Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-LINE

[Potemkin_Prod]

For Immediate Release:

Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok: Battle of Alawanir" S03-H NOW ON-LINE

YouTube:
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZK4qP0BTmo[/yt]

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/139143626

Not all conflicts in the Alpha Quadrant involve the Federation.
Battlecruiser Kupok is on a standard patrol when they receive orders to investigate the possible presence of romuluSngan in the Alawanir Nebula. Their mission is clear, but is everyone to be trusted?
Starring Jack Zumwalt as Captain Kesh, Robert Ladimer as Gunner Noyot, Ashley Longacre as Pilot Sor, Jessie Riano as Navigator Nobor, and Isha McKelvin as Captain's Woman Maghor. Guest starring Alex Everett as Communications Officer Qan, Jim Everett as Science Officer Durat, Eric Holt as the Romulan Centurion, and Special Guest Star William C. Searcy as the Romulan Commander. With Randall Landers as Colonel Konnerk, and Leslie Lewis and Abby Evans as Romulan bridge officers.
VFX by Mark Berge, Music by Tony Lunn, Written, Directed and Edited by Randall Landers. Producer: David MacKenzie. Associate Producer: Michael Day. Co-Executive Produder: Rick Foxx. Executive Producer and Web Series Creator: Randall Landers.
The pilot episode of a new web-series from Potemkin Pictures.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

That constant red filter/lighting is really tough on the eyes.

 

[MikeH92467]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

That constant red filter/lighting is really tough on the eyes.

I agree. I think it would be appropriate for "Red Alert" (Red Alert...get it? *ahem* where was I?) Good stuff as far as the editing, nothing distracted me (which is not damning with faint praise, it's a sign of effective editing) and the overall pacing seemed good. I do think the acting from the Klingon crew could have been toned down a bit, but the temptation to go over the top when playing Klingons is hard to resist. Then again, I think it's far to ask if it's possible to go over the top with Klingons. Anyhow, good effort that shows signs of growth and improvement in almost every area.

Keep going!

 

[Karzak]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

I watched this the other day when it showed up on Facebook.

In concept, it's an interesting idea -- show us an episode of Star Trek if Star Trek were about a Klingon ship and crew.

In execution though it leaves something to be desired.

Ok. Maybe that is not fair of me. I've been warned here that my bluntness is unpopular and that people are complaining about it so let me try to be a little more constructive.

Here was a chance to do something really different, a chance to do something really alien and surprising and have fun with the expectations of the audience... and it's really just more of the same.

The biggest problem is the story. I don't know what the hell it's about. The final decision by the captain isn't shocking or a surprise. They blow away a Romulan ship after the Klingon captain promises mercy, then blabs on in a log entry as they fly away.

Forgive me for being blunt, but so what?

As for various nits:

Spoiler: Karzak's Nits

--The aforementioned red color grading is over done.
--The actors all sound bored, each trying too hard to mimic the faux-Shakespearean brute elocution of the Klingons we have come to know.
--The viewscreen conversation just drags on and on and on.
--One Klingon seems to have a flower in her hair?
--The visual effects featuring the ships in combat are jerky and inorganic.
--The sound is all over the place.
--Camera angles, while varied, are still quite limiting and belie a lack of scope and size. Project: Potemkin has never felt that way to me, but this one absolutely did. Maybe its due to available resources (soundstage space, time to shoot) or a lack of experience, but that's how it comes across.
--The Klingon chant was awkward. I know we've seen it on TV before so that's fine ... but these are Klingons! Go big or go home.
--The fight with the spy on the bridge is even more awkward. I really have a hard time believing any Klingon worth his salt would stand around waiting to fight/kill anyone (let alone everyone!) the minute he's found out, and certainly not get killed himself by someone in a seated position.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

Here was a chance to do something really different, a chance to do something really alien and surprising and have fun with the expectations of the audience... and it's really just more of the same.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but this is what I think is the most problematic (besides the red lighting). We learn nothing new about the Klingons. It just seems to play to the stereotypes developed over the last forty-plus years.

 

[Maurice]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

A fun idea, and I commend trying something different.

THE GOOD
The best thing for me was William Searcy as the Romulan Commander, because he was just FUN and brought something to the role.

Maybe because the story focuses on Klingons, and they're brusque, this had less dead air in the dialog that most Potemkin segments. It felt punchier, which is good. It's still overlong, but that's the script.


THE HMMM
Jack Zumwalt's Klingon Captain looks like he could be good, but by trying so hard to sound Klingon he's undermining his own performance. Perhaps more Christopher Plummer's Chang and less snarling Duras?

The Hunt for Red October singing bit feels like it belongs in a different place (like after they win, as they sail off into the starset).

Too much Captain's log. I'd dump it in future. It's too Starfleety.

THE REST
For me, anyway, Kupok exhibits most of the same problems I see with all the Potemkin films, just this time rendered in eye-searing Crims-On-Scope. The script isn't tight, and the dialog could be rewritten to convey the same things snappier and in half the number of lines. The camera angles aren't effective (medium shots when there should be close-ups, down-angles where the camera should be level with the seated cast, etc.). The sound isn't very good. What little action is there is staged awkwardly. etc. etc.

The bulk of the cast were barky and I felt every line they had was just affected and clumsy. The Captain was better at it then the others, but, as I said above, it's all too much.

The flower. My main objection is cinematic: it's the brightest thing in those shots, almost white when everything else is red, and your eye goes right to instead of to what's happening. Distracting.

The VFX overreached. The debris off the Romulan ship made me think of Minecraft or a Lego game... which isn't a good thing during a dramatic moment. Sometimes it's better just to have some brilliant flashes and just see parts of the ship missing when they fade rather than to try to render chunks flying off.

THE FUTURE
If there' s a next time, my advice:

• Tighter script
• Less red
• Less growly acting
• More closeups
• "And no singing!" "hic" "Oh, go get a glass of water!"

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

Thanks for the input, guys! We do appreciate it!

 

[batboy853]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

While interesting concept it does leave a bit to be desired. In an interview with the Okudas for one of the TNG DvD's they talked about in regards what at it's core Star Trek is all about. For the series thus far its been what it has meant to be a human. For Worf as a character it has always been about what it means to be a Klingon. You should aim for the same.

I would also like if you guys are going to continue these 15 minute short story telling for you to adopt a more serialized story telling experience, where each short picks up where the last one left off. This will keep people engaged in what is going on. With Potemkin you guys had a few full episodes where it seemed like it was going to have an arch but the rest of the episodes were along the lines of, what happens in a bar... in Star Trek.

 

[Maurice]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

While a serialized format's not a bad idea, knowing how Potemkin series are shot, I can see how that would be difficult, given that the same performers might not be available from shoot to shoot.

 

[Karzak]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

To be fair, Project: Potemkin's primary source of inspiration would clearly be Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, and if Randy and his team are borrowing more from that film than just the title (and the sign-off "For a spoonful of borscht!"), it would certainly seem to jibe with their not serializing their webisodes.

To wit: While there is a main cast/crew in this series, perhaps because of the way the webisodes are produced or not, there's no primary cast we see each and every week, no regular seven characters in each episode a la TNG or TOS; rather these shorts feature a variety of players from the crew of the ship, occasionally with some reprising their roles, but largely a differing combination in each story.

This would then be a way of utilizing the same narrative approach of Soviet montage theory, focusing (usually) on the masses (in this case the group) vs just the individual.

Its not always the case, but it's generally the lens through which I've viewed Potemkin's offerings.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: Star Trek ~ Project: Potemkin "Battlecruiser Kupok" S03-H NOW ON-

Thanks for the interest and the comments!

Serializing is not in the works for POTEMKIN. As Maurice points out, the availability of the cast members is problematic, and as Karzak has noted, we're rather happy with the focus on the group, not just a few key characters.

We do have a few story arcs that pop up from time to time, but we really like the short film approach, and the Twilight Zonish aspects. With our upcoming episode, LADIES NIGHT OUT (yes, shot in a bar!), I'll be interested to see if our audience will get all the references to recent events aboard the POTEMKIN.

I suspect the same will be true for our new series: TRISTAN, DEIMOS, KUPOK and ENDEAVOUR. Bringing together the cast members from so far away (North Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa, Albany, Birmingham) will probably result in the same approach: a true ensemble of a cast that comes together with a great deal of flexibility.

Thanks again for the comments, y'all!