The Baltimore Comic-Con for 2009 was great. It was their 10th anniversary, and our 2nd time attending this great convention. We met fans of Starship Farragut at the convention, and made a few new ones. Our 1st animated episode was a hit. Many people stopped at the table to take a look at ‘Power Source’ – thinking initially that it was the original animated series of Star Trek! We were happy to give them a DVD of it, as well as other films from our live action series.
Michael Day & Mark Hildebrand at Baltimore Comic-Con
One of our objectives at the convention was to search for a comic book artist to create a comic book for us. We met some really talented artists at the CON, including Terry Huddleston, Robert Ames, Kirk Kugel, Dan Fogel, Joe Pekar, Jerry Bennett, and Jim Sullivan. A few of these artists are interested in doing a comic book adaptation using one of our scripts or doing some other artwork for us (like a storyboard for upcoming episodes). So far, Jerry Bennett appears to be the guy onboard and currently drawing likenesses of the main three characters and a faux comic book cover. More details to follow on the upcoming STARSHIP FARRAGUT comic book, as well as an update to Kail Tescar‘s FILMATION version comic book.
We also met up with Steve Conley, who was one of the illustrators on STAR TREK YEAR FOUR comic book series. When we attended in 2007, Steve drew likenesses of CAPT Carter and CDR Tacket. This time when we met up, we asked him to do a likeness of Engineer Smithfield and one of all three together – see below.
"Three Amigos" by Steve Conley
I also got a chance to catch up with David Miller, another talented artist who developed Starship Farragut’s first storyboards, which were used on our SERIES TRAILER – which was first introduced to folks in early 2006. David is also interested in helping us with a comic book adaptation.
In all, it was great to get expose a different set of folks to our animated episode, as well as our live action series and to recruit for a comic book artist. I am looking forward to our next Baltimore Comic-Con experience next year.
I thought I’d again interview Michael Struck, Manager of NEO f/x and fellow producer of the Starship Farragut project.
Now that POWER SOURCE is completed and you’ve released the trailer for THE NEEDS OF THE MANY – how are things progressing on the 2nd animated episode?
Very well, actually. This last week Jack and I went through about 3 versions of the edit and have now gotten it to the point where we are happy with it. There are a couple lines that the Farragut folks need to record/re-record, but for the most part we are getting rather close to calling that act locked. From there we send it off for sound effects and music.
With feedback from folks, as well as internal lessons learned, I’m thinking that the next one should progress better. Your thoughts?
I think just the speed at which we are putting this out is a testament that we have a good ‘pipeline’ for producing these. Not on a weekly basis like Filmation did in the 70′s, but quicker than the 1 year it took to put out Power Source.
When do you anticipate completing and releasing THE NEEDS OF THE MANY?
With Power Source, we released each act separately, with about 2 months between the first act and closing the episode out. This time, with the timing coming around the holidays (Nov/Dec), we may simply wait and release the whole thing at once. I think the fans are divided on which release method is the best. I know the story flows better if you have the whole thing available, but I love giving fans ‘cliffhangers’. Either way, the whole thing will be out by the end of the year.
It was great to hear Lou Scheimer’s voice cameo on the trailer for THE NEEDS OF THE MANY. I cannot wait to hear his thoughts on having seen POWER SOURCE and the trailer for the 2nd animated episode.
I am going to schedule some time to go and see him…He was impressed with the samples I sent him months ago, and hope he likes the final product.
Is the same group of artists working on this episode as before?
For the most part, yes. There were a few artists that did specific parts in each episode. For example, the nebula remains in Power Source were done by an artist that doesn’t have any contribution in The Needs of the Many, and there is another artist that did many of the designs for the Gorn and Andorian ships that didn’t have any work in Power Source. Unlike the Filmation episodes, we are making sure the credits accurately reflect those who helped out with each episode.
Can you tell us a little bit how this episode differs from Power Source.
Well, just like any television show, there is a variety of stories one can tell….Man vs Man, Man vs Society, Man vs. Machine, etc. Power Source is what I would call a ‘classic’ Trek story…The crew is on a mission, there is a conflict, and they must resolve the conflict before time runs out. This is VERY typical of classis Trek…The Needs of the Many has a similar theme…however; the implementation is a bit different. Instead of an exploding planet, we have a VERY upset Gorn that wants revenge against the Federation, specifically Kirk. He sets a chain of events in motion that bring some special guests onto the Farragut. There are also some elements of time-travel in this episode, but not as you might typically think of time travel; more like the TNG episode Yesterday’s Enterprise where the results of a decision in the past affects the future. One could say there are parallels between this episode and the JJ Trek released this year [and, ours was written first ]. Unlike the big-budget movie, we are able to correct the timeline changes before the episode finishes…Unfortunately, it takes the sacrifice of someone to make that happen…hence the title and the moral of the story…the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or the one.
I’m proud to relay that “Power Source” is completed! Below are the links on YouTube for viewing the third and final act:
Act 3 – Part 1:
Act 3 – Part 2:
You can also view them on the official website – www.farragut-animated.com. For the release of Act 3, which completes the animated episode, I conducted an interview with Michael Struck, Manager of NEO f/x who has spearheaded STARSHIP FARRAGUT: The Animated Episodes project.
* Michael, you and the rest of the NEO f/x team have completed, “Power Source” – the first ever, full-length animated episode of Starship Farragut. How do you feel about the completed product?
I feel like a very proud parent…It was quite an accomplishment and something new from a ‘fan production’. Unlike the live-versions, a lot more of the burden of this production was in-house at NEO f/x. Of course, we didn’t have to deal with lighting, costumes, weather, and other issues that plague live-action shoots; however, we had our own challenges unique to the format in which we were working in. Most of these issues consisted of finding artists willing to put a LOT of time and effort into drawing characters and their movements. Much of this was accomplished very similarly to how they did it with the original Filmation episodes….A process of ‘rotoscoping’ or basically tracing the characters’ likenesses off of stills. This allowed us to capture the essence of the character.
However, now that we have one episode under our belt, I have had an opportunity to look back at what I got to do to get this episode out the door. First there was working with former Trek alumni like Chase Masterson and Tim Russ, and becoming friends with Chris Doohan. Then, there was meeting Lou Scheimer, which to an animated fan is like a Trek fan meeting Gene Roddenberry. And then, finally, there is getting the fan reaction to what we have done…which is always interesting to say the least . However, I am rather happy with how the last year of the production went.
Well, unlike a television production, we didn’t conceive this project to sell Frosted Flakes or Mattel toys….to us, it was just a natural extension of the live-action Farragut episodes. As such, we have a very narrow audience target…Basically, if you are a Farragut fan you will enjoy seeing the characters you have become familiar with in a new and exciting episode. If you are a fan of the original Filmation Trek, I think you will appreciate how we captured the look and feel of the original, but I would still recommend becoming familiar with the live-action series first so you get to know the characters. However, if you a Star Trek purist and have no tolerance of fan-produced films, this probably isn’t for you. And that is fine…the original animated episodes were not for everyone either..and the only difference is that we don’t lose advertising dollars if you don’t care for it. God Bless the internet!!
Prescott on the Bridge
* In essence, “Power Source” is the first animated episode of Star Trek since Filmation first did it 35 years ago. I’ve received several emails and read numerous postings of folks’ reaction to Acts 1 and 2 of “Power Source” and my take is that some either get it or don’t. What is your thoughts to most folks’ reaction to seeing “Star Trek” in animation?
* I know that Lou Scheimer, Co-Founder and President of Filmation has given his blessings to the project. Has he seen it and what was his reaction to it?
Lou, who is 80, had an opportunity to see various clips of the episode last year, and he indeed was very pleased to give his blessing. His only criticism to me was that I wasn’t making any money off of it I plan to make arrangements to see him very soon and give him a personal screening. It should be interesting to note that Lou, himself, isn’t what he would call a Star Trek fan. However, the man knows his animation and storytelling, so I will be taking notes on what his feedback is. While I liken myself being the parent of these episodes, Lou could be the grandfather, or better yet, the Godparent of these episodes. No matter what they look like, he is happy someone got something out of HIS original work and was inspired to create something on their own.
* Now that “Power Source” is done, the second Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes project, “The Needs of the Many” is in the works. How is this coming along?
Surprising, it is coming along very well. Anyone familiar with Filmation knows that most the poses and background (and music) were reused…almost to the point of being a parody of itself. We have found that with the main characters having already been rendered for ‘Power Source’ that creating future episodes becomes easier and easier. In fact, we already have a trailer prepared for the next episode, and we will be premiering it at DragonCon, and then subsequently on the internet.
I expect the full episode to be released by the end of the year, giving Starship Farragut the distinction of releasing something every year since they were conceived.
* As I recall, you wrote the script for the second episode and proposed to use it for live action filming. How does it make you feel to see it materialize finally? Does it really matter that it went from live action to animation?
Well, since I am one of the artists for both the episodes, along with being the director, editor, and executive producer, having one more credit to my name isn’t that big a deal. And to be clear, the story concept was mine, but the majority of the screenplay credit goes to Jack Trevino of Deep Space Nine fame. He basically took the concept I had and fleshed out a rather decent animated story from it.
The problem with the treatment I proposed for the live action was similar to the struggles the original, live-action Trek of the 1960′s had. The vision proposed was a bit too aggressive for the limited budget of a fan-production. Being in animation, it is actually MORE satisfying to see it onscreen as it more closely matches the original intention of the treatment.
It WILL be a different story than Power Source; however, just like any parent of multiple children, I can’t find myself being more proud of one episode more than the other. Each fits into Trek-lore nicely… and will allow NEO f/x to leave their mark in the fan-film world.
Thanks Michael for your time and congratulations to you and the NEO f/x team for completing, “Power Source.” The Farragut team stands ready to do voicework on the next animated adventure of the Starship Farragut!
We also met up with Steve Conley, who was one of the illustrators on STAR TREK YEAR FOUR comic book series. When we attended in 2007, Steve drew likenesses of CAPT Carter and CDR Tacket. This time when we met up, we asked him to do a likeness of Engineer Smithfield and one of all three together – see below. 
]. Unlike the big-budget movie, we are able to correct the timeline changes before the episode finishes…Unfortunately, it takes the sacrifice of someone to make that happen…hence the title and the moral of the story…the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or the one.
