Fan Film Features – Page 66

VANCE MAJOR completes the MINARD Saga! (interview, part 1)

Even the best things must come to an end…and so it is for the MINARD saga. Depending on which films you count officially as part of this tapestry, the character of Erick Minard has appeared or been referenced in about THREE DOZEN different fan films!

More than thirty of these were written and produced by VANCE MAJOR (who plays the character of Erick Minard along with his mirror and Kelvin-verse alter-egos). Minard has also appeared in multiple episodes of Starship Valiant and Dreadnought Dominion.

Vance Major’s Minard films have ranged in length from 30-second parody vignettes to the full 15 minutes allowed by the fan film guidelines. His last episode, The Best Things, premieres today as a 2-part 25-minute finale.

With only a shoestring budget, Vance has done action, romance, comedy, suspense, quiet introspection, and even surreal dream sequences. He’s produced episodes featuring full casts of ten or more characters and other episodes with just two actors or even just one. At one point, Vance released SEVEN Minard fan films in just SEVEN DAYS! A couple of months later, Vance released another SIX Minard episodes in a SINGLE MONTH!

Vance’s Minard films range from Trek eras pre-Kirk to post-DS9…and they were NOT released chronologically. This allowed viewers to jump around the century-long life of Erick Minard, experiencing a tapestry of moments that ultimately come together like puzzle pieces into a finished image.

You can view ALL of the Minard episodes here in their order of release.

Fan films can be the great equalizer when all one wants to do is simply tell his or her story without all the dazzle. And that’s exactly what Vance Major has done…in a truly remarkable way.

I did an audio interview with Vance last summer (which is worth a listen), but he’s released nearly TWO DOZEN more fan films since then! So to celebrate the successful conclusion of this ambitious fan series project, I decided to bring back Vance for a final 2-part print interview…

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STARBASE STUDIOS settlement reached!!! (amen!)

When last we left STARBASE STUDIOS…aw heck, just read the blog, folks! But long story short, VANCE MAJOR and I had worked tirelessly (and I mean that) for months trying everything we could to get these two parties—GLEN L. WOLFE on one side and SCOTT JOHNSON and KENT “WORDS” EDWARDS on the other—to compromise and reach a place where they could reasonably settle their lawsuit over the ownership of the Starbase Studios sets.

It was like pulling teeth…from a Klingon targ!

Every time we thought we had a settlement ready to sign, another problem seemed to crop up. But then, by the middle of January, we finally had an agreement that everyone could live with. Glen was taking it to his lawyer to review, but he was planning to sign it, send it along to Scott and Kent, and finally Starbase Studios could heal and move forward, once again becoming a place where fans could create amateur Star Trek film projects on professional-looking TOS sets.

That agreement was never signed.

So why the headline saying that a settlement has finally been reached? Well, folks, it’s been an…interesting…three weeks!

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The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 2)

Last week, after releasing the 8-minute TNG-era fan film STAR TREK: DECEPTION in 2013, British fan filmmaker LEO TIERNEY announced in April of 2015 that he intended to make a sequel. But first he needed to find a place to construct his sets. A year later, Leo showed fans his new “studio,” a small garage in an unassuming English village…

With limited space (man, is THAT an understatement!), Leo spent the next several months constructing physical set pieces that could be used as a bridge for BOTH an Excelsior-class starship and a Klingon bird-of-prey. Leo first installed Klingon-style graphic prints on the consoles and readout screens.

As the weather got colder, Leo spent less time in the unheated garage and more time at his computer adjusting the color (well, he spells it colour) balance to make the lighting look dark and red as a Klingon bridge should. Now he faced the challenge of making the bridge look like it wasn’t some tiny and cramped garage. And later on, Leo needed to take those same sets and somehow make them look like the bridge of a Federation starship!

Would he be able to do it? Read on…

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THIS is what happens when you ask JONATHAN LANE for a FAN FILM FAVOR!

On December 8th, I received an instant message on Facebook from VANCE MAJOR, the creator of the MINARD Saga of fan films. Vance needed a favor from me.

Vance and I have become pretty good friends over the past year or so…divided only by the distance between southern California and Kansas, but united by our love for fan films and Star Trek, as well as our shared experiences as fathers to wonderful little boys.

Oh, and we’re both fan filmmakers.

Granted, Vance has done waaaaaaay more in that genre than I ever have, and I truly respect his work. And that’s why I happily agreed to the favor he asked me.

For a few of his final productions, Vance wanted to include brief video clips of some of his closest friends from the fan film community. One of these was a fan film titled Change (which was released last Friday). All I needed for the short headshot clip was to look into the camera and say something like, “Comm secure, standing by…” or “Channel encrypted, go ahead…” and then stare at the screen for the next 15-20 seconds. Then I would upload the video file to Vance who would do the rest, editing the various clips he received from folks into his final production.

Vance said he preferred a late 24th century uniform (final seasons of DS9), but if I didn’t have that style of uniform, I could just wear a black T-shirt and he’d composite my head onto a proper uniform.

Do I have a late-season DS9 uniform!? Is the Pope Catholic???

(Actually that particular uniform was custom made for me about 15 years ago by none other than GABE KOERNER—yep, the same guy who does VFX for The Orville and just declared that he no longer thinks Alec Peters is a willful criminal. Hi, Gabe.)

So I went out and bought a blue-colored matte board to serve as a makeshift blue screen background, came home, put on the uniform, set up some lamps, stuck my camera on a tripod, and recorded Vance’s 20 seconds of footage.

I also recorded something else for him—something that, um, well…

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The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 1)

Last week, we took a look at the 8-minute TNG-era fan film from 2013, STAR TREK: DECEPTION. Written and directed by British fan filmmaker LEO TIERNEY, the entire production was completed—including time for pre- and post-production—in under six months using about $1,500 donated by supporters in an early Kickstarter.

One of the most eye-catching aspects of this short fan film was an amazing cockpit set of a Starfleet runabout, constructed from scratch by Leo himself. It looked incredibly accurate and realistic, despite the modest budget. The film itself was quite fun to watch and noticeably well-produced, with tens of thousands of views on YouTube. You can watch it here…

After completing the production, Leo later commented that he would love to follow up on the story in a sequel to see how Starfleet deals with this hidden Klingon base. But for the next couple of years, there was no mention by Leo of any plans to do another fan fan film. During that time, Leo helped the fan series Star Trek: Intrepid with some of the VFX for one of their episodes (“Nemo Me Impune Lacessit” released in 2016). And it seems that collaboration led to Leo getting bitten by the fan film bug once again.

On April 16,2105, Deception fans caught the first hint that Leo was planning a sequel:

I’m currently on the lookout for a large area of space to build a (roughly) full-size bridge, and I could use some help locating the perfect place.

I’ve been keeping an eye out on places such as Gumtree for large garages or offices, but if anybody has any better ideas or locations please let me know!

I would probably also need a hand when the set construction begins, which won’t be until sometime in the future, but if you’re handy with a hammer and/or own a large garage please let me know as well!

Ohh, and here’s a quick mock up that I created for the bridge a while back, to get an idea of scale and positions, enjoy!

Although as of this writing, Deception II is still not yet complete (Leo estimates it’ll be ready by May 2018 at the earliest), thanks to a wonderful series of Facebook updates, photos, and videos, I can give you all a peek behind-the-scenes at this eagerly anticipated sequel…

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VOYAGER CONTINUES re-release of “DERELICT” with new introduction!

Last March, DAVID WHITNEY of STARFLEET STUDIOS in Iowa (not StarBASE Studios in Arkansas) released a VOYAGER CONTINUES short film “Derelict.” It features Harry Kim and Seven of Nine along with a Captain Janeway voice-over captain’s log intro by Liam Holwarth-Mulgrew (he legally changed his name to add the “Mulgrew”) that you will swear sounds exactly like Kate Mulgrew herself. It’s uncanny!While TOS, TNG, DS9, and even NX-01 era Trek fan films are fairly common, it’s rare to see a fan series that focuses on the USS Voyager. But David Whitney isn’t afraid to tackle his favorite Trek series and has done an admirable job of bringing the world of Voyager to fan films. In fact, “Derelict” is his second Voyager Continues fan film. His first, the half-hour long “Raven” was released in late 2016.

If you haven’t watched last year’s 10-minute “Derelict” fan film before, now is the perfect opportunity. Last June, David added a new opening credits sequence, which features computer-rendered shots of the Voyager flying through space, created using the fan-developed Star Trek: Excalibur online game. It also features a number of names in the cast who do not appear in this episode but give a promise of what is to come. Characters we can look forward to seeing in future Voyager Continues episodes include Tasha Yar, Data, Troi, and Captain Rudy Ransom.

By the way, David is looking for DONATIONS to help make his third episode. If you want to help him, you can make a one-time donation or sign up for a Patreon by clicking here.

And now, let’s take a look at “Derelict” with that spiffy new intro…!

The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION! (feature)

Back in 2013, LEO TIERNEY of the United Kingdom set out to make a Next Generation-era Star Trek fan film called STAR TREK: DECEPTION. Most live action fan films set in that time frame either record away teams in outdoor locations or else use green screen composited actors in front of virtual backgrounds…since creating practical sets in the 24th century style is incredibly challenging.

Leo, however, was up to the challenge of building a TNG-era set! He decided to design and construct an actual Starfleet runabout cockpit set in which to film his actors. He just needed a little bit of money to do it. How little? Well, considering what even the cheapest fan films cost, £500 (about $635 back then) was an amazingly small amount for what Leo was planning. Ultimately, after a month, his January 2013 Kickstarter took in a little over twice that amount: £1,174 (about $1,500).

Then it was time to get to work…and so he did! But Leo didn’t simply build his sets. He also produced a series of behind-the-scenes videos for his donors, showing his progress. These brief production updates began on the day the Kickstarter ended, and Leo continued to release them like clockwork for the next three months leading to the May 17, 2013 release of his completed eight-minute fan film.

I’d like you to experience that feeling of growing excitement that the donors felt those many years ago. So I’m going to do something a little different for this blog and share those five behind-the-scenes videos with you, followed by Star Trek: Deception itself. Then I’ll include a few other special video features that Leo released after Deception was completed. It’s gonna be a fun blog!

Ready?

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Elementary school kids have a blast filming at STARBASE STUDIOS…and all hell breaks loose in fandom! (part 2)

Read Part 1 of this blog entry if you haven’t already. Did you do it? Good.

So it was now a few weeks before Christmas, and VANCE MAJOR was ready to tag out and I was ready to tag in to try to get this compromise settlement for STARBASE STUDIOS to the finish line. Vance was exhausted, but he got the runners 90% of the way there. Just a few teensy details left to work out…or so I thought.

Keep in mind, neither Vance nor I is a lawyer. Instead, we were just trying, as friends, to help SCOTT JOHNSON and KENT EDWARDS work out a way where GLEN L. WOLFE would drop his lawsuit against them, and Starbase Studios could continue without fan filmmakers having to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to use the Starbase Studios TOS sets.

By the time I tagged in, there was a full legal settlement agreement already written up by Glen’s lawyer, ready for Scott and Kent to sign. But they still had some issues with it. One of the biggest was that Scott decided that he didn’t want Glen to own 100% of the Starbase sets. But he was willing to split them 50/50. Would Glen agree? Scott didn’t think so. And frankly, neither did Vance.

“Look,” I said to Vance, “Maybe he’ll say no, and we’ll be back to square one. But if Glen says yes, then we’re there! It’s worth it to at least ask him.”

Vance agreed to make the call. Five minutes later, I had Glen’s answer…

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Elementary school kids have a blast filming at STARBASE STUDIOS…and all hell breaks loose in fandom! (part 1)

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at STARBASE STUDIOS recently, and I’ll get to that in a moment. But first, you might want to read up on the current situation if you don’t already know about the lawsuit and all of the other drama going on of late.

All right, strap in. Let’s start with this past weekend when a group of 5th and 6th graders from Parkview Elementary School Music Club got a chance to film a music video project on the amazing TOS sets of Starbase Studios, currently located in Marble Falls, Arkansas.

The field trip was set up by their teacher, KEVIN CROXTON, who had composed the music for THE FEDERATION FILES’ second episode Walking Bear, Running Wolf last summer. In exchange, Kevin had asked show-runner GLEN L. WOLFE for the opportunity to bring Kevin’s music students (they’re local) to the sets to film a video project. So this past weekend’s excursion has been planned for nearly 7 months.

And, really, isn’t this what Starbase Studios is all about? Sets by the fans, for the fans…and even attracting a whole new (next!) generation of young fans. So what could possibly be wrong with that?

Well…

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Fan COMIC BOOK shows the FINAL VOYAGE OF JAMES T. KIRK! (feature)

I know I usually cover fan films, but today I’m looking at a full-length COMIC BOOK…written by well-known fan filmmaker MARK LARGENT.

Mark gained notoriety as the creator of the hilarious STALLED TREK series of 3D-animated Trek parodies using puppet/muppet versions of our favorite characters. The first Stalled Trek was the 15-minute episode “Amutt Time” and the other was the award-winning “Prelude to Ax’d-We Are” (which I worked on, as well). But before there was Stalled Trek, there was a comic book!

Well, actually, the comic book existed both before AND after Stalled Trek. Let me explain that statement. Back in late 1991, Mark Largent and his friend Mark McCrary both wanted to break into the comic book industry, Largent as a writer and McCary as an artist.

TNG had just aired the 2-part episode “Unification,” which featured the elder Spock trying to bring the Romulans and Vulcans back together. A month later, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out and looked to be the final appearance of the original TOS crew. No one imagined that the seventh Trek feature would bring back Kirk (and the kill him off) or that Scotty would appear in a TNG episode called “Relics” a year later.

Fans might not remember that, back then, the TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” was the only hint anyone had of what happened in between the two series. So after seeing “Unification” and then Trek VI, the two Marks decided to create a story that would fill in the missing 78-year gap of time between Trek VI and the beginning of TNG…leading up to Spock’s decision to go to Romulus and showing the final fate of James T. Kirk. (Remember, this was years before Generations.)

Largent wrote the script, and McCary pencilled some 60-odd pages. They created Starfleet uniforms that seemed to be a reasonable guess of what was halfway between the “monster maroons” of TOS and the jumpsuits of TNG, and the story featured most of the main TOS characters. They photocopied the pencilled pages and mailed them to DC Comics, which was publishing Star Trek comic books at the time. But they never heard back.

Then came the TNG episode “Relics,” and it completely screwed up their story since they had featured Scotty along with Kirk, Spock, and Bones. Now only an “imaginary” story at best, the comic book project was abandoned—until something happened nearly a quarter century later…

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