By GustavoLeao / 19:21, 1 July 2008 / General Star Trek

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TREKWEB GUEST ARTICLE

Cast, Fans, and Crew Gather to Celebrate Star Trek: Hidden Frontier Shows

By Rick Pike,  Hidden Frontier Productions

They came from all over the world...  and beyond.   In early June, fans, cast, and crew of the long-running Star Trek: Hidden Frontier family of fanfilms gathered in Los Angeles to participate in the third annual gathering to discuss the Hidden Frontier shows, meet the production team, writers, and cast members, and to socialize and celebrate as a group.  Dubbed "Excelsior Ball" after the U.S.S. Excelsior, flagship of the Hidden Frontier series, this third gathering turned out to be the most ambitious and well-received event yet.   Nearly 80 people from around the world attended the event, some from as far away as the United Kingdom and Germany. 

"I couldn't have imagined that it would turn out to be as wonderful an event as it did.  I knew it was going to be good, but it exceeded my wildest expectations, and then some,"   said Executive Producer Rob Caves. 

 "We realized from the start that this wasn't just a fan convention," said Rick Pike, who is HF's coordinator of public relations and fan donations. "Because of the realities of the green screen production process used by Rob and his team, many of the cast never get to work together on a regular basis. Their scenes are edited together to form the episode. Excelsior Ball was also a chance for them to get together with their cast mates as a group, as well. So for both fans, cast and crew, this was a special event."

Filming of Operation Beta Shield Prior to the Conference

First up on the schedule for the extended OBS/EB3 week was the concurrent filming of Hidden Frontier Production's latest feature, Operation Beta Shield, an 80-minute long film featuring the Hidden Frontier cast and a cross-over cast from the popular Starship Intrepid fanfilm series, based in Dundee, Scotland.   Both Hidden Frontier and Intrepid inhabit the same fanfilm universe, and have several crossover characters.    To accommodate the visiting cast from Scotland, filming of the scenes involving them was compressed into 3 very long, 18 hour days of shooting at the Hidden Frontier studio.   

Several slots in the crowded studio were allocated each day for fans to sign up to visit the studio and observe the making of the productions firsthand.   

"We wanted to involve our fans as much as possible," said Beo Fraser, one of the producers of the series and also Head of Makeup.  "So we opened up the studio to fans who could come a few days early.  They came, observed the process, helped out with various tasks, and most even were able to portray small background roles in the film.  It was as exciting for us as it was for them."

Several fans were present on all days of the shoot, along with a variety of cast and crew.  

Nick Cook, producer of the fanfilm series Starship Intrepid, and who also plays Captain Daniel Hunter of the U.S.S. Intrepid, summarized his experience this way. "If anyone ever questions why we do this, there's a simple answer; come to one of these film shoots. Every time we get together there's a camaraderie, a shared energy and creativity that I think has to be experienced to be truly understood. Working together on these projects is nothing less than a joy, and it's one I hope to continue for many years to come."

Donald Polansky, a fan from Texas, requested and was awarded a fan slot at the shoot.  "I imagined when I arrived at the studio that I would be struggling just to keep out of everyone's hair as they worked.  Imagine my surprise and delight when they asked me to help out, and later had me put on a costume and makeup and actually be in the show.  It's hard to put into words how it felt to be so accepted, and then so honored to play an extra in the program.  Best said: This was the thrill of a lifetime for me."

The Excelsior Ball

The EB3 program offered a variety of events and activities for everyone.  Chaired by Andrew Foster, some of the highlights included screenings of older film work and shorts work of Rob Caves;  a hilarious "best of bloopers" reel; screenings of some of the precursor "Voyages of the Angeles" episodes and movie;   screenings of episodes of the latest series (Odyssey, Helena Chronicles), paired with discussions and autograph sessions with the cast and crew of each show.  Additionally, Rob Caves unveiled information about his latest work, the Operation Beta Shield film, and described how that film would feed in to the new Federation One mini-series.  Rob also provided a sneak peek to the enthusiastic audience of his newest project, and independent science fiction series entitled "Frontier Guard."  The 3 day conference was rounded out with social events, games, contests, and chances for the fans to talk with producers, actors, and writers in one-on-one settings.

Panel Sessions

The Panels, which for many were the highlight of the conference, placed groups of cast members, writers, support services, and producers up before the audience for discussions on certain elements, and then open questions and answers.  Panels at EBIII included:

          * From Concept To Chronicles - Story Development

          * Back To The Patch -- Meet The Helena Chronicles Cast

          * Andromedan Odyssey -- Meet The Odyssey Cast

          * The New Bad Guys On The Block - Meet The Archein 

          * Creating The Look - Makeup

          * Fun With Fanfilms - HF-Verse Fanfilms And Joint Projects 

          * Tell Us What You Really Think - Fan Feedback 

Following each panel, audience members could meet with and talk to the actors and staff, and get autographs and photographs taken.

Other Activities.  Several brave members of the audience went on stage and acted out scenes from Odyssey in front of Risha Denny (Elizabeth Shelby) and Brandon McConnell (Ro Nevin).  Sprinkled throughout the conference were fun games with a Trek theme, most notably, a Star Trek inspired trivia contest, hosted by Andrew Foster, and another fun games called "Star Trek: What Were You Thinking?", which was hosted by Jennifer Cole.

One special  event of the EB3 conference was a separate banquet dinner, called the Hidden Frontier "Celebrity Dinner."  It was well attended by producers, cast members and fans.  Attendees were treated to a delicious all-you-can-eat Mexican style meal.  The Celebrity Dinner gave people a chance to sit with their friends, their favorite cast members, and generally, to share an evening of good times with their friends from Hidden Frontier.   

"The Celebrity Dinner was such a wonderful chance to actually sit and talk and share a great meal with people I had wanted to meet personally," said Michael Slagenweit-Coffman.  "The producers, cast and crew were distributed throughout, so everyone had a great opportunity to socialize with all their favorite Hidden Frontier people, including other fans from around the globe."

Piano Bar Nights

One impromptu fun event was the discovery of an alcove off the main lobby with a grand piano. For several late hours on both nights, an amazingly high quality songfest erupted in the lobby, with HF's own Andrew Foster and Beo Fraser providing superb piano accompaniment

"Those evenings spent around the piano were a joy because everyone was able to relax and play and engage in pure, unadulterated fun and silliness," said Will Dees, a fan attendee from Houston.  "For me, I arrived at the Excelsior Ball conference on Friday night, and walked into the hotel a bit nervous to meet the new people.  And there they were, standing around a piano, all singing and having fun together.  It was a wonderful way for me to join the group and meet everyone in person, and will remain one of the highlights of the Excelsior Ball for me."

"Away Missions" to Universal Studios and Disneyland

Although the conference officially ended on Sunday afternoon, that didn't stop the fun for many.  Jennifer Cole, a Southern Californian native and world-renowned expert on Disneyland and Universal Studios, led two "Away Mission" post-EB3 events to Universal Studios-Hollywood, and to Disneyland. The Away Missions were well attended, and no members of the Away Team were lost (not even those foolish enough to be wearing red shirts.)  

Winding up the Conference

Rob Caves closed out the conference with a touching tribute to the fans, his cast and crew, and the EB3 conference team, for making it all possible, and for allowing him to explore his dreams of making good science fiction shows.  He thanked everyone for sticking by him, providing him with comments and feedback via the forums, and for being active in the ongoing development of the episodes.  Finally, Rob invited everyone to stand by him in the next year as he launches his own independent science fiction series, Frontier Guard, about which he said he was excited by the quality of the stories and prep work coming together (and promised to keep fans up-to-date on the HF forums.)  Andrew Foster, chairman of the Excelsior Ball, thanked his team for a job well done, and Andrew himself was honored for bringing it all together once again.   There was time for fan and participant feedback, which was duly noted by the HF team, and with the bang of a gavel (not really) it was over.  

Go Home! Go Home!

From all attendees, the word was clear.  Excelsior Ball III was a huge success, and it allowed the devoted fan community to get more involved, learn about the shows and production, for some, it gave the chance to see how the show is made (and for some, to actually be part of it),and finally, to learn where the shows are going,   For the cast and producers, it gave them invaluable access to some of their loyal fanbase, and the opportunity to get direct feedback from them.  It also gave the casts of the various shows the chance to meet together in one place, bounce ideas and thoughts about their characters off one another, talk to the writers of the show, and have some fun meeting and interacting with their fans.

There was only one thing left undone at the conclusion of Excelsior Ball III, as far as most were concerned:  announcement of the date when they can get together to do this again?    According to Executive Producer Rob Caves, stay tuned for the answer to that in the coming months! 

Hidden Frontier website:   http://www.hiddenfrontier.com