
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yes, a learned experience indeed in the trenches. We have gleaned a lot shooting this episode and the sequel which were shot congruently over the past 14 months. We've tested various cameras and sound techniques which we are finally getting solid results (thus the changes in consistency). I am cleaning up the volume issues and attempting to get some better balance before posting on our webpage. We have had our challenges and will not place any blame on what did or didn't work but are excited to have our first installment out. We begin editing all the footage shot so far for episode 2 in the next week and a few additional scenes are left to shoot.
The current versions uploaded on vimeo and youtube were done extremely close the eleventh hour to make the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention premier. We are really excited to have the opportunity to promote this project at an "Official" Convention and thankful for CBS legal to give us their blessing directly. The first of many responses to this episode is overall very positive and we are encouraged to continue while determined to make the needed improvements necessary to secure a place in your hearts. As with any dream, getting others to adopt the same passion can be daunting, and attracting a certain level of skills and talent can be almost impossible on a volunteer basis.
I am thankful for the actors and technical people we did manage to enlist and their work has helped us get to where we are now. I am hopeful and confident that we have shown at least glimmer of the vision we have for this new series and the potential to make new and exciting action based adventures moving forward.
I would also like to thank James Cawley, Patty Wright, John Broughton, Neo/fx, and Alec Peters for their assistance and support on wardrobe, props, and encouragement. It is truly a great example of various productions working together and sharing resources. The community of fan films has been both generous and constructive and we welcome your insights and input. After all we all want more stories we can enjoy. If anyone with expertise on audio, editing, and vfx is interested helping us reach our goals you can email me directly at info@startreksecretvoyage.com
Sincerely,
Craig Sheeler
Executive Producer
Star Trek Secret Voyage
[FONT=Calibri] [/FONT]
The current versions uploaded on vimeo and youtube were done extremely close the eleventh hour to make the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention premier. We are really excited to have the opportunity to promote this project at an "Official" Convention and thankful for CBS legal to give us their blessing directly. The first of many responses to this episode is overall very positive and we are encouraged to continue while determined to make the needed improvements necessary to secure a place in your hearts. As with any dream, getting others to adopt the same passion can be daunting, and attracting a certain level of skills and talent can be almost impossible on a volunteer basis.
I am thankful for the actors and technical people we did manage to enlist and their work has helped us get to where we are now. I am hopeful and confident that we have shown at least glimmer of the vision we have for this new series and the potential to make new and exciting action based adventures moving forward.
I would also like to thank James Cawley, Patty Wright, John Broughton, Neo/fx, and Alec Peters for their assistance and support on wardrobe, props, and encouragement. It is truly a great example of various productions working together and sharing resources. The community of fan films has been both generous and constructive and we welcome your insights and input. After all we all want more stories we can enjoy. If anyone with expertise on audio, editing, and vfx is interested helping us reach our goals you can email me directly at info@startreksecretvoyage.com
Sincerely,
Craig Sheeler
Executive Producer
Star Trek Secret Voyage
[FONT=Calibri] [/FONT]
As I mentioned in my article *cough* there are some things you're just not going to know until you actually put an episode together. To me, one of the real pleasures of fun productions is seeing improvement from episode to episode. Phase II is a great example, while there are issues that pop up in every episode, every episode shows improvement in some area and the overall trend is consistently upward. Recognizing areas that need improvement and working on them is going to take you a long way!
Keep going!
Keep going!
Congrats on the release! I downloaded the mp4 version from Vimeo and imported it into iTunes so I could watch on my Apple TV.
I enjoyed it. I won't comment on any of the flaws, because others have already beat me to it. I will say, that sound is a lot harder than it appears, and people often underestimate it.
Look forward to your next installment.
I enjoyed it. I won't comment on any of the flaws, because others have already beat me to it. I will say, that sound is a lot harder than it appears, and people often underestimate it.
Look forward to your next installment.
Mike, I've added a link to your review both in my Headline about Star Trek: Secret Voyage and on their permanent page. http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/40.html
Many thanks as always for your support Barb!
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