As many readers know I have been a supporter of the Star Trek fan film Axanar for a number of years. the 2014 fan film “Prelude to Axanar” was well received by Trek fandom, and currently has close to 3.9 million views on YouTube, with 57K “thumbs up votes”.
As most Trek fans know the full length movie was derailed by a Lawsuit filed by CBS/Paramount in December 2015. The suit which was settled in January 2017, with Alec Peters and the Axanar crew allowed to make their movie in two 15 minute segments. For budgetary reasons Alec and Axanar Productions moved the studio from California to the east coast movie hot bed of Atlanta GA. Alec and Axanar secured a “naming rights” agreement with OWC(one world computing) to sponsor the new studio for the first year(2017-2018). The year has been a busy one, as the Ares Bridge set was completed in time for Axacon 2018(which I attended the first day of). Since Axacon, Alec and his crew of volunteers led by Dana Wagner and James Simpson have been putting the final touches on the bridge set(changing out the monitors for lighted plexi panels, and hooking them up to Rasberry Pi’s).
Axanar’s YouTube Channel has been adding content rather regularly(production updates etc). Well last night the bar Was raised again with the first live YouTube segment entitled “Reel Trek” Produced by Ares Studios.
During the first episode Alec Peters announced the start of a Patreon campaign for Ares Studio. The reason behind the Patreon is simple, Rent and Utilities cost about $4000 a month(which is not bad considering the California studio was around $15,000 a month). Alec has been paying this cost out of his own pocket since the expiration of the OWC contract. So the Idea of having the many fans of Axanar help support the studio and the fan films being shot there is actually a great idea. It allows fans to have a vested interest in seeing the studio flourish, giving the fan film community another location to film.
The Studio already works with the Gwinnett County School district, and Alec announced on Reel Trek last night that Vance Major Owen(one of the most prolific Trek fan film makers) will be filming at the studio later this year. That is a coup for the studio, as everyone who works with Vance praises him as one of the best people in the community. Alec also announced that an un-named Trek fan film will also be shooting at the studio. This means that a studio that some members of Trek fandom want to fail, is not failing and actually doing EXACTLY what it was designed to do, which is support fan films(of all scifi genres)
In the 24 hours since the Patreon launched, Ares Studios has picked up close to 60 patrons and almost $500 a month. The Patreon has various levels for donors with various perks. The levels for Ares Studios are $2,$5,$10 and $20.
You can visit the patreon, read the updates and posts at the following web address:
https://www.patreon.com/aresstudios/overview
The Axanar YouTube channel is blowing up with new content every couple of days. Along with “Reel Trek”, the Channel will Launch a second live show called “Axanar Confidential” which will give a glimpse into Axanar behind the scenes. The first episode is slated to start on Tuesday January 22nd.
You can watch any of the axanar related content on their YouTube channel at :
https://www.youtube.com/user/startrekaxanar/featured
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