This was a great story. A lot has happened since this article, the studio and Ajax has split into two separate projects, the bridge set has been completed and there have been 3 shows film at the studio with 5 more in pre-production and inquiries from about 8 others. It may be time for an update. Starbase Studios Website Forum Facebook
I was looking (I think) at the Forum calendar. Just the fact that somebody planning a film can go and see what dates are available is great. Right now there are a lot of open dates. I will be interested to see if that calendar fills up and if so, to what extent.
The "free of charge" and "donations accepted" is a little naive. Perhaps the better wording would be "for the cost of filming, period." You are going to find you are paying for a lot of electricity, utlities, upkeep (ie Paint), and damage (both outright damage and just run of the mill "we filmed and dropped a c stand against the side of the helm" damage). Since you aren't saying that people are expected to pay for what they use or to keep the bridge in filming quality, you can't require it...so people are legally able to say "tough luck" when you contact them and say they broke all the buttons off the Captain's chair and you want help paying to replace them. I advise you to reword and to make sure contracts get signed...to protect yourself all around in ways you never expect to need it. I know a studio that got burned by a production company that borrowed the sets and never paid their $3k electric bill - and then stopped payment on equipment they rented. (which wasn't found out until the studio tried to rent equipment from the same rental place and then was told no because they stopped payment on "their" last rental. It took a lot of explaining and scrambling to prove that, although the equipment was delivered to the production's physical studios it was actually rented by another company...just to clear the production's professional rep - as that rental company had spread the word around and they were, in essence, blacklisted because of the people who "borrowed" their sets.)
We are absolutely aware of the risk involved. We operate by a set of CBS guidelines, provided by Phase 2, which clearly states we can't sell or make money from anything "Star Trek" without licensing. There are "loopholes" in the guidelines which would allow us to charge for some things but they are guidelines and not rules. It's not a matter of if we are breaking the rules, it's a matter of if we're making CBS unhappy. Even if we were able to charge for use it would change the fundamental principal for starting the studio in the first place. There are other ways to operate without focusing on profit. There are so many fans who could make great Star Trek fan productions if they had the opportunity. Even though we don't charge for use of the sets the expense in making a film can still be overwhelming. By eliminating what is normally the largest expense we can make producing a film within the reach of most fans. If on the other hand we focused on profit instead of creativity, the expense would quickly climb to the point of being unobtainable for the average fan. This in turn would make the reason for building the studio pointless. Everyone who films here is under contract to repair or replace any damage. So far everyone who has filmed here has been generous with their donations. In our unique situation we have avenues to pursue, for more donations, that other studios don't have. We will remain free of charge for fans wishing to produce their own films.
I know the CBS guidelines, I provided them to everyone on these boards. And I wasn't suggesting you charge - I was suggesting you change your wording from "donations accepted" to "you pay your costs for filming e.g. utilities etc and are responsible for all upkeep and repairs due to your use of the sets". It's good that you have contracts...and it's awesome that you are making your bridge available to everyone.
Just a random thought: if I were managing the facility I would have a walk-through with the production team and look for prior damage or issues and note them on a sheet, the way, say, U-Haul does when you rent a truck. Then have another walk-through after shooting. What I would do if I were a producer using the sets is have a deposit set aside in a separate account that would be expressly for paying for any particular damage done during shooting. (My number is a $1,000) I might not even tell the studio that, but I would expect that there would be some issues that come up just from normal use as Patty noted. If there is any money left over, I'm sure the studio operators would enjoy a pizza party or a couple of cases of Romulan Ale afterwards. As I said, just random thoughts.
I am a huge fan of this project and friends with Scott Johnson, who is a top notch guy. Wishing you all the best! Alec
Tribbles in Ecstasy Take 102: Starbase Studios! Holosuite Media's Tribbles in Ecstasy #102, with guest Starbase Studios, is now available for download or online streaming. http://holosuitemedia.com/review/tribbles-in-ecstasy-take-102-starbase-studios/
My self would like to know this. How much more are you going to do from that set?, will you walk the Hall's and give us more photos of the inside of that ship?. I like to here back from you in pevt e-mail to this question ?.
Thanks for your interest Kenny, I don't have your email address so I sent you a private message. For others who may want to know, we have been up a running on our own only about 4 months so the bridge set is all we have completed. Funds have been donated for the transporter room and construction will start on it when it gets warm enough. After that we hope to build the rest of the Desily/Stage 9 sets including engineering, sickbay, captain's quarters, briefing room and a corridor. Anyone who wishes to contact me in private can use the contact page on our website. It comes directly to my email. Contact Starbase Studios.
Actors and Actresses! Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Trek film? Now you can. You don't have to be a professional actor, we are all just fans and in it for fun. Don't be afraid to give it a try. Post something about yourself, such as a bio and some photos, on our "Actors" board and let visiting productions know your available. Be careful not to post personal contact information, use the board's message system. So far EVERYONE who has posted on the board has been offered a part in at least one show. You do not need to live in the Oklahoma City area to be considered for an acting position but you must be able to keep any commitments to be here for filming days. Starbase Studios Actors Board
A nice video magazine feature about the studio, from our friends at Uncovering Oklahoma. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70SrgwlVj-Q&feature=youtu.be
A wonderful 8 page article on Starbase Studios, written by Samuel Annis, was just release by This Land Press. Samuel visited the studio during the filming of Yorktown: A Time to Heal and did an incredible job of not only writing about the studio but about making a film as well. Please give it a read and give Samuel and This Land Press a big thank you. http://thislandpress.com/04/16/2014/to-boldly-go/?page_num=1
Starbase Studios to produce Starship Grissom. A Star Trek Educational Series. Starship Grissom, the only show actually produced by Starbase Studios, is to our knowledge, the first Star Trek themed educational show. The story follows Cadet Ryley Strong who wins an award and is posted to the Grissom for a mission to colonize a remote planet. The lessons of colonizing our TOS planet will be drawn from the plans to colonize Kepler 186f, the planet recently discovered by NASA which may be inhabitable. The scripts and accompanying lesson plans are written by a group of local teachers and cover many subjects from science and technology to biology and even art and literature. The lessons meet both Common Core and STEM standards and can be freely downloaded by any teachers in the U.S. for use as part of their classroom curriculum. We hope to release the first episode as close as possible to the beginning of the school year. For more information see the Starship Grissom Facebook page.