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Special THANK YOU video for my supporters. Hope you enjoy the film, and of course, THANK YOU for your help!

One more behind the scenes film. ROBOT TROUBLE!

Have a new behind the scenes clip up: THE FISH HEAD SCENE!!!

Just posted my first behind-the-scenes clip. Will have several more. Check the first one "GOOSH! THAT HURTS!!" at www.projectrobotech.com

Ah, the joys of working with your wife...

I liked the personal nature of the story. Something SF writers seem to forget about and the necessary tether that keeps audiences engaged in any story.

The story was disjointed, but not in an effective way. When doing a story relying on multiple flashbacks, its a good idea to purposefully plot them out instead of "inserting" them at various points. A flashback must have a trigger and often we never saw the triggers for the pilot's flashbacks, so they came without any warning and thus left us either confused or jolted.

I liked the low budget way you simulated the battle. The sequence was effective and didn't need any fancy FX to pull it off. Most importantly, the same result was achieved for the audience; we knew what had just happened without ever seeing it.

I question the plausibility of a pilot taking off his helmet in deep space. That stretched reality to Macross 7 levels, IMO! I would have been equally satisfied with close ups of the face behind the sheild showing the emotions the pilot was going through.

I realize the RT series relied heavily on voice overs, but in real film, you want to use it only when absolutely necessary. If you have to tell the audience the hero is scared, your actor is doing a poor job... It is very much like George Lucas insisting that his Oscar nominated actress, Natalie Portman, say the words, "Anakin, you're breaking my heart", when the audience can clearly see it on her face... It diminishes the dramatic impact of a scene. Voice overs can be redundant to the visuals if one isn't careful.

One general screewriting maxim is:

"Don't say it, when you can show it"

The Voice over became the writer telling the audience the story, where I'd rather it had been the audience's window into the pilot's mind during his screen time. Almost like the viewers are eaves dropping on an internal conversation the pilot was having in his head. I would have found that an enhancement to the intimacy already presented in the visual narrative of the film.

You made me laugh pretty hard with the helmet comment. Hey, just like they gave Cameron a hard time about the seemingly 'open air' cockpit of his helicopter in Avatar, there's a bulkhead, it's sealed off! The helmet has other weapons and communication uses. : )

I do appreciate all of your comments particularly the triggers for the flashbacks. The difference with my film is that I wanted both storylines to have equal weight, although they appear as flashbacks they weren't meant to be. It was supposed to be two stories being told real time, but I don't think that came across too well.

Yeah, VO was a tough call and agree that it should be minimized as much as possible. Check this one link out:

This film was a big inspiration, where the VO plays a different role. I didn't exactly emulate the style, but once you see it, you'll get the drift.

ZINJO, are you a filmmaker as well? Your comments lead me to believe you are in the biz. Thanks for your comments!

I like it. the whole thing feels very intimate, kinda like what I imagine fighter jocks think about when on long missions.

I once saw a documentry about Spitfire and Huricane pilots durring WWII and one said that there were so many missions so often that when they were not on missions their life was so important to them, its what they held on to that kept them sane. So I can imagine that with lack of sleep and such reality would be come a bit blurred around the edges, You'd be left with moments of did it really happen like that or was that a dream of what actually happened.

I hope you do well with this and will keep and eye on your site for updates.

With such a short amount of time, wanted to establish that loneliness and connection with life on earth, but it was difficult. I probably would have used score a little bit more to push that. Appreciate the thoughts and hope it does well too! Please share it if you can to anyone who you think would enjoy it!

Oh, I never answered the payoff quesiton...

I guess my thoughts are that you have this fragmented, dreamlike presentation, and it feels like despite being a non-linear narrative, we're building to this MOMENT. And the moment is definitely the Miriya moment. But for the most part, everything is shot so tightly and intimately, I feel like I never quite get the perspective I want. In my mind, there's a shot right after we see Miriya's face, or maybe we see her, we see him, then we see a wide shot of her Q-Rau and his VF-1, frozen in a seriously overcranked slomo shot, then, finally, she's gone.

That's what I want to see in there. It is a little payoff for getting to see the mecha and really contextualizing it as something in the universe (incidentally, I felt like film would have worked as Macross or Robotech, and hopefully fans of either will see that the story you've told doesn't damage either mythology). But it's also ramps up that dramatic tension. If I really see her close enough to him to tear his fighter apart, I'm like, "whoaaaaaaa..." and when she leaves, I'm like, "whoooooaaaaaaaaa." Because I'm very articulate, apparently.

Totally agree. I definitely had in mind exactly what you are describing, in fact wanted to have an exterior shot showing the Rau just feet from his cockpit from the side. The two staring at each other. Also, as you said, a master shot showing the damaged VF-1 floating helplessly and the Rau slowly pulling away and then flying off and leaving him alone.

Unfortunately, Visual Effects were limited and were a major hurdle for me. If I had to do it over again would have searched for Visual Effects artists here on Macross World or any of the Robotech forums. I'm happy with what my artist made for me, but to ask someone to work for free and create multiple shots is tough...need someone passionate about Macross/Robotech. I had to cut maybe six visual effects from my original.

Nice feedback, it is definitely well taken.

Added new version with updated credit sequence and better color correction. No major changes, but without annoying YouTube Pop Ups etc. You can see it at either www.projectrobotech.com or directly here on YouTube:

Thanks again for the encouragement. I hope it works. Will keep going at it and releasing some other fun films. Let me know if you have any questions!

Tana -- Saw your film on facebook a bit ago (not too long ago, obviously). Don't know if it's the same guy, but I know a David Hou doing production in NYC, too. DramaFever dude? I liked the approach you took. A lot of fan films want to tie into the main storyline, or recreate stuff, or focus on the action or mecha or what have you, and I like that you focused on the heart -- a character and his experience. The fragmented storytelling works in the short medium, and helps you tell a story with a minimum of set pieces and characters. I'll be honest, I was hoping for a bit more of a reveal towards the end, but c'est la vie. I'd love to see what you've got cooking up next. We may even run into each other, if you're also doing prod work in the city.

Probably the same guy. Not many David Hou's doing production in NYC, so very likely. Not sure who/what DramaFever is.

I appreciate your comments. Out of curiosity, when you say "more of a reveal" do you mean perhaps not enough pay off? i.e. twist to the story, or finality? Or do you literally mean maybe seeing more of Miriya the Ace pilot?

To give everyone and update: So, will have a new version of "Midnight Sky" out soon with perhaps new score, subtle changes. Also, if you haven't seen our Dance Video Extravaganza, it's up now on the site.

We are having a screening in NYC this Sunday from 2-3PM at Anthology Film Archives on 2nd and 2nd (St) if anyone in the NY area wants to come out to meet myself and some of the cast and crew. Just email me at tana@projectrobotech.com if you'd like a seat. The event is free, but need to collect RSVPs.

Until next time!

I thought the film was quite clean and edited well. It had more of an emotional feel than most fans would expect, but I think that aspect of it is interesting, and people who are into short films will appreciate the effort and work involved in this production. Congrats on a job well done and I hope you guys do more in the future. Even if it's not Robotech, the style of the cinematography is cool.

Appreciate the thoughtful comments. Thanks.

Last I checked ESAMs only MiG was a MiG-21, with, need to check the model but I believe it had the forward hinging wind screen. Are you sure you weren't in the Aggressor F-5? Beyond that interesting film, I'll have to watch it with a more critical eye again later, very surreal and art house which can be good. Was this just for fun or was this a class project, if it is a class project you should do well.

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate it. And I STAND CORRECTED regarding the MiG. It was indeed the Agressor F-5. But just so you know I'm not totally crazy, I recall that this F-5 was used in the actual movie Top Gun to simulate MiGs.

"The aircraft used for the fictional MiG-28s are Northrop F-5E (single seat) and F (two seat) Tiger IIs, which were used by TOPGUN as aggressor aircraft." - Trivia from Top Gun IMDB page.

Thanks again for the comments and for watching the film. If you'd like to help me fulfill this dream of becoming a Veritech Fighter Pilot, you can subscribe to FB, Twiiter or any of those services. I'll be posting behind the scenes and more! In fact, we just put up a Minmei music video up at www.projectrobotech.com.

I'll be back here periodically to answer any other questions anyone might have. I appreciate the support!

Tana

Honest opinion, I wasn't crazy about it.

Having said that, I will make a few comments. This short film was an honest attempt to build a real dramatic short story and that's exactly the right mindset from which to create something worth telling. About 99% of all fan films and fan fiction are dead boring filler made for the sole purpose of justifying overblown, unengaged action sequences. Your film is definitely something different. Although the feel of the short film doesn't really remind me much of Macross (except possibly some parts of Macross Zero) I did appreciate the consistency of the tone set throughout. The short was edited in an interesting way using tried and true black and white footage with piecemeal shots and a fitting score. It felt like a partially recalled memory, which is what you set out to do.

Honesty is all I'd ask for, so thank you guys for your feedback. I know it's not perfect but still happy with the final film. I love hearing other perspectives because I'm hearing some very interesting observations.

Re: Cockpit - If you notice in the credits, I thank the Empire State Aerosciences Museum (www.esam.org). We actually went there to shoot in real fighter cockpits. The working cockpit is a Mig, and the more close up shots (Ace attack) were in a cockpit simulator. The museum was so good to us. I'll be releasing some behind the scenes videos, including a lot of the ESAM stuff...so please join my Robotech Facebook Fan Page or Twitters so you can see it.

I first want to say that I am well aware that Robotech is combined and edited story. I created my original live action fan-film ("Midnight Sky") very much as a nostalgic tribute to my childhood and the times I recall sitting in front of the TV glued to every frame of Robotech.

The film began as a reaction to the announcement of the plans to make a live-action Robotech feature film, but in the end became much more to me. To watch my film and read MY STORY, please visit Project Robotech

I hope you enjoy it for what it is, and I welcome any feedback. I truly hope it is something Robotech and Macross fans alike can enjoy. Thanks for your time and consideration.

If you'd like to join our "wolfpack" please go to Facebook or Twitter and LIKE/FOLLOW us: ProjectRobotech

Sincerely,

Tana