Fan films are by far the highest form of fan production around today but who are they, where did they come from and how do they relate to each other? Consider Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, Star Trek: Intrepid, Star Trek: New Voyages, Starship Exeter and Star Wreck. Kirok of L'Stok has taken his reporting on the five major fan films producing today and turned it into a chronology that we wager you'll find interesting and illuminating.
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier is a fan phenomena! Fifty episodes in seven seasons, roughly one every two months for seven years! Strictly speaking they are not now in production since the series finished earlier this year, however it lives on in the form of not one but two new productions: Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles and Star Trek: Odyssey
Star Trek: Intrepid, an example of what can be accomplished by a group with a common bond - their love of Star Trek - plus years of methodical and painstaking care! Starting life as just a group of friends with an idea, this Scottish group took a character driven script and strong performances, added solid production values like beautiful CGI & crisp, green-screened backgrounds and gave us a memorable Star Trek experience.
Star Trek: New Voyages is without a doubt the highest profile Star Trek fan film around today and deservedly so! Their commitment to a high quality show that resonates with the style and panache of the shows of the Original Series makes them the benchmark against which fan films in all genres measure themselves. The roll call of stars that they have been able to get as guest stars on their shows is nothing short of amazing!
Starship Exeter, the Cinderella of Star trek fan films! On the one hand their second episode has been plagued by an extended period of post-production and yet it still holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Star Trek fans. Looking back, as we now can with the last act recently made available, fans can say that it was all worth it!
... and Star Wreck: a staggering fifteen years of parody and biting satire, the result of one man's passion and dedication that made a film that is credited as being the most popular Finnish film of all time! In doing so they have developed a methodology, an international web of resources and contacts, an internet based project management and distribution network that could revolutionise small film making, Ravens Nest.
This body of work is a 25 page consolidation of my reporting on these five major Star Trek fan films still in production today. I make no claim to it being a complete coverage, especially to the early years and to the latest news. I can't even make any claims to it being comprehensive of my own work; I know that there are some pieces written by one of my split personalities that are not included here!
I believe though that you will find it of interest, not least because it is a transcription, only lightly edited for this context, from primary source documentation of the time. I hope that the reader will see the connectivity of the Star Trek fan production community who I have found to be, as a rule, generous and helpful with their time and resources. How one group will pass on props to another and that group might have its stars cameo in the work of another. In nearly all cases they treat each other in a gentlemanly manner that is so very refreshing in a world that only seems to value status and competitiveness.
Five Fan Films, A Chronology 1 3
Friday, December 14, 2007
Day 4: Four Podcasts
Last year I attended a workshop on Podcasting at Conflux 3 and gained a broadstroke introduction to the technical and stylistic aspects of podcasting from the guys at Coolshite. Since then, I’ve been an advocate of fan audio productions on the internet and I hope I can convey some of that enthusiasm to you today.
Everybody's heard of them but not everyone understands what they are. Think of podcasts as radio programmes that you can listen to any time you want to, as many times as wish. There are fundamental differences of course. They are not professional productions although some are sponsored. Some of the best ones play on their spontaneity, their freedom from commercial broadcasting pressures, such as the classic video podcast “Ask a Ninja” with its manic ‘stream-of-consciousness’ wit.
Most serve a niche market. Hailing Frequency for example draws it's fanbase from the Star Trek gaming world. Run by Zach and Kinneas, and not to be confused with the newsletter of TrekUnited, Hailing Frequencies Open, they entertain and inform with a sequence of fast-paced, authoritative yet casual segments from a cast of colourful characters.
I'm not much of a gamer, although I'm the sire of two manic gamers, but this is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine. Sure its a quick & easy way of keeping up with gaming news and opinion but it's also, when you look below the surface, real multimedia! Kinneas is an accomplished artist and topics reported on Hailing frequencies have got a habit of being lampooned in ST:Oned, his fanzine now with it's own website. Similarly original music featured in "Fleet Radio", an idea for a radio station actually IN Star Trek:Online, sometimes gets the Kinneas treatment as a music Video. I'll tell you more about that on Day 7 though! The Hailing Frequency forum completes the package with episode links, interview transcripts, feedback and discussion threads as well as galleries
The multimedia continues next episode with a short audio drama! The valiant crew of the USS Devilfish must fight to save Christmas from an evil foe - good meets bad in the ultimate battle. Old enemies return and new enemies are revealed. Resistance is definitely not futile!
Twerpcast is another podcast that has ties to other media. TWERP - Time Well Electronic Recording Productions - is a group of friends who also create audio dramas: Star Trek: Eras is on its act 1 of it's 3rd episode whilst Star Trek: NX-01 is in pre-production. Conceptualized in the summer of 2006 by two Star Trek geeks, Jim Caswell and Doug Zeitlen who realised that there was a market out there for audio presentations, which meant that they didn't have to actually step in front of a camera to convey their stories -- and the world cheered! Realizing that we had more than just Star Trek in us, we developed a production company. It was Doug that wanted to do a podcast as part of our stable; thus TWERPcast was born.
They are great people to know - quick to help anyone who is trying to get set up with an audio production of their own. Their whole production comes across as casual and laid back. "We try to give segments of our lives, presenting a show that's more like listening to a couple of friends chatting than tuning into a podcast. We all have those friends that we just sit and talk with. We want to be those friends to you."
The "Love Long And Prosper Podcast", winner of the Winter ’07 Podcast Peer award, has a strong, upbeat formula that draws you into the life of Dan and C.J., a young Middle class, Arizona couple who talk about life, the universe, and the joys of parenting within the context of Star Trek fandom. Every podcast they talk about a different Trek episode or movie in ‘Private Quarters’, this week it is ‘Day of the Dove’, and this week they feature a classic story re-told by the one and only Worf (sounding suspiciously like Admiral Andy from The AndyCast) – they even get Filky with a Trek Christmas carol!
Podcasting is a very supportive community and Dan & CJ’s production has featured many of their friends from around the internet over the past couple of months, including Shelly’s Podcasts, The Redboy Podcast , Tvindy Time and Barely Podcasting. For example as they complete reviewing a season of Star Trek, they host an awards show, appropriately named the LLAPPys, with winners in various categories, including "best newly discovered race", "best weapon", and "most homo-erotic moment" announced by their friends from all the different podcasts.
Which brings us to our last podcast - Things are Looking Up With Indiana Jim! (TALU) Jim Perry's passion is writing and podcasting and he combined both recently with his audio drama comedy, "Thesis A Fanstasy". Jim was able to rope in some of his favorite podcasters as his voice actors, such as Jack Mangan, LeAnn Mabry, Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit, Doug Rapson, Jack Hosley, Christiana Ellis. If you listen closely you'll even hear a certain Shlomi of Vulcan!
He's reported extensively on podcasting, recently interviewing author and 'podcasting legend' Tee Morris, and has tried a few different projects of his own, most recently The Fanboy Sportscast. His other major interest is the craft and business of writing, most noticeably the interface between amateur and professional writer. I know Jim from articles he has submitted for Sci Fi Studios magazine so when I found out his interest in interviewing writers who had made the transition from fan to professional I introduced him to Larry Nemecek, the Editor in Chief of SFS Mag.
Larry made that transition way back in the 90's! Starting off by writing several successful fanzines, working in fan clubs and organising SF conventions he got his big break in 1989 when his annual episode guide and concordance fanzine for Star Trek: The Next Generation came to the attention of Gene Roddenberry. Since then he has published the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, become a regular contributor and editor on startrek.com, edited The Communicator for the Official Star Trek Fan Club as well as writing columns for various Star Trek magazines.
Jim has been delayed in getting his podcast out because Larry has been a might preoccupied with the disappearance of his job with startrek.com last week, but has finally been able to connect with Jim to deliver a great interview!
Everybody's heard of them but not everyone understands what they are. Think of podcasts as radio programmes that you can listen to any time you want to, as many times as wish. There are fundamental differences of course. They are not professional productions although some are sponsored. Some of the best ones play on their spontaneity, their freedom from commercial broadcasting pressures, such as the classic video podcast “Ask a Ninja” with its manic ‘stream-of-consciousness’ wit.
Most serve a niche market. Hailing Frequency for example draws it's fanbase from the Star Trek gaming world. Run by Zach and Kinneas, and not to be confused with the newsletter of TrekUnited, Hailing Frequencies Open, they entertain and inform with a sequence of fast-paced, authoritative yet casual segments from a cast of colourful characters.
I'm not much of a gamer, although I'm the sire of two manic gamers, but this is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine. Sure its a quick & easy way of keeping up with gaming news and opinion but it's also, when you look below the surface, real multimedia! Kinneas is an accomplished artist and topics reported on Hailing frequencies have got a habit of being lampooned in ST:Oned, his fanzine now with it's own website. Similarly original music featured in "Fleet Radio", an idea for a radio station actually IN Star Trek:Online, sometimes gets the Kinneas treatment as a music Video. I'll tell you more about that on Day 7 though! The Hailing Frequency forum completes the package with episode links, interview transcripts, feedback and discussion threads as well as galleries
The multimedia continues next episode with a short audio drama! The valiant crew of the USS Devilfish must fight to save Christmas from an evil foe - good meets bad in the ultimate battle. Old enemies return and new enemies are revealed. Resistance is definitely not futile!
Twerpcast is another podcast that has ties to other media. TWERP - Time Well Electronic Recording Productions - is a group of friends who also create audio dramas: Star Trek: Eras is on its act 1 of it's 3rd episode whilst Star Trek: NX-01 is in pre-production. Conceptualized in the summer of 2006 by two Star Trek geeks, Jim Caswell and Doug Zeitlen who realised that there was a market out there for audio presentations, which meant that they didn't have to actually step in front of a camera to convey their stories -- and the world cheered! Realizing that we had more than just Star Trek in us, we developed a production company. It was Doug that wanted to do a podcast as part of our stable; thus TWERPcast was born.Now on their ninth episode, they talk about their favourite movies, television, books - whatever
moves them at the time. Their usual formula is to show where we've come from, where we are and where we'd like to go. The podcast they have created for us lives up to my every expectation! Like expert collectors showing you over their collection, they point out the details and generalisations that define where Star Trek has come from, The Original Series, and where it is going, the upcoming film.
moves them at the time. Their usual formula is to show where we've come from, where we are and where we'd like to go. The podcast they have created for us lives up to my every expectation! Like expert collectors showing you over their collection, they point out the details and generalisations that define where Star Trek has come from, The Original Series, and where it is going, the upcoming film.They are great people to know - quick to help anyone who is trying to get set up with an audio production of their own. Their whole production comes across as casual and laid back. "We try to give segments of our lives, presenting a show that's more like listening to a couple of friends chatting than tuning into a podcast. We all have those friends that we just sit and talk with. We want to be those friends to you."
The "Love Long And Prosper Podcast", winner of the Winter ’07 Podcast Peer award, has a strong, upbeat formula that draws you into the life of Dan and C.J., a young Middle class, Arizona couple who talk about life, the universe, and the joys of parenting within the context of Star Trek fandom. Every podcast they talk about a different Trek episode or movie in ‘Private Quarters’, this week it is ‘Day of the Dove’, and this week they feature a classic story re-told by the one and only Worf (sounding suspiciously like Admiral Andy from The AndyCast) – they even get Filky with a Trek Christmas carol!
Podcasting is a very supportive community and Dan & CJ’s production has featured many of their friends from around the internet over the past couple of months, including Shelly’s Podcasts, The Redboy Podcast , Tvindy Time and Barely Podcasting. For example as they complete reviewing a season of Star Trek, they host an awards show, appropriately named the LLAPPys, with winners in various categories, including "best newly discovered race", "best weapon", and "most homo-erotic moment" announced by their friends from all the different podcasts.Which brings us to our last podcast - Things are Looking Up With Indiana Jim! (TALU) Jim Perry's passion is writing and podcasting and he combined both recently with his audio drama comedy, "Thesis A Fanstasy". Jim was able to rope in some of his favorite podcasters as his voice actors, such as Jack Mangan, LeAnn Mabry, Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit, Doug Rapson, Jack Hosley, Christiana Ellis. If you listen closely you'll even hear a certain Shlomi of Vulcan!
He's reported extensively on podcasting, recently interviewing author and 'podcasting legend' Tee Morris, and has tried a few different projects of his own, most recently The Fanboy Sportscast. His other major interest is the craft and business of writing, most noticeably the interface between amateur and professional writer. I know Jim from articles he has submitted for Sci Fi Studios magazine so when I found out his interest in interviewing writers who had made the transition from fan to professional I introduced him to Larry Nemecek, the Editor in Chief of SFS Mag.
Larry made that transition way back in the 90's! Starting off by writing several successful fanzines, working in fan clubs and organising SF conventions he got his big break in 1989 when his annual episode guide and concordance fanzine for Star Trek: The Next Generation came to the attention of Gene Roddenberry. Since then he has published the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, become a regular contributor and editor on startrek.com, edited The Communicator for the Official Star Trek Fan Club as well as writing columns for various Star Trek magazines.
Jim has been delayed in getting his podcast out because Larry has been a might preoccupied with the disappearance of his job with startrek.com last week, but has finally been able to connect with Jim to deliver a great interview!
Personally I can only see an expansion of the world of podcasting in the future driven by advances in technology – expansion into community & satellite radio, faster, cheaper internet connectivity, a blurring of the boundary between mobile phones and PDA’s that will turn them into mobile entertainment systems. The only problem with such expansion might be a flooding of the aether such that it will become hard for the listener to know what is worth listening to.
Plug yourself into podcasts! Pickup an mp3 player, load on your podcatching software – I use PodcastReady – hook yourself up to the ‘Net and choose your downloads – Don’t forget to load these four up! Here are the RSS feeds …
Hailing Frequency
......... http://www.hailingfrequency.co.uk/podcast.xml
The Love Long And Prosper Podcast
.........http://www.lovelongandprosper.com/podcast/?feed=rss2
Things are Looking Up With Indiana Jim!
.........http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThingsAreLookingUp?format=xml
Twerpcast (Has no xml)
.........http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/STE_Newsletter/
Day 3: Three Wise Men
Star Trek was the first serious science fiction aimed at the mainstream public and Gene Roddenberry set the tone for the series by getting real science fiction writers to write for him. Today we are going to introduce you to three wise men. I make no claim that they are the wisest of men but each has had something to say during the year, using Star trek as their vehicle, that I have found either profoundly inspiring or profoundly challenging ... and isn't that what science fiction is supposed to do?
Over the years, the five series, ten movies and hundreds of episodes, the Star Trek universe has developed into a rich mythology of heroes and villains, epic sagas and stand alone parables. It has fictional races in it that have taken on a very real existence in the modern psyche and developed sociological concepts that have grown far beyond the world of fiction.
Even I would not go so far as to say that Star Trek embodies the very best in challenging science fiction, it is after all still shackled by the almighty Nielsen ratings. However it has been the catalyst for others to make some fascinating observations about existence and the human condition.
I must preface this by saying that whereas all the other days are a product of teamwork, the responsibility for today's present to you lies solely with me, Kirok of L'Stok.
My first nomination is to someone who has used their association with Star Trek to aid an international campaign to bring the light of freedom and democracy, something that so many Western nations take for granted, to a military dictatorship far more repressive than any fictional Romulan Empire. I refer of course to Walter Koenig's July visit to Thailand and his continuing advocacy of human rights in Burma. Walter is still very much a working actor and writer as can be seen from his recent interview with William S. Kowinski on his "Soul of Star Trek" Blog (in itself a rich source of brain food). His trip preceded the recent public outcry over the Burmese government's and the UN and US condemnation. As he says on his website ...
My last nomination is not a person but a group, a fanzine in fact. Star Trek has often confronted debates about politics and religion. Personally I've been preoccupied over the past month with the lack of religious ceremonies in Star Trek, not because I wish to see any particular religion or philosophy endorsed by Canon, but rather because I believe that the human condition requires ceremonies and occasions that mark the milestones of our lives. Christenings, weddings and funerals mark the three conditions of mankind and without ceremonies to mark them what does that say about us?
Trekdom, Star Trek fanzine is a Blogzine that, in it's own words, publishes provocative interviews, think-pieces, and op-eds on Star Trek so you read it at your own risk! In the past two months, they have had 14 articles including "Star Trek and Religion", a rant about the Inconsistencies of Capt. Janeway, "Star Trek as Liberal; Star Wars as Conservative" and "Communism and Star Trek - Is the Federation the Ultimate Communist State?" Challenging reading! However, it is only by reading something that you disagree with, that you can be forced yourself to reevaluate and, in many cases, strengthen your ideas.
If you disagree, though, why? You have to have motives for your actions otherwise it is supposition. Seasons greetings to all!
Over the years, the five series, ten movies and hundreds of episodes, the Star Trek universe has developed into a rich mythology of heroes and villains, epic sagas and stand alone parables. It has fictional races in it that have taken on a very real existence in the modern psyche and developed sociological concepts that have grown far beyond the world of fiction.
Even I would not go so far as to say that Star Trek embodies the very best in challenging science fiction, it is after all still shackled by the almighty Nielsen ratings. However it has been the catalyst for others to make some fascinating observations about existence and the human condition.
I must preface this by saying that whereas all the other days are a product of teamwork, the responsibility for today's present to you lies solely with me, Kirok of L'Stok.
My first nomination is to someone who has used their association with Star Trek to aid an international campaign to bring the light of freedom and democracy, something that so many Western nations take for granted, to a military dictatorship far more repressive than any fictional Romulan Empire. I refer of course to Walter Koenig's July visit to Thailand and his continuing advocacy of human rights in Burma. Walter is still very much a working actor and writer as can be seen from his recent interview with William S. Kowinski on his "Soul of Star Trek" Blog (in itself a rich source of brain food). His trip preceded the recent public outcry over the Burmese government's and the UN and US condemnation. As he says on his website ...
"I was shocked at how little I knew," Koenig, 70, said, referring to the hundreds of thousands of refugees living along the border in Thailand. "The time was right in my life to be a part of something that is worthwhile. It's one thing to espouse a liberal and political attitude - and quite another to act on it."My next nomination is again about someone who has espoused a real world advocacy but might come as a surprise because the gentleman concerned is better known for his commentary on the latest rumours about the upcoming Star Trek XI movie than any of his editorial comment. In July, Anthony Pascale wrote on his TrekMovie.com blog an article entitled "Time to Form Starfleet", which was set off by the thirteen space agency agreement to co-ordinate future exploration . Mr Pascale said at the time ...
The United States Campaign for Burma, an activist group based in Washington, D.C., organized the trip to northwest Thailand where he met civilians suffering from battle injuries and disease.
Star Trek fans share a value system that will help connect them to the refugees and shine a spotlight on their plight, Koenig said.
"In the original series, we were an international, interethnic, interracial community," Koenig said. "People have responded to that for 40 years and I think there's a sense of benevolence and humanity in the fans. Their nerdiness not withstanding makes them good company to get the word out."
Any Trek fan knows that eventually humans will work together in the exploration of space. To have various groups of humans duplicate effort and cost is clearly illogical, and lets face it…there has been an astouding lack of progress. ... The obvious solution to all of this is a new level of cooperation where all agencies and countries of the world can work together and share both the burdens and the benefits of the exploration of space. Let us all band together and begin to discover all the strange new worlds that await us.Like most Trek fans I am a great fan of space exploration and sadly it looks like the initiative to share resources in space seems to be dissipating in a new nationalism that is reviving the space race that, although it motivated governments to finance the multi-million dollar Apollo project, internationally it cost the global economy dearly in duplicated infrastructure. I for one would cheer just as loudly if the next astronaut to land on the Moon were Chinese, Indian, Russian or American.
Trekkies are famous for protests and letter writing campaigns to save fictional TV series. How about turning those energies into getting involved in real public policy. Let your government know that you support the human exploration of space and unmanned space science. Hopefully through the cooperation with international partners one does not have to come at the cost of the other.
My last nomination is not a person but a group, a fanzine in fact. Star Trek has often confronted debates about politics and religion. Personally I've been preoccupied over the past month with the lack of religious ceremonies in Star Trek, not because I wish to see any particular religion or philosophy endorsed by Canon, but rather because I believe that the human condition requires ceremonies and occasions that mark the milestones of our lives. Christenings, weddings and funerals mark the three conditions of mankind and without ceremonies to mark them what does that say about us?
Trekdom, Star Trek fanzine is a Blogzine that, in it's own words, publishes provocative interviews, think-pieces, and op-eds on Star Trek so you read it at your own risk! In the past two months, they have had 14 articles including "Star Trek and Religion", a rant about the Inconsistencies of Capt. Janeway, "Star Trek as Liberal; Star Wars as Conservative" and "Communism and Star Trek - Is the Federation the Ultimate Communist State?" Challenging reading! However, it is only by reading something that you disagree with, that you can be forced yourself to reevaluate and, in many cases, strengthen your ideas.
If you disagree, though, why? You have to have motives for your actions otherwise it is supposition. Seasons greetings to all!
Day 2: Two Fanzines
Christmas should be a time when you can sit back and enjoy some light holiday reading. Fanzines, literally fan-made magazines, have been around since the 1930's and for the most part have survived the leap from paper to the Internet age. Today I feature two fanzines, Imaginations Unlimited, a member's project of Starfleet International, and Acrux, a new Blogzine that this month focuses on the Twelve Trek Days of Christmas.
The opportunities today for creative people to self-publish are immense - you can blog your thoughts, podcast on your fan obsession (watch out for Day 4!), create a newsletter in any one of a number of different media, contribute to fan fiction archives, virtual seasons, play by mail RPG's ...
However there is a form of fan publication that has been around since before there was an internet, yes, when people could only distribute their writing on pressed wood pulp known as paper. Fanzines have today become a significant part of our literary culture but it was not always so. Where have they come from? What have they become? But more to the point of the Twelve Trek Days of Christmas what part did Star Trek play in their development and what lies in their future?
In his 1973 "The World of fanzines", Frederic Wertham describes fanzines as "uncommercial, nonprofessional, small-circulation magazines which their editors produce, publish and distribute. They deal primarily with fantasy literature and art. The fact that they are not commercially oriented, may come out irregularly, and are privately distributed differentiates them from the professional newsstand magazines. Their writers and readers belong chiefly to the under-thirty group." He cites "The Comet" that came out in 1930 as the first fanzine although Wikipedia traces their roots to amateur press associations that go back to the 19th century. If you're interested in reading transcriptions and scans of historical fanzines look no further than Fanac.
J.M. Verba's "Boldly Writing" gives us a pretty exhaustive picture of the early history of Star Trek fan activity between 1967 & 1987 - that it was a fertile time for Trek fanzines can be seen from the fact that she has a five page list of 'zines that are referenced in the book! Another important resource is "Star Trek Lives" by Jacqueline Lichtenberg who, with her writing partner Jean Lorrah, whose work was in Spockanalia, the first Star Trek fanzine, are two early luminaries of the Trek fan world who have gone on to champion the use of action / adventure stories to test the boundaries between science fiction and romance.
Star Trek has always had an emphasis on character centric storylines and over the years a subgenre of Trekzines have come to focus on love and lust in the Star Trek universe. One of the ways that Star Trek fanzines broke new ground was with the invention of the term slash, from "Kirk-slash-Spock" (K/S), the idea of Kirk and Spock being lovers.
For the purposes of this project, I set myself the goal of looking for fanzines that covered four criteria: They had to be about Star Trek, free, family friendly and a fanzine as opposed to a newsletter. Whilst the first three are self-evident, why, you might ask, make the distinction with the latter?
There is no hard and fast definition of what is, and is not, a fanzine. Over the course of the years different subsets of the fanzine world have been identified, such as Perzines (personal 'zines) Clubzines and even Crudzines which are the 'zines that no-one likes! One of the things that they all have in common though is their individuality: they have a purpose ... even though that purpose might be, to be aimless!
Newsletters on the other hand have one, over-riding purpose, they exist to report on and for their readership or membership. Their scope of content is created to cater for the likes and dislikes of the members. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the newsletters of Star Trek fan clubs and Starfleet international is a perfect example of this. Not only is there an expectation that a chapter or 'ship' will have its own newsletter, like the ScuttleButt that I have edited. Often there are newsletters for the region, such as the award winning Subspace Communicator and SFI has an excellent, long-running, tabloid-sized, hardcopy newsletter sent by mail to all members, Communique and has in the past produced their own fanzine, the last being Stellar Visions V which was released at the 2003 International conference at Greensboro, NC.
So what is the difference? Because of their mandate to focus on the membership, a newsletter sacrifices a large amount of the individuality that is part and parcel of the fanzine. A newsletter editor would be remiss if he reported on the latest casting rumours from the set of the new Star Trek film at the expense of reports that could encourage a member to participate and feel part of the crew. By the same token, Jacques Moreu, a some-time Star Trek fan of Montreal, is unlikely to be interested in the administrivia of a Star Trek club in Ohio. This is not to say that the Ohio newsletter does not have some well written material that is of general interest to Star Trek fans all over the world, but you might have to search for it.
Club newsletters need to have a certain amount of general Star Trek news because part of the scope of a club's newsletter is that it acts as the chapter's window to the outside world through which interested members of the public can peer in and see if there is anything happening that they might find interesting, thus drawing new members.
Imaginations Unlimited is a Trekzine that follows the formula of providing a regular dose of fan fiction for it's readers. Edited as a members project by Jeff Davis, the chapter president, or CO, of the USS Indiana, which is a chapter of the largest science fiction fan association in the world (according to the Guiness Book of Records) Starfleet International (SFI).
Jeff's fanzine follows the accepted Trekzine formula of a fan fiction anthology covering short stories, serials, artwork, poetry, filk, etc. He draws his material from a core of contributors in SFI's Region 1, covering Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North & South Carolina and Virginia & West Virginia although submissions from outside this area are welcome. Especially for the Twelve Trek days of Christmas he has released a 37 page Christmas special with a Christmas themed story from his long-running "Captain Ryan Chronicles" entitled "Not Quite A Dickens Classic". The Imaginations Unlimited website sometimes has issues with different browsers, so if you can't get the download links to work, use these direct links:
2006: Sep, Nov
2007: Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov, Christmas Special
The term Trekzine has, to a certain extent become synonymous with the semi-professional fanzines that are for sale by mail order or from dealers tables at conventions. They still retain the flavour of their roots in the early Star Trek 'zines of the 1967 - 1987 era which is described in J.M. Verba's definitive "Boldly Writing". If you are interested in the phenomena you will want to get a copy of Jacqueline Lichtenberg's seminal "Star Trek Lives" as well which covers the whole fan experience of the time, not just fanzines.
Most fanzines were, in practical terms, free - the pittance that was asked was barely enough to cover photocopying and mailing expences. Interestingly it was usual for a fanzine editor to offer a free exchange with other editors, such that they would send you one of theirs in exchange for one of yours. This had the effect of encouraging a readership of people who would be expected to have similar interests. In their heyday, fanzines were a forum for discussion for their readership and it was expected that if you exchanged fanzines, you would exchange LOC's or
"Letters Of Comment" about matters raised in articles. because they were hand-made, artwork was often original and hand-drawn.
The problem is that many of the functions that the fanzine used to service for the literary everyman have been usurped by other, more efficient internet-driven media. Whereas APA's struggled to distribute contributions from isolated members, internet forums and mailing lists take all the work out of it ... although alas perhaps some of the style as well? Similarly, whilst a Letter of Comment might be laboriously drafted and typed out, to be mailed off once a month, now we can dash off our thoughts and comments in a night, to see them exhibited and commented back on within minutes.
The internet is changing many of the things that made fanzines what they are. I found the article "Fanzines: Their Production, Culture and Future" by Phil Stoneman to be fascinating and stimulating reading, even though the thrust of the content was more on music 'zines in the UK. I particularly liked his comparison between Perzines and personal home pages, to which, given the speed with which things change, I would now add Blogs, Facebook or MySpace. These all facilitate cultural communication far quicker than the unwieldy fanzine yet ... I cannot help but think that it might be that very aspect of the intermittent nature of LOC's that makes them more valued.
The other fanzine for Day 2 is slightly more experimental and yet at the same time more traditional. Acrux is a fanzine that I publish as a personal project. Acrux is what you might call a blogzine, a fanzine created using Blogging software - very simple to set up and maintain and yet it has enough flexibility to have it's own individual look.
In my case, I've set up the front page using a four column template developed by Mauriya The Ripper and detailed by myself. This front page (set up to emulate the look of a four column newspaper) is the navigation and credits page, with everything linked to more standard formula Blog pages. My philosophy is to try to get closer to the format of yesterday whilst still using cutting edge technology so, if you see something that you think requires a response, feel free to leave me an electronic 'Letter of Comment".
What does the future hold for fanzines? Well they're certainly not going to disappear altogether. Perhaps they will be relegated in the not-so-distant future to a historical curiosity? Who know? If we take as given that "content is king" then how much should the fanzine need to change? I think the challenge is to utilise changing technology to improve the mechanics of production, delivery and feedback so that the writer's content can shine through in a stylish, stimulating and entertaining fanzine.
All that's needed is to work out just the right combination of good fiction partnered with intelligent comment and feedback. Planet fanzine and Sci Fi Studios Magazine are examples of what I see as a step in the right direction to creating an easy & consistent 'zine using blogging style software.
What is for sure is that there will be a steady and possibly growing audience for everyman publishing and for those interesting in fanzines I'd say, be bold! Go for it!
The free downloads linked from here are all fan productions. The trademarks and copyrights of Star Trek lie with CBS / Paramount and no profit can be directly or indirectly made from fan productions. Any attempt to sell, rent or otherwise make a profit from any of these projects will be reported to the copyright owners or their licensees for their action.
The opportunities today for creative people to self-publish are immense - you can blog your thoughts, podcast on your fan obsession (watch out for Day 4!), create a newsletter in any one of a number of different media, contribute to fan fiction archives, virtual seasons, play by mail RPG's ...
However there is a form of fan publication that has been around since before there was an internet, yes, when people could only distribute their writing on pressed wood pulp known as paper. Fanzines have today become a significant part of our literary culture but it was not always so. Where have they come from? What have they become? But more to the point of the Twelve Trek Days of Christmas what part did Star Trek play in their development and what lies in their future?
In his 1973 "The World of fanzines", Frederic Wertham describes fanzines as "uncommercial, nonprofessional, small-circulation magazines which their editors produce, publish and distribute. They deal primarily with fantasy literature and art. The fact that they are not commercially oriented, may come out irregularly, and are privately distributed differentiates them from the professional newsstand magazines. Their writers and readers belong chiefly to the under-thirty group." He cites "The Comet" that came out in 1930 as the first fanzine although Wikipedia traces their roots to amateur press associations that go back to the 19th century. If you're interested in reading transcriptions and scans of historical fanzines look no further than Fanac.
J.M. Verba's "Boldly Writing" gives us a pretty exhaustive picture of the early history of Star Trek fan activity between 1967 & 1987 - that it was a fertile time for Trek fanzines can be seen from the fact that she has a five page list of 'zines that are referenced in the book! Another important resource is "Star Trek Lives" by Jacqueline Lichtenberg who, with her writing partner Jean Lorrah, whose work was in Spockanalia, the first Star Trek fanzine, are two early luminaries of the Trek fan world who have gone on to champion the use of action / adventure stories to test the boundaries between science fiction and romance.
Star Trek has always had an emphasis on character centric storylines and over the years a subgenre of Trekzines have come to focus on love and lust in the Star Trek universe. One of the ways that Star Trek fanzines broke new ground was with the invention of the term slash, from "Kirk-slash-Spock" (K/S), the idea of Kirk and Spock being lovers.
For the purposes of this project, I set myself the goal of looking for fanzines that covered four criteria: They had to be about Star Trek, free, family friendly and a fanzine as opposed to a newsletter. Whilst the first three are self-evident, why, you might ask, make the distinction with the latter?
There is no hard and fast definition of what is, and is not, a fanzine. Over the course of the years different subsets of the fanzine world have been identified, such as Perzines (personal 'zines) Clubzines and even Crudzines which are the 'zines that no-one likes! One of the things that they all have in common though is their individuality: they have a purpose ... even though that purpose might be, to be aimless!
Newsletters on the other hand have one, over-riding purpose, they exist to report on and for their readership or membership. Their scope of content is created to cater for the likes and dislikes of the members. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the newsletters of Star Trek fan clubs and Starfleet international is a perfect example of this. Not only is there an expectation that a chapter or 'ship' will have its own newsletter, like the ScuttleButt that I have edited. Often there are newsletters for the region, such as the award winning Subspace Communicator and SFI has an excellent, long-running, tabloid-sized, hardcopy newsletter sent by mail to all members, Communique and has in the past produced their own fanzine, the last being Stellar Visions V which was released at the 2003 International conference at Greensboro, NC.
So what is the difference? Because of their mandate to focus on the membership, a newsletter sacrifices a large amount of the individuality that is part and parcel of the fanzine. A newsletter editor would be remiss if he reported on the latest casting rumours from the set of the new Star Trek film at the expense of reports that could encourage a member to participate and feel part of the crew. By the same token, Jacques Moreu, a some-time Star Trek fan of Montreal, is unlikely to be interested in the administrivia of a Star Trek club in Ohio. This is not to say that the Ohio newsletter does not have some well written material that is of general interest to Star Trek fans all over the world, but you might have to search for it.
Club newsletters need to have a certain amount of general Star Trek news because part of the scope of a club's newsletter is that it acts as the chapter's window to the outside world through which interested members of the public can peer in and see if there is anything happening that they might find interesting, thus drawing new members.
Imaginations Unlimited is a Trekzine that follows the formula of providing a regular dose of fan fiction for it's readers. Edited as a members project by Jeff Davis, the chapter president, or CO, of the USS Indiana, which is a chapter of the largest science fiction fan association in the world (according to the Guiness Book of Records) Starfleet International (SFI).
Jeff's fanzine follows the accepted Trekzine formula of a fan fiction anthology covering short stories, serials, artwork, poetry, filk, etc. He draws his material from a core of contributors in SFI's Region 1, covering Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North & South Carolina and Virginia & West Virginia although submissions from outside this area are welcome. Especially for the Twelve Trek days of Christmas he has released a 37 page Christmas special with a Christmas themed story from his long-running "Captain Ryan Chronicles" entitled "Not Quite A Dickens Classic". The Imaginations Unlimited website sometimes has issues with different browsers, so if you can't get the download links to work, use these direct links:
2006: Sep, Nov
2007: Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov, Christmas Special
The term Trekzine has, to a certain extent become synonymous with the semi-professional fanzines that are for sale by mail order or from dealers tables at conventions. They still retain the flavour of their roots in the early Star Trek 'zines of the 1967 - 1987 era which is described in J.M. Verba's definitive "Boldly Writing". If you are interested in the phenomena you will want to get a copy of Jacqueline Lichtenberg's seminal "Star Trek Lives" as well which covers the whole fan experience of the time, not just fanzines.
Most fanzines were, in practical terms, free - the pittance that was asked was barely enough to cover photocopying and mailing expences. Interestingly it was usual for a fanzine editor to offer a free exchange with other editors, such that they would send you one of theirs in exchange for one of yours. This had the effect of encouraging a readership of people who would be expected to have similar interests. In their heyday, fanzines were a forum for discussion for their readership and it was expected that if you exchanged fanzines, you would exchange LOC's or
"Letters Of Comment" about matters raised in articles. because they were hand-made, artwork was often original and hand-drawn.
The problem is that many of the functions that the fanzine used to service for the literary everyman have been usurped by other, more efficient internet-driven media. Whereas APA's struggled to distribute contributions from isolated members, internet forums and mailing lists take all the work out of it ... although alas perhaps some of the style as well? Similarly, whilst a Letter of Comment might be laboriously drafted and typed out, to be mailed off once a month, now we can dash off our thoughts and comments in a night, to see them exhibited and commented back on within minutes.
The internet is changing many of the things that made fanzines what they are. I found the article "Fanzines: Their Production, Culture and Future" by Phil Stoneman to be fascinating and stimulating reading, even though the thrust of the content was more on music 'zines in the UK. I particularly liked his comparison between Perzines and personal home pages, to which, given the speed with which things change, I would now add Blogs, Facebook or MySpace. These all facilitate cultural communication far quicker than the unwieldy fanzine yet ... I cannot help but think that it might be that very aspect of the intermittent nature of LOC's that makes them more valued.
The other fanzine for Day 2 is slightly more experimental and yet at the same time more traditional. Acrux is a fanzine that I publish as a personal project. Acrux is what you might call a blogzine, a fanzine created using Blogging software - very simple to set up and maintain and yet it has enough flexibility to have it's own individual look.
In my case, I've set up the front page using a four column template developed by Mauriya The Ripper and detailed by myself. This front page (set up to emulate the look of a four column newspaper) is the navigation and credits page, with everything linked to more standard formula Blog pages. My philosophy is to try to get closer to the format of yesterday whilst still using cutting edge technology so, if you see something that you think requires a response, feel free to leave me an electronic 'Letter of Comment".
What does the future hold for fanzines? Well they're certainly not going to disappear altogether. Perhaps they will be relegated in the not-so-distant future to a historical curiosity? Who know? If we take as given that "content is king" then how much should the fanzine need to change? I think the challenge is to utilise changing technology to improve the mechanics of production, delivery and feedback so that the writer's content can shine through in a stylish, stimulating and entertaining fanzine.
All that's needed is to work out just the right combination of good fiction partnered with intelligent comment and feedback. Planet fanzine and Sci Fi Studios Magazine are examples of what I see as a step in the right direction to creating an easy & consistent 'zine using blogging style software.
What is for sure is that there will be a steady and possibly growing audience for everyman publishing and for those interesting in fanzines I'd say, be bold! Go for it!
The free downloads linked from here are all fan productions. The trademarks and copyrights of Star Trek lie with CBS / Paramount and no profit can be directly or indirectly made from fan productions. Any attempt to sell, rent or otherwise make a profit from any of these projects will be reported to the copyright owners or their licensees for their action.
Day 1: The Hako Enterprise Bridge
Our first present to Star trek fans is a scale card model of the NCC 1701 Enterprise, Kirk’s Enterprise from the Original Series, designed by Ron Caudillo and hosted by Jon Leslie on his LHVCC website. These have been designed as 6-8 modules that can be made individually or joined together to make a complete bridge set scaled to be used by Hako Clones. Don’t know what a Hako Clone is?
When people think of fan productions they think of entertainment, fan films, audio dramas, Machinima, that type of thing. However entertainment is many things to different people. Some are only happy when they have something to do with their hands, something to make and do, something that exercises their own creative talents. Plastic models spring to mind and certainly there is a strong fan following for the scale models released by Polar Lights and AMT – checkout Polar Lights and AMT for the latest kits for sale.
However there is a form of modelling, that has been around longer than plastic, that is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment – paper modelling. With the aid of their home computers, some drawing software, a printer and the internet, Star Trek fans have made available an amazing array of scale ships, full sized props and Hako clones.
So what is a Hako Clone anyway? Originating from Japan, where ‘Hako’ means box, they were popularised by the development work of Masamune Washington, known by his signature line as the “Mad Modeller Masamune”. A Hako Clone is a small model caricature, typically of a TV or movie character or celebrity, they are easy to design, because they are nearly all based on standard templates, and easy to build with few, if any, awkward curves. The essence of the ideal behind them is that they are quick, simple and fun – all attributes that make them an ideal introduction to paper modelling for kids. In fact, many paper modellers make them for fun then donate them to children’s hospitals afterwards.
Ron Caudillo is a paper model designer of considerable skill and talent and his scale model of the NCC 1701 on Jon Leslie's LHVCC website is still considered to be one of the best available. He followed this up last year with a scale model of the Enterprise Bridge (also on the LHVCC site) which I suggested might make an excellent play set for kids who make the Star Trek Hako crew. A family man himself, he jumped at the chance!
Ron’s completed model consists of six ‘stations’ that make up the outer ring walls of the bridge plus the command chair and helm & tactical control stations from the centre. As at the release date of December 14th the six wall modules have been completed along with building instructions. Unfortunately the centre command stations will only be available after Christmas but this is a way of life with Fan Productions where quality means more than deadlines!
To keep you busy until then, I am making available the original Hako crew of the Enterprise! These guys were created mostly by Butch Price, back in 2004, and range from the classic crew members of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, through to Kor, the Klingon. There’s even a “battle damaged” Red Shirt and a tribble! These are all based on the original template developed by Masamune Washington ... except the Tribble of course!
On of the beauties of Ron’s design is that each module is in fact a free-standing scenario in it’s own right so that even just one would make a great stand or display for one of your prized Hakos. Another advantage to the modular design is that you can make take one or more of them out and use the bridge as a mini studio to photograph your Hakos for web comics or stop motion
animation.
Star Trek fans support the professional production of more Star Trek on screen and as licensed goods. If you think these little square dudes are cool, checkout the Minimates released by Art Asylum! ... And if you thought the idea of stop motion filming was only for kids, have a look at what the Dave School has done with MiniMates!
The free downloads linked from here are all fan productions and are not meant to infringe the trademarks and copyrights of Star Trek which lie with CBS / Paramount. No profit can be directly or indirectly made from fan productions and any attempt to sell, rent or otherwise make a profit from any of these projects will be reported to the copyright owners or their licensees for their action.
When people think of fan productions they think of entertainment, fan films, audio dramas, Machinima, that type of thing. However entertainment is many things to different people. Some are only happy when they have something to do with their hands, something to make and do, something that exercises their own creative talents. Plastic models spring to mind and certainly there is a strong fan following for the scale models released by Polar Lights and AMT – checkout Polar Lights and AMT for the latest kits for sale.
However there is a form of modelling, that has been around longer than plastic, that is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment – paper modelling. With the aid of their home computers, some drawing software, a printer and the internet, Star Trek fans have made available an amazing array of scale ships, full sized props and Hako clones.So what is a Hako Clone anyway? Originating from Japan, where ‘Hako’ means box, they were popularised by the development work of Masamune Washington, known by his signature line as the “Mad Modeller Masamune”. A Hako Clone is a small model caricature, typically of a TV or movie character or celebrity, they are easy to design, because they are nearly all based on standard templates, and easy to build with few, if any, awkward curves. The essence of the ideal behind them is that they are quick, simple and fun – all attributes that make them an ideal introduction to paper modelling for kids. In fact, many paper modellers make them for fun then donate them to children’s hospitals afterwards.
Ron Caudillo is a paper model designer of considerable skill and talent and his scale model of the NCC 1701 on Jon Leslie's LHVCC website is still considered to be one of the best available. He followed this up last year with a scale model of the Enterprise Bridge (also on the LHVCC site) which I suggested might make an excellent play set for kids who make the Star Trek Hako crew. A family man himself, he jumped at the chance!
Ron’s completed model consists of six ‘stations’ that make up the outer ring walls of the bridge plus the command chair and helm & tactical control stations from the centre. As at the release date of December 14th the six wall modules have been completed along with building instructions. Unfortunately the centre command stations will only be available after Christmas but this is a way of life with Fan Productions where quality means more than deadlines!
To keep you busy until then, I am making available the original Hako crew of the Enterprise! These guys were created mostly by Butch Price, back in 2004, and range from the classic crew members of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, through to Kor, the Klingon. There’s even a “battle damaged” Red Shirt and a tribble! These are all based on the original template developed by Masamune Washington ... except the Tribble of course!On of the beauties of Ron’s design is that each module is in fact a free-standing scenario in it’s own right so that even just one would make a great stand or display for one of your prized Hakos. Another advantage to the modular design is that you can make take one or more of them out and use the bridge as a mini studio to photograph your Hakos for web comics or stop motion
animation.Star Trek fans support the professional production of more Star Trek on screen and as licensed goods. If you think these little square dudes are cool, checkout the Minimates released by Art Asylum! ... And if you thought the idea of stop motion filming was only for kids, have a look at what the Dave School has done with MiniMates!
The free downloads linked from here are all fan productions and are not meant to infringe the trademarks and copyrights of Star Trek which lie with CBS / Paramount. No profit can be directly or indirectly made from fan productions and any attempt to sell, rent or otherwise make a profit from any of these projects will be reported to the copyright owners or their licensees for their action.
The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas
If you've read the cover page, you will have realised that this is going to be a major collaborative project between a wide variety of Star Trek fan groups. It's primarily meant to be a fun activity by Star Trek fans, however there can be no doubt that it will generate a lot of publicity for the participants and hopefully create and maintain good relations between the various groups. I'm assuming that successful completion of the project could open the way to making it a regular, annual event, which is kinda scary when I think about it sometimes!.
When I've contacted various people I've not asked them to do something specially for this project, instead I've asked, "What are you doing for Christmas?" and given them a framework within which we can collectively try to generate as much action and excitement on the internet with as possible! Some have done things specially for the project and some groups have wholeheartedly supported the idea, specifically TrekUnited without whose help and support I could not have done half of what I have.
Others have said, "Thanks but no thanks!", some quite reluctantly. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed but in all cases I've thanked them for their time, wished them the best for the future and called it quits on that.
It's by far the most ambitious project I've ever undertaken but I'm pretty confident I can get it off the ground. Even when I haven't been able fill a slot, I have ways of faking it since I've got contingency plans in place so that I can make up for any (inevitable!) shortfalls.
Because this is a world-wide project, I have take care over time differences. I'm aiming at releases to come at midnight GMT, which is 7pm & 4pm the previous day in New York & Los Angeles but is 11am & 9am the same day in Sydney & Perth. This means that my "window" for updating the website between Midnight - 6am GMT is before 5pm on the day of the release for me in Sydney and 7pm for JT, my webmaster, in New Zealand. Note that Aus & NZ are both on daylight saving time.
When I've contacted various people I've not asked them to do something specially for this project, instead I've asked, "What are you doing for Christmas?" and given them a framework within which we can collectively try to generate as much action and excitement on the internet with as possible! Some have done things specially for the project and some groups have wholeheartedly supported the idea, specifically TrekUnited without whose help and support I could not have done half of what I have.
Others have said, "Thanks but no thanks!", some quite reluctantly. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed but in all cases
It's by far the most ambitious project I've ever undertaken but I'm pretty confident I can get it off the ground. Even when I haven't been able fill a slot, I have ways of faking it since I've got contingency plans in place so that I can make up for any (inevitable!) shortfalls.
Because this is a world-wide project, I have take care over time differences. I'm aiming at releases to come at midnight GMT, which is 7pm & 4pm the previous day in New York & Los Angeles but is 11am & 9am the same day in Sydney & Perth. This means that my "window" for updating the website between Midnight - 6am GMT is before 5pm on the day of the release for me in Sydney and 7pm for JT, my webmaster, in New Zealand. Note that Aus & NZ are both on daylight saving time.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Kirok on Audio Dramas, Sep '07
And now for something completely different! I've been pondering the problem recently about Star Trek Role Playing Games.
I'll admit to a certain amount of ignorance on this subject, (Checkout this article from an expert) but it appears to me that Role Playing games (RPGs) represent a fast paced, original and easily accessible form of fan fiction. Getting a group of writers to collaborate on a story is like herding cats! Not impossible but a work of diplomacy to edit because of the individuality of the writers. RPGs turn writing into a game, complete with rules, that everyone contributes to readily. They can be very fast-paced as the writers bounce ideas off each other. They can be original in that often the storyline will take unexpected turns as one writer will write in a plot twist in reply to an idea contributed by someone else. Not only this but they can be accessible for people who are intimidated by the idea of creating a story of their own: they can embellish the work of others and get friendly feedback from the group. Since it is meant to be fun no one is pushing them to watch their spelling and grammar or any of the other technical standards that editors ask for in submissions that are for outside readers.
Perhaps that is the secret. They don't seem to be meant as a deep-and-meaningful fiction nor written with others in mind. They're just meant to be fun, to tell a story that you feel involved in.
So how is that a problem? Well, what do you do with them when they reach a conclusion?
To me they represent a vast untapped resource that could be the the genesis of characters and storylines that could be developed further. Some of the Star Trek fan films, ST: Intrepid and Tales of the Seventh Fleet for example, have gone through into production have drawn on their early experience in RPGs. They can be made into short stories or even scripts ... or even more ...
Star Trek: Excelsior is the latest audio drama to hit the internet and in their own words are "notable for being the first-ever Trek production of any sort to be based, rather tightly, on the adventures of a roleplaying game/simm run out of Bravo Fleet. It’s certainly an experiment, but we’re confident that, with some patience and an appreciation for long-form Star Trek storytelling."
This looks like an interesting experiment in translating an RPG into a more polished production although I might point out that both ST: Defiant and the recently deceased ST: The Section 31 Files have a common ancestry in a text-based story list which split from an earlier TrekChatter list in the fall of 1995 as recounted by Judah Frieze in the first "Behind the Scenes" podcast from Darker Projects.
I've listened to Excelsior (not to be confused with the Excelsior of ST: Hidden Frontier) and I think they have a pretty good thing going. The dialogue is realistic and unforced, the delivery is individual and the plot is ... well, still being set up but that is to be expected in a character driven plot.
I look forward to hearing more from this "not-the-usual-suspects" production!
In other news ...
Sep 21, the latest Twerpcast announced that the delayed act 1 of Episode 4 of ST: Eras, "Yours, Mines and Ours", should be out by the end of Oct.
Also from Twerpcast, news that ST: NX01, the fan-made audio series of Season 5 of ST: Enterprise that TWERP (the production group behind ST: Eras) are co-producing with GM Grantham Productions, are still on track for a December release. Announced on the TrekUnited 'EDay', their preliminary recordings have been finished and they will be going into editing after some pick-ups.
Sep 21, ST: Archimedes launched their webpage on the new BrokenSea Audio productions website. Sep 12, Star Trek: The Continuing Mission went into production according to a post on their forum (they also have Podcasts and a Wiki of their own!). This group have been successful in getting news about their new series out into the media, both fan and professional! They recently announced that Lawrence Montaigne, best known to TOS fans as the Romulan Decius from The Balance of Terror and Spock's rival, Ston from Amok Time, "will be featuring in the pilot episode... Ghost ship". Sep 6, Pendant Productions released Episode 16 of Star Trek: Defiant, "Enemies of Mine, part 3" (35mins 05secs) "The crew of the Defiant attends a funeral for one of their own, and Commander Ry forms a plan that leaves the rest of the crew none too happy. Otek is destined for prison, and the Defiant finally meets the Shin'Aqi and the reception is anything but friendly! Featuring a special guest appearance by Jonathan Frakes as Thomas Riker!" Defiant episode 17 is due out on OCT 11 Sep 1, Darker Projects released Star Trek: Lost Frontier episode 3 "Prisoner" (37mins 30secs, 34.5 MB) "The Enterprise responds to distress signal and is surprised to discover it may have Romulan origins. Meanwhile an away team is sent to find a prisoner being held by the faction of the One True Federation." Aug 25, Krako of ST: Unity posted about how he is working steadily on not just episode one but episodes two and three. This might sound unnecessary, but it is usual to have at least a few episodes in hand before releasing the first so that you have leeway for delays in schedule. Act 1 is in post production, Act 2 is nearing completion of production and production of Act 3 is a third done with nearly all lines in. The official announcement about the release date is that there will be no official release date released until it has been completed, and the distribution network tested.
Aug 24, Starfleet Renegades announced that they had done their first table reading and that rehearsals continue. Their Voice Actors should be recording dialogue now and estimated that they were still on schedule to release episode 1, "Court Martial", in late fall.
I'll admit to a certain amount of ignorance on this subject, (Checkout this article from an expert) but it appears to me that Role Playing games (RPGs) represent a fast paced, original and easily accessible form of fan fiction. Getting a group of writers to collaborate on a story is like herding cats! Not impossible but a work of diplomacy to edit because of the individuality of the writers. RPGs turn writing into a game, complete with rules, that everyone contributes to readily. They can be very fast-paced as the writers bounce ideas off each other. They can be original in that often the storyline will take unexpected turns as one writer will write in a plot twist in reply to an idea contributed by someone else. Not only this but they can be accessible for people who are intimidated by the idea of creating a story of their own: they can embellish the work of others and get friendly feedback from the group. Since it is meant to be fun no one is pushing them to watch their spelling and grammar or any of the other technical standards that editors ask for in submissions that are for outside readers.
Perhaps that is the secret. They don't seem to be meant as a deep-and-meaningful fiction nor written with others in mind. They're just meant to be fun, to tell a story that you feel involved in.
So how is that a problem? Well, what do you do with them when they reach a conclusion?
To me they represent a vast untapped resource that could be the the genesis of characters and storylines that could be developed further. Some of the Star Trek fan films, ST: Intrepid and Tales of the Seventh Fleet for example, have gone through into production have drawn on their early experience in RPGs. They can be made into short stories or even scripts ... or even more ...
Star Trek: Excelsior is the latest audio drama to hit the internet and in their own words are "notable for being the first-ever Trek production of any sort to be based, rather tightly, on the adventures of a roleplaying game/simm run out of Bravo Fleet. It’s certainly an experiment, but we’re confident that, with some patience and an appreciation for long-form Star Trek storytelling."
This looks like an interesting experiment in translating an RPG into a more polished production although I might point out that both ST: Defiant and the recently deceased ST: The Section 31 Files have a common ancestry in a text-based story list which split from an earlier TrekChatter list in the fall of 1995 as recounted by Judah Frieze in the first "Behind the Scenes" podcast from Darker Projects.
I've listened to Excelsior (not to be confused with the Excelsior of ST: Hidden Frontier) and I think they have a pretty good thing going. The dialogue is realistic and unforced, the delivery is individual and the plot is ... well, still being set up but that is to be expected in a character driven plot.
I look forward to hearing more from this "not-the-usual-suspects" production!
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In other news ...
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