Fan Film Factor – Page 9 – Exploring the world of Star Trek fan films.

GENE RODDENBERRY’s long-lost pre-production model of the USS ENTERPRISE found…on eBay…listed for just $1,000!

Way back in 1964, just as GENE RODDENBERRY was beginning to work on pre-production for his new Star Trek TV pilot for Desilu Studios, the first miniature of the U.S.S. Enterprise was built from drawings by MATT JEFFERIES. It was only 4 inches long, but it was enough to work from in order to build a larger, more detailed 33-inch model.

Hollywood model builder RICHARD C. DATIN was hired, and he, in turn, hired a subcontractor with a large metal lathe to work on some of the major subcomponents. Together, during the month of November, the two men put about 110 hours into constructing a mostly pine wood model with Plexiglass and brass detailing. Roddenberry reviewed the model, requested some minor changes from Datin, and the completed model was submitted to Desilu for final approval in December of 1964. Total cost for labor and materials: $600 (about $5,950 in today’s dollars).

*Jeffrey Hunter and Leonard Nimoy pose with the 33-inch model in early publicity photos for the new TV series Star Trek*.

That 33-inch model (known affectionately as the “3-foot” model) was used for the majority of filming for the rejected first pilot of the series, “The Cage,” while Desilu ordered the construction of a larger 135-inch (11-f00t) model constructed from plaster, sheet metal, and wood…costing $6,000 in 1965. That more detailed, lighted model made it into the opening shot of “The Cage” where the camera zooms into the bridge, but all of the rest of the visual effects used the 3-foot model with shots filmed from farther away, as it was less detailed and had no working lights.

Ultimately (with some modifications), the 11-foot model was used for the rest of the Star Trek series, with a few notable exceptions. The Enterprise that whooshes past during the opening credits is the 3-foot model. Also, the Enterprise that emerges from the galactic barrier in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and the miniaturized Enterprise in “Requiem for Methuselah” were also both the 3-foot model…

Of course, the iconic 11-foot model now sits in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., recently restored to its former greatness and more. But whatever happened to that 3-foot model? Well, as it turns out, Gene kept it right there on his desk at home…!

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 JORDON 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 JORDON 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…

DOMINION launches new fan series WARBIRD VALDORE and a new Indiegogo! (interview with GARY DAVIS, RANDY WRENN, JOAN SAVAGE, and MICHAEL BEDNAR…part 1)

DREADNOUGHT DOMINION got its start back in 2015 when the first two episodes “Haunted” and “Anchors Aweigh” were released. Afterward, the showrunner and lead actor, FRANK PARKER, JR. (playing Commodore Samuel Grissom) departed the series, leaving GARY DAVIS and RANDY WRENN to take Dominion where no fan series had gone before…onto the bridge (and corridors) of a Federation-class dreadnought starship.

And so they did, producing and releasing an additional FIFTEEN fan films, including a few crossovers with other fan series, over the course of seven years. (You can watch all the episodes of Dreadnough Dominion on this playlist.) But they didn’t stop there. In July of 2021, using a TOS-era runabout set that Gary constructed in his basement, they filmed and premiered the pilot episode of a new Dominion spinoff series called PROJECT: RUNABOUT. And a little over a year later, they released the second episode of that new fan series, “YORKTOWN,” shot both on the runabout set as well as at the U.S.S. Yorktown Naval and Maritime Museum in the Charlestown Harbor in South Carolina.

You might think that simultaneously producing two ongoing fan series would be enough to keep these two guys busy, and you’d be correct! But when has being busy ever stopped them before???

And so, in July of this year, Dominion Media launched its SECOND spinoff fan series: WARBIRD VALDORE. As you might be able to guess from the title, its stories are told from the perspective of a Romulan warbird commander and her crew. This isn’t the first time a fan series has spotlighted the adventures of another spacefaring alien race. POTEMKIN PICTURES’ BATTLECRUISER KUPOK and SCOUTSHIP QAB’ELTH are both set on Klingon vessels. But this is the first time, to my knowledge, that a Romulan warbird has been been the primary focus of a series.

The new series is filmed in part on sets located at NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA and stars JOAN SAVAGE as Romulan Commander Jhu D’Varo, reprising a role she previously played in Dreadnought Dominion. Check out their first episode…

Assuming you just watched it (SPOILER ALERT if you didn’t!), you’ll notice an appearance by MICHAEL BEDNAR, reprising his role of Robert Tacket from STARSHIP FARRAGUT and the upcoming FARRAGUT FORWARD. Now a full captain, Tacket is now in command of the U.S.S. Constitution. His appearance was quite a happy surprise for longtime fans familiar with Farragut (like me!).

Dominion has just launched a new crowd-funder trying to raise $5,000 for their three fan series. If you’d like to donate, click on the link below (I just tossed in $50 myself)…

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

I was able to assemble Gary, Randy, Joan, and Mike for a group interview to discuss the new Valdore fan series, their involvement, and of course, the campaign…

Update: NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS defeats an alien invasion…of MOLD!

It’s a tale as old as time itself…

Fans build perfectly nice TOS sets to use to make Star Trek fan films.
Egg roll manufacturer moves in next door.
A few years later, egg roll manufacturer moves out…leaving mold behind.
Mold starts creeping into Engineering.
Set owner has to spend his own money fixing the problem.

Yeah, I know; you’ve heard this one a million times at least! But it just happened again at NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA.

As many of you know, the building housing the TOS sets is only partially rented by set owner RAY TESI. The other half of the building was, until recently, utilized by a company that manufactures egg rolls…because, well, somebody has to make those yummy, greasy things, right? It was kinda nice, actually, as the smells from the egg roll factory would permeate the entire building, and they smelled amazing.

“Oh, I still remember that amazing smell,” says director JOSHUA IRWIN. “It was like filming in the middle of the most incredible Chinese restaurant. Sometimes, weeks or months later, I would be sitting at home in Arkansas, editing a fan film I’d shot at Neutral Zone, and just seeing that footage on my screen was enough to make me start smelling phantom egg rolls in my brain.”

But alas, all good things must end. And so it came to pass that this egg roll manufacturer grew to be so successful that they needed to move to a larger facility in Jacksonville, FL, leaving the space next to the studio vacant.

Despite the loss of the intoxicating aroma, this actually wasn’t the worst news ever. For a while, Ray actually considered renting the other half of the building to expand the studio, but the price was not feasible. However, while in consideration, Ray walked through the adjacent space after the egg roll equipment had been removed. The space looked like a war zone, and there was grease everywhere.

During the time the factory occupied the building, Ray saw that water would occasionally seep through the walls and into the studio side. Turns out the egg roll people would hose down and pressure clean the floors at the end of the day and push some water into the studio. At Ray’s request, new plastic floor boards were installed by the egg roll folks to restrain the water, but the damage was done.

During his walkthrough of the non-vacant space, Ray noticed the mold.

Jayden and I spent last night with TIM “TUVOK” RUSS in the woods!

What better way to celebrate Star Trek Day (or at least the day AFTER Star Trek day) than to spend part of the evening with one of the cast members of Voyager under the stars discussing astronomy? Unfortunately, nature didn’t quite cooperate on the “under the stars” part, as the remnants of Pacific hurricane were passing overhead, and it was very overcast. Only one star, Vega, was poking through the high-level clouds.

Maybe I should back up a few parsecs and tell you all how I got from there to here—“here” being Malibu Creek State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, a few miles away from the Pacific Ocean. My friend and fellow Trekker, KAT CAMPBELL is a docent at the park and is in charge of booking their “campfire” programming in their amphitheater area. September 9th was their annual astronomy program where visitors can learn about the stars and planets and look through a giant telescope in a nice setting without all the city lights.

This year, the free program featured TIM RUSS speaking for 90 minutes beginning at 7:30pm. Now, Tim wasn’t invited because he used to play Tuvok on Voyager (and most recently on STAR TREK: PICARD). Nope, before Tim ever donned the pointed ears, he was a fervent astronomy enthusiast and is still a prominent member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. He’s spent several thousand dollars on telescopic equipment, and a couple of years ago, he was one of six “citizen astronomers” to help NASA detect what are known as Trojan asteroids. Pretty cool, huh?

I actually went stargazing with Tim once before, at a gathering of the USS Angeles chapter of Starfleet International about 20 years ago. He brought along his daughter Madison to that event (a wee bairn at the time; she’s now a grown-up singer and actress in Hollywood). Tim knows his stuff…I mean seriously knows his stuff! If NEIL deGRASSE TYSON ever needs an understudy, just call Tim Russ!!!

What was one of the most fun aspects of the evening was taking my son Jayden along and NOT telling him who would be there. Jayden and I have been watching Star Trek together since he was five—he’ll be thirteen in just ten more days!—and we’re currently in season two of Voyager. (In fact, the season premiere of LOWER DECKS kinda spoiled the rest of the series for him…D’OH!) So he knows who Tuvok is.

Jayden also has the following photo on his wall…

It’s from a magazine shoot we did with LEVAR BURTON about a decade ago when Levar was rebooting Reading Rainbow and the editor to include some Trekkies in uniform. Jayden was only three at the time, and as he got older and learned who Geordi La Forge was, Jayden felt increasingly frustrated that he had never met a Star Trek actor when he was old enough to really appreciate it.

So this was gonna be a fun surprise for my not-so-little boy…

Announcing the 2023 Star Trek Fan Film SHOWRUNNER AWARD WINNERS!

Happy 57th Star Trek Anniversary, everyone! And just as I did exactly one year ago today, I am announcing the winners of this year’s SHOWRUNNER AWARDS!!

But first, I would like to thank the judges (each a showrunner himself) for once again doing an amazing job, watching five hours and 42 minutes of Star Trek fan films, and getting all of their ballots in before the August 15 deadline. We did have one judge reluctantly bow out due to time commitments—MARK LARGENT is working hard to finish the next (and last? I hope not!) STALLED TREK animated puppet parody THE DUMBSDAY MACHINE by later this year. And he wasn’t certain he’d have the time to watch and judge all 21 entries.

The remaining ten judges (in addition to yours truly) were…

JOHN ATKIN – YORKTOWN: A TIME TO HEAL
SAMUEL COCKINGS – TREK SHORTS and TEMPORAL ANOMALY
GARY DAVIS and RANDY WRENN – DREADNOUGHT DOMINION (and more!)
JOSHUA IRWIN – THE AVALON UNIVERSE
PAUL JACQUES – RAINCROSS
GREG LOCK – AMBUSH
JEFF NORD – COMMANDERS OF STARFLEET
IAN RAMSEY – STAR REKT parody music videos
DAN REYNOLDS – THE FEDERATION FILES and WARP 66 STUDIOS

As we did last year, the scoring worked in the following way. For each of the 22 categories (four of them brand new this year), every judge would vote for his top five choices in descending order (his own fan film(s) could NOT be in the top three slots). In the final tally, each top choice would get 10 points. The second choice would get 7 points. The third would get 5 points, then 3, and finally 1 for the last choice. Then I would add up the total number of points in each category, determining a first place (Admiral Award), second place (Captain Award), and third place (Commander Award) winner.

This year’s voting produced some unexpected results. In some categories, the three winners were far, far ahead of the rest of the pack, having banked many of the top two or three spots from a majority of judges. (Those 10 and 7 scores stack up quickly!) In some other categories, things were a bit closer, with only a few points keeping nominees out of the top-level award tiers. And for Best Fan Film, there was only a ONE POINT difference separating the first and second place winners. Exciting!!!