John Broughton Jr., who founded the Farragut project, ... a wiry Navy veteran with spiky hair, is a serious collector of all things "Star Trek." His avocado tunic, he said, is made from bolts of the nylon used for the original "Star Trek," purchased at $100 a yard. His boots are made by the son of the man who made the boots used in "Star Trek," he said. His megaphone, bought for $325 on eBay, was the one used by William Shatner when he directed "Star Trek V."
Starship Farragut, is forging ahead at warp speed with a
newly redesigned website and bi-weekly newsletter (put together by Mike Bednar who plays CDR Tacket) to complement their
new Forum. Executive producer, John Broughton Jr.
reported on June 12 that 90% of "The Captaincy" (their pilot episode) had been filmed. Their next task will be to build the Captain's Quarters and part of a corridor then film the remaining two scenes in mid-July. They are aiming to release their premiere episode at next year's Farpoint Convention in February, 2007
In an amazing turnover of speed, they now believe they will be going into pre-production of Episode 2, "America's Time", in August so that they can start filming in September!
Following a successful showing at the Farpoint convention in Baltimore on February 17-19, Farragut has released two editions of their first trailer, a
short version and a
long version. Don't forget to choose "Wide" from the size drop down box under the screen to get the right screen width. They even have mirror sites, courtesy of
James Pauley and
NEO f/x.
Probably the star of the trailer is the overall presentation and special effects which have been provided by the
NEO f/x team. It had the feel of a movie trailer! The logos, text, timing, fades all worked together well. The CGI looked good.
Evidently the Constitution class mesh that they use was created 'in house’; It certainly looks good and moves well. Their greenscreen work and the backgrounds are top notch.
A close second would have to be
the music. After listening to the orchestral backing for the trailer it should come as no surprise to find that the composer for Farragut is
Patrick Phillips, who has worked on Exeter and is the composer for New Voyages. "Patrick actually has license to the original scores from the Alexander Courage estate for use on New Voyages. While based in the same era as TOS, the producers of Starship Farragut wanted a more cinematic sound to their project, and Patrick was able to hit the mark with the scores he produced for the trailers. While unique, they still have the "Trek feel" to them."
Whilst
on the subject of sound, the Sound engineer is another fan film regular, Ralph Miller, who has previously worked on Exeter, New Voyages and Excalibur. "Ralph actually has access to the original sound library of Star Trek...not just the sfx CD commonly used. However, having the sound effects is only a small part of the whole Trek experience. Ralph actually creates environments of sound including backgrounds, Foley, etc. His skill as a sound designer, and his knowledge of Trek, allows him to reign as the 'official Trek sound authority'."
"The trailers were developed within a six month timeframe." said executive producer, John Broughton Jr. "From building the infrastructure of key personnel, non-profit corporation filing, developing costumes, gathering actors, purchasing expensive camera equipment, storyboarding, scriptwriting, website development, props, CGI, special effects, film editing, permits, original musical scores, sound, etc. All done after work and weekends... The trailer itself represents a record within itself!"
"Also, many may think that the trailer was for publicity and advertising; however, the trailer served primarily for us as a 'lessons learned' to prep us for filming the pilot. We now possess first hand knowledge of camera operations, green screen techniques, ACTING, etc.
Star Trek fan films have hit the mainstream media in a big way this week with news items in prestigious newspapers in the US and England.
