CBS ALL ACCESS releases its version of a fan film: SHORT TREKS (editorial review)

WARNING: there will be some spoilers LATER,
but I will give you ample advance notice.

Going in, I wasn’t certain what to make of the first of CBS All Access’ SHORT TREKS, four “mini-episodes” of Star Trek to be released once a month leading up to the January premiere of season two of the Discovery series.

I’ll be honest, part of me was ready to hate it.  It’s no secret that I was mostly disappointed and frustrated with nearly every episode of Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season.  And these Short Treks seemed to be just a way to “lure” fans into paying extra money to CBS not for 4 or 5 hours of new Trek episodes each month but for only 10 or 15 MINUTES of these brief vignettes.

Adding insult to injury for Trek fans outside of the U.S. and Canada (which are getting to see these four short films on the subscription services All Access and Space, respectively), Netflix has decided NOT to offer Short Treks…at least for now.  TrekMovie has some theories as to why (which you can read here), but basically, CBS offered and Netflix passed, as the latter service is more geared toward binge-watching behavior and accepts short films in batched packages, not one at a time.

So Short Treks was carrying a lot of baggage right out of the starting gate, for me and others.  Some fans have even been suggesting recently that CBS ripped off the concept of a short stand-alone vignette from fan films themselves.  To them, I say: so did Battlestar Galactica with “The Resistance” in 2006, “The Face of the Enemy” in 2008, and “Blood and Chrome” in 2011.  The Walking Dead has done numerous short-film webisodes also.  In other words, just because CBS had the idea to make mini-episodes, that doesn’t mean they “stole” the idea from fans…or from Syfy or AMC.  Sometimes a good idea is just a good idea.

But to me, at least, the first Short Trek, an episode entitled “Runaway” which debuted October 4, felt a lot like a fan film…especially now that CBS’s guidelines are limiting the run-time of Trek fan films to no more than 15 minutes.

The question is, though, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Continue reading “CBS ALL ACCESS releases its version of a fan film: SHORT TREKS (editorial review)”

Life after STAR TREK CONTINUES – cast members REUNITE for WHEN THE TRAIN STOPS!

When STAR TREK CONTINUES completed its 11-episode run of superb Trek fan films, fans of the series wondered, “What’s next?”  It seemed a shame that such a talented group of actors, writers, directors, and production crew would simply go their separate ways.  Alas, that is all too often the case in show business.  But not this time…at least, not for everyone.

Although many members of the STC team did, in fact, move on to other endeavors, a small number reunited for a special independent short film project titled WHEN THE TRAIN STOPS.  The cast included STC alumni VIC MIGNOGNA (Captain Kirk) along with veteran Trek actors JOHN “Q” DeLANCIE, REKHA SHARMA (from Star Trek: Discovery and the new Battlestar Galactica), and MICHAEL FOREST (who played Apollo both in the original series episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” and also in the first full-length STC episode “Pilgrim of Eternity“).  STC cast member (and writer) KIPLEIGH BROWN was initially slated to appear in Train… but had to pull out at the last moment due to a family emergency.  She was replaced by Rekha Sharma.

Also boarding the Train… cast were STC alumna ÉMIE MORISETTE, who appeared in the final two-part episode of STC, along with voice-over actor DARREN JACOBS, whose vocals were part of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Dunkirk, and Papillon.  Directing Train… was STC director/writer/producer extraordinaire JAMES KERWIN, and STC‘s make-up supervisor and producer, LISA HANSELL, served as producer for Train…

An Indiegogo last November reached its $43,000 goal with just eight hours to spare, allowing the campaign to extend indefinitely as “In Demand” status.  Since then, their donation total has grown to more than $51,000…allowing them to not only film all the scenes but also to wrap up post production and release a completed film, which happened in mid-September in a special early release perk for certain donors.  The rest of the donors (like me) got to view it as a private download early this past week.  And let me tell you, it was EXCELLENT!  The 20-minute film was expertly crafted with an engaging story that provides a wonderful Twilight Zone twist at the end.  It’s definitely worthy of viewing.

So when can YOU see it?

Continue reading “Life after STAR TREK CONTINUES – cast members REUNITE for WHEN THE TRAIN STOPS!”

CONVERGENCE launches new INDIE-GOGO campaign (audio interview with SAMUEL COCKINGS)

Welcome to CONVERGENCE…a fan production uniting FIVE accomplished fan films and series from FOUR different countries into ONE amazing crossover event!

And YOU can help make it all possible.

These folks have already completed one video shoot with four of their five primary actors: NICK COOK from Star Trek: Intrepid (Scotland), ROBIN HIERT from Star Trek: Dark Armada (The Netherlands), and CHRIS BURDETT and NIMRAN SAUND from the upcoming Temporal Anomaly (Great Britain).  They also have a number of jaw-dropping VFX created by SAMUEL COCKINGS, life-long Star Trek fan and co-host/co-creator of the popular webseries “Trekyards.”  Some of this CGI will include the Archer-class starship from the original Star Trek: Renegades, as well as the villains from that fan film, the Syphon.

Their project is already well underway.  But now they need $5,500 to complete it, and they’ve just launched a new Indiegogo campaign. Fan donations will allow Samuel to fly in his full cast for a second studio green screen shoot to get the rest of their scenes filmed with proper lighting, sound, and staging.  This will include their final main actor, JIM VON DOLTEREN from Starship Republic, who will be flying to the U.K. from America, along with the others.

They’ve got some really nice perks that you can choose from, and thanks to a series of preview teaser promos released over the past month, the campaign is already off to a decent start, taking in about 9% of the goal in the first 24 hours (including $60 from me).  It also has one of the most impressive “ask” videos that I’ve seen for a crowd-funding campaign in a very long time.  Check it out…

After you watch that video, you’ll probably be excited enough to donate.  But even if you’re not, you should listen to this really awesome audio interview with Samuel.  Not only do we discuss Convergence, but we also discuss Temporal Anomaly, his interactions with CBS legal, the fan film guidelines, and a host of other topics that you’re certain to find, as Jean-Luc Picard would say, engaging…

Click here to donate.

AXACON ticket prices LOWERED from $85 to $50!

AXACON is now exactly one month away, and ticket prices for the weekend convention have just been lowered from $85 (not counting online processing fees) to $50.

This price reduction is based on a different scope to the ticket being purchased.  Initially, attendees would be required to first buy a $60 ticket to SphinxCon (celebrating the Honor Harrington book series) and then add on a $25 Axacon ticket.  The attendee would then be able to attend BOTH conventions.

But although attendees for SphinxCon were allowed to opt out of Axacon and simply buy the one ticket, attendees to Axacon had to buy a ticket for both…even if they didn’t really care about or were completely unfamiliar with the Honor Harrington novels (like me).

The challenge for ALEC PETERS and the organizers of Axacon was this: they’re “piggybacking” their convention on top of an existing convention.  SphinxCon is paying all the bills for the hotel facilities, and Axacon is then using a small section of their convention area for a weekend of panels and events.  So it seemed logical to Alec (at the time) to require all Axacon attendees to buy a regular ticket for SphinxCon.  That way, SphinxCon would recoup some of the added costs for the extra hotel space.

Yeah, it seemed logical.  But then again, so did this comment from ERIC L. WATTS, the chairman of the annual TREKLANTA convention: “You’re looking at a minimum of $85 for admission to Axacon, which to me, seems rather pricey for what you get if you’re not interested in Honor Harrington.”

“Fair enough,” thought Alec.  “I may be a huge Honor Harrington fan, but we can’t expect everyone to be!”  After discussing the situation with DAVID WEINER, who manages SphinxCon, the two came up with the following new pricing policy:

Axacon-only ticket: $50 – can attend only Axacon panels and events.

SphinxCon/Axacon-combo ticket: $75 – can attend panels and events for both conventions.

In this way, SphinxCon still gets reimbursement for sharing their hotel space (half of each Axacon ticket), but Axanar supporters no longer need to pay for a separate SphinxCon ticket if they have no intention of going to the Honor Harrington panels.  Or they can buy a combo-ticket for both.  Also, information on one-day tickets will be posted soon, as well.

Those Axacon attendees who have already purchased a SphinxCon ticket and don’t want to use it will be given a refund.

You can order Axacon tickets here.

5-in-5! STARSHIP TRISTAN releases its 16th fan film: “Distant Echoes, part two”!

Five fan film releases in five weeks!  Last week, POTEMKIN PICTURES had gone four-for-four, releasing a new fan film for three of their six (soon to be seven!) active fan series…including two from the STARSHIP TRISTAN creative group.  Well, make that THREE from Tristan, as “Distant Echoes, part two” completed their first-ever mutli-part episode late last week.

As explained previously, the run-time of the full episode was 18 minutes, above the 15-minute limit set forth in the fan film guidelines.  So the Potemkin folks decided to cut this fan film in two.

I asked show-runner RANDY LANDERS whether we’d be seeing a sixth new fan film next week…

This pretty much gets us caught up for the time being. (All hail the time being!)  We have six in post-production.  Oh, we shot one last Saturday.  Make it seven in post-production.  Two nearing completion.  We generally release six months after we film.

I then asked what “caught up” means….

“Caught up” is six releases.  It takes six months for a production to go from the completion of principal videography to release:

  • 1st month: capturing and editing
  • 2nd month: sound and ADR
  • 3rd month: final edit with sound (color correction and other tweaks are in the 3rd month as well)
  • 4th month: VFX guys
  • 5th month: music guys
  • 6th month: release

So if we have six in post, then we’re on target.  It’s a PROCESS. And it’s what works for us.  This is why so many fan films never make it.  They don’t know what to do after they shoot their movie.

Also, we use the 96% rule. If it’s good to the point of being 96%, then it’s time to move to the next step. The remaining 4% is not worth the expenditure of time and energy required to get to 100%.  That 4% is the law of diminishing returns.  That’s a harsh measure to produce by, but it’s what works for us.

I’m aware of everything in our films that’s not perfect, believe me. We have five producers with eagle eyes, but we ask ourselves: “Is the problem worth fixing?”  Most of the time, we can do it immediately. But when an actress or actor is not available for ADR or reshoots, then guess what? Time to cut your losses.

Coming up next: Endeavour and Kupok!

In the meantime, you can access all the dozens and dozens of Potemkin Pictures fan films from their website.  And check out the conclusion of “Distant Echoes” below…

CBS has SHUT DOWN fans creating a free VIRTUAL REALITY Enterprise-D Walk-Through!

Well, $#*&!

One of the most mind-blowingly exciting and immersive fan projects EVER has just received a Cease and Desist letter from CBS. And I’m not just speaking in hyperbole here. The STAGE 9 project was virtually (pun intended) guaranteed to get an “OMG…I can’t believe this exists!” from Trekkies who discovered it. Technology is advancing so quick, there was a time people were excited about Where HD meets XXX: hdpornvideo XXX.

It wasn’t a fan film but rather a virtual reality recreation of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D…not just from the outside but also from the inside! What began back in 2016 as just a simple art project by a Trek fan in the UK trying to make a really nice 3D recreation of the TNG bridge quickly grew to so much more!

Using the fourth iteration of the Unreal Engine from Epic Games, an open-source way for anyone to design and build their own virtual reality simulations for first-person shooters and the such, a number of developers from around the world hopped on board with this U.K. artist to improve and expand what the newly-dubbed “Stage 9” project had to offer.

New version by new version, more decks and destinations were added to the virtual walk-through: the observation lounge, Picard’s ready room, the hangar deck (a very BIG hangar deck!), sickbay, transporter rooms, battle bridge, Picard’s quarters (with Ressikan flute!), Data’s quarters, Worf’s quarters, engineering, ten forward, nine forward, other crew lounges, flight deck control operations, the arboretum, the brig, science labs, computer core, holodecks, phaser range, and endless corridors.

But that’s not all!

Continue reading “CBS has SHUT DOWN fans creating a free VIRTUAL REALITY Enterprise-D Walk-Through!”

ALEC PETERS talks about AXACON, the latest AXANAR financials, and the bridge set! (interview, part 2)

Yesterday, I published part 1 of an interview with ALEC PETERS, executive producer of AXANAR, discussing, among other things, the financial update he just posted last week (you can read it here.)

Axanar had a net loss of $150K overall, funds covered personally by Alec, as they exceeded the $1.2 million raised from the various crowd-funders.  In 2017 alone, expenses for Axanar Productions totaled just over $35K, of which approximately $26K was paid to cover final legal expenses for items not included in the pro bono agreement with law firm Winston & Strawn.

Although Axanar Productions never completed its filings for 501(c)(3) status in California, there is currently some consideration of trying to make OWC Studios into a tax-exempt charity, considering the work they’re doing with film education in the local Georgia school districts.

Alec and I went on to discuss work being done towards the completion of the USS Ares bridge by a team of volunteers, along with future intended uses for the set and studio.  And then we began talking about the upcoming Axacon event scheduled for November 2-4 (order your tickets here!) when Alec dropped a bombshell that he expects to LOSE $5,000 on Axacon.  Rather than being a profitable endeavor and helping to fund production of the final two Axanar fan films, this convention is going to cost Alec quite a pretty penny!

And that’s where we pick up our interview, already in progress…

Continue reading “ALEC PETERS talks about AXACON, the latest AXANAR financials, and the bridge set! (interview, part 2)”

ALEC PETERS talks about AXACON, the latest AXANAR financials, and the bridge set! (interview, part 1)

This past Friday, ALEC PETERS published a blog providing the latest “AXANAR Financial Update.”  (You can read it here.)  In the blog, Alec explains that Axanar Productions is now serviced by one of Atlanta’s largest and most prestigious accounting firms, Frazier and Deeter, and that Axanar Productions owes no taxes currently due to a business loss of more than $150,000 over and above the $1.2 million donated by supporters in 2014 and 2015.  This loss was money put in by Alec Peters personally to cover expenses not covered by contributions.

One would assume that a large and reputable accounting firm would not take on as a client any corporation with obviously shady dealings, potential embezzlement, tax fraud, etc.—and that they would do their due diligence prior to signing up any new client.  So the fact that Frazier and Deeter, which has in the past advised Pinewood Studios where many Marvel movies have been shot in Atlanta, decided to represent Axanar Productions argues against many of the spurious claims of “corruption” by Axanar detractors.

The majority of the numerical specifics of Alec’s update were included in a single paragraph:

There were $ 35,103.78 in Axanar expenses in 2017, of which approximately $26,000 was legal expenses left over from the lawsuit.  These were the only legal expenses from the CBS/Paramount lawsuit, as we received over $1M in free legal services from Winston & Strawn.  However, our pro-bono agreement was that we paid all actual expenses which consisted of deposition and expert witness costs.  I personally paid those costs as well as the other costs in 2017 in order to keep the studio and operation going.

While Axanar Productions had attempted to file for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status back in California, those plans were tabled after the move to Lawrenceville, Georgia.  Now, Alec and his advisers are considering starting the process of making OWC Studios into a 501(c)(3) since they’re working on an educational program for local high schools and colleges in the Atlanta area that have video and film programs.

In anticipation of that, and in preparation for the upcoming Axacon event from November 2-4 (get your tickets here), Alec and his team are also working to complete the amazing USS Ares bridge set.  There’s obviously a LOT going on with Axanar (in addition to ramping up to film the two sequel episodes), and I though this might be a good time to have a little chat with Captain Garth himself, Alec Peters…

Continue reading “ALEC PETERS talks about AXACON, the latest AXANAR financials, and the bridge set! (interview, part 1)”

STARSHIP TRISTAN releases its 15th fan film: “Distant Echoes, part one”!

Four weeks…four fan films.  Sounds like I’m talking about POTEMKIN PICTURES again!  These folks from Alabama are a veritable fan film factory, with SIX different fan series  from different creative groups all in active release…and a seventh series about to launch.

Over the past month, Potemkin Pictures first debuted its newest fan series from the Hospital Ship Marie Curie Creative Group.  A week later came the 14th fan film from the Starship Tristan Creative Group.  And a week after that, fans saw the release of the second film from the Starship Triton Creative Group…complete with a record number of Orions!

And now it’s week four, and we’re back to the Constellation-class Starship Tristan.  In this latest episode, we see most of the crew, with a spotlight on its captain, Eva Privette, played by KIMBERLY WHITE.  She’s got a lot of lines, and all were memorized.  (In some of the more “grass roots” fan films, cast members with large amounts of dialog don’t/can’t learn all their lines and instead read from cue cards or scripts off-camera…and sometimes this can be very obvious.)  Potemkin Pictures tries to use, when possible, students from local drama programs and people from community theater who have studied acting.

What’s notable about this latest offering is that it’s the first time any Potemkin Pictures production has been divided into a part one and part two.  Show-runner RANDY LANDERS explained to me that the full run-time for “Distant Echoes” was 18 minutes, over the 15-minute time limit imposed by the fan film guidelines.  So part one ends at the 9:40 mark. “We chose not to risk the ire of CBS,” Randy said.  “The second part will be our next release, possibly by month’s end.”  If that happens, then it’ll be five fan films in five straight weeks!

All episodes of the various Potemkin Pictures series can be accessed from their website.  You can watch the latest release from Starhsip Tristan below…

THE ROMULAN WAR releases its newest ENHANCED audio drama: “THEY WANT US DEAD”!

I’m beginning to really, really love these enhanced audio dramas that are being released by MARK NACCARATO as a lead-in to his highly anticipated THE ROMULAN WAR fan film!  The project itself managed to take in over $12,000 in a recent Indiegogo (and is now trying to reach $14,000 to cover the cost of new live-action footage shot in Australia along with new CGI).  And the full fan film itself is supposed to be released very soon.

But in the meantime, Mark has released a series of “enhanced” audio dramas under the banner The Romulan War: “War Stories.”  These are personal log entries from those serving in Starfleet during the Romulan War with Earth that led to the founding of the United Federation of Planets in the mid-22nd century.  The idea is to tell the “smaller” stories of war, while the main fan film tells the “big” story.

And what are “enhanced” audio dramas?  Like most audio dramas, the actors record their lines vocally, without a video camera running.  But rather than just playing back the audio over a black screen or a single image or even a series of images, there is actually an ongoing video the whole time, some with simple 2D animation, some with video footage, and some even with 3D CGI.

Mark’s first release was made available to the public about a month ago, the two-part “Sleep Is Hard To Find” (you can view it here).  Now the second release is a one-parter entitled “They Want Us Dead,” and it’s riveting.  I really mean that.  An intense and gripping vocal performance was turned in by actress GINNY WELSCH, who has extensive experience with voice work, over a brilliant script written by ANDREW J. LUCAS, who previously penned multiple episodes of the just-completed The Romulan Wars (plural) fan series.

You’ll probably recognize some footage in the video “borrowed” from a number of familiar cinematic sci-fi sources.  Whether or not the studios who own that footage will care about or bother with a small fan film getting a few hundred views is anyone’s guess.  But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the production…

And remember that you can still donate to the “in demand” Indiegogo campaign to help them reach $14,000…

Just click here to donate.

The Romulan War posted the following press release regarding this newest addition to their offerings…

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