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Commander Courage

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16-Aug-2004
Last activity
1-Oct-2015
Posts
724

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Post
#698312
Topic
All Things Star Trek
Time

Tobar said:

As for best Trek game, even though I haven't finished it, would have to be Star Trek 25th Anniversary. It was a point and click adventure game set in the TOS period (I like to think it's year 4) and was fully voiced by the entire original cast. It's great, you get to actually fly Enterprise and go anywhere you want in the galaxy.

Runner up would be the Star Trek screensaver set by After Dark. Oh the hours I frittered away playing with those. My favorite two were watching the Horta burrow tunnels all over the screen and occasionally kill a red shirt and then having Spock wander around my desktop. The bridge one was awesome too.

Absolutely. When my family got our first Windows computer (1993 IIRC), "25th Anniversary" and that After Dark screen saver were all I'd ever do on it. That and "Where In the World is Carmen San Diego," haha. The sequel game "Judgement Rights" was just as cool. Having the entire cast of TOS reprise their roles was worth the price of admission.

If TAS is the fourth year of the five-year-mission, "25 Anniversary" and "Judgement Rights"is the fifth! Or maybe it should be the other way around considering all the changes in TAS (Arex, M'Ress, two turbolifts on the bridge, etc.).

Post
#698310
Topic
All Things Star Trek
Time

CP3S said:

I am pretty sure The Inner Light is my all time favorite TNG episode. I find the whole concept really interesting. 

I totally ripped it off in a short story I wrote many years back, where a man gets in a fight with his wife, goes out for a walk to cool off, stumbles into a large hole at a nearby construction site, wakes up, and the next thing he knows he is being chased down by an army of ogres, scooped up, thrown into a cage with a bunch of other humans, and sold off as a slave. For the first few years in this fantasy-esque world he is bent on getting home, but eventually becomes invested in his new life, writes off his old life as some weird vivid dream or fantasy, joins in a slave uprising, raises a family, lives to a ripe old age, and one morning wakes up in a deep hole at a construction site, just as discombobulated as the first time around, suddenly finding himself back in a strange existence he hardly even remembers and desperately wishing he could get back.  

 This sounds really cool, CP3S! Do you have it online somewhere to share? I'd be interested in reading it!

Post
#698117
Topic
All Things Star Trek
Time

Star Trek is my first true geek love, so I'll have to go back and peruse through this entire thread but in the meantime, check out this extended ending to "The City on the Edge of Forever" that I ...found. ;)

"The City on the Edge of Forever" Extended Ending:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbmvkxpl5o&feature=share&list=UUeLdyZnPg-3ldU8R_NU-sMg

Post
#697722
Topic
Nerds Explain It All (and a Star Wars Radio Drama)
Time

Greetings all!

I don't know how many of you will remember me, but I was a an avid poster here a few years ago. I actually checked the last time I logged in and was surprised to find it was almost 4 years ago! Wow! I had no idea it'd been that long. even though I haven't been posting I've still lurked and kept up with many of the fan edit threads so to me it feels like I never left!

Be that as it may, I'm happy to announce I've launched my own podcast called "Nerds Explain It All"! 

The premise is simple: Three nerds who have been friends for a long time discuss anything and everything in the realm of nerddom.  Inspired by our love for podcasts and our desire to discuss the happenings nerddom amongst ourselves, we hope to provide entertaining and in-depth conversations worth listening to!  We've all been members of or lurked on many a message board over the years, and want to bring the same back-and-forth that makes places like this so endearing into an audio format.  After all, it's much easier (and more importantly, safer) listening to a podcast than scrolling though an internet forum when you're in the car or on the go!

Our slogan is "finding meaningless answers to pointless questions" and that's what it's all about.  With a healthy balance of fanboy appreciation, constructive criticism, and good old fashioned nitpicking, we'll attempt to explain the whys and why nots of why we like this stuff, if it's worth our continued devotion, and even if it isn't why we'll probably keep coming back anyway.  All the while keeping a good sense of humor!

We're a dozen or so episodes in and in addition to weekly(ish) news, we've covered such topics as: DC's New 52, Top Superhero Movies, Arrow, Book-to-Film Adaptations, Film Remakes and much more!

If any of that piques your interest, check us out! 

Follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/nerdsexplain

Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/nerdsexplainitall

Listen to our show! nerdsexplainitall.podomatic.com/ 

Subscribe on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nerds-explain-it-all/id731455188?mt=2

I think you guys will find it an enjoyable show and hope to ease back into the discussion here and expand the conversation that fires the fuels of all of our nerddom! If you do plan on checking us out, don't judge us too harshly on our first couple of episodes. We've come a long way in a short time, both conversationally and technically! 

And finally, in what will probably be of the greatest interest to all here, we're currently planning a Star Wars radio drama of the prequel trilogy. Not based on the official prequels mind you, but on the re-writes by Rebel Scumb that were posted both here and on TheForce.Net's Jedi Council Forums many years ago. They, to all of us at NEIA at least, perfectly capture the spirit of Star Wars and are our personal "head canon" as to what preceded Episode IV. 

To that end, does anyone know how to contact him? We've tried but to no avail thus far. He seems to have disappeared into the ether of the internet, haha. We'd love to have his involvement in the project, or at the very least let him know we're doing it! Any help in that regard would be very much appreciated!

Post
#308535
Topic
THE MATRIX EVOLUTIONS (Ver.2 DVD release now available)
Time
I'm a lurker over the fanedit.org, so thanks for bringing this up for discussion over here!

This is a very well crafted edit. Like Mojo said, this goes far beyond your standard "cut things you dont like" and "insert deleted scenes" fan-edit. Not that there's anything wrogn with those, but I find these more ambitious projects much more interesting.

My opinion of The Matrix is a lot like yours; loved the first one, the sequels were big dissapointments. I hadn't seen the offical movies in a long time, so there's a lot of stuff I'm sure I just forgot about, but I do have some questions that popped up during my viewing:






SPOILERS







-What was the significance of Neo dreaming of Trinity's death? Twice? Since those events no longer occur, what do they mean? And what about at the end with the Architect? You edited out some of the more obvious dialogue referring specifically to the events of Reloaded ("she is going to die and there is nothing you can do about it"), but still I didn't understand where you were going with leaving so much of that in for Neo's and the Architect's conversation.
-In this edit Smith is still part of the system. Is this because his purpose is to purge "the anomaly" from the system to reboot the program? That's what I took from it; if not I'm not sure where exactly you were going with his character.
-I think I have the Neo's real world powers and the new ending figured out. EVERYTHING we see is a simulation, the "real world" is indeed a Matrix outside the Matrix. The illusion of freedom is just another form of control by the machines. That's why Neo has powers in the "real world" and that's why when the system reboots, everyone is back to where they were at the beginning of the series, even though they might have been unplugged or even "dead." Do I have it right, or is it just "up for interpretation"?

As for the final line, it worked enough for me. Without it all we see is a scene from the first film. "Sorry kid" makes seeing it again just different enough for it to be an appropriate ending.

I think the "perfect" edit of the sequels lies somewhere in between your edit and Doctor M's Hacked edits. I might try to do one myself one day, but I really don't care about the Matrix a s much as you guys do so maybe not.

Looking forward to the DVD!
Post
#308533
Topic
Star Wars Prologue - Epic Prequel Edit (Released)
Time
This is a great concept; I especially like the blue opening crawl to distinguish it from the OT. Good job on the actual text too (the writing).

The transitions need a lot of work though. Do you intend to keep in the fades to black? They really take you out of the moment, especially during an action sequence like the Yoda/Palpatine fight.

As for the text informing us of where and when, I'd suggest something more Star Wars. Maybe the same font as "A long time ago..." and in the black bars beneath the screen?

Those are just my thoughts, take them as you will. Looking forward to the next section.
Post
#308531
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Time
Originally posted by: Mojo_LA
I really wish the Phantom Editor would take a stab at Episode 3 - in my humble opinion, "Attack of the Phantom" is the all-time best fan edit ever and I'd love to see what he would do with the last installment.

I agree. If his Episode II had an offical crawl it WOULD be the best fan-edit of them all. I read somewhere he was asked about RotS and his response was, "There's nothing I can do." Whether this means he liked it and didn't see any need for editing or that it was so bad he couldn't fix it I don't know.

Ideally Grevious wouldn't exist, but I really see no way of cutting him out of the movie. And since we're stuck with him, connecting him to Maul seems the best route of salvaging the character.
Post
#308143
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Time
I thought the Shaak Ti scene was pretty meh. It doesn't even make sense for her to be there, and Anakin and Obi-Wan's third base coach-style signals to each other don't jive well with just seeing the death of a comrade. I don't see any advantage to this scene being added. If anything, I want to SHORTEN Anakin and Obi-Wan's time on the Invisible Hand. In the rough III I've been working on, we go from Anakin and Obi-Wan in the hanger, to Grevious on the bridge, to Anakin and Obi-Wan exiting the elevator on the observation deck.

And yes, all the deleted Padme scenes about the Rebellion would be included. I wish Lucas would release ALL the deleted scenes, because it would be great to have that missing Padme/Obi-Wan scene too.
Post
#308124
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Time
Getting things back on topic...
Originally posted by: Sluggo
Well, there has been a bit of discussion now abouot Grevious and Maul. Thoughts?

Personally, I'd like to see it if it is possible. But it would take not only what ever effects were possible, but it would have to have a good purpose in the film, fit with the dialogue (especially between Grevious/Maul and Obi-wan and between Grevious/Maul and Sidious) etc.

I've always wanted to see this change, it's one of the big reasons I want to edit the PT. Without it Grevious is just a throw away villain, and not a very good one at that. With it, it not only adds continuity to the never ending villain parade of the prequel trilogy, but makes his final confrontation with Obi-Wan actually matter. I've gone into detail many times in the past about how to accomplish this, but I'll have to do some backtracking to get my exact quotes. Redubbing Grevious in III is a must obviously, and looking back to I, if we really are going to change the Sidious hologram to Maul, then he will need redubbing in I as well.

What will make or break this change will be the revelation to Obi-Wan that Grevious is the Sith from I who killed Qui-Gon. This is where the dubbing becomes essential; we're going to need some good dialogue. I'll try to think something up soon, but in the meantime I think I'll put a rough edit together of how their end battle might go just to show what I have in mind. All of Grevious' dialogue will be muted, and I'll upload it to the Starkiller Ranch YouTube account. (Remember that? Haha)
Post
#308122
Topic
STAR WARS: EP IV 2004 <strong>REVISITED</strong> ADYWAN *<em>1080p HD VERSION NOW IN PRODUCTION</em>
Time
Now that I've seen the finished product, I'd like to contribute to the discussion but what left is there to say, really?

The highlights of the edit (for me) were the new Death Star intro and following meeting (great music additions!), the Cantina, the escape from Tatooine, the duel, the gunport sequence, the hyperspaced Falcon cockpit, and basically the from the Death Star schematic briefing until the end of the movie! The "money shot" of the edit, IMO, was the arrival of the TIE fighters at the Battle of Yavin. So awesome...

And since it's turned into such a major discussion point, I might as well put my two cents in on the severed arm. I'd go with Dr. Ezevan's for all the reasons discussed above, plus it's a great way to make a cameo!

There were however two changes I was hoping to see that weren't there:
1) "I wanted you to have this..." I know you'd planned on making this change, Adywan, but I think I read you couldn't get it as good as you may have liked. I think the majority of us here really would like to see this alteration if you could maybe give it one last try.
2) The Emperor. I expected a hologram of Palpatine to show up at some point, especially after seeing your test shot of Vader flying off to his Star Destroyer in one of your previews. Again, I know this was something you were going to try to do, but if it didn't work out it didn't work out.
As you're well aware, this is YOUR edit, you're not obligated to do anything just because "the majority" asks for it and we're privleged to that you take our suggestions into consideration as much as you do. I brought up these particular ones because they'd been mentioned before as possibilities and was wondering the reasons why they were abandoned.

I'm looking forward to your ESB edit (after a long, well deserved break of course), but what I'm most excited to see is how you tackle the prequels. If you can make ANH a better film I can't wait to see what you do with them.

PS. Thanks for the credit at the end too! It'd been so long since I'd posted here I wasn't sure if I'd made the list. Thanks for not forgetting me!
Post
#307184
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Hello again, friends. I apologize if I've left you "high and dry" in regards to this project, but I've been a busy guy over these last months with college, work, and the general living of life. I do still lurk here but haven't had much to say lately. It's great to see Adywan's edit released (I'm downloading it now, haha), and I'm realy looking forward to Dark Helmet's "The Dark Times."

As for me and this project, I don't know if I'll ever be in a position to take it all on myself, but let me tell you about what I'm up to. I'm a Media Production major (which is basically Radio/TV/Film, I don't know why they changed the name), and this semester I'm taking a in-depth editing class that teaches the ins and outs of Apple's multimedia suite, in particualr Final Cut Pro. This will finally give me the opportunity to learn everything I need to know about *professional* editing. The only problem is I don't have a Mac myself, though I plan to get a top-of-the-line one when I graduate, so I'll have to use the computers at school until then. I have career aspirations in media, but more in the creative department such as writing. Professional editing is a good gig which can bring in some serious money if you play your cards right, so that's definitely something I'm going to look into as alternative income. Weddings, vacations, etc, people pay good money for someone to package together these things for them on DVD. Anyway, that's where I'm coming from, and in a couple of years maybe I'll be able to hammer all these things out myself in my spare time, but for now I just really need to focus on getting in a good starting point for my career.

All that said, I was hoping I could still contribute idea wise to this project. Honestly for a while there I was burned out on Star Wars, but Adywan's project has reignited my interest in that galaxy far, far away. So I'll be around for discussion if you'll have me.
Post
#296323
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Here's my latest video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPFbnWeroZs

The prequel trilogy set to "Hindi Sad Diamonds" from "Moulin Rouge."

My goal was to relay everything important about the prequels in as little time as possible. To that end, you'll notice many things omitted not only for time, but for being unecessary. I think it ended up being a pretty cool montage that *shows* you everything you need to know about Episodes I-III.

(In Starkiller Ranch related news, I've been doing some radical experimenting with the Anakin/Obi-Wan/Yoda/Dooku confrontation, and I'll have a rough clip so share very soon.)


Post
#294388
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Saintheart, you and I are on the same page.

The scene in question is probably my favorite in the film. The irony you point out cannot be missed; similarly, my favorite scene in Episode II is the Dooku/Obi-Wan scene. Great actors can make something out of anything, and these scenes are examples of that. A pity there wasn't more McDiarmid, Lee, and McGregor (and Neeson) in the films instead of Jar-Jar, Boss Nass, and General Grievous. But we have to work with what we're given.
Post
#294257
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Originally posted by: Saintheart
Ah, so here's where everyone is!

Just a brief remark on the 'end duels' -- aside from saying they work really, really well even at a rough cut stage, there's one note that struck me. I realise the reasons it was done, and you've got Obi-Wan's remark that "I will do what I must" to justify it, but Obi taking out Anakin's legs when Anakin was trying to save his own life is actually on a bar for sheer low-blow value as leaving the poor bugger to burn was. I mean, wow, that takes the phrase "attack of opportunity" to a whole new level.

On the other hand, thinking about it, I actually like it. Obi-Wan's not portrayed as a complete goody-two-shoes through the movies anyway; after all, he does wind up terminating a lot of sentient beings. It just had a big impact, that's all.

Interesting observation. I'm glad it had that unexpected impact; obviously being the editor that kind of "surprise" is lost on me as I look over the footage for the thousandth time.

I've got another clip for you guys, this time focusing on Anakin's return to Coruscant after the crash of the Invisible Hand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCnvNzIPKgk

The edits here are veyr subtle, and I wanted them to be. I think the scene plays much more effectively now.
Post
#293701
Topic
My Episode III Re-Edit (v 2007) (Completed)
Time
Btw, some general thoughts on your approach to this edit:

I like what you're doing with concealing Anakin=Vader. This looks like it could work (although it's not something I'd choose to do in an edit).

Concealing Leia=Luke's sister, though, doesn't look like it could work smoothly. The edits to the birth scene are to jarring, IMO.

The Yoda/Qui-Gon scene has the most potential though. Perfect line from Narnia; when I first saw it and heard that line I instantly thought "Episode III fan edit line!" I like how you've made it a conversation between them. I'm certain that more can be made of this using more of Neeson's Batman and Narnia dialogue, but I've yet to figure it all out.
Post
#293694
Topic
My Episode III Re-Edit (v 2007) (Completed)
Time
Nice updates, GM. I agree with your final decision to not have music at the beginning, but it was an interesting test. The added reaction shot of Palpatine breaks up the duel enough to allow of Dooku's Force push of Obi-Wan, and Anakin's grunts and yells work well.

-I like the "Swords" line; it shows Dooku's high class to use such an antiquated term. That's how I see it anyway.
-I understand why you'd think about cutting the "I sense great fear..." line but I wouldn't for a couple of reasons: 1) It's one of Dooku's few lines in the film, and 2) It would break up the great shot of them in their saber lock. The prequels didn't have enough of these sustained, lightsaber locks IMO.
-While I see the merits of Anakin getting carried away and immediately killing Dooku, and your edits for this are done well, I personally think the "Kill him now" and Dooku's stunned look serves as a necessary resolution to Dooku's role as Palpatine's apprentice.

In a nutshell, the more Christopher Lee the better.
Post
#293545
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Originally posted by: GoodMusician
Oh, get a grip of yourselves lol... it's just a handy little edit.

I like the edit... I sense you took some ideas from my edit? :-p that's cool... I might steal one from yours lol...

Anyways I like it... I think some of the shots could still be tighter but overall, cool!

So anyways, I'll hand it of to you guys now...

I applaud your hand references, my friend. Get it, applaud...with my hands? That was probably stretching.

Believe it or not, I edited this sequence a while ago. The only idea I shamelessly copied from yours which I went back and changed before uploading was the placing of "I've been looking forward to this." As I mentioned, I had originally hoped to use the line from the Episode III game, but after seeing your clip and deciding I'll never get around to capturing the video off the game, I just...shamelessly copied yours.

I'm all for the exchange of ideas if you are.
Post
#293543
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
An overview of my edits:
-Dooku's jump is no longer a front flip, rather a straight jump downwards.
-The "He's a Sith Lord" exchange is cut. I suppose it was meant to be ironic, but I didn't like it.
-If I knew how to rip video off the Episode III game I would have inserted Dooku's extended line, just to give him more dialogue. As it stands though, I like the placing of "I've been looking forward..."
-All of the cutaways to Palpatine are gone.
-Dooku no longer crushes Obi-Wan with the catwalk; it tests believability. If he really did that Obi-Wan would be seriously injured. This creates a slight continuity problem when Anakin goes to check on him, but I think it's worth it.
-Anakin silently ponders whether to "Kill him now," as Palpatine suggests. This is far more effective than "I shouldn't" and "Do it!" So much for subtlety, eh George?
Post
#293487
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Thanks ID. Glad you liked it.

There's been a lot of discussion and examples of the Epsiode III Dooku Duel in Darkhelmet's thread, so I thought my edit of that sequence would be appropriate for my next upload:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCcZTrxi8ck
Like I said on YouTube, this is a pretty solid rough cut; the only thing I'd want to alter for a final version would be a couple more seconds of Anakin pondering before killing Dooku.

PS. I just realized the line, "He was an unarmed prisoner," has some irony to it. Tee-hee.
Post
#293408
Topic
The legendary &quot;Starkiller Ranch&quot; Thread
Time
Thanks for the kind words, guys. Like I said on YouTube, non-linear editing is my true editing hobby, although I do dabble in linear editing on occasion, like this project. In addition to a lot of personal stuff I film myself, I have a handful of superhero-related videos of this same nature I can upload if you guys are interested. I do have another Star Wars one I did a while back, but it's of a more serious nature.

Most of my videos are over 100 MB though, so if someone would be so kind to instruct me on how to compress them for YouTube upload, I would appreciate it.