And this is why I’m not a video editor!
But before I begin publicly admitting my embarrassment, let me first say how excited and encouraged I am to see so much support for my Axanar Universe fan film INTERLUDE. After just 24 hours, we’d already made it an amazing 1/8 of the way to our $19,500 goal…with new donations popping up every few hours. So THANK YOU!
If you haven’t donated yet and would like to, here’s the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/interlude
So let me tell you a little bit about my experience as a filmmaker…
And there it was. I’m not an accomplished editor or VFX artist; I can’t compose music; I don’t know lighting; and I’m working my way up to”novice” when it comes to video cameras and the latest technology. Fortunately, I have some amazing people who DO know this stuff backwards and forwards, and I’m more than happy to find them some money to produce a film and then just get out of their way and let them work their magic.
However, when it came to creating the “ask” video for Interlude, I didn’t feel comfortable requesting or expecting too much free work just yet. Oh sure, LEWIS ANDERSON created the awesome CGI render of the opening VFX sequence, MARK EDWARD LEWIS added the sound effects, KEVIN CROXTON composed the music, and Mark did the sound mixing. Those 19 seconds were a true team effort.
But the other 12 minutes and 16 seconds of the ask video were all me, my Canon G3X camera, and my Mac. And as I said, I’m not exactly an accomplished expert, and I don’t have the high-end editing software (nor did I have time to learn it). So I just did my best to record footage and assemble the video using the “Happy Meal” of Mac film editing applications: iMovie.
Considering my limited experience and abilities, and also the short amount of time I had to complete everything, the 13-minute ask video and the 1-minute Interlude “commercial” came out fairly decently. Lots of people agreed…even a few detractors, if you can believe it. But those same detractors were all too eager to point out how disappointed they were that Interlude would have a standard HD aspect resolution of 16:9 instead of the wider screen cinemascope aspect ratio of 2:39.1 that Prelude to Axanar was shot in.
Then, two days after I’d launched the GoFundMe with the “ask” video that I was so proud of, my CGI guy messengered me to ask why I cropped his cinemascope VFX footage down to 16:9?
To quote the great Scooby Doo: “R’uh R’oh!”
In my hurry to finish on time, I never even noticed that iMovie had automatically applied a “crop to fit” filter on the widescreen footage to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio of the rest of my ask video. Everything seemed to look just fine…or so I thought as I rushed to get everything done. So this oops is entirely on me, kids.
Needless to say, the mistake was easy enough to fix once I’d discovered my goof. So may I be the first to invite you to view the opening VFX sequence of Interlude in the aspect ratio that it was intended…
When Interlude enters post production in (hopefully) November, the editing will be done by my directors, JOSHUA IRWIN and VICTORIA FOX (with maybe some minor input from me). Now, they DO know what they’re doing, as you can see if you view their Avalon Universe fan films GHOST SHIP and AVALON LOST. So don’t worry about the final cut of Interlude…it will be in good hands (in other words, not mine!).
And if you want to check my homework and verify that I fixed the ask video, too, you can find it on the crowd-funding campaign page (where—did I mention?—you are also welcome to donate)…
Hi Jon..Good Luck with the project.
But i don’t think i’m going to be donating anymore money to any Axanar (or friends of Axanar projects) untill Alec brings out the original film first.
Well, by then (2020) it’ll be too late to donate to me (2019), but I certainly won’t pressure you to do something you’re not comfortable doing, Steven.
Sorry Jon… I’m not uncomfortable with you personally, but there’s been a odd change of wind with all the Axanar stuff of late and things like the last episode of ST Phase 2 which isn’t going to be released etc…
So I think i’m going to sit this one out. But agian I hope your project comes out without any CBS issues.
Well, if you’re worried about CBS, I should point out that, since the release of the guidelines in June of 2016, only one fan film project has been contacted by them–Samuel Cockings’ “Temporal Anomaly”–and Sam was ultimately able to reach a compromise with them that allowed him to release his production at a run-time of 50 minutes with CBS’s blessing. He simply needed to change the music and edit out any footage taken from the TNG films.
There was also the shutdown of a fan project trying to create a VR walkthrough of the Enterprise-D, but that was not a fan film. In fact, as far as fan films go, well over 200(!!!) have been released in the last three years without any hassle from CBS. The vast majority (although not all) have done their best to follow all of the guidelines–as I intend to do, as well–and CBS seems satisfied with that.
But I won’t pressure anyone to donate if they don’t feel comfortable doing so, Steven.
So, as a professional filmmaker, you failed to view the actual footage before you posted it? Wow. Pretty significant oversight. Can we expect this level of professionalism with the film itself? And people should give you money. Why? Yup, shades of Axanar all right.
When did I ever say that I was a professional filmmaker, Crusseu? I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but professional filmmaking was not one of them. 🙂
When it comes time to edit Interlude, that delicate crafting will be done by my directors in Arkansas, Joshua Irwin and Victoria Fox. I’m sure I’ll be able to give input during the process, but if you’ve seen their Avalon Universe fan films (and if not, you should!), you’ll see that they are VERY skilled at editing as well as directing and won’t need much coaching from me, no sir!
Actually I can’t l the difference they both looked awesome. I think I would of had to play them side by side. There again I grew up in the days of 4:3 aspect ratio and 235 lines.
Actually, I did notice the difference as soon as I toggled the setting from “crop to fit” to “fill.” It’s particularly noticeable on the second shot, as you see much more of the Klingon on the left and for much longer. But all three shots in the segment look much better in the wider format.
Look, in the end, I just goofed. But the goof, and admitting it publicly, gave me a good excuse to publish a new blog which has, so far, brought in another 4 new donations overnight. So all in all, a net positive. 🙂
You might like this post I just made in another location:
A blogger I follow is doing a fan-funded video set in the Axanar universe. I’m very likely going to give him a few dollars for a couple of reasons. I’m still thinking about how much.
The first reason is that I’m interested in the story and think he can pull it off. The video at the gofundme site is convincing. The about one minute intro does a great job of setting the stage. And the interviews exhibits a fun sense-of-humor.
Another is the way he outlined the costs for each part of the video. The numbers are detailed and believable. For example, the discussion about whether or not to pay for insurance on his blog, for example, was stellar.
https://www.gofundme.com/interlude
INTERLUDE begins seconds after Prelude ends and forms a bridge (no pun intended!) to the events that will happen in Alec Peters~R two Axanar sequel
fan films.
INTERLUDE is an exciting vignette story that shows fans whom those D7s were shooting at, and why those targets were so important.
https://fanfilmfactor.com/ For those who are interested in what he writes.
Well, thank you so much, Jerry. Here’s hoping we make our goal. We’re off to a good start so far!