Spoilers The Roddenberry Archive brings every iteration of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise bridge to life
- Thread starter Tuskin38
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It's unlisted for some reason. I think they did that with some of their other videos as well. They'll probably list it eventually. Pretty impressive that it's close to a half-million views based solely on embeds and link-sharing.
I like this interpretation overall.
One question I have about Yor having the ability to do that though: Didn't Yor die a painful death because the Temporal Accords prevented him from going back in time and to his own universe? Surprised he can casually send Kirk back if that's the case.
Though maybe this was before the Accords were signed and Yor died after the Accords were signed? Man, sucks to be Yor.
(Memory Alpha also claims Yor "time traveled to 3189 from 2258", which would mean he landed 600 years after the 1701-J, but I'm not sure how they arrived at the conclusion that he arrived the year the episode happened; it wasn't indicated by the dialogue.)
Agreed. Half-way through watching it I said "Is that Michael Giacchino?" based largely on the similarity to his work in Lost.Oh, and I’m very impressed they got Michael Giacchino to create the score for this! (Although it sounds sneakily similar to a particular recurring theme from Lost.)
I wonder if Kurtzman had any involvement in this? Mainly asking because several who have worked on the recent shows (including Giacchino, Dave Blass, and others) are credited and it definitely drew inspiration from Discovery and Picard to the point I wonder if they were setting this up with "Project Phoenix", though neither him nor Matalas were credited or thanked explicitly that I spotted.
Considering this is officially licensed, it feels a little weird that startrek.com and the official Trek social media accounts haven't acknowledged it yet. Not that they tend to acknowledge licensed tie-ins much, but I think they do sometimes.
Incidentally, kind of sad to see all the hate for Generations, especially given this was made for its 30th anniversary. It's definitely flawed, but I think it has a lot to like. At minimum it's pretty dang quotable.
Sam's so good, he was even able to do the Shatner action figure pose. At that point, it's just showing off.
What’s he doing with his arms?
Congrats on Unification, by the way. It must be gratifying to see it getting so much praise. Job well done to everyone involved.
Out of curiosity (and obviously you don't have to answer this) ...in your mind and/or script, does the nebulous nature of the short persist, or are there concrete and specific answers to everything presented? (I won't and wouldn't ask for you to clarify specifics, I'm just curious about your relationship with the material.)
Edit: While I'm asking questions that may or may not get answered, may as well float one more.
I'm curious about the level of manual control the "digital make-up" requires. Does any of the real-time render remain in the final product, or does it get 'upgraded' with a better quality result after the fact? I noticed for instance in the shot when TOS Kirk turns to look back, his face smoothly transitions from Shatner to Witwer the more he faces away from camera rather than the Shatner-face simply 'turning off' mid-shot.
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It's like those "uneventful day" recuts where they just use reaction shots where no one says or does anything
And many shots seemed to mostly recreate existing old photos, nothing really new.
The bridges are still the most exciting thing.
Personally I preferred shorter and more cryptic videos from before. Like the shot of Spock at Kirk’s grave site while the Enterprise saucer is being excavated.
The recent video on the other hand is going more for tugging of the heart strings and it just feels way too obvious. Combine that with the digital facial mapping and I’m pretty much pulled out of it. It also makes me concerned of how far studios are going to take this tech for film to the point that they rather have digital stand ins rather than hire actors giving an actual performance in camera. Trek has successfully recast actors in iconic roles before.
It’s even more disheartening for me seeing the fans that look at this and what they get out of it is “that means I can see my heroes more in future films/TV! They should make more Star Trek just like this!”
The next time any of the actors or writers guilds go on strike (it was pretty brutal this time around), it may take this kind of “digital scabbing” to the next unprecedented level. I could easily see the studio suits saying, “We’ve got AI to replace you all now. Get used to saying, ‘Would you like fries with that?’”
It will be interesting to watch.
It will be interesting to watch.
One of the main reasons they went on strike was to prevent that from happening.
Just thinking of the implications way down the line, not necessarily what OTOY will do.
That's fair. Our AI future is going to be a strange one.
It was the first Trek film I saw at the cinema so I love it on a nostalgic level. And there's a lot that's good in it.
Soran's dialogue is great.
Whenever I have to leave for an event, or a trip to the dentist, I like to say "I have an appointment with eternity - and I don't want to be late."
They were seeking stricter rules regarding how and when A.I. was used, not to block its use altogether.
Shatner, Lockwood, and Susan Bay Nimoy were all involved in this, so no issue there. And perhaps worth noting that Colt uses the actresses actual face, not an artificially generated one.
I was 7 when I got into Trek shortly after New Years 1994. After watching all six films and catching whatever I could on TV, I was already wondering if we’d ever see a team up with Kirk and Picard. So you can imagine how hyped I got learning that there was not only a new film coming out but that it would feature both Kirk and Picard.
So yeah, I definitely have nostalgic feelings for that film. I may not rank it highly, but it’s a major part of my first year of getting into Trek as a kid. That’s always special.
So yeah, I definitely have nostalgic feelings for that film. I may not rank it highly, but it’s a major part of my first year of getting into Trek as a kid. That’s always special.
I get him. He was established as both being from the Kelvin Timeline and having a role in the Temporal (Cold) Wars. So, he has access to both time travel and dimensional travel... and Kirk needed to get to a specific point in space-time-dimension. Seems like someone who would be able to make that happen.
Things change and people need to adapt to it. There are tons of jobs that people used to do that were eliminated/changed through technology. People need to adapt to changes. There are a whole lot less cobblers and blacksmiths than there once were.
I can see this sort of thing being the next step in makeup and prosthetics as long as the technology is used both sparingly and ethically. This particular project had the involvement and approval of all involved, so no harm done. On the other hand, Robert Downey Jr recently publicly announced that he would sue the hell out of anyone that tried to replicate his appearance without his approval. Disney is currently being sued by (I believe) the estate of Peter Cushing over the use of his likeness in Rogue One.
The issue should really just lie more in laying out the rights and regulations, which quite frankly should mostly already exist in law. There ARE laws already about using likenesses... but perhaps they can be fleshed out a bit more.
When an actor is alive, it should be a fairly open/shut issue... the studio either has permission or it doesn't.
When we're talking about an actor who has passed, like Peter Cushing, I think that is where we probably need some new/clarified legislation... although to be completely honest i'm probably on the side opposite of much of the actors in that I think that once someone has passed, unless there is some kind of specific arrangement made for their likeness, it's fair game.
It's really all just an IP issue. Does someone own the rights to x actors likeness? If yes, they... own the rights and get to decide how they are used (if x actor is alive, they own the rights to their likeness automatically). If no... then... nobody owns the rights and it's fair game. I think the whole thing is being made way more complicated than it needs to be.
No, that isn't accurate. The Cushing estate gave their permission and were paid £28,000. Tyburn Film Productions (owned by Kevin Francis, a friend of Cushing) claims they have a contract with Cushing, from 1993, which grants them the rights to approve any reproduction of his appearance made through special effects. Disney had no idea this (alleged) agreement existed when they made Rogue One. That's a very specific and prescient agreement to have made with the man a year before he died, so everyone is understandably suspicious about it's legitimacy. Disney also thinks their original 1977 contract with Cushing allows the recreation, even without estate approval. So I assume they would argue even if the 1993 contact is real, Cushing had already granted those rights to Disney and thus didn't have permission to give them to Tyburn.
Some entertainment contracts do stipulate that the corporation/entity who owns the IP owns characters and likenesses. This is so such things can be used downstream for marketing purposes. You even see it in the fine print of marketing material when they talk about trademarks.
I do feel that trademark and copyright laws do need to start evolving with the technology, though. Everyone knows it's happening. People need to get in front of this to make sure protections are in place for ALL parties, particularly the talent, not just the corporations who own the likenesses. The guilds and unions love to stir shit up every so once in a while to get more money - time for them to earn their keep for the people they represent and demand protections within the tech sphere.
I do feel that trademark and copyright laws do need to start evolving with the technology, though. Everyone knows it's happening. People need to get in front of this to make sure protections are in place for ALL parties, particularly the talent, not just the corporations who own the likenesses. The guilds and unions love to stir shit up every so once in a while to get more money - time for them to earn their keep for the people they represent and demand protections within the tech sphere.
That's been a segment of fandom's goal for a long time now. They don't want to move on and wish to preserve the past perfectly. in some ways, it's an attitude reflected in the Elves and their Rings of Power.
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