Anyone who wants to 'be aware' of more productions, is invited to Star Trek Reviewed. General link is in my signature, but here's the Table of Contents, which offers each producer of more than 10 minutes of film that tells a whole story a page: http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/2.html There's also an index, a list of audio dramas, a list of franchise crossover films, films listed by language, (I have one in Zulu, but none in Chinese), films which are ships only, a list of recuts, films about Trek fans ... etc. I also have a list of folks who have produced nothing but claim to be working on films.
I've noticed that a number of fan filmmakers would just pop in, drop and link, and disappear. They're not part of the community, and so it's just like they're advertising to get hits but not participating in the forum.
Actually there are more nasty comments over on Youtube and facebook than here. My own theory is similar to Nick's. There are other sites with various trek groups on them, and many of them are viscous/down right abusive. Might be some are afraid this place is like that too? Every one has a theory, no one has a definitive answer. None of the responses answer why Farragut, STC, Renegades, Axanar and other "first tier" fan movies don't post here. Nick, I would hire you in a New York minute to write a script if I was doing a TNG era fan movie. You did more with less than most other series. Surprised others haven't asked. Anyway, thanks for all responses. I'm looking forward to Farragut's next episode, and Axanar, and Renegades and....more Trek.
My speculation is that as both the Co-Executive Producer for Phase II and the Moderator of this Fan Production forum, other productions might think that P2 has the inside track on this board and other productions are not welcome. Such is not the case: I try to make it welcoming to all the fan productions. (In fact, I sometimes get nasty comments from fellow P2ers who think I should be less polite and professional to our "rival" productions--the drawback of wearing two hats.)
Thanks for the kind words jojo. For what it's worth, I think the productions you mention are just that bit more savvy and apt to promote their efforts. I don't mean that as any sort of criticism of anyone, just an observation that some groups are better (and possibly more interested) in promoting their work than others. I don't think either approach is right or wrong, by the way, just different.
Axanar probably does not post here because Alec Peters (Axanars producer) was banned from this board. Renegades probably does not post because there are no news. The movie is still in post production. From my impression, STC, Farragut and P2 are actually the ones who are talked about most here, so I would like to encourage every other producer to make their work public - even if it is just a promo or announcement. Barbreader - your site is great, but really could use an overhaul - if you don´t know what you´re looking for, you are pretty much overwhelmed with information. Some graphics interface would be helpful.
Northstar, anyone with internet skills willing to do their own version of a Star Trek Fan Film website is free to do so. I have an index, a table of contents, and a search engine. Other websites list only live action, only 'good' films, of only TOS based films, etc. I don't own the information on the website. Randy Lander's website included pages that were better organized and more readable, but they only included select Original Series time period (or TOS movie era) films. I await the day somebody lays out all the information I have, but in a lovely readable way, and I can shut down Star Trek Reviewed. Using my in-website search engine, index, and table of contents is still a lot easier than trying to find new fan films using Yahoo or Google.
I shut down my site because getting updated information from just the TOS era fan films proved problematic. Finally, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. It was very well read, but when you can't get folks to provide you with info, additions, corrections, errors, it became worthless. I would point out that as a self-professed second tier production, I find many fans here aren't interested in Potemkin, Reliant, Valiant, or George Kayaian's productions. They're more interested in first tier productions with hero bridges. Doesn't bother me one bit, which is why I continue to post here. But the others don't bother any more. Facebook is far more productive as a means of getting the word out about your fan film series.
Or there's just a divide in terms of production quality that a lot of people can't get past. If you're unable to get into something, you're not going to watch it, and bad sound I know drives a lot of people away from some of the shows, and especially the "2nd tier" stuff.
I won't disagree, but I hear far more comments about the uniforms being different than just about everything else combined, including sound. Others hear far more about their sets, or their VFX. But that doesn't change the perception that most other productions than the first tier are ignored here. Folks come by, post a link, and get no feedback. So they don't stick around a contribute to this forum when they can get feedback elsewhere.
I recall people complaining about the mix of TNG and First Contact uniforms on Intrepid, which is funny when there's evidence both are in use side by side on the show. A complaint on our latest episode was about a visible zip. I mean come on, I'd be much more worried about the sound, or the low quality of the video than about a zip! But I digress. While I may disagree with the way some people refuse to watch the other productions, I do understand why. Production standards will play a large part in why some people turn off.
Well, my 2 cents are: If you want to attract a lot of people just prasing your outcome, no matter the quality (script, design, acting, SFX, audio) I believe sites like Facebook are "easier accessible". You have friends and family there, it an All-In-All-And-Everywhere site and app, so if you want publicity and fast and nice comments - you feel probably more comfortable there. Hell, you can just as easily delete negative comments... But here I have seen the most semi-to-professional comments, that are constructive and non-diminishing. Granted, sometimes discussions, thoughts and discussions can get heated, but here are a lot of people with good intentions who help out with ideas, lay out the groundwork of HOW TOs (Maurice, doubleohfive, Ryan Thomas Middle, Dennis, GSchnitzer, Tom, Bixby and others) for production teams, where one can learn, how to tweak their efforts. You might welcome their inputs or simply disregard them. So it's up to anyone, I guess, how to approach his/her own outing to the public and where. If you're up to handling criticism, no matter how proud you are of your filmed gem, I think, here are some of the finest persons to guide you through the learning curve. If you just want to be applauded, Facebook might be a better place. And I also don't think that, besides Alec Peters, "1st tier" productions have "fled from this minefield". When there are no news, sometimes there are no news... EDIT: Oh, and sometimes you just offer an outing no one writes a single sentence about... I guess, that's life.
I think the 'tier' word is a bit... too precise. There is a spectrum, with the best fan films being quite good, some being slightly less in one or two aspects... and even at that moment, it becomes a question of what is important to the viewer. And it's down from there, step by step, but in no clear order. I'm often surprised at what my in-person Trek friends think is 'great' and what they think is not worth watching. And which is which is not consistent. There are plenty of technically competent films released by Hollywood that I find unwatchable. Those of you here who are film professionals may have a clear way to classify everything, but my own experience says that that classification my not be in accord with the reaction of the non-film-pro viewers. The single most difficult part of my website to work on in my Quick Picks. I try to list the best film from each of the better groups, allowing viewers to then go to the page or website of that group to find more. But the truth is, I don't like to remove a film. So I still have the pilot episode for Starship Exeter, although I think TTI is much better. And I haven't anything from "Hidden Frontier" although there are multiple comments directing readers to that series. I try to wait at least a month after release before making something a "Quick Pick" so it can be featured at least twice. Some of the groups which I've picked a film or sub-series from are "second tier", yet I get plenty of positive comments about them, perhaps because they are less well known. I wish there was a simple way to signal folks, "You'll like this but not that." I can often predict that for in-person friends, but creating a system that would work in general has eluded me. That, plus the time factor, has left me begging other folks to write reviews and comments and then linking to those. To quote a cliche', one man's trash is another man's treasure. Part of the issue here is, another cliche', "Where are the boundaries of Rome" ... or in this case, Trek. From your TOS purists to those who embrace JJTrek as the 'real deal' to those who include audio, novels, comics... some or all pro Trek and fan product, it all comes into play in judging. There are people who love watching kids, and hunt through STR looking for the kid-done videos, and others that skip those. Aside from a very few films I can't imagine anyone loving (save perhaps those who created them), and I classify as "Really, really bad stuff." (If I leave them out altogether I get notified about the fact they exist time and again, so that's not an option)... I can honestly state that I loathe telling others what they should like. In some cases, I express a negative opinion, but that doesn't mean somebody might love what I hate. XYZ produces films in which the female characters are humans who act and think like human males, not females. I detest that, but another person might love it. When I used to listen to reviewers much more than I do, I didn't go to films they recommended, but films that sounded like I would like, even if they panned them.
Oh, just read the YouTube comments on TTI and you'll see how nit-picky and sometimes rude people can be. I never argue with opinions there. The only times I post is when someone states something factually that is wrong. I've only ever deleted comments when they are hateful about a person involved with the show rather than about the show. Otherwise, I leave the comments unmoderated. I'll be honest, I've tried to watch/listen to most of the completed projects posted here, but a lot of them I can't make it through five minutes of because they just don't grab me, especially the TNG era stuff because I never enjoyed those shows and I rarely enjoy fan works which duplicate its style.
The zipper critique is funny because you can see visible zippers in the original, TNG and all of Trek. I mean you can actually see the zipper teeth on Shatner's tunic in the first season as the velour shrank. So that makes zippers canon right? That's the type of critique that isn't really helpful. It's more of a production goof, but will it make the next production better and more enjoyable if you paid more attention to the zippers? Probably not. Like you, I'd rather productions worry about better sound, video quality, camerawork and, most of all, story!
On the zipper issue, it's good to remember that buttons have been around for thousands of years, but zippers were invented in the 19th century (twice, by some accounts!). While it may well be some much better means of closing clothing will be invented in the next few hundred years, (or that little robots will sew the clothes closed on us in the morning and unsew them off of us in the evening... who knows?) it's also possible that zippers, like buttons, will be around for thousands of years before another means to close your clothing becomes popular. Zippers didn't become common until the early part of the 20th century when the price of production was brought down by a patent that greatly reduced the size of machines that cut the teeth of zippers. Early models took up a whole room, but the new patent cut the machine to a size smaller than a hand loom. (My grandmother's second husband was the inventor of the smaller machine. I have read the patent, but I have not read this in a book.) We still use buttons, we still use laces, there is no logical reason to assume zippers will disappear altogether even if some new way to close clothing comes along. Me, writing as the proud step-granddaughter of the man who changed the face of men's pants...
Well to be fair, the idea of invisible futuristic fastenings is pretty well ingrained into the design ethos of the show. So while I agree with Ryan that the comment was just silly nitpicking I also understand why it might be an issue for some. Indeed, it actually bugs me as well, but sometimes stuff happens and there's not much you can do about it.
Even though I like all the Trek series, I could only watch a few of the TNG era fan movies. I always tell beginner fan movie people to watch Intrepid. As in how to do a ultra low budget independent movie. Plus the actors have really cool Scottish accents. With even low end consumer bridge cameras shooting 4K, and affordable mics, PCs and software (much of it now free or very low cost). No excuse to mess up the picture and sound. p.s. Yes I know many do not have the pc power to edit in 4K yet.
4K resolution doesn't fix bad cinematography, so it's not a solution other than future-proofing your work.