BE KIND: WHAT’S UP DOC? UPDATE
(One more photo)
SHORT TEASER IN THE WORKS
The short video teaser (3.5min) that is almost ready for you to look at will be taken from a 28 year old vhs copy of a 28 year old beta copy from 38 old super- 8mm footage of the Paragon movie which IS now being transferred to a dvd, to a flash drive so I could drop it into the blog.
It has some glitches flashing across it from storage, and there is a problem with the sound. The quality of my movie can not compare to the digital camcorder video movies quality that you are used to seeing and hearing. The act of storing things over many years takes its toll.
However I am extremely proud of the result and hope these facts help you to sit back and enjoy rather that knit pick it to death. Just to find and prepare the footage that I am going to drop into the blog over the next few months has cost me a few hundred hundred dollars. So far this exciting experience and making new friends has outweighed the time and expense.
38 YEARS OLD
Also as I have previously mentioned my movie was strictly for fun with friends, and family. I made the movie because I liked Star Trek and I still do! It was the perfect medium. It has bright colors, pretty girls, heroes, and characters with integrity and humor. “We need more Star Trek values in our present world”.
CURRENT FOOTAGE BEING PREPARED
If my computer can hold up, I intend to feed Paragon to you in segments of video material in the blog. Small segments to medium sizes of about 9 minutes. The teaser is very short. A demo reel of some of my works, blooper reels, and a longer 18 minute highlight version of Paragon are almost ready to be dropped into blog articles over the next few months. Not all at once. I want you to respond and ask questions if you so desire.
If I can find the super-8 film, and the response to the material on video that you see is good, I will consider finding a way to save the actual movie. The film got misplaced during moving. I hope displaced is the correct word and not lost.
The sound needs a big fix through a studio. Is the movie in its entirety worth saving? I do not know yet. It could have improved sound (better but not great since the master sound tapes are gone) and with a film transfer the “glitches” on the tape from storage would be gone and the visual would also become improved. It would be a couple of generations closer to the original. That might do the trick!
IT WILL BE UP TO YOU
EVEN WITH EVERYTHING REPAIRED IT WOULD NOT BE PERFECT- IT IS OLD
1.If you find the occasional sync of the voices not being perfect to be too disturbing because the movie was filmed “wild”?
2.If you find the mixing of the tracks to be troublesome because they are making it hard to hear the actors voices? .
3. If the obvious inserting of effects and the visual film grain difference bothers you?
Then I won’t pursue getting the 80 minute version of the film footage redone. It is what it was! I am sharing it with you and hope you appreciate the really neat things about it. Yes it is flawed, but it never was made to show to people on the scale it has attracted. What has occurred is amazing to me and I appreciate the nice comments and interest in it. In the long run it is just another amateur fan film with a lot of “heart” and “love” put into it.
THE PLAN
I intend to run a piece of footage and then for the next week or two or three on the blog talk about it. I would explain the effects or behind the scenes stories. There would also be new photos in the articles. I will invite questions about each video and will answer them in the blog between the time that I run another piece of footage. It depends on how much information I can supply on a topic at hand.
INTERACTIVE
The first piece is a 4 minute teaser. The next video will be a demo that I used to show people. It shows some of my magazine articles , and the Paragon teaser again, and stuff I did for the movie Alien Factor. Most of the demo videos material has been talked about in previous blog articles. I’ll expand on them as the video prompts.
I want this blog to be interactive and hopefully very friendly. Like a living email blog that evolves on its own. I want it to be a fun and interesting amateur blog, for those of you who are interested in Star Trek, or monsters,or make-up,or movie making, photography,music etc. There will be links to other talented peoples blogs or webs. You must give me feedback on the movie and the blog.
I am a private person and was just going to let Paragon fade away, but interest in it just kept popping up. I am humbled by the many kind comments from all you folks out there and hope I can please you with my blog efforts. I also am enjoying making new friends. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John
HERE WE GO-COMING SOON hopefully next article?
ParagonsParagon 
May 9, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Great new photo, and I am looking forward to seeing what you post in the future! This is not only about a fan film effort, but a trip back into the past when the only new Trek we could get, or the only props we had, were those we made ourselves. They were exciting and fun days to look back on, and we share that excitement and nostalgia with you!
May 10, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I’m looking forward to this very much.
Dave
May 15, 2012 at 2:50 am
I have to tell you something, I was a special makeup effects artist/technician from 1995-2009. When I was younger I read all your articles in Cinemagic dozens of times. I just want to let you know that having conversation with many peers in the fx business about your work (and inspiration to many of us) we all wondered if anyone had ever had a chance to see your film at a convention or something. Sadly “no” was the common reply. It may help your motivation to know that dozens of current fx (and I imagine filmakers) will look forward to your current efforts to (re)release this treasure. Believe it or not, your name is well known in our community to just about every artist over 35 and your work a foundation to our knowledge to become professionals.
Thanks from all of us.
May 22, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Steve
Thank you for the kind comments.
It is humbling and heartwarming to read comments like you made about my Cinemagic articles.
My computer and internet have been out of action for the past two weeks. I just got back on line today.
I apologize for the delay. I try to answer everyone as soon as I can.
Do you have a blog?
Is there anything you might want to present on my blog?
I want to share it with people. It doesn’t have to be Star Trek.
Do you think it is a good idea to have variety on the blog?
P.S. I am not internet or blog experienced. I just stumble my way along.
Your new friend ,
John
May 23, 2012 at 3:05 pm
I was 14 when I read about Paragon’s Paragon in Cinemagic back in 1979. It made quite an impression on me. I wonder how you overcame all the limitations of the Super-8 format. It just occurred to me how difficult the sound editing would be. I look forward to see how your restoration efforts proceed.
May 31, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Hey John… Great job on blog updates! I know more and more people are becoming aware of this blog, and are ANXIOUS to see “Paragon’s Paragon” for the FIRST TIME!