The Avalon Universe – Fan Film Factor

The TOP 10 CRITICISMS of Star Trek fan films…and why they’re mostly B.S. (guest blog by JOSHUA IRWIN)

Jonathan Lane here with a quick introduction. Joshua Irwin is the showrunner and force-of-nature behind the AVALON UNIVERSE fan series, as well as a helper-outer on countless other fan films whose showrunners have requested his assistance. Josh’s skills as a filmmaker come from both film school and a quarter century working in the film industry in Arkansas. So I feel it’s fair to say that, when it comes to producing Star Trek fan films—from writing to directing to editing and everything in between—Josh knows what he’s doing.

With dozens of Star Trek fan films under his belt in various capacities, Josh has seen countless comments posted about his videos on YouTube, both positive and negative—although vastly more of the former than the latter. The irony about the negative comments, however, is that Josh never criticizes the work of any other fan filmmaker, at whatever level.

Sadly, other fans do not share Josh’s discretion when it comes to posting criticisms about his and others’ fan film projects. That’s not to imply that Josh’s work leaves no room for improvement. Josh himself can be extremely self-critical in very practical ways, and he is well aware that constraints on time, money, availability of cast and crew, and resources in general can severely limit what he is able to accomplish and produce. And indeed, Josh is always open to well-thought-out and reasonable constructive critiques of his projects.

However, YouTube provides very little of that. Instead, criticisms posted about Josh’s fan films—much like criticisms posted about most fan films—tend to be drive-by complaints and insults or unsolicited pieces of “friendly advice.”

Recently, Josh posted to Facebook a list of the kinds of criticisms he usually receives and why most of them tend to be pretty worthless. While some constructive critiques are indeed smart and insightful, the following ten types of criticisms are, for the most part, a complete waste of everyone’s time and brain cells. I asked Josh if he’d like to turn his Facebook post into a guest blog, and he happily agreed.

And now, here’s Josh…

PLEASE HELP fan film actress ALEX REXFORD become a MOMMY…

When I take the time to recommend donating to a crowd-funder, it’s usually to support a producer trying to make their fan film dream come true. But today’s blog is about a fan film actress and helping her and her husband make their dream of adopting a baby come true.

ALEX REXFORD is the amazing actress who took over the role of Micheala Allenby in THE AVALON UNIVERSE, making her very memorable fan film debut in CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS at the end of last year.

Alex will appear again in an upcoming TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE release next month, and later this year, Alex will star in the Avalon series finale THE ONCE AND FUTURE CAPTAIN.

But now Alex and her husband Peter are ready for a different role: being parents. But they need our help.

People who have never adopted a child often ask: “Why does it cost so much?” Adopting a child can range between $25K and $50K!!! There are many reasons for this. In the case of my wife and I adopting our son Jayden 13 and a half years ago, costs included:

A California adoption attorney ($12K) because there are so many legal rstrictions that vary by state.
A California adoption agency ($5K), required for us to register with under California law.
Costs for medical exams, maternity clothing, food, rent, car maintenance, etc. for not one but two birth mothers (as we had a mom change her mind at the last minute—and no, they don’t give you back the thousands of dollars you gave them if they change their mind, and you can’t sue them for it because those were considered “gifts”…since buying a baby violates the 13th Amendment of the Constitution).
Hiring a Louisiana adoption attorney and agency ($12K) at the last minute when Jayden’s birth mother went into labor 5 weeks early in Shreveport, LA, requiring us to fly there rather than flying her here to Los Angeles and therefore placing us under the regulations of the state of Louisiana, which requires an in-state adoption attorney and agency, among other things.
A last-second flight from Los Angeles to Shreveport, hotel stay for ten days until the paperwork cleared with the secretaries of state of both LA and CA, and rental car for that entire time.
Extra hospital costs, as Jayden needed to spend his first few days in the NICU (and because he wasn’t officially our son yet, insurance didn’t cover those costs!).
Believe it or not, hiring a private investigator to track down the birth mother’s estranged husband (wanted or identity theft in Louisiana) in order for him to sign away his parental rights….even though he wasn’t even the real father! (Oh, don’t get me started on Louisiana’s “no bastards” law!)

I wish adoption were less expensive because I know how many couples can’t conceive and would love to adopt. And the costs of overseas adoption and/or IVF are comparable. Have your bank account full, and your credit card handy if you’re not able to make a baby in the more fun, old-fashioned way!

A public APOLOGY and sincere THANK YOU to C.W. THOMPSON from myself and JOSH IRWIN…

It’s never easy to admit that you screwed up. But that happened in December, and now is the time and place to acknowledge and try to correct it.

To understand what happened, we need to leapfrog back to last October and a crisis that happened with CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS. After working on the project for over two years and putting several thousand dollars of his own money into it (along with several thousand dollars that were crowd-funded from fan donors), AVALON UNIVERSE showrunner JOSH IRWIN was in a serious bind. A final shoot had been scheduled for the upcoming weekend with an actress who needed to travel from Oklahoma to Arkansas, and expenses for gas, food, and lodging for the weekend were promised to be covered. But a last minute unrelated emergency put Josh in a bind of quite literally being too broke to afford reimbursement for this person, nor did she have the financial means to make the trip without it.

Usually when something like this happens, I can come through with a loan or donation. I’ve never advertised this fact, as I didn’t want to become known as an ATM for fan filmmakers. Unfortunately, the Lane family had our own emergency in late September requiring unexpected and significant construction/repair costs, and my days of donating left and right to crowd-funding campaigns are done for now. So I couldn’t help Josh personally.

Over the years, CLARENCE W. THOMPSON has been a very generous donor to many fan film crowd-funders, including my own fan film INTERLUDE. Without even telling Josh I was doing so, I reached out to C.W. and asked if he could come through with a donation to help Josh. Without hesitation, C.W. offered a very nice amount that would cover the weekend expenses for this actress and allow her to make the trip. The money was Paypal’d to Josh within minutes. Josh was immensely thankful (as was I!) and promised to include C.W. in the credits as a full producer. C.W. was happy to accept the offer.

Guess what Josh totally forgot to do.

Finishing Crisis on Infinite Excaliburs drained Josh not only financially but also mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. By the time of the last few weeks before the December release, Josh was essentially running the last half-mile of a full marathon, sprinting the entire way. But that’s only a reason for forgetting to include C.W. as a producer in the credits, NOT an excuse.

And why am I apologizing, too? Because Josh asked me to copy-proof his credits. He said, “I always forget someone or something!” He wanted a second pair of eyes to double-check him. And while I did catch several mistakes, I didn’t even notice the omission of C.W.’s name. And so I share a portion of the blame.

HARRY KIM’S NIGHTMARE inspires a new fan film contest: TREKS IN 90 SECS!

Recently, two things happened totally on a lark. The first was JOSH IRWIN, DAVID CHENG, and VANCE MAJOR teaming up for an ultra-short Star Trek fan film titled HARRY KIM’S NIGHTMARE. It was a fun little idea that Josh came up with, essentially a quick gag scene showing Harry Kim decades after Voyager, wearing a STAR TREK: PICARD-era uniform.

Josh enlisted the participation of David Cheng because he played Captain Harry Kim in last year’s BORG HUNTERS fan film from David’s STAR TREK FAN PRODUCTIONS INTERNATIONAL. David has one of those cool leather/suede jackets from Picard season three that he was able to wear as “future” Harry Kim.

As for Vance, well, he had a fourth season DISCOVERY uniform for the dream/nightmare sequence that he was able to make available to David, and Josh had also asked Vance to appear briefly (this was before Vance retired for the final time). Both David and Vance filmed themselves, David against a green screen and Vance with his son ROYCE in the shot. Then Josh edited the best takes together with some quick VFX by DAN BRELAND. The result is a 44-second fan film with another 24 seconds of closing credits…

The release of this “quickie” prompted a second idea on a lark. In a Facebook chat group where numerous fan filmmakers come together to share resources, someone suggested having a contest where all of the entries had to be a minute or less. Everyone loved the idea but felt that 60 seconds wasn’t enough and suggested at least 90 seconds.

And so ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce the…

TREKS IN 90 SECS CONTEST!

The concept is simple: make a complete Star Trek fan film of about 90 seconds in length and post it to YouTube. Then send me the link [ jonathan(at)fanfilmfactor(dot)com ]. The submission deadline will be July 31, 2024. No entry fee.

Then during the first week of August, I’ll post a blog with all of the entries I receive on a single webpage along with a voting widget. Visitors can select their top 1, 2, and 3 choices, and after two weeks of voting, the three videos with the highest totals will be announced as winners.

What’s the prize? Absolutely nothing! No trophy, no online certificate, no spreadable condiment. Just bragging rights. And who doesn’t like to brag, am I right?

So here’s a few minor rules because, well, reasons…

The fan film doesn’t need to be “exactly” 90 seconds. It can be less or even a little more. But if you run over two minutes, it ain’t gettin’ entered.
The fan film needs to be Star Trek related in some way.
The fan film must be a complete “story” (however you want to define that term). It can be funny, dramatic, sad, exciting, all dialogue, no dialogue, whatever you’d like. But what it can’t be is a segment from an existing fan film. It needs to be 100% new.
A maximum of three fan film submissions per entrant.

And that’s it. If any more rules need to be added, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, good luck and have FUN!

Directors’ commentary for CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS from the AVALON Universe… (video interview with JOSHUA IRWIN and TYLER DUNIVAN)

The AVALON UNIVERSE fan series got its start back in 2018 with the production and release of GHOST SHIP. While driving back to northwest Arkansas after a shoot at the TOS sets in Kingsland, Georgia, showrunner JOSHUA IRWIN got an idea for a fan film that would be a crossover of multiple Star Trek realities. And thus was born the fan film that would ultimately become CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALBURS, which was finally released in December of 2023 after more than two years of production. (You can view all Avalon Universe fan films on this playlist.)

The project required over half a dozen different film shoots that were combined with shoots for two other Avalon productions: the already-released KNIGHTS OF THE VOID and the still-t0-be-completed series finale THE ONCE AND FUTURE CAPTAIN. Indeed, Crisis has turned into one of the most ambitious Star Trek fan film projects to date, with nearly 75 fans involved in its creation, including more than THREE DOZEN actors and extras, many of the actors playing multiple roles (doppelgängers from different realities), and a few of them even appearing alongside themselves in the same shots!

In this way, Crisis is unquestionably one of the most technically challenging Trek fan films to date, tackling not only multiple Star Trek realities like the Mirror Universe and Kevin-verse but also other sci-fi franchises like The Orville, Stargate, Babylon 5, Galaxy Quest, Back to the Future, Battlestar Galactica (both versions!), Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Andromeda, Red Dwarf, and even Spaceballs! Heck, it’s even got Elvis!!! Crisis also contains clips from more than two dozen other fan films both past, present, AND future. There literally has never been another fan film quite like Crisis…and very well might never be.

With so many hands of deck, Crisis also holds the distinction of being one of the most cross-collaborative Star Trek fan films since YORKTOWN: A TIME TO HEAL, which combined the efforts of fan filmmakers from dozens of different series in multiple countries. Crisis likewise brought together multiple people from numerous fan projects including CONSTAR, THE FEDERATION FILES, TALES FROM THE NEUTRAL ZONE, STARSHIP ANTYLLUS, PROJECT GEMINI: CROSSROADS, TREK SHORTS, INTREPID, and STARSHIP ARMITAGE.

The finished fan film is, to say the least, stunning. Some fans have called it a game-changer. I just call it a heck of a lot of fun to watch and enjoy, which you can do right now…

Such a complex production of this kind of quality requires a great deal of skill and experience in filmmaking to successfully complete. Fortunately, both Josh and Tyler work professionally in the entertainment industry. But a fan film like this also deserves some special attention when doing an interview.

As such, this time I’m going to do something different than usually do. I’ve noticed a growing trend among fan film podcasters lately of watching the release with the creator(s) and having them comment as it plays. And that’s exactly what I’ve done with Josh and Tyler.

2023 Star Trek Fan Film YEAR IN REVIEW…PODCAST!

In 2017, I began publishing an annual YEAR IN REVIEW blog of major news and events from the world of Star Trek fan films. And 2023 is no different…

…or is it?

This year, for the first time ever, there will be a fan film Year In Review PODCAST! And not just ANY podcast! Joining me today are three other prominent members of the Star Trek fan film community: JEFFERSON “BigJ” KELLEY from BEYOND TREK PODCAST, COUSIN CHEETO from the NERD TUBE YouTube Channel, and JOSHUA IRWIN, the showrunner of the AVALON UNIVERSE fan productions and director/DP-at-large for various fan series. We four have covered, interviewed, and in some cases even MADE Star Trek fan films for the past several years, and now we’re teaming up for the first (and hopefully not last!) time.

The ball started rolling on this idea back in November when Jefferson Kelley reached out to me to with some nice feedback on a blog I’d written about a fan filmmaker whom he’d just interviewed on his podcast, as well. Over the past year or so, Jefferson has been diving ever deeper and more frequently into the world of Trek fan films, and I’ve caught a number of his podcasts. They’re upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic…which is a must for fan films (at least in my opinion!). As we chatted, “BigJ” suggested that we do a podcast together at some point.

My mind started pondering what we could talk about and almost immediately landed on doing this December’s Year in Review as a co-produced podcast with Jefferson and myself co-hosting. “BigJ” loved the idea, and a few days later DM’d me back to ask if Cheeto from Nerd Tube could join us. I suddenly heard Worf’s voice in my head saying, “That would make it a threesome…” and thought: the more, the merrier!

Then Josh ended up getting involved due to the release of his latest Avalon fan film, CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS (which I haven’t had a chance to cover yet). Along with being absolutely jaw-dropping in its production quality, Crisis also represents one of the most collaborative crossovers of fan series and filmmakers since the release of YORKTOWN: A TIME TO HEAL in 2022. Indeed, it was this growing trend of fan film “team-ups” that inspired our co-produced Year in Review podcast…which won’t be branded as either Fan Film Factor, Beyond Trek Podcast, Nerd Tube or Avalon but a true four-way collaboration.

I was telling Josh about the idea, and he volunteered to let us use his Streamyard account for recording the piece, to be our “roving reporter” to interview fan filmmakers, and even to edit the finished production. (As if Josh doesn’t have enough to do already!)

And that’s how Josh made it a foursome!

So please sit back and enjoy this special presentation of the 2023 Star Trek Fan Film Year in Review—with special guests, clips, commentary, and news from this crazy little corner of the Star Trek sandbox (oh, and check out my new “ugly” Star Trek Christmas sweater at the very end, as well)…

“ZERO HOUR” was supposed to be a one-minute PROMO, but it turned into a full seven-minute FAN FILM!

Next week, the eagerly-awaited CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS, the latest fan film from THE AVALON UNIVERSE, will finally make its debut. And having seen an early cut, let me assure you that it will be a game-changer of a release, sure to be talked about excitedly by a LOT of fans for a very long time.

Avalon showrunner JOSHUA IRWIN and his team have poured a massive amount of time, effort, financial resources, and emotional commitment into getting this production perfect. And leading into its December premiere, Josh wanted to release a short promo “ad” on YouTube to tease the new film. But not just any ad, Josh had a clever idea.

As some folks know—and most others can very likely guess—Avalon‘s new fan film features a crossover of many different universes (one might say an infinite number!). And yes, one of those is the Star Trek “Mirror” Universe. VANCE MAJOR, who plays the character of Erick Minard across many fan films and series—including CONSTAR, VALIANT, DREADNOUGHT DOMINION, PROJECT GEMINI: CROSSROADS, ANTYLLUS, NATURE’S HUNGER, RAINCROSS, EAGLE, TASK FORCE 78, and of course, Avalon Universe, where that Minard is the chief engineer of the U.S.S. Excalibur.

But Minard also exists in the Mirror Universe as a villainous sociopath known as The Phantom, a character who will be appearing in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Excaliburs. So Josh thought it might be cool to see The Phantom recording an ominous-sounding log entry for about a minute, hinting at some nefarious plan and ending with “A crisis is coming…” Josh tossed the log entry promo idea over to Vance, offering him complete creative control over whatever he would send back.

Now, technically, Vance officially “retired” from fan filmmaking last year, and this time he actually meant it. Well, mostly. He retired to spend more time with his son Royce, but now Royce wants to make fan films. So Vance is quietly working on CONSTAR: THE MOTION PICTURE, with Royce being the filmmaker in charge. But that’s more of a project done for sheer fun and father/son bonding time.

However, Vance is also available for friends in the fan film community who’d like his help either in front of or behind the camera. In fact, that’s how the “retired” Vance Major wound up appearing as various Minards in Crisis. So Vance was game to do the promo, as well.

But then, like Josh, Vance had a clever idea…

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…

AVALON UNIVERSE releases their 12th fan film: KNIGHTS OF THE VOID! (video interview with TYLER DUNIVAN and JOSHUA IRWIN)

These guys again??? Well, yeah. AVALON UNIVERSE produces a LOT of high-quality fan films! In fact, they’ve just released their 12th completed production in less than five years…with another major release just a couple of months away. That’s more than two-and-a-half fan films per year, folks! (You can watch them all here on this playlist.) So it’s no wonder I’ve published a ton of blogs focusing on showrunner JOSHUA IRWIN and, more recently, his co-director and one of the stars of Avalon, TYLER DUNIVAN.

Tyler appeared in the first two Avalon releases, GHOST SHIP and AVALON LOST, but then he left the series for a period of time—with his character of Captain Derek Mason being killed off. Mason’s love interest, Engineer Jamie Archer (played by actress VICTORIA ARCHER), was then killed off in the following episode, DEMONS, as that actress also asked to leave the series.

Of course, no death is necessarily permanent in Star Trek (paging Captain Spock!), especially when the actors want to come back to their roles, and so both Tyler and Victoria returned to play resurrected versions of their characters a few episodes later in COSMIC STREAM. Since then, both characters have also appeared in a post-credit sequence in the episode AGENT OF NEW WORLDS.

Now, once again, Mason and Archer get an episode all to themselves…well, themselves, a Starfleet crew, and an unexpected visitor. KNIGHTS OF THE VOID is the latest release from the Avalon Universe…

Sadly, there will only be two more Avalon Universe fan films before the series reaches its always-planned conclusion. The first of the two releases will be CRISIS ON INFINITE EXCALIBURS, due out in just a couple of months with an incredible multiverse crossover that is, I predict, going to be talked about throughout many genres of fan films for a LONG time! And then the series will conclude with THE ONCE AND FUTURE CAPTAIN, coming at some point in 2024.

What is particularly interesting (and impressive!) about these final three fan films is that they were shot simultaneously! I don’t mean back-to-back over a single long weekend. There were actually five separate shoots during which scenes for multiple productions were filmed during the same set of shooting days. In fact, according to Josh, there are still two or three shooting days left for the remaining two films in order to get some pick-up shots.

With such a demanding production schedule, Josh determined that there was simply too much for him to coordinate during the shoots all by himself. So Tyler stepped up and offered to direct the actors and their performances while Josh focused more on the technical aspects of the scenes, although Josh still did some directing of the actors, as well.

How did this tag-teaming work and work out? Discover the answer to this question and many others as Tyler and Josh return to their Zoom screens for a lively discussion of Knights of the Void, the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Excaliburs, and other enlightening stuff…