Going outside the fandom for help with fan films?

[SITZKRIEG!]

Every once in a while I get a fan film bug bite and rewatch some of my favorites (and least favorites) to rekindle ideas for what I'd potentially do if I ever made a fan film. For those who have made one or participated in the making of one, how common is it (pandemic quarrantine restrictions notwithstanding) to involve those from outside the traditional trek fandom as volunteers on projects?

I'm not referring to significant others/friends as general labor/help but rather people with specific skills/interests that could demonstrably help the production like student actors from local liberal arts colleges as cast, design students for costumes, etc. Does that happen often? If not, is there just no interest in volunteering for the resume/sample art book experience from budding professionals without a solid trekkie or at least scif hobby interest? I'm also not referring obviously (given the guidelines and just plain general morality) to for profit projects seeking to take advantage of massive amounts of free labor for "exposure" either but I acknowledge that may be a cautionary tale perception some may have regarding doing it.

 

[USS Intrepid]

A number of our cast came to us from a local theatre group. Most of them aren't fans, and really only became involved because they like to act.

 

[SITZKRIEG!]

A number of our cast came to us from a local theatre group. Most of them aren't fans, and really only became involved because they like to act.

Thanks for the quick reply and cool! Did they stick around for the five year mission or just guest star in one episode? Was just the opportunity to act on screen in a fan film enough to keep folks potentially interested even without a concommitant personal fandom? Did you reach out to them or did they hear about the fan film themselves and step forward? Sorry about the rapid fire questions and thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

 

[USS Intrepid]

Thanks for the quick reply and cool! Did they stick around for the five year mission or just guest star in one episode? Was just the opportunity to act on screen in a fan film enough to keep folks potentially interested even without a concommitant personal fandom? Did you reach out to them or did they hear about the fan film themselves and step forward? Sorry about the rapid fire questions and thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

Most of them have stayed around, sometimes playing different roles, sometimes recurring roles. Most of them we met through others who had worked on earlier films. There are some Sci Fi fans among them, but most really have no idea about it, they just enjoy working on these projects.

 

[USS Jack Riley]

I'm not referring to significant others/friends as general labor/help but rather people with specific skills/interests that could demonstrably help the production like student actors from local liberal arts colleges as cast, design students for costumes, etc. Does that happen often? If not, is there just no interest in volunteering for the resume/sample art book experience from budding professionals without a solid trekkie or at least scif hobby interest? I'm also not referring obviously (given the guidelines and just plain general morality) to for profit projects seeking to take advantage of massive amounts of free labor for "exposure" either but I acknowledge that may be a cautionary tale perception some may have regarding doing it.

When "Project Potemkin" was filming in south Georgia, Randy pulled from the drama school at the local university. He also had a line in his signature saying that he where he was filming, which I saw and responded to, which is how I got involved. No self-respecting drama school would let me through the door as anyone who has seen Commander Delaney on screen can attest.

 

[SITZKRIEG!]

Cool and thanks to you both for replying. I figured I'd ask and that I couldn't possibly be the first person to think about this but I don't recall seeing it ever mentioned in the various interviews I've watched with fan film creators. Other than actors, have either of you encountered different students and budding professionals that weren't big trekkies themselves willing to help? Like perhaps someone studying fashion to create costumes or even someone studying computer programming to do CGI?

 

[Maurice]

My experience is that actors want to act, and many will jump at an opportunity to play something. They are generally not so interested in the genre as they are in if it's a good part.

Admittedly, most fanfilm casts are not trained actors, and I suspect many of those are joining the productions either because they like the subject matter, the genre, or just want to play with their friends.

 

[USS Intrepid]

Cool and thanks to you both for replying. I figured I'd ask and that I couldn't possibly be the first person to think about this but I don't recall seeing it ever mentioned in the various interviews I've watched with fan film creators. Other than actors, have either of you encountered different students and budding professionals that weren't big trekkies themselves willing to help? Like perhaps someone studying fashion to create costumes or even someone studying computer programming to do CGI?

Glad to be of help.

To answer your most recent question, I’ve we’ve been lucky enough that we’ve had more practical help from people who weren’t fans. For example, we were recently allowed to shoot a scene aboard the RRS Discovery, an historic ship docked locally, not because the people running Discovery are fans, but because they were just generally supportive of what we were doing.

Sure, there’s plenty of people who think we’re just sad nerds, but there are lots who see what we’re doing, even at the amateur level we are, and think it’s fun and worth supporting.

 

[USS Jack Riley]

Cool and thanks to you both for replying. I figured I'd ask and that I couldn't possibly be the first person to think about this but I don't recall seeing it ever mentioned in the various interviews I've watched with fan film creators. Other than actors, have either of you encountered different students and budding professionals that weren't big trekkies themselves willing to help? Like perhaps someone studying fashion to create costumes or even someone studying computer programming to do CGI?

No problem. Again, i can only seak to y experience with Potemkin, but in terms of outside the acting arena, we didn't have much. We all put on our own makeup, though the students had knowledge from the different plays and what not that they had done.

Special effects wise, I think we had a couple of people that did them. All, or the vast majority, was volunteer. Like Maurice said, you're going to find people that want to do it simply because they like to create, others because they like Star Trek, need a break from what they usually do to help them keep feeling creative, etc. The best place to look for that would be various art websites, even the Fan Art section on this BBS might have some people interested. As the saying goes, you fail to get 100% of the things you don't ask about. Some people might get snitty (after all, some make a living doing this and get upset being asked to do something for free - and that is totally understandable) but others will offer to help. It never hurts to try.

 

[SITZKRIEG!]

Thanks again. I'm glad to hear that folks outside of the fandom occasionally volunteer to help!