Well it's a good enough fan film and the VFX are great. Cockings has always been OK at modeling, but considering just how much they complain about things over at TrekYards, I thought the writing would be better and not so unbelievable and fan wanky. That's the danger in bitching about everyone's writing, you better deliver a superior story if you nitpick everyone else's to death.
It's really by the numbers pew pew space battle technobabble driven stuff. None of the characters are interesting. It's just a gimmick to have Star Fleet's greatest hits shooting at one another. There's no story, just a premise,
Technically it's mediocre. Dodgy greenscreen compositing and characters missized to the backgrounds they're supered into. Yes, it's all digital sets, and the result is none of the characters seem to be touching the controls they're supposed to be operating (hint: put a fucking 2x4 in front of them so their hands can touch something), and they are "typing" so much they look like secretaries on their IBM Selectrics. Also notice all this phantom button pushing have no sound fx to make us feel like any controls are actually being operated.
Technically it's mediocre. Dodgy greenscreen compositing and characters missized to the backgrounds they're supered into. Yes, it's all digital sets, and the result is none of the characters seem to be touching the controls they're supposed to be operating (hint: put a fucking 2x4 in front of them so their hands can touch something), and they are "typing" so much they look like secretaries on their IBM Selectrics. Also notice all this phantom button pushing have no sound fx to make us feel like any controls are actually being operated.
Yup---a green one. Also, everyone should have a set of beard trimmers on set every day of filming. No reason for Starfleet officers (or anyone on camera) to ever have a hairy neck.
I got as far as the Ent-E guy saying that the TOS codes they had were a "few hundred years" old before being kicked out of the story. There were several references to this discrepancy despite them also giving the calendar year they were from. Whatever script they were working from really could have used more scrubbing.
Technically, the film is on par with most I've seen. There was no real makeup or lighting aside from what would work on a flat greenscreen in the corner of a home somewhere, but it does look like everyone in this film didn't do more than slip on their costume before rolling the camera.
From a guy as detail-obsessed as the Cockings guy, I was expecting a bit more polish. Nice ship models though, despite the odd lack of SFX other than weapons. 2/5 from me.
Mark
Technically, the film is on par with most I've seen. There was no real makeup or lighting aside from what would work on a flat greenscreen in the corner of a home somewhere, but it does look like everyone in this film didn't do more than slip on their costume before rolling the camera.
From a guy as detail-obsessed as the Cockings guy, I was expecting a bit more polish. Nice ship models though, despite the odd lack of SFX other than weapons. 2/5 from me.
Mark
Part 2:
So...that was.
As usual, not going to comment on the acting.
The sound is not good. That's always the most damning thing.
The eyelines are a mess and cross The Line all over the place. There's no sense of directional continuity. As ever, why won't fanfilmmakers just take an hour to learn really basic camera work and precepts?
Worst of all, from a story and stakes standpoint the whole thing is a big "so what?"
It's a destination that's not worth the journey except.
The Copout Twist
So...that was.
As usual, not going to comment on the acting.
The sound is not good. That's always the most damning thing.
The eyelines are a mess and cross The Line all over the place. There's no sense of directional continuity. As ever, why won't fanfilmmakers just take an hour to learn really basic camera work and precepts?
Worst of all, from a story and stakes standpoint the whole thing is a big "so what?"
The twist is a cop-out. Everything that's happening is a holodeck simulation, a fact that is divulged halfway through part 2. That reveal kicks the legs out from under the whole affair because there's nothing really at stake. It's the lead playing a simulation. And, as a result, the mystery of what happened to the crews is just...left unresolved. Worst of all, the lead learns nothing except how to win this particular game. Big fucking whoop.
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⏲ Please note there was roughly a 4¼ year gap between these posts ...
⚠ Please note that until the post above this thread had been inactive for about 4¼ years ...
