The ARES STUDIOS in Hollywood is a 4,000 square foot studio that has been used to produce the hit TV show “The Walking Dead” and other popular shows. This Saturday, they are having a shoot from 12pm-6pm for their new series called “Witch Hunter”.
The when will axanar be released is a question that has been asked many times. Now, the answer to this question is simple.
Back in November of 2019, I shared a hilarious video of ARES STUDIOS “coming to life” right before we started the first day of a two-day production for my AXANAR Universe fan film INTERLUDE. But it was just a small portion of the video I captured!
The benefit of being the producer on a film production is that you have complete control. While the director is in control on set during shooting, the producer is ultimately responsible for everything from budgeting and pre-production meetings through post-production and the release of the final product.
Interlude’s aim wasn’t only to make a Star Trek fan film or to shoot anything on the bridge set at ARES STUDIOS, but both things were important. But what I really wanted to do was record the whole process of making a fan video for my readers, from beginning to end. The two-day filming on the USS Ares (and Artemis) bridge set in Lawrenceville, GA was perhaps the most thrilling part of the trip!
My director, VICTORIA FOX, and director of photography, JOSHUA IRWIN, were OK with my shooting the shoot as long as I stayed quiet, stayed still, and didn’t bother the actors or crew in any way. As a result, I was able to capture almost the whole session from beginning to end. As a result, this movie is very lengthy…which is a good thing!
Why not cut the video down to a more manageable length, you may ask? Because I wanted you to know precisely what it was like on set, even when things weren’t going as quickly as they could have been. In reality, on TV and movie sets, a lot of time passes with apparently little to no activity (at least, that’s how it seems from the outside).
I didn’t film “everything,” as it turned out. In reality, after things started rolling on Saturday, the shoot lasted almost TEN HOURS, yet the film I’ve uploaded here is just two hours long. Part of the reason is that I didn’t spend a lot of time shooting while the lights and cameras were being moved around—it gets old fast! Instead, I focused on scenes in which the cameras were rolling or about to film. I also took a break every now and again to change my camera’s video mode to picture mode so I could snap behind-the-scenes production pictures. As a result, there are many points in the film when one footage abruptly stops and another starts.
Is it necessary to view the whole video…?
It’s all up to you! Some of my readers may be intrigued enough to stay for the whole thing… If you’re a (fan) filmmaker or plan to be one someday, you may want to take some notes. Others may want to hop around and watch a little bit here and there. It is all up to you.
The key thing to remember is that unless you work in the film business, you are unlikely to see anything like this again. This much video isn’t even available in behind-the-scenes extras on Blu-rays. You’ll be able to see Victoria and Joshua talk about their plans for each shot. Victoria will be directing WARREN HAWK as Captain Jakande, attempting to elicit the finest performance from him not just in the manner he delivers his words, but also in where and how he moves. If you’re acquainted with Interlude, you can see which takes we used and which we didn’t. You’ll also see a lot of little things that go into a production where individuals who work in the film business put their expertise and talents to use.
I’ll show you our second day of filming on Sunday in a later blog, where we shot all of the sequences with Garth aboard the USS Ares. For the time being, it’s Captain Jakande and the brave crew of the USS Artemis. Enjoy…
The axanar store is a fan-made project that has been in the works for years. It is finally being released on December 2nd, 2017.
