Jonathan Lane

Just posted: PAGE 3 of the INTERLUDE comic “STARDATE 2245.1”!

First, a quick check on the GoFundMe campaign: another three days, another $320 for a total of $8,651 from 111 donors. There’s also another $50 from Paypal donations, bringing us 44.6% of the way to our $19,5000 goal after three weeks. It’s all good, folks.

To donate or if you’d just like to help spread the word, here’s the link:

https://www.gofundme.com/interlude

And now, the blog…

SPOILER ALERT!

Once again, a friendly reminder that this 7-page (plus cover) comic book story is nearly identical to what you will see when INTERLUDE is completed and released. So if you don’t want to know anything about my fan film—and that’s fine!—please stop reading now and don’t look at the page artwork below…’cause that wouldn’t be quite as fine.

Let’s talk briefly about the captain of the USS Artemis: Imari Jakande. When I first wrote up my “alternate” script for the two Axanar sequels, I’d named the captain of the Artemis “Kyle Donovan,” and I didn’t really think about his race or background. I just needed a person in the center seat of that starship. Kyle could just as easily have been Kylie, as well. Race, gender, ethnicity…they just weren’t as important to me at that moment as getting my thoughts down on paper (well, keyboard) before they faded from my mind. Initially, I don’t even think the original three or four pages of the scene with the Artemis and Ares took me more than 15 minutes to write.

So when I first expanded that sequence into a seven-page comic book script, I left the character’s name as Kyle Donovan. My illustrator, DANIEL FU, suggested making him a black man, and I had no problem with that. Good idea! And when the page artwork came in, I loved what I saw.

A few weeks later was when I first showed the artwork to ALEC PETERS. I had already gotten his thumbs-up to do the comic, but I wanted him to be able to review the progress. After all, it was important to me that this story be acceptable “head canon” for the Axanar “universe.”

Alec liked the artwork, but suggested that, since the captain of the Artemis was black, perhaps he should have an African name. By this, Alec didn’t mean African American but rather from the African continent—like Uhura—with an authentic African name.

As Alec did with the Axanar character of Sam Travis, who was named after a famous military leader, I wanted my character to have an African name with some historical significance.

Turns out that was much easier said than done!

INTERLUDE intro: “getting from there to here” – Previs and VFX!

First, a quick update on the GoFundMe campaign for the INTERLUDE fan film. Since Monday’s blog, we’ve gained over $400 (2% closer to our goal of $19,500) for a current total of $8,331. We’ve also crossed the 100 backer threshold (currently at 109). So steady as she goes…!

As I say each time, if you haven’t donated yet, or if you’d just be willing to help spread the word, here’s the link:

https://www.gofundme.com/interlude

This is the first in a series of three weekly blogs I’ll be posting about the opening VFX sequence for my fan film Interlude and how it went from an idea in my head to looking like this…

When I first set out to raise money to make Interlude, I knew I needed to show something. Obviously, without costumes or a cast, we couldn’t shoot any actual footage. Of course I’d feature the creative people involved, but doesn’t typically create high excitement unless some of those people are Star Trek celebrities (which fan filmmakers can no longer use). So what’s left? Well, VFX, of course!

I spoke to my CGI guy, LEWIS ANDERSON (a pseudonym my friend is using) and asked if he’d be willing to churn out a quick visual effects sequence from my script to show what Interlude might look like. “Sure,” he said. “Shoot me over the script, and let me take a look at what you’re thinking.”

Easy-peasy. I sent him the full script, but highlighted the opening scene…

After receiving it, Lewis messaged me back: “Shouldn’t be a problem, Jon. Do you have anything storyboarded?”

As a matter of fact, I did! I actually had FOUR different storyboards!!!

The first wasn’t actually a storyboard so much as a more detailed description of the sequence that I had written up for my comic book artist, DANIEL FU, when I decided (a year earlier) to turn this script into a one-shot AXANAR comic book called “Stardate 2245.1” . The description I wrote up for Daniel was divided into three comic book panels and looked like this…

VANCE MAJOR releases binge-watching dates for THE CONSTAR CHRONICLES!

VANCE MAJOR has become a legend of sorts in the fan film community. He has unapologetically released over thirty different Star Trek fan films…all on his terms. And while I wouldn’t go so far as to say he chooses quantity over quality—he and his teams work very hard on each individual project—it’s fair to say that Vance’s films aren’t the most “polished” you will find out there.

So why watch them…and for that matter, why make them?

The answer lies at the very heart of what fan films are. And “heart” is the reason Vance continues to play in this small corner of the Star Trek sandbox. He LOVES making fan films. And he loves the people who love making fan films with him. He loves writing the stories and bringing his actors and production crews together. He loves visiting fan-made TOS sets or going out on location wearing Starfleet tunics. And he loves seeing the ideas that start in his head slowly take form and materialize into complete fan films that he can share with others.

Who cares if there’s a cord in the door…or the uniforms don’t fit right…or you can see where the bridge set ends and the wooden wall panel starts? Who cares if the wind is blowing too loud into the microphone or a scene is filmed in Vance’s living room? If you want $8 million episodes, watch Discovery. If you want $50,000 episodes, watch Star Trek Continues. But if you want to see what a Star Trek fan can create with the cash in his wallet, the loose change he finds in the sofa, a handful of fan donations, and sheer optimism and willpower, then Vance is your man!

As I said, Vance has already completed thirty-something separate Trek fan films in what I’ve chosen to call the Minard Saga. They all feature his character, Erick Minard, who—thanks to the mysterious Valhalla Stone—has lived from the pre-TOS era to the DS9-era of Star Trek. And not only has Minard appeared in Vance’s fan films, but he’s also appeared in cameos in many other fan series. You can see every appearance of Minard in this dedicated YouTube playlist!)

You might think that after writing, directing, producing, and appearing in so many Star Trek fan films that Vance would choose to take a break for a while. And he almost did. But the siren call was too much for him, and Vance returned for one or two more films.

Oh, heck…who am I kidding??? He’s planning to release another THREE DOZEN fan films!!!

Just posted: PAGE 2 of the INTERLUDE comic “STARDATE 2245.1”!

A quick check of the GoFundMe campaign before we begin. After two weeks, we’re already on the cusp of 100 BACKERS(!!!) with a total of $7,901—more than 40% of the way to $19,500. That’s FANtastic progress! If you haven’t donated yet, or if you’d just be willing to help spread the word, here’s the link:

https://www.gofundme.com/interlude

And now, today’s blog…

SPOILER ALERT!

If you do NOT want to know what my Axanar Universe fan film INTERLUDE will be about, if you want to want to go in completely cold with no idea what happen, then stop…

reading…

NOW.

Seriously. This far. No farther. Go to a different website or read another blog. Final warning.

Okay, for those brave/curious/impatient souls who are left, what IS Interlude about anyway? So far, I’ve kept things pretty vague. Here’s what it says on my GoFundMe page:

INTERLUDE is an exciting vignette story that shows fans whom those D7s were shooting at, and why those targets were so important.  The story is about honor an sacrifice, bravery and duty in the face of a surprise sneak attack that leaves no time to plan or react with anything other than one's true self.

I’ve mentioned previously that the reason for the story was to explain the absence of Admiral Marcus Ramirez from the Axanar sequels. The real reason, of course, is that actor TONY TODD no longer wished to be a part of the production going forward. So there’s a point in my script where Ramirez gets severely wounded, but beyond that, I’ve given few details.

The reason for the vagueness is that Interlude is actually a pretty fast-paced story. It starts in the middle of a space battle and spends most of its (estimated) ten minutes in that same tense situation. While there’s drama and action, the majority of the dialog happens between just two characters…one of whom is Captain Kelvar Garth of the USS Ares.

I always thought of this story as a small but important part of the tapestry of Garth’s life…a tapestry that includes PRELUDE TO AXANAR, my short story “Why We Fight,” another short story I haven’t written yet called “Why We Explore,” the two upcoming Axanar sequels, and perhaps even the TOS episode “Whom Gods Destroy.”

Combined, all of these stories help to piece together the puzzle that is Kelvar Garth, the victor at Axanar and the personal hero of Captain James T. Kirk. Who is Garth? We only saw a fleeting glimpse of the true man at the end of “Whom Gods Destroy,” and I for one want to learn more.

So here’s Page 2—along with the cover and Page 1—of another piece of the Garth puzzle (click to enlarge the images)…

Read mor

Just hours left to donate to SPACE COMMAND…as a NEW EDIT of the first hour is released!

One of my favorite things about MARC SCOTT ZICREE’s fan-funded sci-fi epic SPACE COMMAND is watching it “evolve.” Last summer, Marc released the first half-hour of the 2-hour pilot “Redemption.” It was impressive, to be sure, but it needed a bit more “polish.” A number of things didn’t look quite right, including the infamous driving scene where a father and son in a convertible roadster are speeding down the highway, and neither actor’s hair is moving at all. (The original footage was shot in front of a green screen.)

In February of this year, Marc released the full first hour of the pilot. But in addition to simply adding a half hour of new, just-completed scenes and visual FX, Marc also re-edited, color-corrected, sound-corrected, and updated a fair amount of the first half hour. Finally, the hair of those two actors was actually blowing in the wind! It was fascinating to me to watch those first two releases side-by-side, comparing them. It really allowed me to appreciate the craft of filmmaking.

Now, with less than 24 hours left in their latest Kickstarter, Marc has released an updated version of the first hour, and it’s worth taking a look at because it’s getting even better. This version is edited to be a few minutes shorter with improved VFX and some other intriguing changes (including having not only the previous mini-trailer for the second episode “Forgiveness” but also a new short trailer for the third episode “The Great Solar War”)…

And speaking of the second episode, “Forgiveness,” as I mentioned, the month-long campaign is in its final hours, ending at midnight Saturday Pacific Time. Although the stated goal of $35K was surpassed almost immediately and the current total stands (as I type this) at just under $80K, Marc would love to see $100K.

It’s not clear whether they can reach that stretch goal, but if you haven’t donated yet and still wanted to, this is your last chance—at least for this Kickstarter!

Here’s the link to find out more and donate…

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/58936338/space-command-forgiveness

Set Cancellations, Scheduling Conflicts, Costume Conundrums, Stray Dogs, Trapped Woodpeckers, and Acts of God…what I DIDN’T expect when I decided to make a fan film!

Before we begin, quick crowd-funding update! After ten days, 88 backers have already donated $7,621 to INTERLUDE (nearly 40% of the way to $19,500!). That’s amazing! If you haven’t donated yet, or if you’d just be willing to help spread the word, here’s the link:

https://www.gofundme.com/interlude

And now, today’s blog…

“Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” Man, am I learning that lesson with Interlude!

Over the years, I’ve interviewed countless fan filmmakers, and the one thing that nearly all of them have in common are stories of unexpected crises that pop up out of nowhere…demanding to be dealt with quickly lest the project get partially or completely derailed.

I never truly appreciated what these show-runners go through until I became an executive producer myself. My fan film hasn’t even started shooting yet, and already I’ve had to deal with some of the weirdest occurrences that I could have ever imagined—including emergency dog rescues, woodpeckers in chimneys, and an honest-to-goodness flood—all of which have conspired to try to delay the launch of my crowd-funder!

The dog actually DID delay it. You all probably remember how a stray canine in Alabama crossed the highway in front of ALEC PETERS and CRYSSTAL HUBBARD, and how they spent the next two hours trying to keep the dog safe (keep it from trying to cross back) until help could arrive. And those two hours ate up the window for livecasting Axanar Confidential that Monday night, forcing us to delay the roll-out of the GoFundMe campaign for INTERLUDE until the following night.

But wait till you hear about some of the other Murphy’s Law moments I’ve had over the past month and a half…

AXANAR locks in START DATE for filming: October 4-6, 2019!

Yes, my friends, AXANAR is really (finally!) happening. And before some of you say, “Ha! I’ll believe it when I see it!” ALEC PETERS has now put out a call for volunteers the weekend of October 4-6, 2019. J.G. HERTZLER is confirmed to be in Lawrenceville, GA for that weekend, the bridge set is 99% complete, costumes are being made, and actors and extras are being cast. This is for real, folks.

The last time that Axanar was scheduled to start filming with actors and crew and volunteers confirmed, it was supposed to be the first week of February, 2016. I had blocked off time to be at the Valencia, CA studio the morning of the second day of shooting. Unfortunately, a few “minor” snags came up (like a hundred and fifty million dollar lawsuit!), and no footage for Axanar beyond “The Vulcan Scene” was ever shot.

Well, it’s been a long road…getting from there to here. The studio moved across country from California to Georgia in 2017; Axacon happened last November; Ares Digital 1, 2, and 3 were all started (and version 3.0 is about to launch…finally!); and most recently, the first fan film of a fan film, my Axanar Universe project INTERLUDE, was announced and began crowd-funding (donate here…we’re nearly 38% of the way to our goal!).

But now, shooting on Axanar is officially set to begin in just 15 more weeks! Amusingly, Alec had scheduled his shoot to happen the weekend right after my shoot for Interlude. That would potentially allow us to utilize the same actors and extras on the USS Ares bridge (and also lower my costume manufacturing costs if I could use those same tunics for my production). But a scheduling conflict for one of my directors popped up unexpectedly for September, and so I rescheduled my shoot to the first weekend of November…four weeks after Alec’s shoot. With luck, his actors and extras will still be available for Interlude, as well. Fingers crossed!

On Wednesday, Alec published a blog outlining the three locations where filming and sound recording would be happening: Ares Studios, a nearby professional studio for green screen interviews, and a sound studio for the audio drama version of the full Axanar script. He also went on to list the various people who are already assigned to tasks (like PAUL JENKINS as director) as well as volunteer positions that are open for supporters (local and non-local) who wish to participate and help. These jobs include production and personal assistants; staffing, location, and transportation coordinators; drivers and security personnel.

The full text of the blog appears below…

A new STALLED TREK release: “ALL AHEAD FULL!”

The last new STALLED TREK came out in 2016 (“Prelude to Ax’d-We-Are“). It featured parody puppets inspired by the characters from Axanar. But the last time fans saw the kooky TOS crew of the USS Second Prize was in 2012’s “Amutt Time.”

Last summer, Stalled Trek creator and certified genius lunatic MARK LARGENT announced a Kickstarter to fund a brand new episode: “The City on the Edge of Foreclosure.” He successfully raised $4,181 from 114 backers, and so it was off to make a new fan film parody.

Until something bad happened…

The developers behind Animation:Master, the 3D modeling and rendering program that Mark had used for the previous Stalled Trek parodies, announced earlier this year that they would no longer be supporting or updating the application on the Macintosh platform. Mark didn’t have the funds to buy a new Windows PC with the power necessary to render frames of animation at any kind of decent speed or efficiency. And it suddenly seemed as though Stalled Trek might be doomed!

But then Mark discovered Blender 3D, open source, actively updated—and FREE!—application that worked on PC and Macintosh. The program was robust, fairly easy for Mark to learn, and even renders animations while he works on other things…rather than taking over all of his computer processing power, forcing him to only render animations during breaks for meals or sleep.

You can read more about Mark’s initial experiences with Blender in this blog from April.

Anyway, Mark has spent the last few months diving into Blender (sounds dangerous!), and now he’s ready to show us what he’s learned. Mark recently sent the following e-mail to his backers, along with the first new Stalled Trek in three years…

Well, the transition to Blender 3D has been an interesting one. I had worried that I would find major land mines while making the switch, but I’m pleased to say that, so far, they have only been minor things.

I’m still in the learning stage, but I’m feeling more confident each day.

To test my ability to actually create “City on the Edge of Foreclosure” in Blender, I wrote a quick script and started working on making a short Stalled Trek “quickie.”

Nothing like actually trying something out to find out how many newbie mistakes you’ve been making along the way!

But, I’ve managed to get ahead of most of them, and I’ll definitely be further refining things as I move on to the big one.

So, without further ado, please enjoy Stalled Trek: “All Ahead Full!”

Just posted: PAGE 1 of the INTERLUDE comic “STARDATE 2245.1”!

The GoFundMe campaign for my Axanar Universe fan film INTERLUDE launched a week ago, and it got off to a very exciting start! We’re currently nearly 1/6 of the way to our $19,500 goal with $3,089 from 52 donors (including me). And although donations have slowed a bit over the last few days—that’s to be expected on most crowd-funders—they’re still coming in. So…YAY!

What this means for YOU is, if you haven’t donated yet and want to see Interlude get made, please consider making a donation (or at least share the link with friends whom you think might be interested in helping us out).

What this means for ME, of course, is that I have to find ways to keep fans excited about this project! And that brings us to today’s blog entry…

As many of you know, Interlude got its start as “feedback” for ALEC PETERS after I read his first draft of the two 15-minute Axanar sequel fan films (shortened from the originally-planned 90-minute feature length production). I noticed his script contained no scenes on the bridge, and so I wrote a few for him. I didn’t know at the time that Alec wasn’t sure if the USS Ares bridge set would ever be completed (this was back in June of 2017), which is why he left out any scenes on the bridge.

Encouraged by Alec, however, I decided to create an Axanar comic book using one of my bridge scenes, following the lead of super Axanerd TREY McELWAIN, who was already publishing the second Axanar comic in his “Tip of the Spear” series. In fact, he let me “borrow” his artist, DANIEL FU to illustrate my short story.

It would be a 7-page one-shot—beginning at the exact moment that PRELUDE TO AXANAR ended on its cliff-hanger: “Stardate 2245.1 – The D7 enters the war!” Three D7s approach the camera, the lead one firing a torpedo. The comic would show their target…and why that target was so critical to the war. The story is about honor an sacrifice, bravery and duty in the face of a surprise sneak attack that leaves no time to plan or react with anything other than one’s true self.

The comic is now complete—ready to be shared with all of you. Over the course of the next seven weeks, I’ll be releasing one page per week. Many of you have already seen the cover, so this week is page 1.

DREADNOUGHT DOMINION premieres “REDEMPTION AT RED MEDUSA”! (audio interview with GARY DAVIS and RANDY WRENN)

Back in 2015, DREADNOUGHT DOMINION released its first two episodes (“Haunted” and “Anchors Aweigh“). Those two episodes set up the backstory of the main characters as the USS Dominion prepared to launch. But then the show-runner and lead actor, FRANK PAREKR, JR. (playing Commodore Samuel Grissom) left the series, leaving GARY DAVIS and RANDY WREEN to pick up the pieces and move on.

In late 2016, Dreadnought Dominion did a cross-over fan film with Starship Valiant called “Chain of Command.” With Dominion still waiting to launch, Gary’s character of Captain Jason Brousseau takes command and makes Randy’s Commander Stephen Denson his XO.

The following summer, a Mirror Universe version of the same episode, this one titled “Command and Conquer,” showed the same scenes taking place in the Terran Empire. It was a fun little project, and both fan films featured MICHAEL L. KING from Starship Valiant and VANCE MAJOR playing his fan favorite character of Erick Minard.

And Dominion still hadn’t left drydock!

Last summer Gary and Randy released two back-to-back vignettes, both filmed at NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA: “Reality Check” (which purposefully broke the fourth wall in a tongue-in-cheek way) and “Silent Acknowledgement” (featuring the first deaf character and actress in a fan series). You can read a great two-part interview with Gary and Randy here.

And yet, after six complete fan films, Dominion was still in drydock!

Acknowledging the ridiculousness of the situation, Gary and Randy created one final script to get them on their way: “Technical Difficulties.” Also tongue-in-cheek, they finally got the starship launched and promised their next episode would be a serious one.

That episode was just released this past Saturday. Check it out…

Gary and Randy are great guys and truly dedicated to the essence of what a Star Trek fan film should be: fun, dedication, hard work, and a desire to share their stories with fellow fans. I’d been wanting to do an audio interview with them, and this seemed like the perfect excuse. So take a listen to a fun and funny interview with two gentlemen whom you are going to want to get to know better…

RANDY WRENN and GARY DAVIS of DREADNOUGHT DOMINION

Dreadnought Dominion‘s last crowd-funding campaign feel short of its goal. But now, with the impressive “Redemption at Red Medusa” showing what they can do, Gary and Randy have launched a new GoFundMe for their next TWO episodes with a $3,000 goal. If you’d like to help them out, click on the link below…

https://www.gofundme.com/dreadnoughtdominion