Pacific Rim: Training Day is a short film produced by Maker Studios, through its channel Polaris, as an official fan promotional video and tie-in to the film Pacific Rim. The film was made over the course of a month with fan participation. The video features YouTube Users from Polaris as cast members.
Development
Training Day was produced with the permission and involvement of Warner Brothers Studios, Legendary Entertainment and Guillermo del Toro. The video shows six new PPDC recruits (referred to as "Cadets") learning how to pilot Jaegers when they must defeat a unique Kaiju in their first experience in the Jaegers. The video features YouTuber users Mike 'HuskyStarcraft' Lamond[2], John 'CynicalBrit' Bain[3], Brooke 'Dodger' Leigh Lawson[4], Jesse Cox[5], Jon 'JonTron' Jafari[6] and Arin 'EgoRaptor' Hanson[7] as Jaeger Pilots.
The video is notable for having direct fan input through a poll put on by each cast member prior to filming. Fans got to directly choose which weapon each Jaeger was able to utilize during the fight scene of the video. The cast also posted many Behind The Scenes videos, detailing production of the costumes and video while also promoting it before it's release.
The video has over one million views.
Summary
The video begins at the fenced-in PPDC Training Facility near Palm Springs, California. In the centre stands three Jaegers: the Shameless Fox (piloted by Jesse Cox and Dodger), the Wolf Queen (HuskyStarcraft and CynicalBrit) and the Redflag Horowitz (Jon Jafari and Arin Hanson) The Redflag begins moving and crashes to the ground while the pilots inside attempt to learn to control it. The Lieutenant Commander (Robert Kazinsky), questions their potential as he begins their training. Jesse Cox complains about the need to stand in order to pilot the Jaeger. The Commander informs the Jaegar recruits about high command's praise of their abilities, expressing his doubt. The Wolf Queen moves slowly towards the Redflag Horowitz, while the pilots boast about their ability to move. The Wolf Queen attempts to assist the Redflag Horowitz up, but falls to the ground itself. The Lt. Commander pauses them, encouraging the Jaegar pilots to meld their minds together in unity. The two Jaegers return to their feet with the Shameless Fox moving close to them.
The Lieutenant Commander informs them of the beginning of their combat training when a warning sounds of an approaching Kaiju, codenamed "Crabcat", nears their position. With the nearest strike team twenty minutes away, the Commander orders the Jaeger pilots to engage Crabcat, which goes undetected due to unique stealth powers it possesses, preventing PPDC from being able to respond earlier. Crabcat charges at Redflag, followed by Wolf Queen attacking back. Wolf Queen moves to engage further but Crabcat stealths away. Crabcat strikes the Wolf Queen in the back, almost causing it to collapse. Shameless Fox narrowly misses a direct hit to the head with Crabcat stealthing away before Redflag can land a hit. The three Jaegers move into a defensive formation.
Crabcat circles the Jaegers before engaging Redflag. The Redflag pilots activate their Wave laser, landing a direct hit to the chest of Crabcat. Crabcat's stealth powers flicker before it disappears again. The Lieutenant Commander encourages the pilots to work together, as it is the only way for them to defeat the Kaiju. The Redflag Horowitz begin firing a volley of laser pulses into the surrounding cliffs, the result of Jon getting overenthusiastic about their laser weapon.
Mistaking this for an actual strategy, the Commander gives the pilots the idea to fire in an arc in front of them, which reveals Crabcat. Husky enables the Wolf Queen's railgun, which the two pilots proceed to unload into Crabcat. Crabcat's chest is badly damaged, revealing the Kaiju's weak spot. The Shameless Fox, having the only available weapon left, engages Crabcat with the intent to finish it off. The Shameless Fox strikes Crabcat in the face and blocks its attacks. The fight is finished with Shameless Fox thrusting its sword through the chest of Crabcat, piercing its heart. The Kaiju collapses onto the ground, slain.
The Wolf Queen informs the Commander of Crabcat's defeat, earning praise to the recruits for defeating the Kaiju. The pilots give each other high-fives, with the Jaegers bumping each of their arms together. The Lieutenant Commander, watching, calls the pilots "newbs" before walking off-screen.
Cast
Actor/Actress | Character |
---|---|
Robert Kazinsky | Lieutenant Commander |
Guillermo del Toro | Crabcat |
Jesse Cox | Shameless Fox Pilot |
Dodger | Shameless Fox Pilot |
Mike "Huskystarcraft" Lamond | Wolf Queen Pilot |
John "Cynicalbrit" Bain | Wolf Queen Pilot |
Arin Hanson | Redflag Horowitz Pilot |
Jon Jafari | Redflag Horowitz Pilot |
Billy Bussey | (Stunt Actor) |
Surawit Sae Kang | (Stunt Actor) |
Yoshua Sudarso | (Stunt Actor) |
Johnny Yang | (Stunt Actor) |
Trivia
- Guillermo del Toro shows as a cameo at the end of the movie in the Kaiju suit while on set. del Toro takes the helmet off and makes a witty comment about living as a Kaiju.
- The Lieutenant Commander of the PPDC is played by Robert Kazinsky. Kazinsky portrayed Australian Jaeger pilot Chuck Hansen in Pacific Rim.
- The video is filmed in the style of classic Japanese monster movies, with the monsters and robots being represented by actors in suits rather than CGI. This style is also reminiscent of the Power Rangers/Super Sentai series.
- While in pre-production, some of the cast (Dodger, Jesse) hinted about a secret project related to Pacific Rim, but would not give details. The project was confirmed when Behind-The-Scenes videos were released showing the progress of the costumes of both the Jaegers, Kaiju, and the pilot armor.
- This marks the first time that Jon Jafari and Arin Hanson have been on-screen together since Jon's departure from Game Grumps.
- The video was produced while Polaris was still branded as "The Game Station". The video was later uploaded to both channels during the transition from the "The Game Station" to "Polaris". The announcement of the video was done prior to the announcement of the brand change.
- The six Jaeger pilots retained their personality of their real-life actors, being barely in character. Elements of their real-life personalities and comedy were added into the script, making the cast natural and showing what would be expected from the Youtubers. I.E. Jesse Cox's puns and inappropriate words, CynicalBrit pointing out an obvious question about the PPDC's tardiness in detecting the approach of a 20-story tall Kaiju, etc.
- The film utilizes music from the soundtrack of Pacific Rim.
Video
Gallery
References
|
|