Space Charter - A Star Trek TAS Parody

[Korusan]

***SPACE CHARTER IS NOW OUT!***

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Hi there friends. I'm a bit shy with this as it's my first time promoting our work on here but here goes.

I've been busy with a friend for the last few months putting together a pilot for a cartoon we'll be submitting to several film festivals here in Canada called Space Charter. The premise is simply that of a science fiction adventure show with a gang of schmucks that work a mundane job for what amounts to an intergalactic bus company.

The idea will be to present this as a sort of "lost media" episode of an obscure sci-fi cartoon. Thus this would be a middle of the pack episode where the crew is assigned to take an ambassador to a space conference where an assassin is lurking in the midst. Sharp eyed Trekkies might know what TOS episode the plot was loosely based off of!

We just released our first trailer today:

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THE CHARACTERS
Of course what would a show like this be without a cast to match? We took a long time to develop a core group plus some colorful tertiary characters.

CAPTAIN VICTOR SHATTS: The beefcake captain who's always looking for a way to get rich. He's a smooth talker that enjoys the finer things in the galaxy.
CONSTABLE XARK: The captain's no-nonsense enforcer who functions as his wingman, although his stern expression is difficult to read. Has a thing on his head.
OFFICER SINGH: The sworthy partner of Xark who helps out with the Space Charter's security. Sounds kind of Australian.
MISS NEBULA: Left in charge of the ship a lot, Nebula takes solace knowing that one of these days the away team will all die and she will get to be captain.
ROONEY THE BARTENDER: An old friend of Victor Shatts who always seems to bump into him around the cosmos, ready to deliver empty wisdom.

It's been just my co-producer and I working on this, but we're happy to say the final product will be around the 10-11 minute mark. There's a lot we still need to fix, such as lip syncing and other aesthetics of the picture, but we're going in the right direction I think! If you like it, it'd be a really helpful thing to either comment on the video or subscribe, so as to boost our standing with YouTube's algorithm. I'll end this post with some artwork:

 

[Daddy Todd]

Why embed the video here, but set it so I have to go to YouTube to watch it?

Oh well, never mind then.

 

[Korusan]

Hi Daddy Todd, I'm not noticing that trouble on my end? I'll edit and see if that works!

 

[Maurice]

The way to test if the video works is you have to log out of your Google/YouTube account so you can see how it works for a non-owner.

Check the setting called "allow embedding" on the advanced tab your video. The link ought to be: https://studio.youtube.com/video/bvXyPfnlqnw/edit that might be the issue.

 

[Maurice]

Hi there friends. I'm a bit shy with this as it's my first time promoting our work on here but here goes.

We're generally a friendly lot here. You might get some mildly critical feedback, but so long as you're not merely looking for praise then you'll be fine.

THE CHARACTERS
...
OFFICER SINGH: The sworthy partner of Xark who helps out with the Space Charter's security. Sounds kind of Australian.

I think you mean "swarthy".

...we're happy to say the final product will be around the 10-11 minute mark.

Your trailer says "feature length episode". Feature length means movie length, so like 80+ minutes. It sounds like you're doing a short, so don't call it "feature "length".

If you like it, it'd be a really helpful thing to either comment on the video or subscribe, so as to boost our standing with YouTube's algorithm.

What if we don't like it? I kid, but if you're looking for feedback it shouldn't be just from people who think it's great.

Um, is that a pink triangle on his chest? That's kind of a loaded symbol.

Is Rooney supposed to be an alien? His ear looks odd and is kinda where his sideburn would be if he's human.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I still can’t view your video. Maurice gave you some handy tips for fixing that. Have you tried any of them out?

He’s also totally right about the pink triangle thing. You would be well-advised to change it to something else.

 

[Korusan]

Thank you Maurice! It looks to be working now at least when I check it; I did what you said with embedding. I just didn't get to it right away as I was busy with Christmas.

The pink triangle was 'semi-intentional' in that I actually drew inspiration from Rocky Horror, whose main character wears a similar badge. It was intended to be a subtle nod to the gay community reclaiming that symbol around the 70s, when "in-universe" the show would have been made. Something I could see old cartoons doing around that time.

Rooney is indeed an alien bartender. I welcome any and all feedback, even if it's not positive - gotta fix it before the final product, after all!

Anyways, with the video issue [seemingly] fixed, here's some more concept art you may be interested in...

 

[Barbreader]

The title says this is a TAS parody, but the paragraph says it is general sci fi, not specifically Trek. The short clip does not have any Trek costumes (although it could be set in an as-yet unexplored time period) or other clear Trek references. Which is it?

 

[Korusan]

It's a parody in the sense of the Orville or Galaxy Quest - made in the spirit of Star Trek but not necessarily the universe. More forest, less trees!

The art is specifically done in the vein of Filmation TAS, but without overtly ripping it off. We looked to sources like He-Man and others from them to come up with something that pays homage.

 

[Maurice]

The danger with the pink triangle is what sort of character wears it? Frank N Furter in Rocky Horror was a very "queer" character who represented the taboos of less restricted sexuality that conformers like Brad and Janet denied themselves, so it was apt. I'm not going to judge your character on the basis of one drawing, but I merely caution being thoughtful in the use of such symbols.

The drawing featuring that character could be easily read as a middle-eastern stereotype, but I'm not going to judge a book by its cover but you might have people react to his appearance that way. He could be faaaabulous.

I see the sketch of Rooney corrects the weirdness of his sideburn.

The face of Miss Nebula is the best drawing yet for this show. Great expression.

 

[Korusan]

I'm thrilled you like her and noticed the fix. Here are a few more concept pieces!

 

[Maurice]

You're letting the mouths creep really close to the jawline, especially on that pencil of Miss Nebula.

 

[Korusan]

Right you are, but it should be noted these are sketches from various stages of production. That Nebula image actually predates the colored one!

As for a screenshot, here we are. There are many such shots in SpaCha as they're very economic to use for shot/reverse-shot dialogue. This is especially important for our workload as there's only two of us on the project, and not dozens as most Filmation works likely would have had:

 

[Kor]

The title says this is a TAS parody, but the paragraph says it is general sci fi, not specifically Trek. The short clip does not have any Trek costumes (although it could be set in an as-yet unexplored time period) or other clear Trek references. Which is it?

Perhaps it is as The Venture Bros. is to Jonny Quest.

Kor

 

[Korusan]

I think Kor has hit the nail on the head - liken this more to Galaxy Quest than a proper "Star Trek done with comedy". Originally we had an idea that was more similar to a TNG parody (complete with a Lieutenant Borf, who was a Klangon) but we went for something a bit more inspired and worked our way towards the TAS parody you see. No one does the Filmation style anymore despite the fact that it's incredibly economical (and to be honest, looks better than very Flash-looking stuff like Big Mouth). It was the logical choice since there's only two of us.

 

[Maurice]

It was economical because it was barely animated and largely "illustrated radio". and, as to Big Mouth, the issue there isn;t the animation technique it's the current fad of ugly, unappealing character designs (yes, I went there).

 

[Korusan]

Well, and of course they wanted to keep jobs in America and making sure it was cheap to do was one way of ensuring that. I don't disagree that stuff like Big Mouth is part of a trend - cartoons are very ugly anymore and I fear Lower Decks will have that cheap look.

Anyways, in some more pleasant news I am proud to announce the full 12-minute cartoon has been accepted into the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Canada's largest showcase of Canadian film! We are ecstatic by this and can now assure a release date of March 3rd, or a short few days after owing to any bureaucratic things that might hold it up between theatrical premiere and online release.

 

[Maurice]

So, it's done?

 

[Korusan]

Close. We are a week out from the final "submission" to the festival, at which point we are on an online release embargo until the proper screening. During that time I'll be uploaded more promo materials, including another trailer with the improved graphics and some posters/other images.

 

[Maurice]

So, you can be accepted by that festival with an unfinished film?