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"In Harm's Way" - 6th Anniversary

dcsmokey

Commander
Red Shirt
Hello! My name is Jack Marshall, the Director of "In Harm’s Way" and co-creator of what was once known as "Star Trek: New Voyages". It’s been a long time since I’ve been around these parts or contributed to fan films in any significant way, so I thought I’d reintroduce myself.

At the end of 2005 I left "New Voyages" and moved in February of 2006 to Los Angeles to take a job with Gary Hutzel, Doug Drexler and the amazing VFX team on "Battlestar Galactica" as their Coordinator. I’ve been working out here in L.A. ever since, living in Burbank and still married to Pearl.

A few days ago, I realized that this coming Friday marked the 6th anniversary of the release of "In Harm’s Way". Back then, there were only two other major fan-films, no HD prosumer cameras and "streaming media" on the web was barely a gleam in the eye. YouTube wouldn’t be a reality until February of the next year (2005).

It seems like yesterday. As I watch the episode now, I recognize it for what it is – quaint, endearing and fun. It was a bunch of fans, some pros, some not, who came together and just had great fun making an over the top Star Trek episode.

On this, the anniversary of the release of the episode (Oct. 8, 2004), I’ve "re-mastered" the webisode. You’ll be able to watch it in 720p on YouTube and if you’ve got internet on your HDTV you’re in for a real treat. I made some tweaks, both cuts and additions, and present for lack of a better term, the "Directors Cut" of "In Harm’s Way".

This version is not "official" in any way and was not approved by anyone involved in the production either past or present. It’s simply my re-visiting something very dear to my heart.

Regardless of the episodes flaws, I fondly recall those days when things were a lot simpler; when a handful of people in two small rooms with a partial Bridge set and a green wall were able to create something unique and then share it with all of you.

Back in the day, I believe the word "hubris" was used in connection with me a few times. I can’t argue with that assessment of "the me" back then. I was pretty full of myself and proud. But, it is not hubris which motivates me to share this version of the episode with you. Rather, it is a desire to say "thank you" to all the wonderful people who helped make this episode happen.

I hope now, 6 long years removed from the hype, you can, as I, sit back and enjoy this little work for what it was – a bunch of fans, just like you, having a great time playing "Star Trek".

Nothing more, nothing less.

Enjoy!

Jack Marshall

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=912ADE7F63C16398
 
Welcom back Jack... thanks for the update. Sounds like you have made a very nice treat for us. Hummmm 6 yrs. you say, cooridnator you say. Don't let them promoto you, don't let them take you away from the Captian's chair, because while your there you can make a difference..... Oh! sorry, when ever I get close to Jack these verses start falling out.
Thanks for the work you have done to up date ,"In Harms Way" I'm very happy to hear you are still working.
 
Good to see you here, Jack! I have find memories of meeting you at a couple of the LA events where you were promoting New Voyages and other Trek events. For the last year or so, I've finally started working on my own feature-length puppet film, so I often think about the ground you guys pioneered back in the day.

I'm in LA as well. Hopefully, we'll cross paths again soon!

Steve
 
Jack, good to hear from you again. I remember chatting with you the night "In Harm's Way" was released. Can't believe it's been 6 years. I'll be watching your "Director's Cut" this weekend.
 
Ummmm, I watched the first two parts....(I forgot how much I loved this episode) but I did not see that much of an improvement in the visual quality. I was hopping the images would be clear clean and SHARP. I did not see that. I was watching at the 720 level. Has anyone else noticed any improvement? Am I looking at the worng clips?
 
Ummmm, I watched the first two parts....(I forgot how much I loved this episode) but I did not see that much of an improvement in the visual quality. I was hopping the images would be clear clean and SHARP. I did not see that. I was watching at the 720 level. Has anyone else noticed any improvement? Am I looking at the worng clips?

The original footage was shot at 720x480. What I did was take that source and uprez it to 1280x720 (with black bars on the side to retain the original aspect ratio).

No, it's not blu-ray, but the episiode is cleaner and clearer than previously released versions. But certainly not "real" HD, just a tad better than DVD.

Hope that helps explain :)
 
I was wondering what changes have been made between the original version released and this one...

I won't be able to list them all, but the major changes are:

In the opening teaser the camera now zooms in on each character during the action.

Extended dialogue in Project Timepiece once Kirk, Spock and McCoy have returned from BarBara Luna's.

Slight recut of the Klingon destruction sequence.

Major recut of the Pike transporter scene.

Added Spock "shouting": "Shields at full intensity", on the Pike Bridge, cause it made me laugh.

Did color correction throughout.

Rendered out most of the visual effects from their native source so they would read clearer in 720p.

Dropped a couple of cutesy lines I thought never played right as well as a few gimmicks like the "PG13" rating card at the beginning of the original edit.

I think that's about it for now :P The new runtime is 50 minutes, 42 seconds.
 
As is often the curse with a pet project, since I announcd the release, I've swapped out every file a couple time in the playlist as I'd find something else I'd want to fix. But now, it's done done!

I'm thinking about hosting a torrent which would be the full episode in 720p. Once I get the torrent established, I'll post the link here if anyone wishes to download the full episode for their own collection.

But as of yesterday at 3pm PST, the files are now stable and won't be changed again - the link in the original post remains the same however.

I'm off to Disneyland! One of the many benefits of living in Southern Callifornia.

By the end of this year, I'll also be posting a true HD version of my original fan re-edit of Star Trek V that I did back in 2001. If you've never seen it and whether you like or hate the 5th movie, it really is something pretty cool.

Thanks and I look forward to sharing more gems in the months ahead, including "A History of New Voyages" Through the medium of the trailers we produced during the 2003-2005 "season".

Happy Sunday, Jack
 
Yes Jack, I would be interested in a remastered version of "In Harms Way"
The other project you mentioned, "A History of New Voyages" sounds great.
Do you talk to any of the "Phase Two" crew these days? Besides Ralph I mean..
 
I'm also pleased you're back Jack! You and all the New Voyages crew did some outstanding work and set a very high standard for everyone to aim at. You proved that fan productions could be something other than "charming" diversions. I think I told the story before that New Voyages really helped me get through a difficult time when I was living in the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman was devastated by Hurricane Ivan and there simply was no entertainment to help us relax amid the heat, boredom and overall misery. To say that "Come What May" and "In Harm's Way" were welcome diversions at a time when morale was low and entertainment was not a luxury.
 
It's really an honor talking to you, Jack. I only discovered Star Trek: New Voyages last weekend and I've watched all the episodes you've made so far. I was deeply impressed with "To Serve All My Days" and "World Enough and Time", but all of it is simply outstanding work. Thank you for the chance to see some more great stories from the original Trek! Can't wait to see what else you've got in store for us.
 
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