Star Trek Continues final Kickstarter???

[Warped9]

I just watched STC's latest video announcing their forthcoming Kirkstarter 3.0 and that it will also be their "final" Kickstarter drive. Vic talks a proper ending to the 5-year mission.

https://vimeo.com/146952216

I don't like the sound of that. Are they really closing up shop sometime in 2016?

What could have happened to bring this about? Did perhaps CBS send out a quiet word that they had until the end of 2016 to wrap things up?

This is rather bummer news.


Star Trek Continues (from their FB page):

Quite frankly, we HATE asking our fans for money! We plan to have one more big fundraiser to cover the rest of our episodes and complete the mission. That way we can focus on what we do best - making great Trek! There will be many episodes yet to come.

What does this mean?


Then this from STC's FB page.

James Kerwin:

Please stay positive! This is not an end, not by a long shot. As stated above, we simply want to ask for one big lump sum so that we can continue for years to come, without having to continue going back to donors over and over again. Barring unforeseen circumstances, of course, the ending is a long ways away.

Wow! What kind of sum are they looking for?

The words used in that post also seem to suggest that they haven't been told to wrap things up within the forseeable future. Does that mean CBS won't have a problem with fan productions continuing even while CBS' own official series is in production and being aired?

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I think CBS understand that if they come down too hard, they risk making the fans really angry. They realize, perhaps, that these fan productions aren't coming out every week and aren't a real threat to their official stuff.

 

[Warped9]

I think CBS understand that if they come down too hard, they risk making the fans really angry. They realize, perhaps, that these fan productions aren't coming out every week and aren't a real threat to their official stuff.

Is anyone else out there as prolific as STC? Seriously how much of a threat can two webisodes a year be to a full-up professional studio production able to put out an entire season with no real trouble?

 

[CJCade]

Interesting. I wonder if CBS is maybe going to not allow crowd funding after the new series starts? If they allow the fan films to continue, that could be a possibility for STC ding one last campaign for a large sum. Just speculation on my part, though.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

STC has now said explicitly that CBS telling them to stop making episodes is "absolutely not the case here.... We love what we do and will continue to do it for years to come. The only thing we want to STOP doing is fundraising."

I also doubt that CBS has ordered them to stop fundraising, for two reasons:

1. They will continue taking donations through their website after the Kickstarter.

2. I have it on good authority that STC had hoped to make last winter's Kickstarter the last one, for exactly the same reasons they're giving now.

 

[feek61]

Everything at STC is good; we are just planning long-range as we always do. If you will notice the video was shot before the bridge improvements were done (I believe it was filmed last summer). This has been the plan for a while and is not because pressure of any kind has been put on STC. We are just very organized and want to concentrate on making episodes!!!

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Everything at STC is good; we are just planning long-range as we always do. If you will notice the video was shot before the bridge improvements were done (I believe it was filmed last summer). This has been the plan for a while and is not because pressure of any kind has been put on STC. We are just very organized and want to concentrate on making episodes!!!

Thanks, Dr. Smith! And here's to organization!

 

[Warped9]

Everything at STC is good; we are just planning long-range as we always do. If you will notice the video was shot before the bridge improvements were done (I believe it was filmed last summer). This has been the plan for a while and is not because pressure of any kind has been put on STC. We are just very organized and want to concentrate on making episodes!!!

Wow! That's great news and quite a relief.

I was starting to fret there.

 

[Maurice]

So, does this mean the final crowdfunding is to enable them to get to a place where they can make episodes without crowdfunding? Or that the crowdfunding is to enable them to finish and end the show? The messaging here's a little vague.

 

[Warped9]

My impression from what I've read on their FB page, and from what feek61 has said here, is that their target is to complete a 13 episode run and then reassess what might be possible after that.

In that case they're practically halfway there already with almost 7 full episodes filmed and 5 already released previously.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

This actually makes quite a bit of sense, if you ask me. I do think, once Star Trek Series VI is released, on a subscription basis, funding is going to be difficult to come by. So if they can raise enough funds here, to help self propel the project for the next few years, and not have to compete for fan dollars for Studio produced Trek, it seems like the logical thing to do.

I would like to hope that they consider having their own CON (Ala Farragut Fest) in the future, to help raise some funds, outside of the crowdsourced Kirkstarters)

 

[9gs]

How about some ideas for the last Kirkstarter? What would be good perks to get people to donate? I would like to see something like a half day visit to the production, watch them film something, have ur pic taken on the bridge and lunch with some cast members? What would that go for?

 

[Warped9]

Further clarification from their FB page.

Hi guys! It's Vic! there seems to be a little confusion about this video we posted... so sorry! NO- we have not been shut down in any way! NO- we're not quitting, nor are we done making episodes! STC doesn't want to keep coming back to ask fans to give more money. So we will launch one more crowd funding campaign to cover the costs for six more episodes. We will faithfully deliver a full 13 episode season that will culminate with a series finale to the greatest show in TV history! We are counting on your help early in 2016! THANK YOU SO MUCH- WE LOVE YOU GUYS! Vic

 

[Tom]

This makes sense to me. Crowdfunding is drying up, and by the time the new series comes around it will be harder to get funding from fans. We don't know if CBS will shut down crowdfunding at some point before the new series, they might, but we just don't know.

Also, these drives can be very draining (don't I know ) and you have to put a ton of promotional and logistic work into them, so I can totally under where Vic and the gang are coming from.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

And if they do make a full 13 Episodes at the current, 2 per year pace, then, we won't see the "Finale" until early 2019.... That's a lot of time making star trek for free for the cast and crew....

 

[Warped9]

I'm not saying it will happen, but presently Ep. 6 is being finished up and Ep. 7 is supposedly halfway done. It's likely Ep. 8 will be worked on in 2016 so that it's conceivable we could get three episodes this coming year. That would put them well over the halfway mark by the end of 2016.

It's interesting to ponder what they could do down the road once the 13 episodes are complete and if they are still interested in continuing with productions.

It could be quite expensive to mount a post TMP style production for a glimpse into a second 5-year mission, though it would be fascinating to see.

Another possibility, and potentially much more affordable, would be to go retro. Redress/modify the existing STC sets into the Pike era form and do stories post "The Cage." There is about a decade's worth of untold stories there. Besides tweaking the sets it would require uniform changes. And there is a matter of recasting for a set of different characters.

Just as NV/P2 is exploring the aborted Phase II idea that never happened STC could explore the road NBC opted not to take.

 

[Karzak]

Cross-posting:

Christian Gossett shared this interview on Facebook this morning.

“Star Trek Continues”: Vic Mignogna creates more stories from the original Enterprise crew

 

[Karzak]

I'm not saying it will happen, but presently Ep. 6 is being finished up and Ep. 7 is supposedly halfway done. It's likely Ep. 8 will be worked on in 2016 so that it's conceivable we could get three episodes this coming year. That would put them well over the halfway mark by the end of 2016.

It's interesting to ponder what they could do down the road once the 13 episodes are complete and if they are still interesting in continuing with productions.

It could be quite expensive to mount a post TMP style production for a glimpse into a second 5-year mission, though it would be fascinating to see.

Another possibility, and potentially much more affordable, would be to go retro. Redress/modify the existing STC sets into the Pike era form and do stories post "The Cage." There is about a decade's worth of untold stories there. Besides tweaking the sets it would require uniform changes. And there is a matter of recasting for a set of different characters.

Just as NV/P2 is exploring the aborted Phase II idea that never happened STC could explore the road NBC opted not to take.

Or, they could just be over and done with it by the time Ep 13. is completed and we as fans can be glad that a mission that was started in 2012 got to reach its conclusion as its producers intended.

 

[Jedman67]

With the highly professional production style and sets they already have, it would be a shame for the studio to be mothballed.

 

[Kor]

Of all the Trek fan film series, this is the one that I would most like to see continue. To me, it has the most authentic feel.

However, thirteen episodes would be quite an accomplishment, and I would understand if those involved want to move on to other things after that.

Kor