Stargate Origins: Feature Cut

[Platschu]

There is still no sign of email about the dowloading code... Meh...

[SteeveB]

I'm new and my comments were in a review queue so I'm not sure anyone saw them. I'm also curious if the 'feature cut' had anything addition not in the individual episodes? ?

A new pre-title opening scene reminiscent of the Ra mask opener in some SG-1 seasons, and... that's it. Some effects were fixed, one scene had effects added - but by that I mean they fixed errors in their process / painted out a red ball of fluff on a floor / fixed a cropping issue / moved lens flares around / added a missing (anyone noticed? probably not) lens flare. At the same time, the puddle passages are still the same, the wand of horus is still missing a glow effect in one key shot, etc. Meanwhile, some scenes were removed (some of which warranted) or cut short (why?)

There's a thorough visual changes break-down over on Reddit. Basically if you've seen the web episodes, you can practically give the feature cut a pass except to have a version without all the spin transitions... and that new pre-title is nice, just doesn't really add much. The 5.1 audio is nice, though. It's not particularly 'surround' sound, but it does separate voices from music (extracting front left / front right almost gives you OST-quality material) and most sound effects well. The 4K is... well not all shots are super sharp and, given the material, most of it doesn't warrant 4K anyway. But it's there, so that's nice?

[Platschu]

SteeveB: Thanks for the comment.

Have they changed the moons on Abydos? It was our Moon 3 times on the screen. This is not just simply lazy, but tastelessness as well.

Have they fixed the sound effects of the gate? I mean the sound effects of the locking chevron, the opening of the kawoosh or the entering of the wormhole? I believe these ones were essentials. I don't care that much about how the gate is painted, but don't tell me that they were not able or they were not willing to search for the right sounds effects in the archieve. There were pretty bad CGI gates and projecte wormholes in all three SG shows, but the sound effects of the stargate must have been the core part of this franchise. Imho.

[Falcon Horus]

There is still no sign of email about the dowloading code... Meh...

Might want to contact support.

A new pre-title opening scene reminiscent of the Ra mask opener in some SG-1 seasons...

The one I was sick and tired seeing every single episode, for 5 straight seasons. And my DVD's also have that opening from season 3 onwards, so I'll be glad when I'm through season 5 and the title sequence changes again.

Have they changed the moons on Abydos? It was our Moon 3 times on the screen. This is not just simply lazy, but tastelessness as well.

Nope, it's still our little moon, mirrored and rotated.
But the worst part of that view is that it almost looks like a René Magritte painting. There's no life in it, no depth. It literally looks like wallpaper or a wallposter, like they didn't bother with a green screen but just put the wallposter behind the opening and filmed that -- lighting wrong, coloring wrong. Along with the horrible 3D shot of Ra's ship, it's the two things that made me cringe and facepalm.

Have they fixed the sound effects of the gate? I mean the sound effects of the locking chevron, the opening of the kawoosh or the entering of the wormhole? I believe these ones were essentials. I don't care that much about how the gate is painted, but don't tell me that they were not able or they were not willing to search for the right sounds effects in the archieve. There were pretty bad CGI gates and projecte wormholes in all three SG shows, but the sound effects of the stargate must have been the core part of this franchise. Imho.

I imagine you are referring to the clicking of the chevrons cause that's the sound effect I heard.

[Platschu]

Yes, I am talking about the usual soundeffects:
- spinning the inner ring
- locking a chevron
- the lighting of a chevron
- the opening of the kawoosh
- entering into the wormhole
- leaving the wormhole
- desintegration of the wormhole
They must have these sound effects in the possesion of MGM and they should have used them. Because I don't mind that they wanted a connection between the movie and the SG-1, so it was cool to see the merging into the wormhole part, but then they ruin the illusions with the avoiding of the regular little noises and effects.

They have even used the original DHD from SG-1 and you can easily how well it was made as a prop. The colour, the little details, basically everything is much better.

[jamesgilfoyle]

Really pleased that Stargate is back - its only going to get bigger and better.

I think this is an interesting take on Catherine's Origins story and a neat enough bridge between the movie and the SG1 series. There some minor continuity issues to begin with but they are largely resolved with a nice twist that explains some bits in episode one of SG1.

That said, this movie is overall disappointing given the standard we have come to expect from Stargate. For the budget - this is good I guess. But should have been so much better!

Like the fact that they have added "Catherine" to the title... hopefully an indication of a continued investment... from the outburst of both support and critique - they must know that its needs to be much better next time!

[Falcon Horus]

They have even used the original DHD from SG-1 and you can easily how well it was made as a prop. The colour, the little details, basically everything is much better.

That DHD might look the same, but the the middle button looks way too artificial. There's no aging done which there should be. It looks brand spanking new, like it's never been used before.

Really pleased that Stargate is back - its only going to get bigger and better.

Why would it be bigger and better. Considering you're showing MGM you're just fine with this low-budget thing by collectively paying for it. They don't need to go bigger and better. They're cashing in just fine.

There some minor continuity issues to begin with but they are largely resolved with a nice twist that explains some bits in episode one of SG1.

I wouldn't call Isis/Aset's involvement a minor continuity issue... Just saying.
She's established at the bottom of the Atlantic, with the rest of the artifacts from the Stewart Expedition.

Impossible to be on Abydos and Earth at the same time.

That said, this movie is overall disappointing given the standard we have come to expect from Stargate. For the budget - this is good I guess. But should have been so much better!

If I were a new person watching this, I would avoid any and all stargate like the plague. This is the new billboard for stargate. For any one not having seen any of the previous installments, they'll probably run the other way for thinking that if such is the standard -- no way.

[NickEast]

The answer to our Moon being used three times is simple: it's because the movie had it as well. This is one of the (very) few things I liked. Sure it's ridiculous and not realistic at all, but I would've done the same, just because it would be a nod to the original film.

After seeing the third kawoosh (when they return from Abydos) I finally noticed it's just a cut-and-paste from the movie. It's literally the same effect (kudos to their cutting skill, it's seamless, except for the perspective angle). Yet the "strudel" (whirlpool) effect behind the gate is just a cheap effect though.

Sound effects are terrible. Even I have almost all of the original sound effects on my PC, so why couldn't they use them? The sounds of the chevrons, activation, shutdown, and the event horizon loop are the same from the movie. The sound of the ring spinning is just awful, like a ticking clock.

The DHD just makes the gate look even worse. I do think it's the original DHD, since it looks very close to the original and not as cheap as everything else.

As for Ra's ship, again I think it's a cut-and-paste from the movie. Especially the shot with the ship in orbit and firing on the temple; it's the same shot in the movie just before the bomb is transported aboard. Even the "weapon" is just the transporter beam in reverse.

[Falcon Horus]

As for Ra's ship, again I think it's a cut-and-paste from the movie. Especially the shot with the ship in orbit and firing on the temple; it's the same shot in the movie just before the bomb is transported aboard. Even the "weapon" is just the transporter beam in reverse.

I don't remember the 3D on that shot to be that cheap.
Movie-ship vs Origins-ship

But I shall have to do a comparison over the weekend.

On second thought -- here you go, the shot in the movie is far better than the ones in Origins.

And for anyone still having doubts as to where this fits in, it's definitely 1994 canon and not series canon cause in that same link above, there's a gif with a ringtransporter -- Origins' is an exact copy.

[thedevilman]

I have been hearing a lot about the cheap feel of this. Do you think they're just testing the waters with this for something bigger down the road? Or do you think this is just a low-end money grab to get the last few pennies they can from it?

I was sooo excited to see this and I still have yet to (still searching for someone with an extra code to trade) but I was really hoping for better than I'm hearing. Maybe my now low expectations are a good thing. Maybe it'll be better than I'm now imagining it to be. Ha

[Falcon Horus]

I have been hearing a lot about the cheap feel of this. Do you think they're just testing the waters with this for something bigger down the road? Or do you think this is just a low-end money grab to get the last few pennies they can from it?

Testing the waters -- they made a website "for the fans" where they block all content of meaning for everyone except 6 countries. They blocked access to Stargate Origins (don't say license issues because there's no third party to pay here when it's on their own service) -- and continue to block access to the Dial Home interviews (which I absolutely hate, especially when they post on twitter about it -- "Come see our interview with..." -- sorry, nope, not you... you're not the fan we're looking for). The mission files which accompany Origins are blocked content (I got access because someone was kind enough to copy them for me in a private message). Behind-the-scenes videos and interviews -- blocked content.

They expect every non-6-country person to pay the equivalent of 20 dollars for a digital download. I can buy season 4 or 5 of Atlantis on DVD for that kind of money, or season 1 or 2 of SGU, or 4x Ark of Truth/Continuum.

Considering how silent they've been since a year ago... MGM -- this is just a money grab.

I was sooo excited to see this and I still have yet to (still searching for someone with an extra code to trade) but I was really hoping for better than I'm hearing. Maybe my now low expectations are a good thing. Maybe it'll be better than I'm now imagining it to be. Ha

Why an extra code? Dude, if you don't want to pay for it -- download it from ... you-know-where -- available in 1080p and 720p. I mean, trading with an all-access members is not paying MGM's price on iTunes. You're just paying someone their 20 dollar back for their premium pass (and the code doesn't work outside the 6 countries, just a reminder).

Keep your expectations as low as possible, and you'll see you could like it.

I did, and it worked. Seen it twice now.
Okay, I admit, I'm in love with Ellie Gall's Catherine Langford...

[NickEast]

I don't remember the 3D on that shot to be that cheap.
Movie-ship vs Origins-ship

But I shall have to do a comparison over the weekend.

On second thought -- here you go, the shot in the movie is far better than the ones in Origins.

And for anyone still having doubts as to where this fits in, it's definitely 1994 canon and not series canon cause in that same link above, there's a gif with a ringtransporter -- Origins' is an exact copy.

It's not a 3D shot but a scale model. It doesn't look cheap, just dated. The movie also looks better because the whole movie looks like that. Typically cutting and pasting a portion of footage from an old movie that has been remastered to HD into a modern movie that has been shot and edited in HD usually degrades the image.

And yes, the ring transporter has 10 rings like in the movie, instead of five in SG-1 (also because one of the shots of the rings is also cut-and-paste from the movie).

EDIT: I might do a VFX comparison between both movies (maybe later today) to see what has been reused/copied from the movie.

[Falcon Horus]

It's not a 3D shot but a scale model. It doesn't look cheap, just dated. The movie also looks better because the whole movie looks like that. Typically cutting and pasting a portion of footage from an old movie that has been remastered to HD into a modern movie that has been shot and edited in HD usually degrades the image.

And yes, the ring transporter has 10 rings like in the movie, instead of five in SG-1 (also because one of the shots of the rings is also cut-and-paste from the movie).

Damn... I need to pay better attention.

Thanks for the info though.

[thedevilman]

Testing the waters -- they made a website "for the fans" where they block all content of meaning for everyone except 6 countries. They blocked access to Stargate Origins (don't say license issues because there's no third party to pay here when it's on their own service) -- and continue to block access to the Dial Home interviews (which I absolutely hate, especially when they post on twitter about it -- "Come see our interview with..." -- sorry, nope, not you... you're not the fan we're looking for). The mission files which accompany Origins are blocked content (I got access because someone was kind enough to copy them for me in a private message). Behind-the-scenes videos and interviews -- blocked content.

They expect every non-6-country person to pay the equivalent of 20 dollars for a digital download. I can buy season 4 or 5 of Atlantis on DVD for that kind of money, or season 1 or 2 of SGU, or 4x Ark of Truth/Continuum.

Considering how silent they've been since a year ago... MGM -- this is just a money grab.

Yeah, that is what I was afraid of and what is becoming more and more clear as I learn more. What a punch to the face.

Why an extra code? Dude, if you don't want to pay for it -- download it from ... you-know-where -- available in 1080p and 720p. I mean, trading with an all-access members is not paying MGM's price on iTunes. You're just paying someone their 20 dollar back for their premium pass (and the code doesn't work outside the 6 countries, just a reminder).

Keep your expectations as low as possible, and you'll see you could like it.

I did, and it worked. Seen it twice now.
Okay, I admit, I'm in love with Ellie Gall's Catherine Langford...

Mostly just because it's easier for us to watch through iTunes. That and I have LOTS of other really good digital codes to trade that didn't cost me anything.

[thedevilman]

I did, and it worked. Seen it twice now.
Okay, I admit, I'm in love with Ellie Gall's Catherine Langford...

Yeah, she's not hard to look at at all!