Towards a classification of fan productions
Does it have live action video?
The success of Youtube has made it popular for fans to expand on their fan fiction dreams by adding graphics, audio and video that really bring their stories to life. By live action video I mean video of people shot in real time, even if augmented by cgi, rather than still photography or animated graphics.
Does the video have audio?
Live action video without audio? Yes, it does exist! "Star Trek: The Early Frontier", is the first extensive series set in an all-deaf alternative universe with most of the same attributes of canon Star Trek, most notably Klingons, where the actors 'speak' their dialogue in American Sign Language. This series has been completed and the producers say that it is to be followed soon by their next production, "The Silent Frontier".
See more here https://startrekreviewed.com/core/series.php?id=648
Live action video with sound effects but no dialog
This is usually a cgi movie, although some live action video like this does exist.
Live action video with singing but no dialog
Music on the video but no dialog? If it is a commercially-made song dubbed over clips from the broadcast series then it is classed as a 'Music Video' which Star Trek Reviewed doesn't normally list because they are so often taken down quickly because of copyright problems. There are however a few notable exceptions where semi-amateur theatre groups have done a fan-produced musical or opera
Live action video with narration
This would probably be best described as a type of audiobook however I can't think of any examples of this type of live action video.
Is it a video made up of still graphics?
Like a slideshow or animated graphic production.
Is it accompanied by audio?
Without some effort at storytelling, these are basically slideshows of fan art.
Graphics with text subtitles but no audio
A motion comic. The story is moved along solely by the graphics and the captions. Examples of motion comics (click the hyperlinked titles) are...
The Antifan Projection Captions over screenshots from TOS TV episodes
Graphics with sound effects or music
Here the focus of the storytelling is in the graphics or video which is usually moved forward by text in the form of subtitles or speech bubbles. Tentatively I'm calling these video comics but we need to differentiate these from the narrated graphics & video comics (see below). These are some extensive series which are examples of this type of production...
Star Trek Memes
Videos of memes riffing on individual Star Trek episodes, set to the original soundtrack music....
https://youtu.be/YC2_6uuf6A8 Where Nobody Doesn't Get What They Don't Got Coming To Them.
https://youtu.be/o8od1zE_w5o The Man .. er... Person Trap
https://youtu.be/OmiTzCjfJxQ Oh, I Believe in All Our Yesterdays
https://youtu.be/D65wqHe17nM Turnabout Intruder
https://youtu.be/oylP1MCsDmY Here Come Mudd's Brides
https://youtu.be/Qrd7iaWMd_M Domo Arigato, Mr Roboto
https://youtu.be/gAiaojiV8NA And Then Along Comes Miri
Planet of Hats
Another series produced by Fred Dixon, this one showcases the web comic Planet of Hats drawn by David Morgan-Mar since 2014, a retelling and recap of a Star Trek series. Each episode has a twelve panel comic and each panel has been rendered separately for the video and scored with original theme music from the show.
See here https://startrekreviewed.com/core/series.php?id=608
Admiralsniper Productions
An extensive Youtube channel with a number of series using still graphics from a 3D graphics program and text to the story with a background soundtrack.
See here https://www.youtube.com/c/andrewbradimore/playlists
Graphics with narration - VIDEO COMIC
A single narrator speaking all the parts over graphics is the next step up from an audio only audiobook and is usually called a video comic. Descended from the commercial narrations of published books the addition of 2D/3D still graphics adds a visual element to an audiobook. Examples of video comics (click the hyperlinked titles) are...
Giving A Lift Single voice over screenshots from TV episodes
A Bittersweet Day Single voice over slideshow of Axanar (?) graphics.
Axanar Numbers Single voice over slideshow of Axanar screenshots.
The Romulan War: "Holocaust" Single voice over hand-drawn graphics.
Graphics with an audio cast - MOTION COMIC
A full cast video comic accompanying what is in effect an audio drama. The 2D/3D still graphics might pan in and out and be morphed to simulate movement but they are still substantially graphics otherwise it would be an animation. Examples of motion comics (click the hyperlinked titles) are...
Bantam Bellatorum Audio cast over photos of 1/6th scale figures.
Star Trek Eagle Motion Comics Audio cast over screenshots from Star Trek Online.
Reubzdubz AI generated "Audio cast" over graphics.
Is it audio only?
Audio only could be on one of the podcasting or audio streaming channels. For the purposes of classification I would include any audio productions on Youtube that have audio over a single graphic, usually a title screen.
Does the audio have any graphics?
Any graphics, other than a single intro or title screen would make it a video or animated graphic production
Is it music only?
Then it's music!
Are there original lyrics sung over a well known piece?
This is what is known in fan circles as filk! The Roddenberries.
Is it original video laid over a professional piece?
Then it is a music video, very popular in it's time, because it can tell a story in it's own right but they rarely stay online for long because the copyright owners of the music get them taken down.
Is there more than one voice actor speaking roles?
...if not then it is an audiobook
Is there substantial narration in it?
Then it is a "Full cast audiobook"
If it is audio only with voice actors but little or no narration
Then it is an "audio drama". An audio drama is generally accepted to be a recording of a dramatised script with multiple voice actors in character without substantial narration or video. With the proliferation of Youtube as the main distribution platform for amateur productions, many - in fact most - audio dramas are released on there. Examples of an audio drama are...
Graphics with sound effects or music
Captions on 3D animation
Heading 3, Yellow
Block paragraph
Heading 4, Yellow, indented 1
Block paragraph, indented 1
Heading 5, Yellow, indented 2
Block paragraph, indented 2