FanMade: Production Updates On Phase II, Farragut, Hidden Frontier & Exeter + Enterprise Production + more

Summer seems to be the time for Fan Productions to do their filming. For this belated FanMade we have production updates from the producers of Phase II, Starship Farragut and Hidden Frontier, including some exclusive preview photos. We also have an update on the Filmation-style fan made animated series and a new Enterprise fan production that is all about action (figures). Lastly there is a rare update on Starship Exeter.

 

Farragut wins award – building for the future
Earlier this month the TOS-era Starship Farragut fan film team was honored by having their second episode "For Want of a Nail" win Best Fan Film at the Wrath of Con film fest in Florida (see press release). You can download that episode at the official Farragut site. The Farragut team are in post-production on their third release, a fifteen minute long ‘Crew Log’ vignette titled "Just Passing Through" which will be released in August. This weekend they are wrapping up principal photography on their fourth release, the vignette "A Rock and a Hard Place." Producer/star John Broughton tells TrekMovie they are hoping to premiere that one at the Farpoint Convention in February 2009. Here are a couple of exclusive shots from their current shoot.


Broughton’s Capt. Carter – fighting off the Klingons…and the ladies
(click to enlarge)

Farragut are already planning their fifth installment which will be filmed on new sets being built in Cincinnati. Up to this time Farragut have primarily been using the sets built for New Voyages/Phase II. The team have already built a new shuttle set (below) which is being used for the fourth installment. Farragut also recently brought on board Trek vet Leslie Hoffman to help with stunts and and become a SAG signatory, so things are getting more and more serious for this fan film outfit.


Farragut get their own Shuttle…more sets on the way

Phase 2 shooting 2 + premiering next episode at Shore Leave
Another fan film that is currently shooting is Phase II (formerly New Voyages). Due producer/star James Cawley’s aggressive release plans and the logistics of getting everyone together, they are actually shooting two full episodes back to back. They are right now finishing up "Enemy: Starfleet" which was written by Dave Galanter and Patty Wright based on a story by Galanter and Greg Brodeur. This ‘classic TOS action/adventure’ is being directed by Kevin Rubio (Troops).[UPDATE: due to a last minute issue, Kevin could not direct and so the episode is being directed by Ben Tolpin, who is also the new Spock]. The episode features features  Barbara Luna (TOS Mirror, Mirror" – Lt. Marlena Moreau) in a new role (Luna pictured at the top of the article with Calwley, see interview and pics with Luna here). G4tv’s Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira was to play Lt. Kevin Riley, but had to cancel at the last moment. Cawley provided TrekMovie.com with an exclusive preview picture from "Enemy Starfleet" depicting a big moment for Chekov (now played by Jonathan Zungre).


Kirk (Cawley) makes Chekov (Zungre) a lieutenant
(click to enlarge)

After "Enemy Starfleet" wraps, they will move on to "The Child," written and directed by Jon Povill. The episode was originally written by Povill for the planned ‘Phase II‘ series in the 70s and  was later reworked into the TNG episode of the same name. Povill, who worked on both the original Phase II as well as Star Trek The Motion Picture, has been working closely with Cawley as they transition the fan series to bridge the gap between TOS and TMP. The releases for these two episodes have not been announced, but the next episode of Phase II "Blood and Fire Part 1" is almost ready and will premiere the second weekend of July at the Shore Leave convention in Baltimore, MD (it should be available for viewing online later by late Summer). For more on Phase II, visit the official site.


Freeman (Evan Fowler) and DeSalle (Ron Boyd) in "Blood and Fire"
(click to enlarge)

 

Beta Shield wraps + trailer
The Hidden Frontier/Starship Intrepid joint film Operation Beta Shield has recently wrapped and is currently being scored by David Beukes. They have also released a trailer (below), as well as some bloopers.

Hidden Frontier Producer Rob Caves tells TrekMovie they are currently filming the season finale for the Helena Chronicles as well as the first episode for Federation One (the follow-up series to the "Operation Beta Shield" film). Both will be released in the Fall. More info on those series at HiddenFrontier.com

And as if they didn’t have enough Trek projects going, the Hidden Frontier group now have their own original series in the work called "Frontier Guard," which is a sci-fi series set in the 25th century. Check out the first teaser trailer below.

 

Animated Farragut gets the Scheimer approval
Michael Struck, producer of the upcoming TAS-inspired Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes, recently met with Lou Scheimer, co-founder of Filmation, the original producers of Star Trek The Animates Series. Scheimer endorsed the project and will even be making a cameo voice appearance. The first episode  is still on track for release by the end of the year. Struck sent in another exclusive image of a Saladin-class ship (USS Azrael)  from TAE. More info at farragut-animated.com.


Farragut TAE working hard to recreate that Filmation style (click to enlarge)

 

Star Trek Enterprise – in plastic
This week Star Trek Enterprise finally got its fifth season via a new fan production, but there are two catches. Firstly it is being done entirely with action figures, and secondly, it is in German. The production is called "Star Trek Enterprise – The New Generation" and the first episode "Time Mirror" is available now for download at the official site


Jonathan Archer never looked so real

Exeter Episode 2 finished by the end of the year?
There hasn’t been much to report in FanMade on the TOS era production Starship Exeter since last September’s release of the third act of the second episode "The Tressaurian Intersection." Fans have been waiting since 2005 for this episode to be completed, and now comes word that 2008 may be their lucky year. On the official forums, co-producer Josh Johnson told fans he and his brother and co-producer Jimm Johnson had just finished a rough cut of the final act, and that it "should be done before the end of this year." Johnson went on to say that there are already plans afoot for the next episode. No word on when that episode might emerge from Exeter’s slow cooker, but patience is a key virtue for any fan of Exeter.


The end is in sight for the 2nd episode of Exeter

 

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Lot’s of great Trek stuff!

Thanks Anthony!

Great stuff alright.

I’m looking forward to Farragut TAE.

I love this site!

Who is that that Cawley is holding up top. If it’s Barbara Luna then that lucky devil. And that’s me saying that about a woman who’s old enough to be my woman. Wait minute…she is as old as my mother. I still lover her.

5

I meant “old enough to be my Mother”.

Archer looks less stiff than usual. (Had to.)

Yes, Mr. Cawley appears to be living the RHIP lifestyle.

Did Starship Exeter fall into a black hole???

It’s unfortunate they didn’t proof read the “Frontier Guard” trailer. Oh well, it looks interesting and I’ll probably check it out, so I do all of the other fan made productions.

Barbara Luna is a hottie and a really nice person. I met her at a convention in London.

It should be noted that Patty Write co-wrote “Enemy: Starfleet” with me, and was invaluable in making not just the script, but the shoot happen. (She’s a jack-of-all trades on set.)

9

She’s also the hardest working person at convention, and as I’ve said many times, a case study in how it should be done. She could write a book for all levels. Bit players or biggest stars. She’s amazing. Again, I loves her.

Starship Farragut: TAE is getting Lou Scheimer to do a cameo voice??? I’M IMPRESSED!!! And they seem to be capturing the Filmation style of the ships dead-on. As a Filmation fan, I’m loving this.

I am a HUGE hidden frontier fan, it is my personal fav.
Loving all the good news for Farragut, and The “lost” years of TOS are being nicely filled in by Cawley and Co.

All in all, this is fandom at its best, these guys get no money, they do it for the love of it. And i’m very grateful.
Good to see TREK with so much heart put into it.
Great article Anthony.

I was at the Phase II shoot. Luna was glorious

I wish I had Trekker friends to make fan films with…

Most of my friends have never even seen an episode of Star Trek, and they always look at me funny when I suggest we play landing party. :(

Maybe Crawley could use Farragut’s Shuttle sets. Unfortunately Cincinnati is no where’s near Buffalo.

Barbara Luna is Hot!! MILF!!! =P

I’m looking forward to the finish of ‘Tressaurian Intersection’. This episode is an outstanding fan production so far, second only to New Voyages/Phase II.

#18-I agree on all points. but I put it above New Voyages/Phase 2. But, I can understand your point of view, especially since NV/P2 put things out at lightning speed compared to the Exeter crew. But, as an Exeter fan, I’d just say, “good things come to those who wait.”

By the way, I can’t believe I forgot to say this, Barbara Luna is definitely capital H O T…. hot, hot hot!!!

I am SO ready for “Blood and Fire”.

man i love all the fan shows, Starship Farragut , Hidden Frontier, Starship Exeter, Phase II and many more, cant say enough good things about them all . those people put alot of hard work into them and it shows. Also have to thank them for giving us some new trek to watch while we wait for the movie. keep up the good work.

There are good and bad points to what I call the “Big Three” of Trek fan films (New Voyages/Phase 2, Farragut and Exeter), but there’s so much more to enjoy. I’ve had more genuine Trek-fan pleasure from the fan productions than most of the Berman-run period of ST TV series. The fan films come close to feelling like real Trek–as opposed to productions with Trek-ian trappings, but little substance.

16 – The New Voyages set isn’t near Buffalo either. ;) But I hear you, still, they’ve done shoots in Cali, and to use and endlessly used quote, “There are always possibilities..”. I suppose it would depend on whether they need to do any more shots in a shuttlecraft, and that they wouldn’t find it easier or better to do in CGI…

Love Exeter and Farragut !!!!! Most compelling of the fan films!! FWOAN blew me away!!! I saw it last month just by dumb luck surfing the web. I don’t believe I ever even saw a mention of it here until I gave it a shout last month. Good to see it’s getting some love.

One correction should be noted regarding the Phase II episode “Enemy: Starfleet.” Kevin Rubio stepped down as director at the last minute. Instead, the episode was directed by Ben Tolpin, who also plays Mr. Spock for the fan series.

Love the starship effects from Hidden Frontier. Some of the acting scenes don’t gel as well though with the effects. It almost seems like they are talking in slow motion. I’m guessing that they are using teleprompters in some of the scenes to deliver their lines, which unfortunately can make actors sound wooden if they are saying the lines word-for-word. Acting is about body language as much as it is about delivering lines. The effects scenes that were added behind actors with green screen also distract a bit (in a Babylon 5 kind of way).

I´ve just completed producing English Subtitles for the German Production “The Time-Mirror”.

I`ll mail them to the Producer Juergen Kaiser now.

You can expect to download the episode with these within the next week(s).

Stephan Mittelstrass
Bavaria Germany
One of the Operators of the German Phase II-Mirror

That Cawley is one lucky fan dude. Talk about a dream.

I looked at the Of Gods and Men website and it appears that the 3 part film is only allowed for view on-line as a flash movie? I was hoping it was downloadable so one could burn on disc to view on a proper large screen display. Is this true or is there a downloadable version?

I guess I can understand if they want to do it this way to hold onto some of the rights.

I think Exeter was the “breakthrough” fan film as the Tressaurian Intersection is genuinely enjoyable to watch, with engaging characters- their central triumverate work very well and personally I wish they could work at a more than glacial pace, as as a viewer this is something I’d like to see more of.

New Voyages, or Phase II, whatever, didn’t really work for me until World Enough And Time, which is without a doubt a stunning achievement, though tempered somewhat by the considerable professional input on that episode. It’s going to be hard to match but I look forward to seeing whether they can keep up that quality.

But Farragut… oh, Farragut. What’s to say about it? I tried watching the second episode recently and I just couldn’t. It never for a second makes one think one is watching anything other than a bunch of dweebs dressing up. The captain character is horrendously miscast, the dialogue is stunningly awful and stunningly awfully delivered. Of course they have every right to do whatever they want, and if they want to make fan films that’s up to them. But from a viewer’s perspective it’s just risible. Something that stuck in my mind from their first film was a long dreary sequence of the captain and a couple of other bods wandering about in the woods whining about the head of security, or whatever he’s supposed to be, in which the phrase “rules lawyer” came up. Yeah, D&D players, running a starship. Sigh.

Unfortunately, Kevin Pereira was also not able to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

Lt. Marlena Moreau was the best looking of Kirk’s women.

@ Anthony P,
Just wanted to point out misspelling in title, “Enteprise” (missing an r).

Sorry, it didn’t come up at first. You can delete it for me (incl this one).
Thanks.

There’s also a British FF currently moving into production called Trinity – check out http://www.st-t.co.uk

That is one *sharp* looking shuttlecraft set.

The “Farragut” folks are fun to hang out and work with – they’re all friends, and very laid back in the way they relate to people (there’s nothing laid back about the pace at which they put “Farragut” together). Much the same is true of the other fan film folks I’ve worked with and/or gotten to know on “Exeter” and “Phase II.” People who are creative for the sake of being creative just don’t seem to be terribly frustrated or critical. :-)

For some reason, Kevin Riley was always one of my favorites…it’s a bit dissapointing that Attack of the Show’s Kevin Pereira can’t portray him, but I’m glad Cawley is including the character.

The Farragut shuttle looks excellent. I love the fact that fans are rebuilding those cheesy (no offence intended) sets from the 60’s with such faithfulness and precision. Obviously a labour of love.

“Ill Taake you home again…Kathleen…..”
One More Time!!

I would like you all to know what a wonderful person
Barbara Luna is
She came to the sets even though she did not have scenes to shoot that day
She hung out with us talking about her favorite Rock Bands and the concerts she seen and the shows and people she worked with
She Insisted on paying her own way for food
She gave out autographs and took pictures to anyone who wanted one
She talked TREK and SCiFI with us…
She wore some realy awesome “HOT” costumes and modeled them for us….
Then when she took to the “Set” and actually acted out her parts
“My JAW DROPPED!!”
She is as good as an actor as she is fun person to hang with
To truly stunning Lady……
James ……you blew those takes on purpose didn’t you…..
just to do it agian and again……

YEAH BABY!

I’ll say again………..I loves her.

I thought the Exeter’s Tressaurian Intersection was great!

With all the money that these fan productions put into sets and costumes.

To then shoot them on a Camera like an XL-2. It seems kind of slanted to me.

well its not all fan productions that use the XL2.

Phase II films in HD… so defiantely not the XL2 and i don’t think the folks from Hidden Frontier etc use the XL2 either.

But yes it seems the Farragut folks are using the XL2.

For anyone who may be wondering,
The Fan series, “star Trek : Protector,”
Looks to be set for 2009, the guy in charge (Scott), has just posted on his sites forums that he was in hospital, he is weak, but out now and is working on revising the scripts.

Also, I think its very cool of Rob Caves (the main man behind Hidden Frontier), to have fans of the series submit mp3’s of a few lines for voice roles. Its pretty cool as it is a nice thought to get the fans to participate.

Cheers.

I’m a doofus. I said “Patty Write” when it’s “Patty Wright.” This is what happens when you post on little sleep and are thinking “she’s one of the writers.” I blame Patty for being a writer named Wright. ;-) Sorry, Anthony and Patty.

BTW, great and intriguing trailer for “Frontier Guard.” It’s way past time that the folks who’ve gained so much experience doing fan films branched out into original productions.

Fanmade TOS stuff, it’s ALL good! I guess the SciFi channel still hasn’t figured this out yet. Alot of potential SciFi audience that would otherwise watch their network want original Star Trek.

I can’t remember the last time I watched SciFi channel. I think it was back in 1999. Alot of mindless drizzle on there since.

Ahhhh, FanMade™. ALWAYS love the updates on the FanMade™. Love it so much that I want to marry it, as they say. You know, when they say, “Well, hitch1969©, if you love it so much, then why don’t you marry it???”

That’s why I am here, hat in hand®, on bended knee™, seeking AP’s blessing so that I may take FanMade™’s hand in holy matrimony. Til death do us part and so forth. “I, hitch1969©, take thee, FanMade™, to be my lawful wedded …” an all dat rot.

Phase Dos™, what CAN I say? Me not so sure what JC™’s strategem is these days… but me still 100% behind him. Mine is not to question, it is simply to appreciate.

Good to see the Pennsylvania Dutch© back in action with the Farragut. I burned a copy of “For Want Of A Nail” for my mother. She’s also Pennsylvania Dutch™, from those parts before migrating to Colorado anyway. That’s how I recognized your accents, dude. Anyway, she loved the episode. I think it reminded her of the homeland.

Speaking of accents, where in the world is Nick “C is for Cookie”? That’s good enough for me. His FanMade™ taught me alot about my own prejudices an the races n whatnot. Helped me get past my own racialism. TOLD me that we is a universal people no matter how bad the accents or miking as the case may be. Maybe hitch1969 hears what him wants to EAR, maybe me own racials cloud me EARing. And so forth and so on. Perhaps he’s in a pub in Dublin. I always thought that would make a grate song by U2. “A pub in Dublin”. Recorded in Dubly™, of course. Magically delicious!

Enterprise in German? I’m sorry dude, but NO HABLA. That’s one accent that I don’t think I can work around. I can say “Volkswoggen” and “Heineken” and that’s about all the German stuff that I know. Lettuce please get this translated into God’s language, the language that The Bible™ was written in, ENGLISH. Not the Queen’s English, but good old fashioned American HAMBURGERS N HOT DOGS N APPLE PIE english, por favor? As spoken by hitch1969©.

Overall, the state of FanMade™ is a grate state. This makes me so very very happy.

BEST!!

=h=