• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Project: Potemkin "Archway" S01-G

P

Potemkin_Prod

Commodore
Commodore
A once populated planet is now uninhabited, and the only clue is an archway in the middle of a town square. A landing party from the Potemkin has beamed down to investigate.

This 6 min 46 sec vignette stars Doug Harper, Hannah Ruiz, Richard Thornton and Jeffrey Green. It was directed by Doug Harper and edited by Rick Foxx. Music by Tony Lunn and script by Randall Landers.

You can view it on Youtube: http://youtu.be/4k7JwntuTFk

And on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/61917548

Please let us know what you think!
 
Last edited:
What happened on the color scheme? I thought it was decided to go with a gold hue. This does tie into the hell theme better, though.

SR
 
The color scheme is the one selected by the director, Doug Harper, from the choices offered by the editor, Rick Foxx. Being slightly color-blind (anomalous trichromat), I wouldn't trust myself to make that sort of artistic decision.

But the idea was to create a rather alien look to our planet, especially since it's surrounded by a reddish orange nebula.
 
I actually created those in gray and added a color filter and then tweaked the hue and saturation. But I agree, the result does look really good, and even hides the cobweb on the lens.
 
BTW, for those that don't know me, I am Doug Harper and I directed this vignette and played Cmdr. Delaney. I am interested in any feedback regarding my direction and acting. I am preparing to direct another vignette this weekend. I appreciate anything you can offer that might improve that effort.
 
It has a TNG 'Ship in a Bottle' vibe too, with an alternate reality in the place of a holosuite reality per se. Now they have to meet another Starship Potemkin with the real Captain aboard - somebody else! from another Starfleet Federation.
 
Thanks!

So you're suggesting a "Journey to the Farside of the Sun" sort of thing? Or "Farside of the Galaxy" in this case?
 
I watched this vignette last Friday. Having had some time to stew on it, here are my thoughts:

I like the color palette used. I mean, it's a tad gimmicky, but it works here. Certainly it fits the ultimate purpose of the archway, at least as far as cultural significance and depiction go, so there's that.

As far as the acting goes, there's not much to say beyond actually letting your actors emote and react to their surroundings. I get that this was especially an effects heavy shoot/episode, but given what was (I assume) on the page, there should have been a little more gravitas to what the actors portrayed.

Then again, it's a short vignette, with really one set and only so much going on... I'm not sure what the impetus was for the away team to suddenly fire at the archway. They don't seem to spend much time actually investigating it, let alone consider the implications of what it actually is or even if it is what they think it is, what that actually means for the universe. Lastly, if there's enough evidence to suggest (as the characters seem to believe, given the final captain's log entry and the tag scene), why would these educated Starfleet officers believe, even for a moment that a little bit of phaser fire would solve the problem?

My last nit, and really it's just more a product of having lived with television production schedules for the last couple of years more than anything else ... the location shooting was great, but the vignette could have benefited from one scene on the bridge or with the Captain aboard. I don't know if that was just logistically impossible because of schedule conflicts, actor availability, or what not, but certainly pickups could be done the next time something is shot on the bridge for use later in a short like this.

Overall I was impressed. I like the concept of the story, and I think it poses some interesting questions, but the execution of how the characters respond to those questions was just a little lacking for me.

Looking forward to the next ep/vignette!
 
Thanks, Double-Oh. I appreciate the feedback.

The impetus for firing their phasers stems from the realization of Commander Delaney that the lines Science Officer Spampinato reads come directly from Dante's Inferno and are etched above the gates of Hell. Delaney realizes that, hears the moaning, and opens fire while ordering Frazier to do so. The fact that it needs explaining means we failed on that point.

Interesting perspective. We actually filmed Grigory on the bridge with his lines (when we filmed "Delivery," in fact) and it just didn't work for me. I thought it worked better as a voice over, but I concede it might not have been the right approach.
 
Doubleohfive - thanks for the input. Definitely some things to consider for this weekend. Glad to hear the colorizing of the screen worked for you in this situation. I will definitely work on betting emotional output from the actors on this episode in that they will react to what is happening on screen better.

Again, thanks for your input.
 
I get the inference to Dante's Inferno; And yeah, it makes sense that knowing what that inference refers to/means, I can sort of see why there would be that reaction.

As for the voice over vs. actual scenes on the bridge, your logic on that is good too, in that I can see how as simply a voiceover, it works to contribute to the overall chill the short is designed to create; the only reason I mentioned it before was that the cost of that "chill" is a severe limiting of scope in this vignette. But like I said, very impressive stuff. Keep up the great work!
 
Honestly, I think it is probably just the thought of getting the short vignettes done in a single weekend that drives us to set them either entirely on location or entirely on the bridge. For good or bad...

Sir Rhosis
 
That's probably quite true in general, David. But in "Beach Towel" (which will be seen in its entirety at TrekTrax Atlanta as a sneak preview) and "Second Contact," we filmed the majority of the episode on location and then shot a brief tag scene on a set. I have to admit that it gives closure...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top