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axanar_debate_1 [2018/12/13 11:09] – [Prelude Departures] Carlos Pedrazaaxanar_debate_1 [2019/01/19 17:01] (current) – [Prelude Departures] Carlos Pedraza
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 **BATTLE OF THE BLOGGERS** Trekzone's Matt Miller and Fan Film Factor's Jonathan Lane square off in the first of three hour-long podcasts. <wrap indent><fs smaller>//Image/Trekzone//</fs></wrap> **BATTLE OF THE BLOGGERS** Trekzone's Matt Miller and Fan Film Factor's Jonathan Lane square off in the first of three hour-long podcasts. <wrap indent><fs smaller>//Image/Trekzone//</fs></wrap>
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 +<fs x-small>DECEMBER 12, 2018</fs>
  
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 The first dropped December 12, 2018, produced by Miller as one of his continuing series of "Trekzone Conversations," and posted both on his website and on Lane's [[http://fanfilmfactor.com|Fan Film Factor]] blog, which often serves as the news organ for [[Axanar]] and its producer, [[Alec Peters]]. The first dropped December 12, 2018, produced by Miller as one of his continuing series of "Trekzone Conversations," and posted both on his website and on Lane's [[http://fanfilmfactor.com|Fan Film Factor]] blog, which often serves as the news organ for [[Axanar]] and its producer, [[Alec Peters]].
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 +<fs smaller>**//See also: [[axanar_debate_2|Debate Focuses on AxaMonitor as Cause for Trek Fans' Rift]]//**</fs>
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-Lane added another unnamed producer (possibly Jhennifer Wibberly) to the list of departed crew, making a total of five but he disputed counting Burnett as having left, even though Burnett resigned in 2017.+Lane added another unnamed producer (possibly Jhennifer Webberley) to the list of departed crew, making a total of five but he disputed counting Burnett as having left, even though Burnett resigned in 2017.
  
 "I'm not giving you that one," Lane said. "Robert stayed. He was going to be editing //Axanar//. He stayed throughout the entire lawsuit" up until the production's [[atlanta_move|move to Georgia]]. "He didn't leave because of retrofitting the studio; he was one of those doing the retrofitting." "I'm not giving you that one," Lane said. "Robert stayed. He was going to be editing //Axanar//. He stayed throughout the entire lawsuit" up until the production's [[atlanta_move|move to Georgia]]. "He didn't leave because of retrofitting the studio; he was one of those doing the retrofitting."
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 Furthermore, while Lane's refusal to count Burnett as one who had left because of the retrofit was accurate, it elided the fact that since the lawsuit was settled in January 2017, Burnett failed to publicly commit to direct the two short films allowed by the settlement. Furthermore, while Lane's refusal to count Burnett as one who had left because of the retrofit was accurate, it elided the fact that since the lawsuit was settled in January 2017, Burnett failed to publicly commit to direct the two short films allowed by the settlement.
  
-Burnett had in fact remained a loyal proponent of Axanar throughout its troubles, but his creative relationship with Peters had long been a strained one. Peters’ co-writer on the Axanar feature script, Bill Hunt, testified in court documents about behind-the-scenes struggles about the script between Burnett and Peters, with Hunt “kind of in the middle between the two of them.”((Transcript, Confidential Videotaped Deposition of Bill Hunt (recorded 10/25/16), Docket 181.1, p. 87, 1/6/17.))+Burnett had in fact remained a loyal proponent of Axanar throughout its troubles, but his creative relationship with Peters had long been a strained one. Peters’ co-writer on the Axanar feature script, [[hunt_peters|Bill Hunt, testified]] in court documents about behind-the-scenes struggles about the script between Burnett and Peters, with Hunt “kind of in the middle between the two of them.”((Transcript, Confidential Videotaped Deposition of Bill Hunt (recorded 10/25/16), Docket 181.1, p. 87, 1/6/17.))
  
 Even with the settlement of the lawsuit, Peters and Burnett disagreed on the form the shortened version of //Axanar// should take. Burnett wanted to simply produce the first 30 minutes of his feature script; Peters wanted to replicate the success of Prelude by mimicking its [[axanar_lite|mock-documentary]] format. Peters prevailed; [[burnett_resigns|Burnett resigned]] soon after. Even with the settlement of the lawsuit, Peters and Burnett disagreed on the form the shortened version of //Axanar// should take. Burnett wanted to simply produce the first 30 minutes of his feature script; Peters wanted to replicate the success of Prelude by mimicking its [[axanar_lite|mock-documentary]] format. Peters prevailed; [[burnett_resigns|Burnett resigned]] soon after.
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 [{{ :horizon-sequel.jpg?350|**HORIZON** Tommy Kraft's feature-length fan film, has outshined //Prelude// with 9.7 million YouTube views — three times //Prelude//'s — costing less than $50,000, just a fraction of //Axanar//'s projected $1.9 million budget. Kraft, who worked on //Prelude// has since become an Axanar critic.}}] [{{ :horizon-sequel.jpg?350|**HORIZON** Tommy Kraft's feature-length fan film, has outshined //Prelude// with 9.7 million YouTube views — three times //Prelude//'s — costing less than $50,000, just a fraction of //Axanar//'s projected $1.9 million budget. Kraft, who worked on //Prelude// has since become an Axanar critic.}}]
  
-Lane went on to dismiss the departure of digital compositor [[tommy_kraft|Tommy Kraft]] because he was a merely a "contractor," even though many of //Prelude//'s crew were also contractors. Kraft, who was chiefly responsible for much of the look of the live action segments of //Prelude//, is another dissatisfied former crew member. He went on to produce the acclaimed //[[horizon-matters|Star Trek–Horizon]]// for less than $50,000, a fan film that has garnered about three times the number of views as //Prelude// on YouTube (9.7 million versus 3.7 million), even though //Horizon// was released two years after //Prelude//.+Lane went on to dismiss the departure of digital compositor [[tommy_kraft|Tommy Kraft]] because he was a merely a "contractor," even though many of //Prelude//'s crew were also contractors. Kraft, who was chiefly responsible for blending live-action segments with digital imaging in //Prelude//, is another [[kraft_experience|dissatisfied former crew]] member. He went on to produce the acclaimed //[[horizon-matters|Star Trek–Horizon]]// for less than $50,000, a fan film that has garnered almost three times the number of views as //Prelude// on YouTube (9.7 million versus 3.7 million), even though //Horizon// was released two years after //Prelude//.
  
 ===== The Studio ===== ===== The Studio =====
  
-Lane and Miller also focused on the history of Axanar's ill-fated soundstage, a never-completed retrofit of a warehouse in Valencia, Calif. To Miller's question about whether diverting so much of donors' money (nearly three-quarters of a million dollars) to the studio was "a step backwards," Lane replied, "Not backwards, but [[peters_comikaze|in hindsight a mistake]], asserting Peters couldn't have known when he signed a three-year lease on the facility that it would go awry.+Lane and Miller also focused on the history of Axanar's ill-fated soundstage, a never-completed retrofit of a warehouse in Valencia, Calif. To Miller's question about whether diverting so much of donors' money (nearly three-quarters of a million dollars) to the studio was "a step backwards," Lane replied, "Not backwards, but [[peters_comikaze|in hindsight a mistake]]," asserting Peters couldn't have known when he signed a three-year lease on the facility that everything would go awry.
  
 ==== Hindsight Mistake ==== ==== Hindsight Mistake ====
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 Gossett told the [[yout>K1m7SSOQC6o|G&T Show]] podcast in 2016 that he pleaded with Peters to not build a studio from scratch. But, encouraged by his $1.1 million crowdfunding success, Peters went on to do so, seeing an opportunity for revenue by renting out his own commercial studio when he wasn’t shooting Axanar. He had to abandon that unfinished facility in 2017 without a single frame of //Axanar// ever shot inside. Gossett told the [[yout>K1m7SSOQC6o|G&T Show]] podcast in 2016 that he pleaded with Peters to not build a studio from scratch. But, encouraged by his $1.1 million crowdfunding success, Peters went on to do so, seeing an opportunity for revenue by renting out his own commercial studio when he wasn’t shooting Axanar. He had to abandon that unfinished facility in 2017 without a single frame of //Axanar// ever shot inside.
  
-Lane said Peters knew what he was doing at the time because he had helped secure the lease for the studio housing //Star Trek New Voyages//' sets, now the officially licensed Star Trek Original Series Set Tour. Of course, New Voyages' "studio" wasn't a studio. It was a former dollar store in Ticonderoga, N.Y.+Lane said Peters knew what he was doing at the time because he had helped secure the lease for the studio housing //Star Trek New Voyages//' sets, now the officially licensed Star Trek Original Series Set Tour. Of course, New Voyages' "studio" wasn't a studio. It was a former dollar store in Ticonderoga, N.Y. Peters' claims about his role in acquiring the space have been publicly disputed by key members of the New Voyages crew.
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 //**__<fs smaller>« The fact CBS announced it’s debuting a new Star Trek series and Paramount is releasing //Star Trek Beyond//  probably stoked the companies’ mutual desire to put a stop to Axanar. “The crowding of the market can very well be a factor that’s motivating a greater desire to bring litigation.” »</fs>__**// <wrap indent>— //First Amendment lawyer Lincoln Bandlow in The Wrap, January 8, 2016//</wrap> //**__<fs smaller>« The fact CBS announced it’s debuting a new Star Trek series and Paramount is releasing //Star Trek Beyond//  probably stoked the companies’ mutual desire to put a stop to Axanar. “The crowding of the market can very well be a factor that’s motivating a greater desire to bring litigation.” »</fs>__**// <wrap indent>— //First Amendment lawyer Lincoln Bandlow in The Wrap, January 8, 2016//</wrap>
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 ==== Up Front With Donors? ==== ==== Up Front With Donors? ====
  
-Lane also accurately stated that Peters had been up front with donors that money from its successful $638,000 [[axanar_kickstarter_details|Kickstarter campaign]] was going to pay for the studio, stating it was a well known plan, cited even in a Wall Street Journal article about the production. However, the [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-the-audience-makes-the-cameras-roll-1441657364|only Journal article]] from that time makes no such mention.+Lane also accurately disputed Miller's charge that that Peters hadn't been up front with donors that money from its successful $638,000 [[axanar_kickstarter_details|Kickstarter campaign]] was going to pay for the studio. Lane called it a well known plan, cited even in a Wall Street Journal article about the production. However, the [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-the-audience-makes-the-cameras-roll-1441657364|only Journal article]] about Axanar from that time makes no such mention.
  
 And while the Kickstarter pitch did indeed refer to the studio, the purported budget for the studio retrofit was nowhere near what the scale of the project turned out to be, as **AxaMonitor** reported regarding Axanar's 2015 [[annual_report#the_infrastructure_kickstarter|Annual Report]]. And while the Kickstarter pitch did indeed refer to the studio, the purported budget for the studio retrofit was nowhere near what the scale of the project turned out to be, as **AxaMonitor** reported regarding Axanar's 2015 [[annual_report#the_infrastructure_kickstarter|Annual Report]].
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 Lane said Axanar's 2 million YouTube views were enough to concern CBS. "They didn't want people not paying for All Access because they were seeing Star Trek elsewhere," he said. Lane claimed //Discovery//'s viewer numbers on CBS All Access were only as much as 500,000. He would not reveal the source of that data. Lane said Axanar's 2 million YouTube views were enough to concern CBS. "They didn't want people not paying for All Access because they were seeing Star Trek elsewhere," he said. Lane claimed //Discovery//'s viewer numbers on CBS All Access were only as much as 500,000. He would not reveal the source of that data.
  
-Part 2 of the podcast will be released December 17 and Part 3 on December 19. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}}+==== Next Installments ==== 
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 +[[axanar_debate_2|Part 2]] of the podcast was to be released December 17 and Part 3 on December 19. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}}
  
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