One TREK crowd-funder reaches their GOAL while another needs our HELP!

As one door successfully closes, another door optimistically opens…

On Sunday evening, the Indieogo campaign for THE TEST OF TIME, the next release coming soon from RAY TESI and TALES FROM THE EUTRAL ZONE, finished up at 124% of its $6K goal…reaching a very impressive $$7,452 in just 30 days! It’s still active, as Indiegogo offers an “In Demand” status where people can continue donating, and another $400 came in after the official deadline, bringing the total to $7,867 from 65 backers!

Among the fan filmmakers involved with The Test of Time is their dynamic director of photography, JOSHUA IRWIN, who also directed their wildly popular previous release, DOOMSDAY, already up to 90K views on YouTube since its release on April 5.

However, Josh is more widely known in this sector of the galaxy as the showrunner for the AVALON UNIVERSE fan series, and his just-released THE NEEDS OF THE ONE is also racking up the YouTube views as it nears 10K after just two weeks!

At the same time that The Needs of the One premiered, Josh also launched a brand new Indiegogo campaign of his own to fund the production of the ambitious multiverse-crossover fan film CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS. With a total duration of 60 days to reach their goal, the new campaign has started out decently (but not strongly)…having gotten only 11% of the way to the $8K they need.

I partially blame myself for this somewhat slow start, as I haven’t been giving Josh as much early support here on Fan Film Factor as I did for Ray. And I intend to rectify that starting now!

The first thing I’m going to do is share with you Josh’s excellent new “ask” video…

And the second thing I’m going to do is provide the following link as I ask you to please consider donating something—if you can afford to—because Josh’s Avalon fan films are really something special (and if you can’t afford to, please share the following link)…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/crisis-on-infinite-excaliburs-a-star-trek-fan-film

And the third thing I’m going to do is provide more promotional support for Josh and Team Avalon over the coming weeks. I’m currently editing the second of my video interviews with the cast of The Needs of the One (with more still coming). You can watch the first interview with ALEX REXFORD (the new actress playing U.S.S. Excalibur first officer Mikaela Allenby) on this blog page. The next video interview will feature fan films’ CUTEST Vulcan/human couple: CORA WILSON (who plays Nurse T’Prin) and WADE KING (who plays Security Officer Williams). And trust me, they are just as adorable in real life as they are in the Avalon Universe…AND they can kick your ass if you step out of line!

And finally, I’m preparing a blog for next week spotlighting the unique perks being offered with this campaign (like a smart-phone case), some of which were designed by yours truly! That’s gonna be a really fun blog to read…once I finish writing it, that is!

AVALON UNIVERSE takes on Pon Farr in THE NEEDS OF THE ONE… (part 1: video interview with ALEXANDRA REXFORD)

THE AVALON UNIVERSE first emerged onto the Star Trek fan film scene back in 2018 with the release of GHOST SHIP, one of the only fan films to ever infest a starship with zombies! This new fan series featured both TOS Prime and Kelvin-timeline uniforms shot on TOS sets (originally at NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Georgia and later at WARP 66 STUDIOS in Arkansas). Having their own alternate universe to “play” in allowed showrunner JOSHUA IRWIN and his team tell stories with a distinct Star Trek “feel” while not locking themselves into five decades of existing canon.

Since that premiere less than four years ago, Avalon Universe has been a veritable fan production machine, releasing what has now reached ten completed films (you can view them all on this play list)—seven major projects ranging from 15 to just over 30 minutes each plus three shorter vignettes. That’s two and a half fan films per year, folks…with more on the way!

Speaking of which, this latest release includes a bumper at the beginning announcing the launch of a new Indiegogo campaign, attempting to raise $8K to crowd-fund their most ambitious production to date, CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS. If you’re able to donate, there’s some really nice perks (some of which I designed for the team). Here’s the link…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/crisis-on-infinite-excaliburs-a-star-trek-fan-film

One of the things that sets Avalon apart from many other fan series is the level of quality of the lighting, sound, music, overall cinematography, VFX, make-up, editing, and of course, the acting in each new release. Much of this can be traced back to Josh Irwin himself and the fans he manages to get on his team. Josh works professionally in the film industry in Arkansas, as do many of his cast and crew. This allows Avalon fan films to achieve a polished look and feel beyond what your typical Star Trek fan film.

Their latest release, THE NEEDS OF THE ONE, has a runtime of just under a half-hour and tells the story of a female Vulcan crew member undergoing pon farr while on board. And while we’ve certainly seen that before in both TOS and Enterprise, this tale tackles the concept in a new and unique way (not easy to do with nearly 1,000 hours of filmed Star Trek episodes and movies out there!). Along the way, The Needs of the One introduces fans to a bunch of fascinating and engaging new characters along with recasting the role of first officer Mikaela Allenby, played in the previous release, AGENT OF NEW WORLDS, by ILLIA “PIXI” NEREID and in this new film by ALEXANDRA REXFORD.

The Needs of the One had already generated over 1,100 views on YouTube in the first six hours. Check it out here…

Pretty impressive, huh?

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