Tales from the Neutral Zone – Fan Film Factor

A very special fan film: SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT from TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE… (part 2 of a 2-part blog)

Last week, I discussed how I came to be the primary editor of the newest fan film from the “fanthology” series TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE. Titled SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT, the story begins as most TOS-era fan films do, with a captain and crew on a mission and then a mystery leading to a threat. But in this very special fan film, something unexpected happens halfway through to turn the story into something completely different. And if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth watching first without any spoilers…

Assuming you’ve just watched the above video, I can now share that the lead actress who stars as Captain Fairchild/Cathy, SARA McCARTNEY, is herself on the autism spectrum. Indeed, Sara’s mother, RUTH McCARTNEY, wrote the story as a quasi-biographical/autobiographical remembrance of the struggles that both she and her daughter have faced during their respective lifetimes. In both cases, Star Trek became a sanctuary, as it has for numerous fans over the decades. As such, this production has a very wide appeal.

Second Star to the LEFT was one of the final fan films to be shot at the Kingsland, GA location of NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS before their amazing TOS set recreations were packed up and moved 900 miles north to a new location in a shopping mall in Sandusky, OH. You can read more about that move here. Ruth, a long-time volunteer at the Kingsland location, asked set owner RAY TESI for permission to shoot Second Star before the sets were disassembled, and Ray happily agreed.

JOSHUA IRWIN of AVALON UNIVERSE Productions, who has directed multiple episodes of Tales from the Neutral Zone, agreed to drive down to Kingsland from his home in northwestern Arkansas (a trip he has made MANY times!) to direct not only Second Star but three different fan films all being shot during the same manic three-day weekend. Later, Josh asked me to help edit my choice of one of the multiple fan films he was working on, and I decided upon Second Star, as I discussed in part of of this blog feature.

I consider this fan film to be particularly important, as Sara’s performance shows what an individual with neurodivergence can accomplish. At a time when autism is being stigmatized by divisive rhetoric and wild theories as to its causes, Second Star to the LEFT humbly reminds us that being on the spectrum isn’t a disability so much a simply a different ability.

When Second Star debuted on the Avalon Universe YouTube channel, Josh hosted a livestream discussion with several people who were involved with the production, including Ruth and Sara, myself, Ray, Tesi, KEITH HAMILTON (who did some of the VFX), and MICHAEL SEAN CARTER, who is one of the volunteers coordinating the studio move to Sandusky. With Josh’s permission, I’m including that video below to finish off this 2-part spotlight on the film.

The first segment of the video deals with the latest news from Avalon Universe. So I’ve queued up the video to begin at the 20-minute mark when the topic shifts to Second Star. Feel free to back it up to the beginning if you’re curious about other current and future Avalon projects…

How I ended up editing SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT from TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE… (part 1 of a 2-part blog)

This is going to be a different kind of blog today. Usually, I write from the perspective of being on the outside looking in. This time, however, I stepped in as film editor on a very special Star Trek fan film starring a courageous young actress who is on the autism spectrum. And therein lies a tale…a tale from NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS.

It was the spring of 2024, and my friend JOSHUA IRWIN was feeling quite overloaded…and no wonder! Ever since branching out beyond producing his series of AVALON UNIVERSE fan films, Josh has been one of the most in-demand filmmakers in the entire community. He gets asked to direct, do lighting, camera, cinematography, special FX, sound, and editing on what seems to be an endless parade of projects ranging from fan films like FARRAGUT 2024 and fan series like DREADNOUGHT DOMINION to fanthologies like THE FEDERATION FILES and TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE. And as the year began, Josh had no loess than SIX different fan films that he helped shoot, produce, wrote, and/or directed…and he needed to edit each of them.

Some of these were major projects, like the series finale of the 23rd century run of Avalon Universe, an upcoming release to be titled THE ONCE AND FUTURE CAPTAIN. Others were mid-size projects, like a story for Tales from the Neutral Zone called HISTORY NEVER FORGETS (still unreleased) about the crew of the Enterprise-C before its destruction. And then there were three “small” fan films with minimal raw footage that had each been shot in about a day or less with run times of maybe 15 minutes or so. With work life, family life, and fan film life commitments piling up, Josh asked me if I’d be willing to help him edit one of these three shorter fan films.

This request didn’t come out of left field. Josh and I had worked closely on the edit for my AXANAR Universe fan film INTERLUDE, and even though I drove him nuts (and maybe a little vice-versa), we actually worked quite effectively together—finding some compromises when we didn’t agree or else one or the other of us putting our foot down—and wound up with a very nice final cut. Josh understands that I don’t know a hundredth of what he does about the finer points of film editing like levels and color optimization, but he knows I have a good feel of which takes work the best and how to piece together a good rough edit.

“If you can just assemble the cuts in the timeline, Jonathan, I can do all of the rest,” Josh told me. “And even if you edit only one of these shorter films, it’ll really help lighten my workload.” And I was happy to do it. I actually enjoy editing a film, at least on a basic putting-the-pieces-together level. Now the only decision I had to make was which of the three fan films to tackle.

Where in the world is NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS moving to??? (video interview with RAY TESI)

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS is finally on the move…to a new location! The home of the amazing Star Trek TOS set recreations—originally constructed beginning back in 2009 by Farragut Films—has lived in the small town of Kingsland, GA since moving there from the nearby coastal hamlet of St. Marys, GA in 2012. The sets were initially used for shooting episodes of the STARSHIP FARRAGUT fan series and, later, STAR TREK CONTINUES.

In 2018, Boca Raton, FL resident RAY TESI purchased the sets from STC showrunner VIC MIGNOGNA. A fan film showrunner, Ray had previously released the short fan film STARSHIP REPUBLIC: SERPENT OF YESTERDAY in 2017. Ray used his retirement savings to not only purchase the sets but to pay thousands of dollars a month in rent and utilities for the facility that housed them. Crowd-funders and an ongoing Patreon helped to offset some of those monthly costs, but Ray’s savings have been steadily drained for the past six years.

Ray decided to open up the sets to any fan production that wanted to shoot there in exchange for a low day-use fee to cover the costs of electricity and maintenance. This allowed a parade of several dozen fan productions to use these amazing set recreations that included the bridge, sickbay, transporter, briefing room, quarters, auxiliary control, corridors, a two-story engineering set, and even a Jeffries tube that one could actually film inside. Ray himself launched a fanthology series called TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE that has released seven fan films so far.

But it wasn’t only fan films that got to experience these sets. Ray would regularly open the renamed Neutral Zone Studios to the general public for free walkthroughs and photo-ops, with optional donations collected but not required. Over the years, thousands of fans came to admire the sets, often getting guided walktthroughs from Ray and members of the STC cast, including Vic Mignogna himself.

Unfortunately, the building began to fall into a state of disrepair, with issues like burst pipes and leaky roofs requiring ever-more-expensive remediation efforts. Ray himself had to cover the costs of a team to remove and replace drywall that had developed mold from exposure to power-washing from the egg-roll manufacturer that spent years occupying the other half of the building.

Earlier this year, the landlord informed Ray that he, the owner, needed to finally sell the building instead of continuing to repair it. Rather than abandoning the sets to the dumpster and being thankful for “a good run,” Ray decided to look for another location.

Many fans expected a move to central Florida—so Ray himself wouldn’t need to make the 350-mile, 5-hour drive each way from his home to the sets. This past July, fan filmmaker JOSH IRWIN gave a 2-part interview where he discussed the impending move. But at the time, it wasn’t known where Neutral Zone Studios would be moving to.

But now, for the first time, Ray Tesi publicly reveals the new location…

You can donate to help Ray cover moving expenses here:

https://igg.me/at/tnz-migration

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS holds its final shoot in KINGSLAND, GA…so what’s next? (interview with JOSHUA IRWIN, part 2)

In part one, I reported on the dismantling on the TOS sets at NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA, beginning this past weekend. The disassembly is in preparation for a planned move to a new facility, likely somewhere in central Florida (significantly closer to where set owner RAY TEST lives in Baca Raton). A final location has not yet been decided upon, but Ray has narrowed down the choices. Numerous considerations go into the decision, including size of the space, electrical capabilities, A/C and other amenities, safety and accessibility of the new location, etc.

The move was necessitated when the previous next-door tenant at the Kingsland location moved away, leaving half of the building vacant and requiring significant repair costs for the roof on the empty side. The landlord, not wanting to cover the roofing expense while simultaneously being unable to generate half of the rent revenue for the building, has decided to sell it. The landlord is being very kind to Ray, not specifying any particular move-out deadline. Ray is nevertheless expediting the move, taking advantage of the hot summer months when Neutral Zone Studios typically closes for filming anyway.

Two weekends ago, fans and volunteers assembled at the facility for a final two-day shoot for a new episode of TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE, directed by JOSHUA IRWIN. In the conclusion of our two-part interview with Josh, we’re going to shift our focus to the shoot itself and the people who were there…

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS holds its final shoot in KINGSLAND, GA…so what’s next? (interview with JOSHUA IRWIN, part 1)

Back in 2012, FARRAGUT FILMS moved their TOS set recreations to a new, larger facility in Kingsland, GA and expanded the starship interiors to include nearly everything that existed on the Paramount backlot during the 1960s—eventually adding a two-story Engineering set, as well. In addition to STARSHIP FARRAGUT, a second series, STAR TREK CONTINUES, began filming there, ultimately taking over exclusive use of the entire studio until shooting wrapped in 2017.

At that time, the sets were owned in their entirety by STC showrunner VIC MIGNOGNA. But he was still paying thousands of dollars a month in rent out of pocket to keep the amazing TOS sets from being tossed into the nearest dumpster. In early 2018, however, Vic sold the sets to Boca Raton, FL resident RAY TESI, who took over the Kingsland facility, assumed responsibility for the rent, and shortly thereafter renamed STAGE 9 STUDIOS to NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS.

Ray also proceeded to open the sets up to filming by any fan production willing to pay a nominal daily rental fee to cover basic expenses like electricity. Since then, a parade of fan films and series have been shot there, including DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, AVALON UNIVERSE, CONSTAR, RED SHIRT DIARIES, TO HAVE BOLDLY GONE, LET OLD WRINKLES COME, and a host of other projects. Ray has even produced his own fanthology series, TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE, which has released seven fan films so far.

Over the weekend of July 6-7, Neutral Zone Studios hosted its final shoot in Kingsland, GA with JOSHUA IRWIN directing the latest installment of Tales from the Neutral Zone, an episode titled HISTORY NEVER FORGETS. And starting this past weekend, the TOS sets have started to be disassembled. What’s going on, you ask? I reached out to owner Ray Tesi, but he’s actually inundated right now with the logistics of managing volunteers and equipment to deal with the studio. However, Ray told me to direct my questions to Joshua, so without further ado….

TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE releases “LA MORT DE LA GUERRE” (“The Death of War”) featuring AVALON characters in the PRIME universe! (video interview with JOSH IRWIN, CAITLYN BAILEY, and others)

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA (at least for now, the studio will be relocating soon) has provided TOS sets for countless Star Trek fan films and series, including STARSHIP FARRAGUT, STAR TREK CONTINUES, DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, THE AVALON UNIVERSE, and so many more. And not to be outdone, the studio itself has its own fanthology series: TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE. Beginning in 2019, NZS has released seven fan films:

“THE LOOKING GLASS”
“ENDOSYMBIOSYS”
“DOOMSDAY”
“WHEN DUTY CALLS”
“THE TEST OF TIME”
“THE LOST STARSHIP”

And the seventh, which was premiered on May 23, is titled “LA MORT DE LA GUERRE” (“The Death of War”), written by JOSHUA IRWIN and directed by Josh along with TYLER DUNIVAN. It came out extremely well; take a look…

The film features the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur, but not the starship in the Avalon Universe that Josh’s films usually spotlight. No, this time it’s the ship and crew from Star Trek‘s Prime Universe, most recently seen in last year’s CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS.

This fan film also represents a somewhat unique pairing of resources, as not only was Neutral Zone Studios involved in the production, but so was the other major fan film studio featuring TOS sets, WARP 66 STUDIOS in northern Arkansas. Co-owner of WARP 66, GLEN L. WOLFE, traveled down to Georgia, bringing along a plethora of TOS tunics and uniforms for both actors and extras to wear. Also joining the production team were FRANK PARKER, JR. from CROSSROADS: THE GEMINI PROJECT (this time playing a Romulan) as well as VANCE MAJOR playing Eric Minard from CONSTAR. Even GARY DAVIS from DOMINION MEDIA got into the act by providing a last-minute photo of a “Sulu scope” for a close up shot of the tactical readout at the helm station.

Heck, even I worked on this fan film as a creative consultant. That meant that I provided Josh feedback and suggestions at various points during the months-long post-production and editing process. That might seem like an easy-peasy way to sneak into the credits, but I’ve actually watched through different iterations of this film more than a dozen times(!!!), marking down time-code and making extensive notes. Combined with the 50 to 70 people who worked on this project during the two days of shooting on the sets, this was truly a group effort of the many.

In the spirit of that sense of camaraderie and collaboration, my fellow fan film fanatic, JEFFERSON KELLEY of BEYOND TREK PODCAST, organized a group discussion of this excellent fan film, inviting a number of people from the production as well as myself, as well as CHEETO and ZAM from the NERD TUBE podcast. So rather than just doing one of my typical Fan Film Factor video interviews, Jefferson has offered to make his group podcast available for me to post here. It was a very fun, lively, and enlightening discussion. Enjoy…

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…

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS raises nearly $20,000 in MAJOR crowd-funder! (interview with RAY TESI, part 2)

In Part 1, I began chatting with RAY TESI, the owner of NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS in Kingsland, GA, home of a complete collection of TOS sets that are used by countless fan films and series. Ray recently completed a 30-day Indiegogo campaign that took in a remarkable $19,617 from 218 donors. But it still fell well short of its $36,000 goal.

It’s possible that some of that shortfall was due to a series of scandalous rumors and attacks on social media which seemingly came out of nowhere days after the crowd-funding campaign was launched. It’ not entirely clear what set these people off or what their game plan was, other than what is colloquially known as MANUFACTURED OUTRAGE. But for nearly a month, it seemed their goal was to sabotage this Indiegogo campaign, and through depriving Neutral Zone Studios of much-needed fan donations, to potentially force the closure of this incredible fan film resource, possibly forever.

Normally, I’d include links to the comments themselves or even just a screen cap or two, but these posts were so ridiculous that I’d rather not give them any coverage at all. Instead, I’m going to let Ray speak about what can only be called baseless and unfounded attacks by total strangers agains him and his studio as we conclude our two-part interview…

NEUTRAL ZONE STUDIOS raises nearly $20,000 in MAJOR crowd-funder! (interview with RAY TESI, part 1)

There are certain people in the fan film community whom I call the NICEST people. Not only are they warm and friendly, but they are generous, willing to help others, and enthusiastically support the filmmakers who work so hard to create these Star Trek fan films that we all love so much.

Perched at the top of the “NICE” list is RAY TESI, who purchased the TOS sets in Kingsland, GA that were used for both STARSHIP FARRAGUT and later STAR TREK CONTINUES in 2018 from previous owner VIC MIGNOGNA. This was no small thing! The purchase price was reportedly well into the five-figure range, and the monthly rent for the building housing those sets is $3,000! But since Vic wasn’t able to keep paying to store unused sets for a fan series that had wrapped production, the alternative would have been seeing those incredible TOS sets tossed into the dumpster by the landlord.

Ray couldn’t bear to have that happen, and so this resident of Boca Raton, FL dipped into his retirement savings to not only buy the sets but also take on the responsibility for $36,000/year in rent…for what has been half a decade so far!

Ray renamed the studio to THE NEUTRAL ZONE and opened the sets to any fan filmmaker for a very reasonable rental fee. So far, MANY fan films and series have taken Ray up on the offer, including AVALON UNIVERSE, DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, and Ray’s own fanthology series TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE…along with many one-offs like TO HAVE BOLDLY GONE and LET OLD WRINKLES COME. NICHELLE NICHOLS (Uhura) even used the sets herself to film a documentary called “Breaking Barriers” about her experiences as a black actress on Star Trek.

Over the years, Ray has received financial support from fans through a Patreon campaign with hundreds of monthly contributors…with Ray making up the difference out of his pocket. As a gesture of thanks, Ray hosts Fan Appreciation Weekends during the cooler months of the year (September-May) where he opens the sets up to the general public. This has been going on almost as long as Ray has owned the sets.

Last month, Ray kicked off a 30-day Indiegogo campaign with a $36,000 goal…an eyebrow-raising number! But as of last week, Ray was able to reach a total of just short of $20,000! Today in part 1 of an interview with Ray, I’m going to ask where that money will be spent and if fans should be concerned that the crowd-funder still fell 45% short of its goal.

Then in part 2, I’m going to ask him about some rather outlandish rumors that began to circulate while the campaign was going on. Spread by people on the opposite side of the spectrum from “nice,” it almost seemed like they were trying to sabotage Ray’s crowd-funder and shut down Neutral Zone Studios. I know…crazy, right? I mean, who would do something like that? It’d be like firebombing Santa’s workshop just before Christmas!

Okay, let’s start talking to Ray…