BREAKING: Official Fan Film Guidelines Issued

[cultcross]

Case in point. Getting an actor or actress from a previous production isn't really a necessity for telling a story unless the hook is to have that performer to draw interest and/or recreate a character. But is that performer likely to ever again appear in an official Trek production? Was Michael Forest or Barbara Luna ever going to appear in another Trek production?

This definitely could be bad news for Chris Doohan and Kipleigh Brown who have appeared in somewhat recent productions.

Someone from offscreen and behind-the-scenes (such as Doug Drexler) is another iffy issue in my book. Seriously, why not?

I suspect it has more to do with the appearance of official approval, combined with the issue of confusion between fan films and official productions. If you have the same people working on both, especially in front of the camera, the potential for confusion goes up. And that's part of what these guidelines are there to avoid, the blurring of lines between your 45 minute episode with glossy HD effects and original Star Trek actors, and Paramount's.

 

[Amaris]

Is it really a "fan film" if you have the ability to hire professional actors? (Even if you don't pay them outright, the production usually covers travel and associated expenses.)
To me the guidelines seem to be putting the "fan" back into fanfilms.

Exactly. "Please enjoy my own homemade Star Trek brownies. The ingredients were provided by Ben and Jerry, and they were lovingly baked by Martha Stewart."

 

[BillJ]

...new carpets...

We all know that carpet is the most important element in making a fan film.

 

[Amaris]

We all know that carpet is the most important element in making a fan film.

It's at least as important as waking up to the heady aroma of Kharn's Special Blend.

 

[BillJ]

It's at least as important as waking up to the heady aroma of Kharn's Special Blend.

I just imagined Richard Hatch as Kharn taking a shit. Oh, God! If only I had any artistic talent!

 

[ThankYouGeneR]

and Potempkin just released a video showing what can still be done even with the new guidelines.

In the current climate though it is good to see a post-guideline film come out to show all fan films are not dead. Somebody needed to be first.

^^^ This! A most righteous lead out, Potemkin_Prod! Most righteous, indeed!

 

[Khan 2.0]

It's at least as important as waking up to the heady aroma of Kharn's Special Blend.

dark roast

 

[Jedi_Master]

We all know that carpet is the most important element in making a fan film.

As long as it matches the drapes... wait, we can't have that sort of stuff in fan films anymore.

#thanksAlec

 

[Amaris]

dark roast

Wow, that sounds really racist when you think about it.

 

[mos6507]

the latest Potemkin fan film are both within the guidelines, and both are still great fanfilms.

And according to the guidelines, the most recent Potemkin will be the last.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I've been enjoying hanging out on the "Project: Small Access" FB group.

TLR version of the groups goals - Get CBS to change the fan film guidelines by cutting the new Trek TV and Streaming series revenue. How? By getting people to form "collectives" who share a single subscription to CBS:All Access. They have almost a 1,000 members - all of whom of course support this plan.

One of my FB compatriots imagined what would happen if a Project: Small Access supporter went to the mall.



INTERIOR SHOT: DILLARDS

Fan strides to the customer service desk -

FAN: "I'M GOING TO BOYCOTT DILLARDS IF YOU DON'T SELL THE DON JOHNSON STYLE HIGH SHOULDER PAD MEN'S LEISURE SUITS I LOVE!"

REP: "Ok sir, that's fine"

FAN: "I MEAN IT - I'M GOING TO TAKE THIS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! THE TOP! IT'S GOING ON CHANGE.ORG"

REP:"Ok sir, that's fine"

FAN: "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I'M A TRUE FAN OF DILLARDS, AND MR. DILLARD WOULD NEVER APPROVE OF HOW YOU PEOPLE RUN YOUR STORE....YOU KNOW WHAT... I AM GOING TO GET THREE PEOPLE TO SPLIT THE COST OF ONE SUIT! THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO! WE WILL JUST WEAR IT ON EVERY THIRD SUNDAY! THAT'LL SHOW YOU GREEDY CORPORATE OVERREACHERS!"

REP: "Sir, that actually doesn't make any sense"

FAN: "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT A CORPORATE SHILL WOULD SAY. YOU'LL SEE! DILLARDS WILL BE FORCED TO BARGAIN WITH US! IF THEY WON'T WE WILL BURN THEIR BUSINESS TO THE GROUND!"

REP: "Sir, I suggest you leave before you make a threat that requires me to call the police."

FAN: "FINE! I'LL RETURN WITH HUNDREDS, YOU HEAR ME HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT DON JOHNSON STYLE LARGE SHOULDER PAD LEISURE SUITS! WE WILL. HAVE. JUSTICE!"

Fan strides out of building.

 

[Amaris]

And according to the guidelines, the most recent Potemkin will be the last.

Nope. It just can't be a series.

 

[asurob]

At risk of hawking my own crap (sorry), I think this is a pretty good example of a solid short film that fits well within the fifteen minutes. It also didn't cost us $50,000. And we're certainly not the only ones producing films like this.

The guidelines basically mean we can do a lot more of this type of storytelling, and I for one am more than happy with that.

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This is exactly a perfect example of the type of fan films we should see in the future. No where does it say you can't reuse characters in the productions. You simply can't have multi-arced episodes with the characters. Further the CBS rep emphasized (at least in my mind) these are "guidelines". As long as you are getting too crazy (like one certain production) you will never hear from them.

 

[CRM-114]

I've been enjoying hanging out on the "Project: Small Access" FB group.

TLR version of the groups goals - Get CBS to change the fan film guidelines by cutting the new Trek TV and Streaming series revenue. How? By getting people to form "collectives" who share a single subscription to CBS:All Access. They have almost a 1,000 members - all of whom of course support this plan.

One of my FB compatriots imagined what would happen if a Project: Small Access supporter went to the mall.



INTERIOR SHOT: DILLARDS

Fan strides to the customer service desk -

FAN: "I'M GOING TO BOYCOTT DILLARDS IF YOU DON'T SELL THE DON JOHNSON STYLE HIGH SHOULDER PAD MEN'S LEISURE SUITS I LOVE!"

REP: "Ok sir, that's fine"

FAN: "I MEAN IT - I'M GOING TO TAKE THIS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! THE TOP! IT'S GOING ON CHANGE.ORG"

REP:"Ok sir, that's fine"

FAN: "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I'M A TRUE FAN OF DILLARDS, AND MR. DILLARD WOULD NEVER APPROVE OF HOW YOU PEOPLE RUN YOUR STORE....YOU KNOW WHAT... I AM GOING TO GET THREE PEOPLE TO SPLIT THE COST OF ONE SUIT! THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO! WE WILL JUST WEAR IT ON EVERY THIRD SUNDAY! THAT'LL SHOW YOU GREEDY CORPORATE OVERREACHERS!"

REP: "Sir, that actually doesn't make any sense"

FAN: "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT A CORPORATE SHILL WOULD SAY. YOU'LL SEE! DILLARDS WILL BE FORCED TO BARGAIN WITH US! IF THEY WON'T WE WILL BURN THEIR BUSINESS TO THE GROUND!"

REP: "Sir, I suggest you leave before you make a threat that requires me to call the police."

FAN: "FINE! I'LL RETURN WITH HUNDREDS, YOU HEAR ME HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT DON JOHNSON STYLE LARGE SHOULDER PAD LEISURE SUITS! WE WILL. HAVE. JUSTICE!"

Fan strides out of building.

And by "Fan strides out of building", I assume you mean "fan is escorted out bellowing about how 'it's not over!!!' "

 

[Jedi_Master]

And by "Fan strides out of building", I assume you mean "fan is escorted out bellowing about how 'it's not over!!!' "

No. Axanar fans usually flounce instead of being escorted out. It's the best way to get attention.

 

[ThankYouGeneR]

And according to the guidelines, the most recent Potemkin will be the last.

I don't understand

 

[Maurice]

DFScott: Having spent my time in the trenches with lawyers at Namco I can tell you that one of the blows against arrangements such as the one you proposed are simply the financial and opportunity costs of the legal teams. As a fer instance, I was approached by the IntellivisionLives guy about licensing the old Intellivision version of PAC-MAN for one of their products, and was told by our lawyers and management that "the potential profits won't even cover the costs of having the contracts drawn up." There's always a bandwidth limit, too, so for a big corporation with a lot of irons in the fire they're going to say, "Do we put anyone on that Intellivision product, which might net us a teeny profit, or do we have our lawyers focus on that Wreck It Ralph licensing and that Amazon contract?"

 

[Danlav05]

^^^ This! A most righteous lead out, Potemkin_Prod! Most righteous, indeed!

Kudos!!

So as well as the Potemkin Intrepid and Yorktown have confirmed they will be moving forward, Renegades has dropped the brand, retro films are fine and audio dramas have been let go scot free (which has good - have you heard what Excelsior have planned for the anniversary?!)

Just a few like STC and New Voyages specifically to hear from

 

[Amaris]

Kudos!!

So as well as the Potemkin Intrepid and Yorktown have confirmed they will be moving forward, Renegades has dropped the brand, retro films are fine and audio dramas have been let go scot free

Just a few like STC and New Voyages specifically to hear from

What's nice is that they're going to let STC and NV finish their current productions. If you ask me, that's generous as hell, and a sure sign that this whole ordeal isn't about quelling fan voices.

 

[Danlav05]

What's nice is that they're going to let STC and NV finish their current productions. If you ask me, that's generous as hell, and a sure sign that this whole ordeal isn't about quelling fan voices.

Things have seemed bleak but the overall atmosphere looks a bit more positive