Yes, we are that organized however the episode will not be released in February.
Star Trek Continues, Episode 4...
- Thread starter Warped9
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Yes, we are that organized however the episode will not be released in February.
Doug wrote: "So here I sit, this Sunday morning, putting the finishing touches on Enterprise shots for episode 04."
I presume that there are more VFX shots that need to be done than just Enterprise shots. Also, I suspect that much of the Enterprise VFX footage is probably somewhat "stock footage" in nature. If the episode is character-driven and not so much VFX-driven, there may not be an awful lot of Enterprise shots that need to be done. (Maybe the episode is more like "Miri" than "The Tholian Web.")
(Not to diminish Doug's speed, thoroughness, and professionalism.)
I think he mentioned that these are mostly standard flybys - and these can be done very quickly if you are a professional artists like Doug (if you have everything at hand) - an hour or two for the scene, then rendering, and another hour or two for compositing - voila (for one shot, of course)
I've been kidding around in the past that STC barely has a dozen FX shots in a given episode, but with the news that Doug Drexler has already completed his commitment to their 4th webisode, I wanted a closer look at this part of their production:
Now, apart from ''invisible'' FX shots (shots where continuity gaffes are fixed with the help of CGI), I counted about 30 separate shots with overt CGI FX in their ''Fairest of them all'' episode. Of those 9 were phaser FX added, one was the agonizer FX, and the rest are various Enterprise\Halkan planet\Andorian ships space shots, all but a small handful being a tad more than 2 seconds long.
Given that someone has mentioned IIRC that episode 4 would have even less reliance on FX shots, I'm not at all surprised to hear that Drexler has already storyboarded, layed out and executed about 2 dozen relatively simple FX shots.
Now, apart from ''invisible'' FX shots (shots where continuity gaffes are fixed with the help of CGI), I counted about 30 separate shots with overt CGI FX in their ''Fairest of them all'' episode. Of those 9 were phaser FX added, one was the agonizer FX, and the rest are various Enterprise\Halkan planet\Andorian ships space shots, all but a small handful being a tad more than 2 seconds long.
Given that someone has mentioned IIRC that episode 4 would have even less reliance on FX shots, I'm not at all surprised to hear that Drexler has already storyboarded, layed out and executed about 2 dozen relatively simple FX shots.
Especially since they'll probably be in pre-production for Ep 5 and post-production for Ep 4 at the same time! Remember they're planning to do much of the Ep 5 shoot in February.
Even with Vic not directing, he has a lot to do in post with the editing and the music.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Most showrunners usually do. Either way, it's nice to see such progress taking place with their next offerings!
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Michele Specht may have posted the first behind-the-scenes shot from Episode 4, here.
It seems to show Kirk in the green tunic on the bridge with Bones played by Chuck Huber, which we haven't seen before.
She also posted this sometime around 6 a.m. ET, which is unusual. Her daily post ordinarily goes out at 9 a.m.
It seems to show Kirk in the green tunic on the bridge with Bones played by Chuck Huber, which we haven't seen before.
She also posted this sometime around 6 a.m. ET, which is unusual. Her daily post ordinarily goes out at 9 a.m.
That would be cool if they start releasing BTS pics, but I think that one may be from the Turnabout Intruder vignette that ended on the bridge. Whatever the case, it doesn't show us much. I think we'll start seeing some BTS stuff during their kickstarter.
ETA:
I am also looking forward to some more on-set interviews. Hopefully Larry Nemecek will be conducting some more for Trekland. I think that may be an affirm if I read his FB post right.
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Kirk wore the standard Command gold tunic, not the captain's green wraparound in the "Turnabout Intruder" short--because that's what he wore in the *actual* "Turnabout Intruder" episode. (In fact, Kirk never wore the green wraparound at all in the third season.)
Also, Spock stands next to Kirk's command chair during all of the "Turnabout Intruder" vignette. In Michele's BTS pic, Spock is seated at his station.
I think this really is a BTS shot from their currently-filming episode. (A little birdie tells me that they should just about be wrapping up.)
Also, Chuck Huber has his hair combed forward in a similar style to Fairest of Them All. He had it combed back in Turnabout Intruder.
And that is definitely the green wraparound. Not a trace of black around the collar. He's never worn that on the bridge before. We have Ep 4 BTS.
And that is definitely the green wraparound. Not a trace of black around the collar. He's never worn that on the bridge before. We have Ep 4 BTS.
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Has there ever been a reason why? Lack of budget to make new versions of this garment? Shatner not liking its look?, etc.
Don't know, but perhaps it was just an incidental casualty of the general replacement of uniforms when they abandoned the velour. Budget makes as much sense as anything.
Apart from the text I bolded, I agree. I found "Mind Sifter" to be pretty tedious, with a horrible performance from the new guy who plays Kirk. It actually made me wish for the return of James Cawley. The visual FX, Spock, and the cool hybrid-era admiral's uniform were the only good things about the mess that was "Mind Sifter." I had to watch it in two sittings, I was so bored. Oh, and "It's a Starfleet secret!" made me LOL. Kirk would never say that.A healthy competition if everyone keeps improving.
I would say it is quite apparent that there's some healthy competitiveness between the two productions; that Continues has been so well-received certainly seems to have lit a fire under the New Voyages/Phase II production team. Excluding the debacle that was "Kitumba," their latest effort ("Mind-Sifter") was outstanding, and I've heard many good things about "The Holiest Thing" as well.
Competition to make better films is a wonderful thing. Despite the very public bad blood between the productions, Star Trek Continues may well have been the best thing to happen to New Voyages/Phase II as before "Pilgrim of Eternity" NV/P2 had become somewhat bogged down by the weight of it's own self-professed greatness and, yes, somewhat stagnant with some pretty mediocre efforts (lookin' at you, "Enemy: Starfleet.") But as I said, "Mind-Sifter" has been a glorious return to form, and I sincerely hope to see more films like it out of Ticonderoga and am quite looking forward to seeing what both productions do in the coming year.
STC is a more polished production; each episode has built upon the last one and it evokes TOS aesthetically and stylistically in such a cool way. I honestly think that NV/Phase II should take some cues from them.
Apart from the text I bolded, I agree. I found "Mind Sifter" to be pretty tedious, with a horrible performance from the new guy who plays Kirk. It actually made me wish for the return of James Cawley. The visual FX, Spock, and the cool hybrid-era admiral's uniform were the only good things about the mess that was "Mind Sifter." I had to watch it in two sittings, I was so bored. Oh, and "It's a Starfleet secret!" made me LOL. Kirk would never say that.A healthy competition if everyone keeps improving.
I would say it is quite apparent that there's some healthy competitiveness between the two productions; that Continues has been so well-received certainly seems to have lit a fire under the New Voyages/Phase II production team. Excluding the debacle that was "Kitumba," their latest effort ("Mind-Sifter") was outstanding, and I've heard many good things about "The Holiest Thing" as well.
Competition to make better films is a wonderful thing. Despite the very public bad blood between the productions, Star Trek Continues may well have been the best thing to happen to New Voyages/Phase II as before "Pilgrim of Eternity" NV/P2 had become somewhat bogged down by the weight of it's own self-professed greatness and, yes, somewhat stagnant with some pretty mediocre efforts (lookin' at you, "Enemy: Starfleet.") But as I said, "Mind-Sifter" has been a glorious return to form, and I sincerely hope to see more films like it out of Ticonderoga and am quite looking forward to seeing what both productions do in the coming year.
STC is a more polished production; each episode has built upon the last one and it evokes TOS aesthetically and stylistically in such a cool way. I honestly think that NV/Phase II should take some cues from them.
In what ways should NV/P2 take some cues from STC? Should it be more polished? Should each NV/P2's episode try to build on the last one, and should NV/P2 try more to evoke TOS aesthetically and stylistically in such a cool way?
What specifically does STC get right that NV/P2 doesn't seem to?
For my part, I wouldn't want to see NV/P2 become like a clone of STC. Each is telling different kinds of stories in its own way, and there are many things STC just can't do because of what it has chosen to be.
The 4:3 in Mind-Sifter was pretty awesome, though! There's something about that aspect ratio.
The 4:3 in Mind-Sifter was pretty awesome, though! There's something about that aspect ratio.
One thing, for what it's worth: nuance and polish.
Certainly STC isn't perfect--nothing is--but they do manage to recapture a lot of what made us like TOS. All fan productions diverge, in varying degrees and ways, from the original source materiel in bringing contemporary sensibilities to their productions. STC, like Starship: Exeter, seems to do it less than most.
Fan productions are really elaborate forms of fan fiction--not a bad thing--but again it comes down to approach and execution. Fanfic (whether in print or filmed) is a case of wanting to play in someone else's sandbox. Some fanfic (okay, a lot of fanfic) seems to be a case of "wouldn't it be kewl if..." and it doesn't really have much resonance with what we would likely have actually seen on the series. I would even put a lot of professionally published stories in that camp given how so many writers like to bring back characters and revisit places and things that the series already did and likely would never have revisited.
The one thing that's inescapable (to me) about NV/P2 is that none of what I've seen in the series most likely would ever have been done in TOS even if the show had gone on for another two seasons. It's an approach the production has chosen to take to explore things that couldn't or wouldn't have been done in TOS either because of subject matter or budgetary constraints.
That in itself isn't what really what takes me out of the episodes (well, most of the time). In all candor what usually takes me out of the episodes are the writing, the acting and sometimes the look of the show. I've found the acting in NV/P2 to be all over the map, but mostly unconvincing overall. The cast just doesn't do it for me. Maybe if everything else were stronger I would cut them more slack, but as is when you're not getting enough enjoyment out of something then every little thing looms large.
Often a lot of the writing strikes me as almost rubber stamped. It doesn't seem to flow in a convincingly natural and spontaneous way. Now part of this might also be affected by the acting when a character comes off more like an impersonation rather than a fully realized character.
The look of NV/P2 also doesn't look like TOS for the most part. Here a lot of it has to do with the lighting and camera work. Then again because the production is doing something different so maybe it shouldn't matter. But it strikes me that if it looked more like TOS then so much else might seem more convincing.
STC has chosen a different and in some ways more restrictive approach. For the most part they want to seem more like it's 1969 again, for the most part anyway. They still do some things that most likely wouldn't have been seen in 1969 TOS, but overall they've usually gotten away with it mostly because they've exercised some restraint. Some of the visual f/x they've done actually could have been done in 1969 if TOS had had the extra time and budget. In particular I'm thinking of the hangar deck shots.
In terms of ideas they've also included some things that are debatable. It's very cool that they've shown us a woman Commodore and a woman as a security guard--both of which it would have been awesome to see on TOS. But strictly speaking we likely wouldn't have seen a female security guard in TOS and it's unknown whether we would have finally seen a female command officer in a fourth or fifth season. The inclusion of the holodeck (or holographic rec room) is an idea that existed back in the day and it's something that TOS could have pulled off (given all the things we'd already seen on the show), but they never got around to it.
The inclusion of a ship's counselor is the biggest debatable idea in STC. It's so much an element of the TNG era and one that we most likely would never have seen on TOS. Yes, they had had ship's psychiatrists, but they were one off guest characters and never part of the regular cast. I understand why they created the character, but it still can seem wierd. I would say, though, that again they get away with it because they haven't (so far) pushed her too much.
In terms of stories STC has walked a fine line (mostly) and crossed the line once in terms of story ideas likely to be seen in 1969/70. "Pilgrim Of Eternity" feels very much like it could have been a TOS episode (if we also accept them aging Michael Forest), but it's also unlikely a story that would have been produced given that revisiting a character was done only once before. "Fairest Of Them All" was pure fan indulgence because TOS was most likely never going to revisit the Mirror Universe. "Lolani" is a story that hits all the targets in terms of what we could have seen on TOS.
But even given where STC diverges from TOS in terms of ideas and story it is their overall execution that brings it all together. The show really looks like TOS in terms of lighting and camera work. The ship model is a an idealized version of what we saw onscreen even when the ship is seen in some angles not seen on TOS (but could have been). The stories are written and executed in a very close approximation of what we saw on TOS. Even though "Fairest Of them All" would never have been done on TOS it still feels very much like how it could have been done.
When it comes to acting while it can still be hit-and-miss on STC overall I think it's much better than NV/P2. No one is going to replace William Shatner, but Vic Mignogna's interpretation and performance of Kirk is generally awesome. Todd Haberkorn has and is growing as Spock. How can you beat Chris Doohan as Scotty?--it's spooky. The rest of the cast are competent so far given the limited scope of their characters. Michelle Specht has also been good and has managed to fit right in although she has an advantage of creating an original character without any serious fan expectations to overcome. I also have to say the guest actors have been very good with their characters.
So I think a key distinction is this (for me). Both productions do things that were not seen on TOS, but a key difference is that (for the most part) STC has given us things that could have been done on TOS while NV/P2 has given us things that wouldn't or couldn't have been done. And additionally I feel STC is generally better written and better acted than NV/P2.
Of course your mileage may vary depending on what one wants to see in their fanfic.
As expected, STC has now announced completion of principal photography on Episode 4.
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