JOSHUA IRWIN and VICTORIA FOX burst onto the Star Trek fan film stage this past Halloween with the unexpected release of GHOST SHIP. Shot using real actors and high production design on the TOS sets in Kingsland, GA and on the new WARP 66 Studios’ bridge sets in Arkansas, Ghost Ship was fun a “Star Trek meets The Walking Dead” fan film that took the community by storm. Part 1 already has more than 167K views on YouTube, and Part 2 over 70K. (You can listen to a great audio interview with both producers here.)
One of the things that got fans’ attention was the Kelvin-verse Starfleet uniforms juxtaposed with TOS sets and warp nacelles for a Constitution-class starship that glowed blue. What universe was this???
Well, now we know, as there is a new trailer for upcoming fan films from Josh and Victoria in what they are calling the AVALON UNIVERSE…
There is also a new Facebook page for the Avalon Universe (featuring the crew of the USS Excalibur). On Facebook, there’s the following posting:
The second fan film taking place in our "Avalon Universe" has begun filming. We'll meet new characters, and see interesting new design elements including visfx, LCARS readouts, uniforms and even unique divergent Starship and shuttle designs, and a new starbase dry dock design all from the amazingly talented Samuel Cockings and his crew of CG artists. The story is co-written and directed by Victoria Fox!
Look for it soon along with information on our crowd funding campaign, which will bring you more stories from this interesting alternate reality.
Filming for their second episode wrapped yesterday in front of a green screen in Arkansas. Plans currently call for the second episode to debut on February 1…along with a crowd-funding campaign for episodes 3 and 4.
Although I plan to do another interview with Josh and Victoria next month, I did ask Josh if he had any other details about what fans could expect from the Avalon Universe going forward…
Our own universe is going to start to grow; we’re going to introduce a major new character. And there will be lots of new elements. New Visfx, new shuttle and space station designs by Sam Cockings and his team. And that will only grow even more with the 3rd film. We’re also taking a lot of the lessons learned last time and applying them to make these next films better. Victoria Fox is directing the actors this time, and we’ve really slowed down our pace of production to get better performances, and better camera and lighting work.
We’re having a lot of fun expanding on the neat things we’ve already been doing. I like to work in practical effects to boost what’s done in post. For example, when you see someone fire a phaser in a dark room, we use a light just off camera to simulate the blue light from the phaser beam. Or a warm light on a dimmer to motivate the glow of a trasporter beam. It’s been so much fun to do things with film that I’ve always wanted to do, like shaking the camera when the shuttle’s engines fail. But everyone else stepped up, too. Glen Wolfe and Victoria’s boyfriend Chris (who’s a Hollywood gaffer) operated a set gag where the panels and overhead lighting went in and out. So many people have been working hard to make all of these things happen.
Remember to clear your calendars and save your pennies for February when the Avalon Universe shows us all what she’s got!