Fan Film Features – Fan Film Factor

“ZERO HOUR” was supposed to be a one-minute PROMO, but it turned into a full seven-minute FAN FILM!

Next week, the eagerly-awaited CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS, the latest fan film from THE AVALON UNIVERSE, will finally make its debut. And having seen an early cut, let me assure you that it will be a game-changer of a release, sure to be talked about excitedly by a LOT of fans for a very long time.

Avalon showrunner JOSHUA IRWIN and his team have poured a massive amount of time, effort, financial resources, and emotional commitment into getting this production perfect. And leading into its December premiere, Josh wanted to release a short promo “ad” on YouTube to tease the new film. But not just any ad, Josh had a clever idea.

As some folks know—and most others can very likely guess—Avalon‘s new fan film features a crossover of many different universes (one might say an infinite number!). And yes, one of those is the Star Trek “Mirror” Universe. VANCE MAJOR, who plays the character of Erick Minard across many fan films and series—including CONSTAR, VALIANT, DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, PROJECT GEMINI: CROSSROADS, ANTYLLUS, NATURE’S HUNGER, RAINCROSS, EAGLE, TASK FORCE 78, and of course, Avalon Universe, where that Minard is the chief engineer of the U.S.S. Excalibur.

But Minard also exists in the Mirror Universe as a villainous sociopath known as The Phantom, a character who will be appearing in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Excaliburs. So Josh thought it might be cool to see The Phantom recording an ominous-sounding log entry for about a minute, hinting at some nefarious plan and ending with “A crisis is coming…” Josh tossed the log entry promo idea over to Vance, offering him complete creative control over whatever he would send back.

Now, technically, Vance officially “retired” from fan filmmaking last year, and this time he actually meant it. Well, mostly. He retired to spend more time with his son Royce, but now Royce wants to make fan films. So Vance is quietly working on CONSTAR: THE MOTION PICTURE, with Royce being the filmmaker in charge. But that’s more of a project done for sheer fun and father/son bonding time.

However, Vance is also available for friends in the fan film community who’d like his help either in front of or behind the camera. In fact, that’s how the “retired” Vance Major wound up appearing as various Minards in Crisis. So Vance was game to do the promo, as well.

But then, like Josh, Vance had a clever idea…

The Fan Film DIRECTORS CHOICE Awards are back for a THIRD year…with new categories! (interview with GLEN L. WOLFE and DAN REYNOLDS)

The future of fan film award shows remains in good hands! And right now, those hands belong to GLEN L. WOLFE and DAN REYNOLDS of WARP 66 STUDIOS in northern Arkansas. For the third straight year, submissions are being accepted for the annual Fan Film DIRECTORS CHOICE Awards. The call for entries begins today and continues through January 15, 2024. Fan filmmakers can submit their film(s)—a maximum of three fan films per director—for a cost of $10 per film entered. Here’s the entry form link:

https://thefederationfiles.com/?page_id=1407

This third running of the Fan Film Directors Choice Awards is open to any fan film of any genre (not just Star Trek) released during calendar year 2023. So it’s possible that some fan films that haven’t premiered yet could still make it in. The judges for the show will be the directors of the submitted fan films, who will each have until March 15 to submit their ballots. Each submission can be entered into a maximum of six of the following categories…

Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Director
Best Original Costuming
Best Make-up/Hairstyling
Best Cinematography
Best Original Music
Best Audio Mixing
Best Lighting
Best FX Make-Up
Best CGI FX
Best Green Screen
Best Composite Shot
Best Screenplay
Best Parody/Comedy
Best Portrayal of an Existing Character
Best Animated Fan Film
Best Editing
Most Canon Award
Best Ensemble
Best On-Location Scene
Best Plot Twist
Best Use of Improvised Sets
Best Choreography

Just like last year, there will be a “Best in Fest” $250 cash award for the fan film which receives the greatest number of votes across all categories. Of the above two dozen categories, the last four were newly added as of this year. Dan Reynolds explains…

“We originally started this awards outlet so that those producing fan films could get the recognition they deserve. Going into our third year, we came up with some new categories that focus more on the unseen work and put a spotlight on more specific categories that are always overlooked in many awards offerings. It’s a way to spotlight the many great moments in fan films that are more based on recognizing their accomplishments rather than making it a competition.”

While Best On-Location Scene and Best Plot Twist seem fairly straightforward, I was curious to learn more about Best Use of Improvised Sets and Best Choreography. Dan tackled the former…

Four TREK SHORTS in three blogs – Blog #3: PAKLED RESURGENCE and PROTOSTAR SAVED (interview with SAMUEL COCKINGS)

And so we come to the end of my 3-part “catch-up” blog series on the recent releases in the TREK SHORTS fanthology series. Blog #1 covered BROKEN REALITY (premiering back in May), and Blog #2 focused on FIRST MEETING (which debuted in August). Today’s blog will look at the most recent two releases, PAKLED RESURGENCE (September) and PROTOSTAR SAVED (October)…both of which focusing on the U.S.S. Protostar from the recently-canceled and even-more-recently-picked-up-by-Netflix STAR TREK: PRODIGY.

I fell behind because British frenetic fan filmmaker SAMUEL COCKINGS decided that 2023 would be the perfect time to release one new fan film EACH MONTH from February onward (not counting April). I was managing to keep pace for a little while, but…blimey, mate! You’re on a frickin’ tear!!!

If you’re curious to check them out, in addition to the two blog links I provided above, I invite you to read and/or listen to the blogs spotlighting Sam’s other four releases (so far!) from this year…

THIS SIDE OF MORALITY (February)
FALLEN HEROES (March)
FLIGHT OF THE PROTOSTAR (June)
LEGACY OF THE ENTERPRISE-B (July)

Before we get to our final chat with Sam (at least for now…as there are still two months left in 2023!), let’s take a look at both of his latest Prodigy-inspired releases. First up, the rather epic 28-minute Pakled Resurgence, starring Sam Cockings himself along with MARIE-LOUISE SVALENG, SEÁN FERRICK, ROY EAPPEN, and Sam’s co-podcaster from TREKYARDS STUART FOLEY…

And then, here’s the quick five-and-a-half-minute vignette (and the last two minutes are the closing credits!), Protostar Saved, again starring Sam and Marie…

And now, ladies and gentleman, returning to our stage for a second encore, Mr. Samuel Cockings…

Four TREK SHORTS in three blogs – Blog #2: FIRST MEETING (interview with SAMUEL COCKINGS)

Last time, in an attempt to catch up with fan films’ answer to The Flash, SAMUEL COCKINGS—who has premiered EIGHT different (and very impressive!) releases of his TREK SHORTS fanthology series already this year—I published the first of three consecutive blogs to cover four of his recent fan film offerings. Here are links to the blogs for Sam’s 2023 releases that I’ve already spotlighted…

THIS SIDE OF MORALITY (February)
FALLEN HEROES (March)
BROKEN REALITY (May)
FLIGHT OF THE PROTOSTAR (June)
LEGACY OF THE ENTERPRISE-B (July)
FIRST MEETING (August)
PAKLED RESURGENCE (September)
PROTOSTAR SAVED (October)

The most recent blog covered Broken Reality, the first part of a trilogy of Star Trek/Stargate crossover fan films from Sam. That release (from May) starred EMMA THORNE as Ensign Laura Reed, MATT MILLER as Ensign Stuart, and RHEA KHEEHN as the Starfleet Computer.

Today Sam and I will be discussing First Meeting, which was released in late August and stars, once again, Emma Thorne as Ensign Reed encountering for the first time NIMRAN SAUND as Lieutenant Anna Keeley. Also appearing in the film is Sam’s father, STEVEN COCKINGS, as the TOS-era Lieutenant Lee Galloway (along with some random Romans). Before we continue our interview with Sam, let’s take a look at First Meeting…

And now, here’s Sam…

Four TREK SHORTS in three blogs – Blog #1: BROKEN REALITY (interview with SAMUEL COCKINGS)

I might be the blogger behind Fan Film Factor, but overachieving British CGI artist and showrunner SAMUEL COCKINGS is a veritable fan film FACTORY! (See what I did there?) Since February of this year, with the single exception of April, Sam has released one fan film PER MONTH…with no end in sight! Each was a chapter in his ongoing TREK SHORTS fanthology of stories, featuring the same main characters at different points in their respective careers…spanning mostly the 24th and 25th centuries (with a dollop of 23rd and 22rd century thrown in for good measure).

Each Trek Short release features Sam’s usual jaw-dropping VFX shots of a plethora of starships and other alien vessels, ships that he and co-Treknologist STUART FOLEY regularly cover on their long-running TREKYARDS podcasts. Trek Shorts also feature actors shot in front of green screen (mostly) and digitally composited against computer-generated backgrounds of starship interiors, virtual “sets” modeled and rendered in 3D that look nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. The quality of Sam’s productions is truly uncanny—and releasing eight such visually stunning fan films within nine months is beyond impressive, in my opinion.

Those eight films, in order, have been the following:

THIS SIDE OF MORALITY (February)
FALLEN HEROES (March)
BROKEN REALITY (May)
FLIGHT OF THE PROTOSTAR (June)
LEGACY OF THE ENTERPRISE-B (July)
FIRST MEETING (August)
PAKLED RESURGENCE (September)
PROTOSTAR SAVED (October)

I’ve supplied links to the blogs I’ve published covering half of the above Trek Shorts, but that still leaves four not yet covered…and I’m falling farther and farther behind each month!!! So in an attempt to catch up, I have just interviewed Sam about each of the remaining four fan films and will present those interviews in a 3-part series of blogs, beginning with Broken Reality, starring EMMA THORNE as Ensign Laura Reed, MATT MILLER as Ensign Stuart, and RHEA KHEEHN as the Starfleet Computer. Check it out below…

And now, let’s start chatting with Sam…

Tales from the Neutral Zone’s “THE LOST STARSHIP” unites old and new fan film faces! (interview with BRIAN W. PETERSON and JOSH IRWIN, part 2)

In part 1, we looked at the sixth release of TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE, a really excellent fanthology episode titled “THE LOST STARSHIP.” It was written by newcomer to Star Trek fan films, professional author BRIAN W. PETERSON. And our previous blog featured an awesome interview with Brian.

In this second and concluding blog, we shift to veteran fan filmmaker JOSHUA IRWIN (showrunner of the THE AVALON UNIVERSE series of fan films), who served as director of photography (DP) on the production under the supervision of director VIC MIGNOGNA (showrunner of the celebrated run of STAR TREK CONTINUES). If you haven’t seen “The Lost Starship” yet, please take the time to check it out, as it is amazingly well done…

As many long-time readers know, Josh graduated from film school a couple of decades ago and has worked professionally in the entertainment industry ever since. In fact, in January, his name will be in the credits as cinematographer of a new film being released in theaters across America titled Wildfire: The Legend of The Cherokee Ghost Horse (based on the famous song) starring country music singer CHEVEL SHEPHERD, the late ANNE HECHE, MO BRINGS PLENTY of Yellowstone fame, and the Highlander himself, ADRIAN PAUL. Josh was also cinematographer on three films that can be found on Tubi: Rain, Your Local News, and Uneven Ground: The Melissa Witt Story.

But of course, we’re here to talk about a Star Trek fan film, so let’s dive into our interview with Josh…

Tales from the Neutral Zone’s “THE LOST STARSHIP” unites old and new fan film faces! (interview with BRIAN W. PETERSON and JOSH IRWIN, part 1)

The day before the 57th anniversary of the first airing of Star Trek, NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS released the sixth installment of its fanthology series, TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE. The previous five were the following…

“THE LOOKING GLASS”
“ENDOSYMBIOSYS”
“DOOMSDAY”
“WHEN DUTY CALLS”
“THE TEST OF TIME”

The last of these five, “The Test of Time,” featured VIC MIGNOGNA (of STAR TREK CONTINUES fame) directing with JOSHUA IRWIN (of THE AVALON UNIVERSE) acting as director of photography and editor. The sixth Neutral Zone offering, “THE LOST STARSHIP,” also features these two fan film veterans, with Vic once again directing and Josh as DP. But it also features some brand new names to the world of Star Trek fan films, including writer and executive producer BRAIN W. PETERSON, who had never written a fan film before (and in my humble opinion, knocked it out of the park on his first try).

*Jeff Johnson as Finnegan in Star Trek: Phase II’s “Origins: The Protracted Man”*

The film also features a notable lead. JEFF JOHNSON, who plays Captain Blake Hovis, is a voice actor with a fairly impressive filmography. What makes him extra notable, however, is that he appeared as Finnegan (and did an incredible job) in the never-completed and never-officially-released STAR TREK: PHASE II episode “ORIGINS: THE PROTRACTED MAN.” Vic also appeared in that episode as Jim Kirk’s father, and Jeff and Vic are close friends. So that’s how Jeff returned to fan films over a decade later. As an amusing aside, Jeff is a pilot for a major airline (voice acting is not a primary profession for most), and he texted the Vic and Josh photos of him reviewing and memorizing his lines in the script while sitting in the cockpit with the plane on autopilot.

Each of the actors, all cast by Vic, put in very strong performances, as most had training, which can make a big difference. Granted, the majority of fan films don’t have the luxury to bring in experienced actors, and indeed, part of the fun of fan films is fans getting to strut their own stuff, even without the training. However, it’s clear from watching “The Lost Starship” that this cast is made up of folks who know what they’re doing. And that combined with Josh’s professional skills as DP and Vic’s accomplished directing, along with a very solid script from professional writer Brian W. Peterson, to produce a very impressive finished production…

For this particular fan film, I’ve opted to interview one new face and one old face. Part 1 will focus on newcomer to fan films, writer Brian W. Peterson. And then in Part 2, we’ll chat with Josh about DP-ing and what it was like working on this project.

First up, Brian…

AXANAR completes its FINAL full studio shoot…yes, REALLY!

It’s been a looooooooooooooooooong road…getting from there to here. “There” was back in 2014 when the first Kickstarter for the full AXANAR project, ignited by the release of PRELUDE TO AXANAR, managed to generate over 638,000 from 8,548 backers. A subsequent Indiegogo campaign the following summer pushed that total over over $1.2 million. The planned feature-length Axanar movie promised to be one of the most impressive fan film productions ever.

And then they got sued for copyright infringement. The rest of that story would take another 65 blogs to tell (and it did!), so let’s jump ahead to 2023.

Back in January, Team Axanar held the its first shoot in over a year, delayed due to moving the Ares bridge set and all studio materials to a smaller, less expensive facility about five minutes away from the previous location. The shoot prior to that one had been delayed nearly two years due to COVID. It’s always something with these guys…but at least they don’t give up!

Coming into this previous weekend, footage was “in the can” (filmed and completed) for 10 out the 17 actors/characters who will appear in the two settlement-approved Axanar sequels (each limited to 15 minutes as per the guidelines). Actually, one of those 10 actors needed more time to finish up their scenes, bringing the number of remaining actors to 8. Of those, most were going to portray aliens (Andorians, Klingons, etc.), which is why those specific actors were reserved for a final weekend shoot where there could be a make-up/prosthetics team present.

That shoot, three days in total, took place this previous weekend at ARES STUDIOS in Lawrenceville, GA. Seven of the eight remaining actors were filmed. One actor was not able to make it and will need to be rescheduled. Of those seven who were there, three were shot on the bridge set (which had some computer graphics adjusted to turn it into a starship other than the U.S.S. Ares), and the other four were filmed in front of a green screen. Footage captured included both “interview” segments for the mock documentary format of Axanar as well as dramatic sequences.

Approximately 40 actors and production crew were on set during the entire 3-day shoot, although the main actors only showed up for one day each, of course. All of the action was overseen by co-directors TED BRUNETTI and MARK EDWARD LEWIS. Ted is coaching the actors on their performances while Mark is handling the technical aspects of direction. Mark made a video before shooting began on the first day…

STARSHIP WEBSTER’s tenth release, “WHERE MONSTERS DWELL,” is downright EERIE! (interview with YLONDA SCROGGINS PERKINS and JORDAN CONSALVI)

With well over A HUNDRED Star Trek fan film releases (you can access them all from here), the one thing you can count on from POTEMKIN PICTURES is variety. Over nearly a decade and a half(!), their offerings have run the gamut from action and adventure to comedy, tragedy, romance, space battle, mystery, intense drama, and even a few dabs of horror. The latest production to come from the STARSHIP WEBSTER Creative Group, based in Lexington Kentucky, certainly falls into that latter category with one of the creepiest fan films I have seen in a very long time!

That eeriness of the episode came across to the viewer thanks, in part, to the excellent direction by CHELSEY L. BOSTON and showrunner RANDY LANDERS, as well as a complex and disorienting script written by BOBBY NASH. But the lion’s share of the work conveying the intensity of an invasive mindscape that this film depicts came from the two leading actors, YLONDA SCROGGINS PERKINS as Science Officer Katz and JORDAN CONSALVI as Vos. Take a look for yourself…

As these actors are relative newcomers to the fan film community, I thought it might be fun to get to know the two Kentuckians together in a single interview. So I asked them both the same set of questions…

DOMINION launches new fan series WARBIRD VALDORE and a new Indiegogo! (interview with GARY DAVIS, RANDY WRENN, JOAN SAVAGE, and MICHAEL BEDNAR…part 2)

Last time in Part 1, we began taking a look at the second spinoff series from the folks who make the long-running DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, GARY DAVIS and RANDY WRENN. Their first spinoff series, PROJECT: RUNABOUT, premiered in July of 2021 and has released two episodes so far. Their newest series, WARBIRD VALDORE, just launched this past July, and focusses on a crew of Romulans rather than the typical Starfleet-based fan series.

Before I discuss anything else, however, I’d like to note that the Dominion folks have just kicked off a brand new crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo trying to raise $5,000 for their three fan series. I encourage those who can afford it to please consider tossing a few bucks into the virtual hat to help these fine fan filmmakers continue to create a fun and entertaining series of stories in the TOS-era of Star Trek. In my opinion, they’ve definitely earned our support.

They’ve already reached the 15% point in the first few days of their campaign. Here’s the link to donate…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dominion-media-fundraising

Back to Valdore, their first episode was titled “THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE FEDERATION” and was a lot of fun. You can check it out here…

The new fan series stars JOAN SAVAGE as Romulan Commander Jhu D’Varo, reprising a role she previously played in episodes of Dreadnought Dominion. This first episode also features a prominent cameo appearance by MICHAEL BEDNAR, reprising his role of Captain Robert Tacket from the much-loved fan series STARSHIP FARRAGUT and the upcoming FARRAGUT FORWARD.

I assembled these four fine folks (Gary, Randy, Joan, and Michael) for a group interview. And when we last left off, I was asking Michael a question…