seanrobertson wrote:Exactly, oh me droogie.
Had any velocet or drancrum lately?
Thanks!
You are the third person on this forum who has ever said something about my avatar!
Okay, I downloaded one Hidden Frontier episode, the Modus Operandi (305), to see if I had unfair prejudice towards the series…
They've been doing this for how long? Three years? And they still can't do decent looking greenscreen scenes? I'm a big fan of amateur movies myself, and I've seen several examples of better use of blue/greenscreen in productions where the creators are using the technique for the first time.
The lighting in Hidden Frontier episodes is horrible at times and always way too bright.
The audio environment is better than most areas. Yay. Although their mic could be much better, the dialogue is clear enough (though some actors should speak more clearly instead of mumbling their lines).
The directors of the Hidden Frontier should stop for a moment and think what they are doing wrong. Perhaps they could take a look at the work of the professionals or pay few bucks for a book that deals with the subject.
I want to see interesting camera angles! Closeups of the actors! Camera pans! Better dialogue! Better editing – the cut tool in Premiere is there for a reason! More tension to the scenes for god’s sake! Even Pokemon is more exciting to watch than this dribble. As I watched the Modus Operandi, I begged for it to end. Everything what is wrong in Hidden Frontier shows in the Son’a ambassador. The way she deliveres her EVIL and MENACING lines . . . eeeww!
If you can’t do a proper Son’a / Cardassian makeup, why even bother? Just use latex differently and create a new, more interesting race.
Is it just me, or do most Hidden Frontier actors seem a bit “bored” with the stuff they are acting? Where’s the enthusiasim that is usually so common in other fan productions?
If there was one question I could ask from the creators of Hidden Frontier it would be this: “Why Star Trek?”
The entire concept is ridicilous from the start. There’s no way they can compete with Paramount’s production values or professional actors, so why even bother? Because they are trying to do everything seriously so that it fits in with the canon Trek universe, they are faced with severe limitations. How can they expect their viewers to take it seriously, as part of the canon Trek? IMHO, the best possible option would have been an entirely own original sci-fi universe with plenty of room to use for creative purposes...
Am I being too rude? After all, these people have worked damn hard to get to where they are now. Even making a short, twenty minute long episode is harder than it sounds. Amateur filmmaking is one my hobbies and me and my friend haven’t managed to finish anything, except for my test movies. However, at least we understood for the most part where our limitations are, so we didn’t decide to try anything special: just a short 10-20 minute long fantasy parody (geez, how original) titled “Ritariässä” (the Finnish name for Knight Rider – everyone who grew up in the eighties/early nineties knows this one, right? – literally meaning “Ace Knight”).
In the film, the peaceful Kingdom of Day Mound is attacked by the evil Blackies (they wear black clothes, balaclavas and helmets made out plastic flower pots, hence the name). Unfortunately the King George the Obese refuses to send his men to war, because he fears that he can’t otherwise afford the annual food orgy with the Elves, so they choose to send Ritariässä, our protagonist, on a suicide mission. He gets a sidekick, a halfling whose name I don’t quite remember, and together they journey to face the evil leader of the blackies, the Lord Drahomir, who likes sleek leather clothes and that sort of things. Unfortunately we are now unable to complete the shooting this summer because my military service begins in July, so the project is postponed, perhaps indefinetely.
Yes, I know what those who didn’t skip over the OT babble are thinking right now: We both like Monty Pythons…
Now for the Enterprise
Unlike the overwhelming majority here, I think that the show has its fair share of good moments. Actually, I think it’s even good. Not brilliant, but good. Since I can't get Ent on any television channel, I try to download the episodes with P2P programs like KaZaa Lite, though I leave out obvious stinkers such as "A Night in Sickbay”.
Enterprise doesn't have the epic scale or memorable characters of Babylon 5, the wonderful atmosphere of Farscape or the great spirit of comradeship of the TOS crew. Sure, there would be potential for so much more and continuity is treated as gently as a 40-year old heroine addicted Ukranian prostitute gives blowjobs to her customers, but I like the show and can’t wait for the next season to begin. The new direction is promising and I can only hope that they can do it properly.
Opinions anyone?
And I'd watch just about anything over Enterprise.