Project: Potemkin, a Star Trek Fan Film

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

...a set adds greatly to a production.

We agree completely. The bridge set is, in fact, the setting for almost 90% of our first episode (much as the case was in "The Corbomite Maneuver").

All in all, it's been another productive weekend. We sketched out the set on the warehouse floor, and we're sure that the third revised layout works.

We should be signing the lease by Friday, and construction may begin as early as Saturday.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

A first-aid kit and a fire extinguisher are immediate needs for the soundstage.

Uh, not that we had any problems...

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

We also have to get a business license, the electricity turned on, some property and liability insurance (fortunately one of our producers is with an agency). We've got our waivers and other such forms for volunteers. We've got to check into the plumbing. It's got a toilet, but no sink (but there is plumbing coming out of the wall where the previous tenant had installed a shower for some reason.

Geez, this is a lot like opening a business...

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Basic insurance - liability, property, etc - as well as water was covered in our lease. Electric and heat were our responsibility. We needed quite a bit of production insurance to cover lighting and other equipment rental.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Basic insurance - liability, property, etc - as well as water was covered in our lease. Electric and heat were our responsibility. We needed quite a bit of production insurance to cover lighting and other equipment rental.

Looks like we're signing the lease today or tomorrow. Water is almost alway included in leases down here since everythings on well water outside the city limits.

Opted for the no-heat or air-co warehouse, but will be installing fans to keep things cool if needed. The thing is well insulated.

Was traffic noise a problem at your location, Dennis?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Oddly enough, no. We found a place that had quite a bit of wooded area between it and the highway, and Fort Washington is not one of the most bustling suburban areas around DC. Although most of the units around us were occupied most also seemed to be used mainly for long-term storage which meant not a lot of staff comings-and-goings or loading going on.

There were two storefront churches - most busy on weekends, obviously - and the three or four businesses that were active during the week weren't retail and kept hours in the 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM range.

We used directional mikes and got pretty clean sound on just about everything. If there had been real weather - a thunderstorm, say - during the shoot that would have been a problem, but we lucked out there.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

I just discovered your project and am totally excited to see your progress! As a fan of the general look of the movie era, I'm happy to see a fan series that is trying to accomplish the same look and feel.

When I was in high school. I built a wedge of the movie bridge (or at least as close as I could do with my limited budget and resources) and understand the scope of this sort of undertaking. Back in the day (around 1987 or so), I didn't have access to large format printers or film, so I hand painted everything on the back of plexiglass and lit it with Christmas Tree lights. The effect on video was amazing and no one ever noticed how wavy some of my elliptical buttons were!

Anyway, here's a glimpse of what my old set looked like. I still have some parts of the panels in my garage, but I doubt that they're anything you can use. I can't wait to see updates!

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

That's awesome work. Looks a lot like what we're doing, in fact. We're using CorelDraw and printing directly from a HP5500 PS onto High Gloss Photo Imaging Paper with it overprinting the black 15%. Basically, we're placing screen caps, line art, whatever the source we can find for each station and using them as a template while I invidually draw each button (ovals and rectangles) whenever possible. I also bounce the science behind some of the panels off my Chem Eng wife who'll tell me this or that isn't correct (one of the stations in ST:TMP had that 3% or so (my memory's a little blurry) of the atmospheric composition was Ammonia. That would be unpleasantly poisonous to the crew, so that sort of went bye-bye.

At present, we've completed the graphics for five bridge stations, and two-thirds of another. That leaves half-sized Damage Control (not a manned station), the Helm/Navigation panel, the Servitor panel (we're still debating that one--does one have a coffee and danish machine on the bridge?) and the captain's office panel.

Construction on the set will begin the first week of March at present.

We're still negotiating the warehouse situation. Everyone with a warehouse is demanding to know what we're doing, and when we tell them, we've had some of our prospective landlords rescind their offer to rent us the space. "We don't need no space trekkies cluttering up my parkin' lot" and that sort of nonsense. Still, one of the local chambers of commerce is interesting in bringing us into their county to film. What's five extra minutes of drive time worth? Apparently a huge savings on the rent.

I've basically given the chamber/realtor guy two weeks to find me what I want, or we're going with what we've got which isn't in the best neighborhood, but certainly is easily accessible and cheap.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

That's great! If I lived closer, I'd totally lend a hand!

As it is, I'm currently building a puppet-sized bridge in my garage. While not specifically a Star Trek bridge, it does take some of its design from the movie-era bridge... mainly because I'm finally able to incorporate a lot of the stuff I wanted to put into it when I was 15 into it now that I'm 38 and know a bit more about construction. I tell everyone that my final set will be like if the Enterprise was set decorated by the builder of the Millennium Falcon.

When I have a little more done, I'll post some pictures here of what I'm doing. We definitely can learn from one another in these projects!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

I've basically given the chamber/realtor guy two weeks to find me what I want, or we're going with what we've got which isn't in the best neighborhood, but certainly is easily accessible and cheap.

You tried Craigslist? It's hit or miss, but folks who advertise there generally eschew or can't attract realtors and other agencies. This is good when it works out, since agents are always looking for commissions on something big and long-term.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

I went through my old photo albums last night and came across some more pictures of my bridge -- including one rather embarrassing photo of me at 16. Enjoy!

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Melon, nice work ! We're going with the flat screen panels from STVI more than the hoods. Our test hoods kept sagging, and sagging and well, it wasn't very pretty after three days. So we decided to opt for the flats.

Dennis, haven't tried Craig's List. Will definitely give a look there tonight.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Just a quick update: We started construction on our set Saturday, mainly drawing lines on the concrete, doing measurements and calculations, that sort of thing. We were really disappointed we were unable to secure a warehouse here in Albany (see our website for details), but we're actually realizing that the money saved on rent, insurance, etc., will be able to go into the sets.

Hopefully, once things get going in earnest -- this weekend, weather permitting -- we'll get some pictures posted.

 

[Barbreader]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Sounds good!

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Pictures posted on our website. Didn't get a lot done; just the helm-nav console and astrogator framed in. Framing of the platform should begin next Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Wow! It's looking great!

One thing you might want to do to make your life a lot simpler later is notch out some holes in the inner console supports before you get too farther along, so that you can pass wiring or lights through them once the console is completed.

This was a mistake that I made years ago and it was a real pain to drill holes after the set was completed. It's a lot easier to just do it before it's put together. I found that a 1 inch x 3 inch cut-out at the bottom was about right, though a 1.5 inch drill bit will work in a pinch.

Of course, I was using Christmas tree lights on mine, so I have to have enough clearance for the large plug. Not sure what your plans are, but I thought I'd mention it, in case it'll help!

Good job!

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Exactly our thoughts, too. We'll be attaching the bottom panel to the outside of the bottom 2x4's giving us space to run the lighting electrical. We've ordered the mini-lights we'll be using on the console, and hopefully will be ready next weekend to install them when they arrive.

We intend to run the power cords underneath the astrogator, underneath the captain's platform to one of several outlets on the set.

We also ordered materials for some of our props last night, and a tarp to hang across the front of the building to protect it from weather. We also have to eventually block the two full length windows with hardyboard, but we're going to wait until we finish framing the platform.

All in all, we're HOPING six weeks to construct, but I think nine to twelve is more realistic in terms of how long it will take.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Do you have any ideas on how to position the lights under the backlit displays? I always used well-placed duct tape, but it never really worked well. I've also head of people using chicken wire or screen door mesh as kind of an under lattice-work to attach the lights to under the plexiglass display.

Anybody ever tried this or have any other ideas? I'm almost to the console stage of my build, and I'm still grappling with this. I'd hate to have to resort to duct tape, yet again.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Do you have any ideas on how to position the lights under the backlit displays? I always used well-placed duct tape, but it never really worked well. I've also head of people using chicken wire or screen door mesh as kind of an under lattice-work to attach the lights to under the plexiglass display.

I'm actually going to use these little lights that will be attached by drill through the hardyboard, insert them, put a dollop of hot glue on them to hold them in place, then secure the overlay to outside of the hardyboard. We're still undecided about whether or not to cover the outside of the overlay with plexiglas or acrylic or just let it ride.

 

[Melonpool]

Re: New Star Trek Fan Film

Are you planning to make the kickbacks on the sides of the helm console? I believe that the helm/nav console and the turbolifts were the only parts of the original set that were salvaged after ST IV -- as most of it was damaged after TNG stored the movie bridge outside during a rainstorm that destroyed it.

Anyway, the kickbacks are pretty easy to make if you have access to a compound mitre saw. Set the saw at 30 degrees X-axis and 30 degrees y-axis and saw a 2 x 2 piece of lumber into two equal sized pieces about 6 to 8 inches long. Be careful when making this cut! Make sure you know where the blade will end up when you saw it so you don't lop off a finger or two! The other side of the 2 x 2 should be a straight 90 degree cut.

These become the front edge of the console wing and can be screwed right into the side of the console you've already built. Make a corresponding part for the back of the console that vaguely looks like a "7" and fill in the rest of the parts with the paneling to skin it. You can fill in the cracks with putty and paint it. It really finishes off the set nicely.

It took me forever to figure out how to make them, so if you can use this knowledge, have at it. Hopefully, my diagram will help!

Steve