Previewing Prelude - In Detail

Dear Alec Peters

We are very sorry we haven't talked about Axanar for a while. Hope you can accept our apologies. We will address this inconsistency forthwith.

Warmest Regards

Some Kind of Star Trek

It's true we haven't spent any time looking at the amazing progress of Prelude to Axanar if nothing less, but in the last fortnight we've been privy to some brilliant new footage. So, let's start at the beginning of that journey.

First up was a great little sneaky look behind the scenes which showed our first proper glimpse of the cast in character and the crew at work. It's definitely heightened interest and we all thought that this was going to be our lot for a while.

As actual in-movie action goes there's not a lot - a shot of Kate Vernon as Captain Sonya Alexander a bit beaten up is really your payoff there but we do manage some superb closeups of Richard Hatch being made-down from his role as Klingon Supreme Commander Kharn as well as some shots which reveal his uniform is not too far off that of General Chang from Star Trek VI. Chang is actually in Axanar as Kharn's subordinate for those who might not know. Gary Graham is also there in a couple of shots in full, older, Vulcan makeup as Ambassador Soval whom he originally played in Enterprise. 

Both Hertzler and Todd can be seen in their Starfleet dress uniforms during filming and there's even a snippet of dialogue in there as Todd's temper frays in his role as Fleet Admiral Ramirez. The dress uniforms do have a sense of The Original Series' dress uniforms with a touch less silky sheen to them while the glimpses of duty uniform are very much, as we knew, in keeping with the feel of The Cage. Understandably there's some green-screening in there which will help keep the sets budget down if nothing else and also means not too much is being given away here.

Hearing from the major players here gives a lot of resonance to the Axanar stable. If the speed at which the basic funds and then the stretch goals for this project were reached are anything to go by then completing the full length movie might not be in the bag but it's almost certainly going to be an easier task than might have first been expected.

And Then Came June 11th

So while we were getting all wrapped up in the excitement of the sneak peek, those Axanar bods pulled the full 2:53 trailer together and IT'S AMAZING.

"The basic idea of what Prelude is, is totally different from anything Star Trek fans have seen before." Executive Producer Alec Peters told us; "It is basically a History Channel special on the Four Years War."

Straight off and seconds in we're seeing some stunning CGI of the Klingons taking the battle to the Federation, destroying ships, worlds and anything that seems to get in their way. 

Then we get to hear from some of the key players - those notables that we've already heard from briefly in the sneak peek but this time fully in character - and can Tony Todd chew out a scene or what. This is a very different way to explore your project and present it to fans - first giving just a morsel of information and then a short film to introduce what you're going to attempt in the larger movie.

Peters and the Axanar team don't really give much away even in the monologues from the onscreen characters which do start to show us how they are going to be portrayed and maybe glimpses of their angles within the story. Yes, we see some ruined and badly damaged buildings, others engulfed by fire as well as multiple space-borne conflicts to whet your appetite but I really think the key is to look at how each of the protagonists here responds to the unseen interviewer, what does it tell us about their characters and what we can expect?

Admiral Ramirez (Tony Todd) is certainly a character cast in the best tradition one leading from the front, giving stirring speeches and seemingly passionate about defending the traditions of the Federation to provide a better future - could he be a man prepared to do anything to ensure that this is achieved? 

Captain Samuel Travis (J G Hertzler) is much more reflective as he looks back at Axanar. While we're not sure exactly what he's referring to here, there seems to be some appreciation for Admiral Ramirez and also the realisation that something had to change. Looks as though Travis could be some sort of advisor in the movie, providing suggestions on where the Federation need to go to secure victory or even a mentoring role with Garth.

Heading the opposition and fleets of D-6 cruisers is Kharn (Richard Hatch). A seemingly confident man who's confidence and misunderstanding of the Federation could ultimately lead to his downfall and the defeat of the Klingon Empire. His monologue shows the wonder of hindsight are alive and well in the 22nd Century.

One of the two characters in the trailer who previously existed in the canon Star Trek universe is Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham) last seen in the four seasons of Enterprise. For once we see a Vulcan admit failure - a costly failure at that. How Soval will appear in Axanar will be interesting. Will he continue to negotiate for peace or will we see him clearly side with Starfleet to fight - the only logical conclusion to failed peace talks?

The second of three fleet captains featured in the trailer is Sonya Alexander (Kate Vernon). Her brief appearance indicates a commanding officer faced with a futile battle and an apparently lost cause against the seemingly mightier Klingon forces. Is she destined to be the more pessimistic counterpoint in Axanar to Garth or Travis? Will Alexander be a part of the final battle and what part will she ultimately play? I suspect the prelude will show her constantly on the back foot against the Klingons.

Perhaps rightly so the final sound-out is granted to Kelvar Garth (Alec Peters), the hero of Axanar. I actually think this is the most insightful of the sneak peek talking heads, demonstrating that the original intent of Starfleet was far away from battle. Is there a reluctance to fight or is this an acceptance of the brutal truth of reality? We look forward to finding out.

Said Alec in relation to the performance of his assembled cast: "(Their work was) Outstanding. I think everyone is impressed. And Christian (Gossett) did a great job directing them, so the performances are insanely good."

While the interviews are at the core of this trailer, the graphics are mind-blowing and give us some crystal-clear closeups on four different types of Starfleet ship (three pictured here and the fourth being the USS Ares) and the D-6 Klingon cruiser. We also spotted those phaser cannons which are more reminiscent of the JJ Abrams USS Kelvin than The Original Series. In fact there are some bits on the ships in the image here that also indicate a leaning in that direction. Now Alec Peters has told us that the Federation ship classes have yet to be named but we've got some suggestions if he's interested in hearing them or how about a fan competition to choose?

While we can admire the beauty of the CGI, the work on the talking head interviews is equally as perfect. The lighting works a treat, playing light and dark against each other and you instantly forget that the backgrounds are digital because everything looks so authentic. So far this is looking to be one of the truly great and epic fan works made so far and could well be the benchmark for years to come - and that might only be a nod to Prelude let alone the full movie.

"Everything went smoothly (with the production)." reported Alec. "I think the greatest challenge was managing the budget, as a professional film has much greater costs than a fan film, and this is mostly definitely not a fan film."

Our "inside man" at Axanar confirmed that the project is going better than they expected; "But also it takes longer than we would hope because quality takes time!" - and I'm sure as fans we're more than happy to hear that there's care and attention being paid to ensure a high quality result.

The response from fans globally for Alec Peters' project has been something of a phenomenon with 25,000 people alone following their updates on Facebook. The buzz has been immense and is outstripping a lot of other well-known fan projects for interest - maybe with the exception of Renegades which is pushing a Facebook following of 105,000 but that's had even more publicity perhaps and features an equally franchise-recognised cast.

So what's next? Well the 20 minute Prelude to Axanar will get it's premiere at San Diego Comic Con and then the Kickstarter funding for the full length Axanar feature will begin with filming planned for the Fall (Autumn) of 2014. It still seems like completion is a long way off but the release of the sneak peek behind the scenes and the magnificent Prelude trailer will have reassured fans, backers and those involved with the project that this is happening and will come to fruition.

Excited about it? 

We are.

All images courtesy of Star Trek: Axanar

You can find out more by visiting the official Axanar website HERE and you can view their trailer right now...

Are you ready for Axanar? Is it the film you're waiting for? Let us know below!

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Chronicling Axanar: Let Us Begin

There's a lot of excitement in the Star Trek franchise in 2014 which has meant that it could easily be entitled as The Year of the Fan - Phase II, The Green Girl, Renegades and one that really got us chomping at the bit - Axanar.

Taking its lead from one episode of The Original Series, this fan-made production has already hit the headlines with its stunning CGI examples and, perhaps more significantly, it's focus on the character of Garth of Izar.

While there are many of us within the realms of Star Trek fandom who feel that this should have been the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Abrams 2013 movie, this might be the answer we are looking for and has a Galaxy Class load of things to entice fans of every level.

Set two decades before Where No Man Has Gone Before, Garth is the epitome of a Starfleet captain; the hero of Axanar. This movie therefore is his story. 

Chatting across email with executive producer Alec Peters, I was more than enthusiastic(!) over our interest in this project and was pointed in the direction of the Axanar website and Facebook pages. While the former is not rammed full of information at present there is a heck of a lot going on and we'll hope to be somewhere near the knife edge to report on what's happening (if we're allowed!).

The cast already has three stellar names associated with it in the form of Battlestar Galactica legend Richard Hatch, Deep Space Nine's Martok, J G Hertzler and Enterprise's Soval, Gary Graham. If that's not enough stardom for you, I believe that there will be more signings announced very, very soon. That's just in front of the camera mind as Alec has also managed to bring on board David Gerrold as creative consultant. In our opinion that is more than a good start to say the least.

Looking through the characters penned in by Alec, it's interesting to see who we will meet in the movie - an early General Chang (then lieutenant), Robert April shaking down the brand new USS Enterprise, Captain Richard Rabau (last seen spiked by Nero in 2009's Star Trek movie) and a young Sarek acting as aide to the already noted Soval. It's a good site giving nice, concise access to Axanar and even providing a few FAQ's for those interested in the background to the Garth story. Nice touch.

On the Facebook page over 12,000 people have already hit Like and in all honesty this is a better place to get to grips with the evolution of Axanar than the gorgeous looking website. While that has some nice background bits and a screen-lickingly good CGI fly-past of the USS Ares (Garth's ship at Axanar), the Facebook page offers more glimpses into the could be/will be's of the project (all by Tobias Richter...brilliant).

There are some stunning images available on the page as the work is developing from starships to set mock-ups and tech designs that are intended to be somewhere in the step between Enterprise and The Original Series. As the days pass by there justy seems to be more and more information coming out about this work and everything we hear is positive. One of our other Hot for 2014 contenders, Phase II are even lending the production their bridge set to be retrofitted for the story which shows the support that Alec and the Axanar dream has garnered already. 

Even from the brief email tennis I've played over the last few weeks you can tell in the tone that there is as much excitement from within the Axanar camp as there is from the fans waiting to see it move into production and then be available. What I especially love about the Facebook page is the debates that spring up on there. Recently there's been some interesting discussions around the use of the Enterprise insignia on uniforms, the style of uniforms themselves and even comments around element design be it sets or even tricorders. Now while there can be some grumbles in there it's a brilliant way for the producers to hone their product, make it "Canon Correct" if you will and mean that fans, to a degree, are kept on side and can maybe even help mould the production. It's probably one of the most effective uses of a Facebook page I've seen for some time. It's a whole world of Trek  cool.

What helps no doubt is having a visual artist with a great deal of talent - the ship images (some of which we've included here) and the imaginings of the Axanar world are just as you would imagine if you're familiar with not only the 2009 USS Kelvin but also the style of The Cage and even Enterprise. There are some hints of the tech developments in the real world in the styling but that is to be expected and welcomed given that this is 2014 and not 1966. Indeed, like a lot of fans we're peaked on interest just on the starships pics of the Ares, Geronimo and the Klingon ship alone. God knows what we'll be like if there's much more posted like these stunning shots.

As we talked about when we listed our Hot for 2014 at the start of January, it's going to be one of those that will have to be watched throughout the year and most likely a must see when it's complete. Ok, so at the moment there's only a few castings and a lot of theory and thought on the internet however there is something to see. It's not just ghosts - Axanar is real, it has real people behind it and genuinely impresses when you see what has been designed even at this point.

As the year progresses we hope to be talking to some of the team behind the production (no promises) and will update as and when we know more right here. For now, head over to their networks and get behind the project. It's going to be a winner and there are a lot of people out there who seem to think likewise.

Star Trek: Axanar can be found on Facebook and at their website for more details.

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