Leo Tierney – Fan Film Factor

DECEPTION III technologically goes where no fan film has gone before! (interview with LEO TIERNEY)

“Yer a wizard, ‘arry.” I realize that’s a totally different franchise than Star Trek, but when Hagrid says those words to Harry Potter, he might as well be talking to fellow Brit LEO TIERNEY, as well. Y’see, when it comes to making Star Trek fan films, Leo is totally a wizard…a cutting-edge innovator.

A still from the first Deception fan film

Fans got their first look at what Leo was capable of back in 2013 with his release of STAR TREK: DECEPTION. Clicking that link will take you to my full blog about that fan film, which I hardily suggest you click on and check out, as it includes some awesome “making of” videos along with the production itself. At a time when nearly all 24th century fan films and series were either using green screen and static backgrounds or very simplified sets, Leo constructed a near-perfect and very believable runabout cockpit. And along with some standout performances, top-notch VFX, great camera work, and very tight editing, Deception was a gem of a fan film that made many viewers’ jaws drop with its professional quality.

The amazing Starfleet bridge set from the second Deception fan film

Leo returned five years later with DECEPTION II— if anything even MORE jaw-dropping than its predecessor! Indeed, Leo’s construction of a duo of sets (one a Klingon bridge and the other a Federation starship bridge) in what was an emptied out one-car garage in a quiet English village south of Manchester became interesting enough to merit its own two-part blog. And that blog is worth checking out for the construction photos alone!

It’s been six additional years, but Leo the Wizard is back with DECEPTION III, yet another jaw-dropper. The opening shot alone is enough to make fans go, “How the heck did he do that????” But Leo also did something else truly revolutionary for a Star Trek fan film. However, before I tell you what it was, why not take a look for yourself…

Could you tell what it was? Often, the most game-changing innovations are barely even noticeable at first. And indeed, you might have to look more carefully in this case. Obviously, virtual 3D backgrounds were used for the starship interiors, as is common for many fan films trying to save money on set-building by shooting against green screen and then compositing the backgrounds. And when that happens, even the best chroma-keying has trouble with things like stray hairs, which can either disappear or get pixely unless the actor has a very short, clean haircut.

But with Deception III, all stray hairs are 100% visible! The outer contours of the actors are perfect, showing no hint of aliasing or cropping. As I said, it’s almost unnoticeable beyond something in the back of your head thinking, “Wow, this looks amazingly clear and realistic for a fan film with virtual backgrounds!” So how did Leo manage this? I’ll let him explain in this short-but-fascinating “making of” documentary…

At long last…DECEPTION II (interview with LEO TIERNEY, part 2)

Last week, we started a look back at the history of Star Trek: Deception leading into the recent release of the amazing 15-minute sequel DECEPTION II, written and directed by British fan workaholic LEO TIERNEY.

As I did last time, I strongly recommend that you take a look at this blog that I published last February showing how Leo took a teensy-weensy little one-car garage and turned it into the bridge of an Excelsior-class starship as well as a Klingon bird-of-prey! (Seriously, check out the blog…it’s mostly photos.)

Turning a tiny one-car garage into the bridge of a starship…

In part 1 of of interview, Leo and I briefly discussed his original 8-minute fan film, Deception, crowd-funded and produced back in 2013. The very positive reception to Deception led Leo to begin contemplating a sequel, although it would be three years before he would start building sets and going through other aspects of pre-production.

Things ramped up big-time in 2017 as Leo shifted into full production mode, completing his sets, bringing on actors, and filming many of his scenes. Updates came quite frequently to Leo’s Facebook page for Deception, leading into my blog feature from February of this year.

Since then, however, there have been few updates on Facebook or elsewhere from Leo. And so, as we conclude our two-part interview, we begin with the question I most wanted to know the answer to…

Continue reading “At long last…DECEPTION II (interview with LEO TIERNEY, part 2)”

At long last…DECEPTION II (interview with LEO TIERNEY, part 1)

Before you read today’s blog, you should really go back and look through this blog. It tells the story, mainly in photos and short videos, behind the making of DECEPTION II, a sequel to the 2013 fan film Star Trek: Deception. The first Deception told the story of two TNG-era Starfleet officers transporting a renegade Klingon prisoner in a lone runabout. Writer/director/CGI master LEO TIERNEY constructed an actual runabout cockpit, giving this fan film an aura of realism that went along with excellent acting, lighting, sound, VFX, and other marks of quality.

The short eight-and-a-half minute fan film became very popular, garnering tens of thousands of online views with little fanfare. And shortly after its debut in mid-2013, Leo began discussing the production of a sequel. However, the idea mostly languished until Leo briefly brought it up again on Facebook in 2015. But even then, nothing much happened for nearly another year.

Leo began working in earnest on Deception II in 2016, and once again set out to construct actual physical (practical) sets—this time for both an Excelsior-class bridge and also for the bridge of a Klingon bird-of-prey. And he constructed both…in a tiny garage! This is where, if you haven’t already, you really, REALLY need to take a look at the blog I published back in February showing the amazing transformation of Leo’s garage into not one but two completely different sets…both using the exact same set pieces! It’s one of the most fascinating blogs I’ve ever done.

There haven’t been many updates about Deception II since I published that blog, but ten months later, Leo finally released his long-awaited fan film last Friday. And it looks simply amazing, especially considering the teeny-weeny size of the garage where the entire thing was filmed (see photo above). Have a look for yourself…

I’ve been staying in touch with Leo Tierney over the months of post-production, awaiting the finished product. As the premiere date approached, I conducted a little interview with my mate across the pond…

Continue reading “At long last…DECEPTION II (interview with LEO TIERNEY, part 1)”

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…

Continue reading “The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 2)”

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…

Continue reading “The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 1)”

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?

Continue reading “The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION! (feature)”