Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes Questions

[jaksajak]

Hey guys, Act 2 was really cool, looking forward to Act 3! Keep up the good work.

[TigerOfDarkness]

I have to echo jaksajak's comments there - I really enjoyed Act 2. The pacing and voice work was way better. The artwork was really good - the profiles and almost profiles looked great.
Good to see the Azreal interiors are basically the same as the Farragut's - as you would expect from TOS!

[NEO f/x]

Similar...but not exact...same with the Azrael bridge...if you will listen closely in Act 3 when it is released, it be slightly different.

[CaptainKen]

Just getting better and better! The trailer was stunning when it was first released. Act 1 was very cool -- great setup. Act 2 builds the tension even further! I'm ready for the fireworks -- Act 3!

What a cool way to deliver Trek! I hope the Farragut crew are able to pick up the pace. I know they've been very busy with the new stage, creating sets and touring conventions, but we need more episodes! So these two animated episodes are a big help in keeping Farragut current. They also raise expectations for the next live action episode. Little things, but also big things like now that we've seen Thelin on the bridge, how could he NOT be in the next live action episode?

Kudos to Michael and his team!

[NEO f/x]

While we are waiting for Act 3 to be released, I thought we would have some 'fun'.

As everyone knows (and just like every other fan-production out there), everyone works on these projects as a volunteer. Everyone does it for various reasons...NEO f/x does it to promote their visual effects business, and some do it simply because they really love the subject matter, or enjoy the people involved.

Everyone may also know that Kail Tescar, my associate producer on these episodes, is the webmaster of one of the largest Animated Star Trek sites on the net...Startrekanimated.com. One of the reasons I asked him to become involved was his ability to capture the essence of the Farragut crew in animated format. He has actually had this service available on his web site for a long time, and I thought I would promote it for him.

Check out this 'commercial' for his web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMm_89REvPQ

We will be putting this as a special feature on the DVD when it is released, but I thought I would share it here.

If you have a few extra bucks, check out his web site and get an animated portrait of yourself. All sales go to Kail...not me, Farragut, or anyone else.

Enjoy!

[Captain Randy Hall]

NEO f/x wrote:

---

Everyone may also know that Kail Tescar, my associate producer on these episodes, is the webmaster of one of the largest Animated Star Trek sites on the net...Startrekanimated.com. One of the reasons I asked him to become involved was his ability to capture the essence of the Farragut crew in animated format. He has actually had this service available on his web site for a long time, and I thought I would promote it for him.

Check out this 'commercial' for his web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMm_89REvPQ

We will be putting this as a special feature on the DVD when it is released, but I thought I would share it here.

If you have a few extra bucks, check out his web site and get an animated portrait of yourself. All sales go to Kail...not me, Farragut, or anyone else.

Enjoy!

One of the biggest events we've had in our Washington, D.C., area club was inviting an artist to do caricatures of us as our Trek selves. I was in the Trek II-VI captain's uniform, and we had a few Klingons and Bajorans as well. It cost more than $150, but when you count in how many drawings he did, it was a bargain and fun to boot.

If you want to see them, go to www.usschesapeake.org website and click on the button about caricatures.

We were also lucky in that the artist was a huge Trek fan, and he offered to come back and either a new drawing or color in the ones he'd done in black and white. Of course, we had to pay him to visit again, but it was a great success.

Just something to keep in mind while you're at the county fairs and see someone who does nice drawings. The worst they can do is say "No."

[NEO f/x]

Good point Randy! I like the artwork your artist did. Not quite TAS style, but not everyone is into that.

I hope everyone has had a chance to look at Kail's promo: [COLOR=#aabbcc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMm_89REvPQ[/COLOR]

Also, for those with a bit of money to spend, we would certainly be willing to animate those for folks in the TAS style as well. I can always be contacted here for that service.

[NEO f/x]

Everyone,

With Monday here I wanted to give everyone an update. We are still on track to release the 3rd and final act of Power Source next week. There is a slight chance it could be released this week, but we want to fine tune everything, so I won't set any expectations outside of sometime next week.

For those of you attending DragonCon this year, Power Source will be presented there in its entirety, along with a trailer for the next episode...The Needs of the Many. The trailer will also be online around that same time. We are heavy into the production of that episode, and still expect it to be released before the end of the year.

Stay tuned...

[NEO f/x]

Everyone...Act 3 (the final act) of "Power Source" will be out tomorrow!!! I appreciate all of the patience the fans have had with this release.

Now, for a bit of house keepings about this episode and the next:

1) There have been some comments on some other boards with fans 'surprised' there was a swear word (hell) in Act 2. Just to be clear...while these are cartoons, they are aimed at fans that watched the original TAS back in the 70's. While a homage to the original episodes, they are written for today and for the Farragut crew. As such, I recommend screening it if there is a concern about the content BEFORE showing to your kids. Act 2 has the aforementioned "hell" in it, and Act 3 has two instances of "damn" in it...One to describe that 'damned planet', and one as an expression of anger. I am all for artistic license and free speech, but I am also making sure I do full disclosure of these words just so there are no surprises.

2) A full review of the episode can be found here: http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpres...r_source_1.htm
Please note: Fred (the reviewer) makes a comment about the ending in this review, so if you want to be surprised, please read the review AFTER you have seen the whole episodes.

3) If you will be at DragonCon, the full episode will be shown there. In addition, it will be the first opportunity to see a trailer for "The Needs of the Many"...the next episode written by Jack Trevino and myself.

4) A shameless plug: If you enjoyed these episodes, get a TAS portrait of yourself from Kail's web site: startrekanimated.com, or order a T-shirt from our official site: http://farragut-animated.com/store.html

These episodes were very fun to make: I got to spend time with folks like Chris Doohan, Chase Masterson, Tim Russ and Lou Scheimer, and it gave NEO f/x an opportunity to have a small place in history by putting together our own fan-film. I hope everyone enjoys watching them as much as we had putting them together.

I will make an announcement here when we release Act 3.

[dayxday1000]

Awesome! Looking forward to Act 3!

[jaksajak]

wow cool, tomorrow? Looking forward to it, thanks for keeping us posted.

[NEO f/x]

The files are going online now...if you can't wait for them to be posted, the YouTube videos are all ready.

Here, for those that want to catch up, the links to all of the videos:

Act 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieNz06w9tN8

Act 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_RcvgnQ8r8

A Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMm_89REvPQ

Act 3a: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nr04F54NPg

Act 3b: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbknqEDBm30

Keep watching http://farragut-animated.com today for the downloadable files.**UPDATE: All files on http://farragut-animated.com are live!**

Thanks to everyone who has supported us on this project. We all appreciate it!

[dayxday1000]

Thanks guys...I really enjoyed this! I've been rewatching TAS with my 8-year old son of late, and this really fits in nicely. A few questions: Early on I remember there was going to be original music using some cues from TAS, but this music sounds like it is directly from the Filmation library. Did Mr. Scheimer give you guys access to the original music? Also, what character(s) did Mr. Scheimer voice?

Possible Spoilers below:











The spheres look reminiscent of the Borg spheres from First Contact. In fact, Capt. Carter makes reference to the "ultimate mission of first contact" in the closing line. Are we seeing, perhaps, the early stages of a Borg invasion?


Thanks,
Rich

[NEO f/x]

I know it may disappoint a few fans that we don't have the 'actual' use for those devices...As they say at the end of the episode...it could be anything. And, the nice thing, is that any explanation that someone comes up with is as correct as the next person.

As for the music, the theme is brand new, but the cues within the episode are indeed original. And while Lou did give me permission to use them, it isn't actually his call (as he sold Filmation a LONG time ago). But the spirit of his permission was really what I was looking for.

For a while we did plan to us original music. However, as we moved along in the production, we realized there was a lot of nostalgia associated with not only the LOOK of Filmation cartoons, but the MUSIC as well..Even the composer agreed that it was the right thing to do to use the original music within the episode.

Thanks for the comments!

[Barbreader]

I wanted to say, thank you for your work. I'm sure it will be enjoyed by thousands. I have added a link to your download page near the top of the first blog in my website.