Star Trek: Ambush!

Discussion in 'Fan Productions' started by Bixby, Apr 27, 2015.

  1. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I keep being impressed by this british production!

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8QpDudUm0A[/yt]

    Some recent cast photos on Facebook show their Romulan characters actually have names, meaning they will probably develop them as more than just faces in the background, definitely a good thing.

    And in the above video, I really like the look of the actors, who actually look young and fit enough to BE part of a semi-militaristic group. Plus their stunt-fighting shots are really dynamic...

    One of my many eagerly-awaited for, coming fanfilms...
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2015
  2. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Some more behind-the-scenes YouTube vids on this kickass-looking production:

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NffDqN_jYLo[/yt]

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVz-3KHSuls[/yt]

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ZwmibONDY[/yt]

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQBn_dq2Y28[/yt]

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FbZxp9JY74[/yt]
     
  3. GregLock

    GregLock Ensign Newbie

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    Apr 19, 2014
    Hi. Greg, creator of Ambush here. Thanks for sharing, glad you're liking what we're doing. Happy to answer any questions anyone may have here. If you like what you're seeing, don't forget we're also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
     
  4. aalenfae

    aalenfae Commander Red Shirt

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    I just love seeing that the Romulans are getting some love!

    We're including Romulans in our movie Pacific 201 in what we feel is a unique way, but any extra screentime of non-TNG Romulans is good for me! They were just so much cooler back then.
     
  5. MarsWeeps

    MarsWeeps Fleet Captain Premium Member

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    I like what I see so far. Any more details as to what the storyline will be about? (I don't do Facebook.)

    The only nit I have is the name of the ship: USS Ambush?

    Ambush just doesn't seem like something I would name a ship.

    But...I like the uniform design and an all British crew will be interesting. :techman:
     
  6. GregLock

    GregLock Ensign Newbie

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    Apr 19, 2014
    Here's some excerpts from our press kit which we're currently working on to shed some light on some of your questions.

    What is “Ambush”

    “Ambush” is an independent short film that is set within the Star Trek universe. The story of “Ambush” runs concurrently with The Original Series era of Star Trek and will not only show a new area of The Original Series that has never seen before, but a new crew and ship - the USS Ambush.

    The crew of the Ambush are a unique and specialised group of people, and they are the Federation's first choice to deal with any delicate and sensitive matter. Their existence is something of a controversy, and not something that a peacekeeping Federation likes to be known.

    Due to technology and budget constraints of The Original Series, this is an era that is still very much “unexplored” in the history of Star Trek . For example, the only type of starship that was seen was the same model as the USS Enterprise, the only type of uniform was the same as the Enterprise crew with the exception of different insignias, and a large number of the episodes were set on The Enterprise to save the budget.

    “Ambush” intends to give more exposure to The Original Series, and further expand on the visions that were first seen in 1966.

    The Story of “Ambush”

    It's the year 2266 and 100 years since the end of the Earth – Romulan War. After a century of peace between the two worlds, the Romulan's launch an unprovoked attack destroying the Earth controlled outposts patrolling the neutral zone between the two borders. The USS Enterprise being the nearest ship to the border becomes involved in an armed conflict with a Romulan Warbird, impending defeat the Warbird self destructs before any information or true motives can be discovered. These are the events portrayed in The Original Series episode “Balance of Terror”

    Word of this renewed threat soon reaches Earth and The Federation and not only is the threat of the Romulan's a grave concern. The Federation soon learns that one of their most valued Commanders who was stationed at Outpost 1 has been captured and being held prisoner deep within the Romulan Star Empire. Despite being held deep within the enemies territory the Federation want their commander back, so they turn to the USS Ambush.


    Feel free to shoot any questions this way and thank you for the continued interest. :)
     
  7. Philip Guyott

    Philip Guyott Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    England
    Their new trailer is out:



    I am so looking forward to this film.

    These guys make me proud to be British (well something should!). I am hoping they will have a public premier in the West Country at some point. Not living in the US I miss out on this sort of thing. :)

    What I like best about this production is their location scouting. Great work. :bolian:
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2016
  8. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I love clandestine cloak and dagger operations, and I love the TOS era. This looks interesting. :cool:

    Kor
     
  9. Philip Guyott

    Philip Guyott Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's been over a year since the last post. Here is a new preview of Ambush which will be released in 2017.

     
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  10. Borgminister

    Borgminister Admiral Moderator

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    Some parts looked *clears throat* a bit rocky, but .... interesting.
     
  11. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 Admiral Admiral

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    I think the name and the discomfort you feel are actually the point (intended or unintended). Star Fleet is sold to everyone as an organization dedicated to peaceful exploration and enlightened relations between alien races. However, the idea that good intentions might not be enough when dealing with warlike races, who have conflicting interests is an intriguing concept. The dirty little secret as it were. The Ambush crew look like they're doing a great job and will have a very good product for us. By the way, kudos on the fight choreography!
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2016
  12. GregLock

    GregLock Ensign Newbie

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    Apr 19, 2014
    I almost can't believe I'm saying this! Having started filming in 2014 and encountering some rather big "life changing experiences" since. Certainly demonstrating how to dwell on something for an eternity. My fan film, Ambush: A Star Trek Fan Production, will be finally getting its public release to all next week on 15th February 2022.
    [​IMG]
    https://www.facebook.com/startrekam...KuayP7DSZUycxWhy-zy0tf10faxo6_v9Y&__tn__=EH-R
     
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  13. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    As promised...
    Cool, they brought in the phaser pistol SFX from the movie series
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2022
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  14. USS Intrepid

    USS Intrepid Commodore Commodore

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    This was a lot of fun. Congratulations to all concerned on a job well done. I enjoyed it. :)
     
  15. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 Admiral Admiral

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    Well done, indeed! Fight choreography and dialogue sound are common weak points in fan productions and you did a great job with both! Congratulations :beer:
     
  16. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Watched it for a second time. It took a while to reach the finish line, but they made a quality film.
    Kudos to the cast, they did their line readings really well. I think my favorite cast member was the redheaded female Romulan (if I got this right, she's actually gotten a few paid acting gigs in recent years).

    As was mentioned, the fight scenes were really well done (silly me, I kept expecting a few instances of Kirk Fu moves in there).

    My only quibble is that after the Captain had disintegrated his dead crewman, when he used the same phaser to shoot back at the enemy Romulan, said phaser was no longer set on disintegrate?

    Truly enjoyable. Sadly, after 9 years from start to release, there probably won't be a sequel...
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2022
  17. GregLock

    GregLock Ensign Newbie

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    Apr 19, 2014
    Thanks all for the kind feedback, really does mean a lot.
    Sylvie Nightingale is the cast member in question who played Vex (the red haired Romulan), she is a professional and definitely brought a lot to the production.
    Glad you liked the fight scenes, they were something we really wanted to do well and were fortunate enough to know a choreographer who planned out the fight and we spent quite a few days rehearsing it. I do have that footage too and will share it at some point. Not quite full blown Kirk Fu, but I did make everyone involved watch the TOS episode Arena, with the Gorn. We did make sure to include the Kirk double fisted punch move though as a homage.
    I was expecting someone to spot the phaser issue ;) I can explain, honest.
    Firstly, there is a deleted scene which I will release. Just before they enter the base, Captain Maddox instructs all phasers set to stun as he's wanting to avoid starting a full blown war between the Federation and the Romulans, even though the Romulans are clearly the aggressors.
    So we had some continuity issues when it came to editing. The running away from the Romulan sequence was actually filmed about 18 months after the fight scene and "Red Shirt Funeral". There was additional lines filmed after the disintegration dwelling on the fallen crewman, but we cut those for pacing reasons. During that moment, Commander Gibson tinkers with the phaser, setting it back to stun, kinda like putting the safety back on. Of course we were aware we lost that, so tried to explain it with sound.
    If listen out, in between them ducking down under fire and shooting the Romulan, you can hear a "beep", it's the same sound effect used when the Captain sets the phaser to disintegrate moments earlier. The idea was this is the phaser being set back to stun. However, I fully appreciate that it doesn't read as well as being able to visibly see the phaser being switched.
    I think it was more like 8 years.;) But yeah, WAY TO LONG. However, 5 years of that was a forced unintentional hiatus following a mental breakdown on my part sadly. So I prefer to think of it as 3 years. But you're right. More than likely won't be a sequel. This has been a massive learning curve for me and as much as I've really enjoyed the last week being able to show it. This really did take its toll on me mentally. My wife kicked off when I even joked about Ambush 2: Electric Boogaloo, so I think we all know there wont be another film. I would love to continue the story though, but that will more than likely be in another art form. What that will be, I don't know.
     
  18. Bixby

    Bixby Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Thank you for the reply, Greglock. I've been looking forward to this short since it was first announced, it's always great when a film meets expectations.
    I feel bad that I didn't mention how the CG effects were really well done as well. When your budget is limited, that can be quite a challenge.
    Too bad about no further entries, hopefully other types of films will be in your future.
     
  19. TheForge

    TheForge Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Sep 24, 2022
    Wow, this is a good production.