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CBS and Paramount release new fan film guidlines


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#1 Alteran195

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 10:25 AM

http://www.startrek.com/fan-films

RIP Continues and any other episode or feature length fan films.

This isn't terribly surprising, and I personally don't have a problem with them.

Either way, thanks Axanar, you screwed it up for everyone.

#2 Sybeck1

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 11:34 AM

This us absolutely terrible. The fan made productions are ten times better than the corporate releases. I am fuming but alas what can I do

#3 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 12:13 PM

I have been mostly indeffirent on this issue up until now. I did feel that Axanar crossed or at least came close to crossing lines of what was reasonable. These quidelines are absolutely ridiculous. I didn't before but I will be joining the boycott of all things Star Trek now. I was really looking forward to the new series, but if this is how they're going to handle Star Trek I'm done.

#4 Sybeck1

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 12:18 PM

Maybe a petition is in order. Star Trek Continues and New Voyages are the best thing on YouTube and now the suits are basically shutting it down

#5 Sybeck1

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 12:23 PM

https://www.change.o...y-the-franchise

Speak of the devil

#6 Jay K

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 01:08 PM

I don't watch Continues (my reason is that I just accept them as the original crew, similar to the JJ stuff in that regard - if it was a sistership to the Enterprise with a new crew, I'd love it), but it'd be really sh***y if that production - one supported by the likes of Doug Drexler and the Okudas, was canned over this.

 

Continues is by far the best fan production I've ever seen (minus the actors, it's exactly the original series).



#7 Alteran195

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 01:36 PM

They could have easily said no fan films at all, but they didn't.

Axanar pushed it to far, and with Trek returning to TV soon, it isn't surprising that they don't want people to be confused by fan films that could be mistaken for official Trek. Don't forget that the general public is pretty ignorant as to what is official and what isn't. Especially when a lot of fan films have the actors reprising their old roles again.

#8 1701D

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 02:56 PM

Paramount and CBS have been hugely patient and gracious in allowing fan films to be produced to the extent they have been for the past decade (probably longer).

fan films have become far too extensive and elaborate to the point where we have Axanar claiming to be a fully independent Star Trek film. That isn't acceptable.

Nor is it acceptable for a minority of outspoken fans to be angry. You've been very lucky that the studios have looked the other way for so long.

And quite frankly, CBS could have said no more fan films ever. They haven't, they have restricted fans into producing something more creative and more original.

Star Trek belongs to everyone, not just the few who demand paramount and CBS allow fans with deep pockets to undermine what the majority of Star Trek fans love and appreciate.

Now let those who loved these fan films appreciate CBS for allowing them to be made in the past and move on and let's enjoy what is yet to come from Paramout and CBS as well as new fans wanting to make an excellent short fan film.

No petition to save unofficial Star Trek stories told by fans is ever going to fly, not with the studios and not with the fanbase at large.

#9 djc242

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 03:13 PM

Paramount and CBS have been hugely patient and gracious in allowing fan films to be produced to the extent they have been for the past decade (probably longer).

fan films have become far too extensive and elaborate to the point where we have Axanar claiming to be a fully independent Star Trek film. That isn't acceptable.

Nor is it acceptable for a minority of outspoken fans to be angry. You've been very lucky that the studios have looked the other way for so long.

And quite frankly, CBS could have said no more fan films ever. They haven't, they have restricted fans into producing something more creative and more original.

Star Trek belongs to everyone, not just the few who demand paramount and CBS allow fans with deep pockets to undermine what the majority of Star Trek fans love and appreciate.

Now let those who loved these fan films appreciate CBS for allowing them to be made in the past and move on and let's enjoy what is yet to come from Paramout and CBS as well as new fans wanting to make an excellent short fan film.

No petition to save unofficial Star Trek stories told by fans is ever going to fly, not with the studios and not with the fanbase at large.

 

C'mon man.  Most of the fan films have been labors of love and were small attempts to fill the void of not having a new Trek show on the air.  A lot of people liked them so they can be upset if they want.  It's those same types of fans that got a 3rd season for TOS back in the day.  

 

Axanar did seem to be the last straw for CBS since it was fundraising so aggressively as if it were a standard commercial production.



#10 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 04:28 PM

Fan films have always been a gray area, determining when a production crosses the line from being merely a personal project to a production that infringes on copyright is nearly impossible. I think there was and still is an opportunity here for CBS/Paramount to foster a community of fan creators that would be beneficial to the franchise as well as not interfere with and in many cases promote the franchise and make it even better. I didn't really fully support Axanar's side in their legal battle but I do now 100%. There were quite a few interesting things coming out of the lawsuit and if CBS doesn't choose to change their position then it will be interesting to see what comes out of it and I won't be upset if CBS loses some rights to their own property. I fully respect that Star Trek is CBS's property, however if they choose to take this most restrictive, closed off approach to how their fans can share in and enjoy the franchise then I won't be putting any money towards anything that is official Star Trek. I was really looking forward to the new series and obviously as a member of this board I love supporting the toy lines, for me that all ends now.



#11 djc242

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 04:54 PM

Doug Drexler's take on this:

https://m.facebook.c...04&id=570346103

#12 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 05:06 PM

Doug Drexler's take on this:

https://m.facebook.c...04&id=570346103

I take his positive outlook on this as he still has potential for working on Star Trek as this pretty much completely shuts him out of fan film production. He did call out the things I didn't like about Axanar's approach, which I agree with him completely on.

 

Personally I think Star Trek Continues should be the model of the upper end of what's acceptable. I would also like to see them take the productions that rise to the top like STC and distribute them through their channels and help fund them. They could have a whole Star Trek fan film section on their new CBS app. There's definitely potential for them to turn this into a positive rather than a negative.



#13 1701D

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 05:23 PM

 
C'mon man.  Most of the fan films have been labors of love and were small attempts to fill the void of not having a new Trek show on the air.  A lot of people liked them so they can be upset if they want.  It's those same types of fans that got a 3rd season for TOS back in the day

I'm not saying you can't be upset but to feel so betrayed and angry towards Paramount and CBS is utterly ludicrous.

These fan films since Star Trek: New Voyages have become far too extensive.

The letter writing campaign of the 60's was indeed a very important point in the future of Star Trek. But it really has no bearing 49 years later. Star Trek is such a different beast from what it was in 1967 and even though many Star Trek fans might feel as though they have a right to ownership and to determine the future of the franchise as they helped to do in the 1960's, the truth today is that due to that letter writing campaign, there are now far more Star Trek fans who are perfectly happy with what Paramount and CBS put out and are eagarly awaiting Star Trek Beyond and the Star Trek 2017 All Access Series.

So while it is sad that the few fans who will have to accept the new guidelines if they wish to continue to support and make fan films, there is a need for restrictions and limits to what an unofficial production can and can't do.

It is also worth noting that for the good of the many long time fans (like me) and new fans yet to be introduced to Star Trek, it's a great time to be a Star Trek fan and a great decision taken by CBS.

I look forward to seeing what the new and next generation of Star Trek fan film makers can do with the new guidelines, there's certainly a good amount of freedom within reason for fans to create new and exciting types of fan film, if not fully fledged movies and episodes which fly too close to official Star Trek.

#14 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 05:38 PM

So while it is sad that the few fans who will have to accept the new guidelines if they wish to continue to support and make fan films, there is a need for restrictions and limits to what an unofficial production can and can't do.

I agree that there needs to be guidelines. I think however that these guidelines are so restrictive that many simply won't follow them. If no changes are made I expect some productions to comply and others to simply keep on with what they are doing. It's all a very gray legal area and CBS/Paramount has far more to lose than the fans. For example there was a really interesting article coming out of the issue with the Axanar case that made very good points about how the Klingon language could fall into public domain. If they truly are going to make an ongoing business out of suing the fans this not only opens the franchise up to damage but also diminishes the fans relationship with the franchise. I think good reasonable guidelines would be beneficial for both sides in this case. My hope is they decided to open with this and then see what resistance they got and then loosen it up a little.



#15 1701D

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 05:54 PM

These guidelines are reasonable though and CBS/Paramount have nothing to loose.

If you walk away from Star Trek because of this then that's every fans choice but it's not going to change what CBS and Paramount are going to do with the franchise, it didn't change their minds to scrap the Kelvin timeline after Star Trek Into Darkness was voted the worst Star Trek film ever and their minds won't be changed over the smaller backlash from a few fans reacting to these guidelines.

I don't think if every fan of a Star Trek fan film were to disregard whatever CBS and Paramount put out, would have any effect on the popularity or financial success of the franchise.

I think what they've given in their guidelines is ample to produce something of very high quality. These are pretty decent guidelines.

And the worse that happens is that those who don't abide by these guidelines is a cese and disist order from CBS and Paramount.

Star Trek is a billion dollar franchise, it will go on regardless of what a very small percentage of the fan base do. The studios have been very good to its fan base and very patient to those who want to make fan films. Today they continue to accommodate the passions of the fans within a clear set of rules moving forward and have clarified their standpoint on what can and can't be done.

But nothing any fan wishing to boycott official Star Trek productions will have any massive effect on the success of Star Trek made by CBS and Paramount.

#16 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 06:07 PM

These guidelines are reasonable though and CBS/Paramount have nothing to loose.

I wouldn't call guidelines that essentially shut down every major fan film production reasonable. I will agree there are some very reasonable points though. I think with a few modifications these could be good. Limiting productions to 15 minutes seems fairly arbitrary and really curtails the ability to have a good well thought out story on the other hand I think limiting fundraising to $50k seems a very generous guideline. I do think there's potential with these but they need some work. Until that happens I just have no interest in supporting Star Trek. CBS most certainly does have something to lose though, the more times they go to court over this the more opportunity there is for things to fall out of their copyright and into public domain. I don't think anyone really want to see that happen.



#17 Sybeck1

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 07:34 PM

I enjoy the fan flicks more than corporate releases. I am indifferent about the 2009 one, but the last one was a total train wreck and that has me concerned about the next one. I just don't like they have made McCoy a set piece and never explored the Kirk,Spock,McCoy dynamic of my youth.

Star Trek Continues has seven more episodes planned, with the next one supposedly to release in September. I guess that's a no now because a this ruling. I was looking forward to those seven Continues episodes more than any of the 2017 episodes. They bring back nostalgia with the sounds, color, sets and character mannerisms from my youth. I turn 50 next year and these take me back to a simpler time. It's not like Paramount was using the old prime universe. They have given the finger to it and went another direction. In my universe Vulcan is still intact.

You can't tell a good story in fifteen minutes. This isn't a 3 stooges short. This alone kills it. The fun is over, the suits won

#18 1701D

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 07:52 PM

It's 30 minutes you have to tell your story in two, 15 minute parts.

If you can't tell a decent enough fan film story in 30 minutes then you shouldn't be making one. Prelude to Axanar is 20 minutes and is amazing. Star Trek: Horizon was made for $50k

So while both of those films cost more and were longer respectively, they both show in different aspects what is possible under the new CBS guidelines.

Will fan films look different? Yes. Will some suffer? Yes. But they've been riding a very fortunate wave Paramount and CBS have until Axanar, decided to ignore.

However Axanar have forced their hand. You can't make $1 million and call it an independent Star Trek film.

If you want to look for blame, look for Alec Peters. He flew too close to the sun.

#19 s8film40

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 08:39 PM

The more I think about it I think the timing is good for STC they're set to release their next episode in Spetember. I think it's likely they'll go ahead and release it, it's already done there would be no keeping it back anyways it would eventually leak out from someone in the production anyway. As many have pointed out these are quidelines, more like a promise not to sue if you follow them, however they didn't even exist before and CBS left STC and others alone. I think if nothing happens as a result of that they may take that as a sign that they can proceed cautiously in the same manner as they have been and some of the other fan films may follow suit. I'm not sure with these guidelines STC would produce an episode but since it's already done it gives them an opportunity to test the waters.

I don't disagree at all that Alec Peters started this whole mess. Honestly I'm not a fan of Axanar. It's really looking like it's just going to be a bunch of CGI space action, which now that I think about it really makes sense as to why CBS/Paramount went after him it's more in line to compete with ST Beyond than any other fan film.

It's apparent now the Axanar case will still be ongoing. There's a lot of potential for changes to be made based on things that come up in the case both to the guidelines and court interpretations. While I don't like his approach to making his fan film I'm happy now he at least has a million dollars to fund the legal battle, here's to hoping he wins.

#20 Daysleeper

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Posted 24 June 2016 - 01:06 AM

I don't believe STC will release their next episode without permission. I've met Vic Mignogna, and he's playing by the rules. He was very upset about the likes of Alec Peters for breaking the no. 1 rule (making profit with someone else's property). I only hope that they'll be able to release it, because Rod Roddenberry has always been a fan and supporter of the show, and he being involved with the upcoming official Trek show might help there. But my hopes aren't very high, to be honest. And that's sad, because I prefer STC to what Paramount and CBS have officially released under the name of Star Trek lately.

 

I don't think this would have happened without Axanar. Had there only been the likes of STC and New Voyages/Phase II, Paramount and CBS would have looked the other way, because quite obviously those people aren't Shat and Nimoy. And no harm done. They are fans who want to honor a show they love and respect. I've made 2 fan films (on a much smaller budget) 20 years ago, and I never thought about making money with them. It was just a fun way of spending time with friends, being creative and having something to talk about 20 years later. But when you do it like Alec Peters and proclaim to make an independent film that's gonna be a real feature film with a budget of over a million and so on, which even looks and feels very close to JJ-Trek (and thus resembles currently produced official Trek), I can understand Paramount and CBS for wanting to protect their property.






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