Stalled Trek 2012 —Finished!

[Rodney]

Now... if you can just get those DVDs into Walmart.

 

Congratulations on this (first) print run and best of luck!

[largento]

Thanks, everybody!

 

No plans for Wal-Mart in the near future, Rodney. :-)

 

They say that one of the keys to success with something like this is to have a defined audience and find a way to reach them. I know who that audience is and I can reach them at the conventions.

 

One thing I haven't considered yet is soliciting it to comic shops via Diamond. That's definitely an option to consider.

[KenH]

That's great news! Also, you might consider cell phone distribution...if the content is protected. I seem to remember someone posting around here looking for content. Not sure if it's good or not though.

[largento]

Thanks, Ken.

 

I wonder if that business is dwindling with the smartphones starting to take over? Having exclusive video content seems kind of passé when you've got all of YouTube and even Netflix on your phone.

 

I think the web series is going to be a different animal than the DVD. I've decided for the moment to try it out just on YouTube and my own website to begin with. I'll try to spread the word as best as I can to various Star Trek and sci-fi blogs and see if I can generate audience that way.

 

If it gets any traction, then I'll have some bargaining tools to approach sponsors or content services.

 

I am re-doing the first episode. There are some changes I want to make and I want to streamline it as well.

[largento]

I guess I'm free to say this...

 

I've been asked to be a guest at FenCon, which is a sci-fi/fantasy literary & filk singing con in DFW!

 

I still have to send them my bio & stuff, but how cool is that?

[Dpendleton77]

Very cool wear your best geek clothes or a three piece suit.

[robcat2075]

My Stalled Trek DVD arrived today!

[Dpendleton77]

My Stalled Trek DVD arrived today!

Say......what???? Where may I get a copy?????

[robcat2075]

My Stalled Trek DVD arrived today!

Say......what???? Where may I get a copy?????

 

I got mine early for being a Kickstarter supporter. I'm sure Mark will create some way for general sales after eh gets done with the convention circuit.

[Rodney]

I guess I'm free to say this...

 

I've been asked to be a guest at FenCon, which is a sci-fi/fantasy literary & filk singing con in DFW!

 

I still have to send them my bio & stuff, but how cool is that?

 

Very cool.

 

Congratulations!

[largento]

Thanks, Rodney!

 

So what do you think, Robcat?

[mouseman]

I've been asked to be a guest at FenCon, which is a sci-fi/fantasy literary & filk singing con in DFW!

I still have to send them my bio & stuff, but how cool is that?

VERY cool! You could start making the con circuit! I think it's a very good way of getting your name and product known!

[Gerry]

Got my dvd today! Went home at lunch and there it was. I'm going to watch it tonight! Move over, Simpsons!

[largento]

Cool, Gerry! Let me know what you think of it!

[Gerry]

Mark, this is a terrific and fun thing! I enjoyed it tremendously. Well done!

[largento]

Thanks, Gerry! I really appreciate it!

 

Awesome!

[robcat2075]

Hey, Mark, I fired up the 8 foot screen and watched it and it's great! It looks good and it's well-written and it's funny.

 

It's way better than some of the things that fill the "Adult Swim" block. Have you got 50 more in you? It could be a show!

[largento]

Thank you, Robert!

 

Boy, is this a relief! I was overcome with self-doubt when I had to mail out the master. I was convinced it was terrible and literally broke out into a cold sweat and had knots in my stomach. I got over it, but this is really great to hear!

 

And boy am I jealous of that 8 foot screen...

 

I've seriously given thought to the show idea. If you think about it, each episode could have a 15-minute parody of a genre TV show (Star Trek, X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) with 10 minutes of the Paunk! Show wraparounds. Tailor-made for the SyFy Channel. Just think about how cool that boxed season set would be with parodies of all these geek-favorite shows?

 

This fantasy always ends up with me in a mansion in Beverly Hills surrounded by a half dozen 20-something wannabe-starlets in my hot tub. :-)

 

Still, as far-fetched as that is, I do think the webseries might be able to pick up some sponsors based on the fact that it has such a clear audience (middle aged nerds). Heck, even an exclusive deal with the SyFy Channel's website could happen if it manages to gather a decent-sized audience.

[Fuchur]

Really an amazing afford. If I can get my hands on one of the DVDs, I'll buy one!

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[agep]

Congratulations Mark!

I am looking forward to get the DVD in the mail

[robcat2075]

When it was over, I thought "hey, that was only a few minutes long!" but then i checked the time counter and no, it was 15 minutes. It went by fast which i guess is a sign that it's well-edited and well-paced.

 

I like the lighting. It's got that 60's TV look which helps sell the premise.

 

I'll also say the music very much helps create the atmosphere, give that guy a pat on the back or a dog treat or something.

 

 

I anticipate one problem... You'll launch this DVD, people will like it, they'll go to Paunk.com for more, but there isn't more there yet and that chance to complete the connection is missed.

[Gerry]

If you think about it, each episode could have a 15-minute parody of a genre TV show (Star Trek, X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) with 10 minutes of the Paunk! Show wraparounds. Tailor-made for the SyFy Channel. Just think about how cool that boxed season set would be with parodies of all these geek-favorite shows?

That sounds insanely ambitious, Mark. I was thinking of at least a couple more Star Trek episodes. You've hooked into something and you've got the basic models and sets built. If you don't feel like you've got more ST stories in you I would understand, but this is something that you should build on in the most direct way possible. IMO.

 

EDIT: btw is there somewhere people can now buy this online or will that be after the con?

[largento]

RE: Insanely Ambitious: This would only be IF the SyFy Channel bought it as a series and I had a budget and could put together a production company and hire writers and voice talent, etc. That's the pipe dream. :-)

 

RE: More ST Stories: More Star Trek episodes are definitely in the future, Gerry. "Amutt Time" is a parody of "Amok Time." There are 77 other episodes I could parody. Same with the other shows, each would be a parody of a specific episode. The next Star Trek episode I want to do is a parody of "Balance of Terror," called "Balance of Terriers." It continues the dog jokes, since this is the episode that introduced the Romulans (or "Ruffulans" as I'll call them.) :-)

 

However, my intent is to stagger them. So the next parody I'll do will be a TNG parody (right now, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" is leading the pack). Next year, I could do "Balance of Terriers" and a Battlestar Galactica parody or Dr Who parody. Then maybe another TNG parody and a Stargate parody. Etc.

 

What I don't want to get stuck in, is having all my eggs in one basket (like I did with The Wannabe Pirates.) All of these will stay in the same convention-going audience, but have more variety. My thinking is that in a couple of years, I'll have several DVDs for someone to chose from (or buy one of each).

 

Assuming this one sells well, of course. :-)

 

I'm holding off on making the DVDs available online until after the con, Gerry. There are a bunch of reasons, but one of the key ones is that I lost sales at the last con I did by offering up that they could buy the Wannabe Pirates book online. I had one guy specifically, who really wanted to buy it and didn't have cash on him and he was going to go to an ATM and I casually mentioned he could buy it online. 1) The impulse to buy went away when he left; ...and 2) Even if he had bought it, I'd get less profit from him buying it online. This time out, I don't even want that to be an option. :-) I'm also equipped to take credit cards via my iPhone this year, so that I don't have to have cash.

 

Beyond that, there's the logistics of fulfilling the orders and I want to make sure I have plenty of them at the convention, in case they really do go well. The Dallas Comic Con had over 11K visitors last year and they're expecting even more people this year. I'll have about 900 DVDs left, so to sell out, I'd only need 1 in every 12 people to buy one. If some people bought multiple copies for friends/family or I made a deal with a video dealer to sell multiple copies at a discount, It is possible I could sell out.

 

How awesome would that be?

[largento]

When it was over, I thought "hey, that was only a few minutes long!" but then i checked the time counter and no, it was 15 minutes. It went by fast which i guess is a sign that it's well-edited and well-paced.

 

I like the lighting. It's got that 60's TV look which helps sell the premise.

 

I'll also say the music very much helps create the atmosphere, give that guy a pat on the back or a dog treat or something.

 

 

I anticipate one problem... You'll launch this DVD, people will like it, they'll go to Paunk.com for more, but there isn't more there yet and that chance to complete the connection is missed.

 

 

Thanks, Robert! I appreciate your saying that. Especially in the later sequences, a lot of thought had to go in to how to stage the sequences and how many shots were needed, etc. It is also a compressed story, so that probably helps with giving it a decent pace.

 

Being able to achieve that look (like it's old film) with the lighting and the post work was the biggest surprise for me. I really hadn't expected it to end up looking as good as it did. There is one shot that so looks "Rankin Bass" to me, that I can't help but smile everytime I see it.

 

...And the music was something I desperately wanted and was so grateful to be able to get (and at the last minute, no less.) When he named his price, I did hesitate. My Kickstarter fund didn't fully cover producing the DVDs and shipping the backer copies, and it was obvious even then that the music fee would have to all be out of pocket, but luckily I had a big freelance job that was about to pay out and I finally said to myself, I've wanted to do this for 16 years, why chicken out in the end? I was so glad I went ahead and ponied up the money.

 

He actually mixed together a "Stalled Trek Suite" mp3 that I've listened to many times and I think to myself, "wow! I've got my own Star Trek soundtrack!" :-)

 

Sound is 50 percent of the experience, they say, and the music was a huge injection of quality. He's offered to do the sound design (as well as the scoring) for the next one, which should be an even bigger boost.

 

RE: the website...

 

My hope is to launch the webseries around the same time as the con, so the website would actually be up and running. I'm cutting it close, but with the episodes now mostly written and them requiring only 2 minutes of animation each, I think I can do it. So, when they go to the website, there will be new content on a weekly(?) basis for awhile. After those five weeks, I can start teasing them with images from the TNG parody.

[robcat2075]

If you can sell 100 of those DVDs I think you'll be ahead of Jeff Lew and KB3. I don't know the actual numbers but he described his sales as "microscopic".

 

And then you can give him lessons

[largento]

I hate to hear that about Jeff. I bought one within the last year and liked it. It contained a great deal of info in his making of docs that helped inform me on what *not* to do for this. All those things that tripped him up or took longer than expected. One of those is public awareness. He was on better footing than me with Killer Bean, but going with a parody of something that already has the awareness was a key thing I focused on, too. It was actually the hardest one to commit to. I spent half a year coming up with original ideas and realizing I'd be in the same boat as The Wannabe Pirates.

 

The con's a week from Saturday, so I'll find out very soon if this appeals to my target audience or not. I could technically count the 77 DVDs I'm mailing out to the backers, but officially, those are gifts.

 

What's really bad in Jeff's case is that he could have been making LOTS of money during that period when he was making it, whereas I was already unemployed. :-)

 

'Course, I'd have to sell a whooooole lot of DVDs to make what he's probably making now.

[agep]

Just got the DVD today, Thank you Mark! It is now a part of my collection

 

*I actually have the Killer Bean DVD as well

 

 

[largento]

Thanks to you, Stian! That got there pretty fast!

[fae_alba]

I'll add my applause to the accolades...congrats on a completed A:M project!

[largento]

Thanks, Paul!

[markw]

Just got the DVD today

Love it especially your twist on that classic of toon gags, an anvil

[largento]

Haha! Thanks, Mark! (That's my favorite gag, too ...and one I've wanted to see animated for a loooong time.)

 

That got to Spain really fast. Here I was thinking the international mail would be really slow, but it looks like people overseas are getting them in about a week's time.

 

Thanks for supporting my dream, Mark and glad you liked it!

 

Well, today's the day!

 

Dallas Comic-Con 2012 starts in about 2 1/2 hours! Today I find out if all the hard work and effort, it's time to jump out of the ol' airplane and see if the chute opens. I am both very nervous and really excited.

 

Geronimo! :-)

[Gerry]

I for one have no doubts, Mark. Go get em!

[KenH]

To infinity and....oh wrong one.

[largento]

Hey, I didn't hit the ground and go splat! :-)

 

Day actually went well. No outlandish sales, but respectable and the reaction from everyone was really positive. Sales were mostly to hardcore Trek fans (as expected) and it was fun to talk Trek with my fellows. One lady insisted I turn up the sound and laughed hysterically at the jokes, then went and got a few of her friends and they all bought DVDs.

 

It's by far, the best I've ever done at a show and there's still tomorrow to go.

 

I will DEFINITELY have plenty of DVDs leftover to sell online. :-)

[robcat2075]

It's by far, the best I've ever done at a show and there's still tomorrow to go.

 

That's fabulous!

[largento]

Thanks!

 

Well, the second day went as well as the first and actually seemed to be a rush at the start of the day. The reaction from nearly everyone who saw it was great. Even the people who didn't stop to take a look, would say things like "awesome" or "hilarious" when they walked by. I had several animation people stop by to say they thought it looked great and of course to ask what program I used. I plugged Animation:Master pretty hard, pointing out that I could do all of this by myself in 4 1/2 months with a program that costs $79 a year!

 

I ended up being interviewed twice. Once by a sci fi podcats and the other by ...I'm not sure what it was. :-) The producer was one of my Kickstarter backers from LA and I googled him and it looks like he produces TV shows (and even some web series stuff.)

 

The lady across the aisle ended up sending her daughter over to buy one, saying they had been watching bits and pieces of it all weekend and were sold on it. :-)

 

Sold to several people in Star Trek costumes. One of them made sure to point out that he "never bought anything" and another was asked by the person they were with, "I thought you never bought anything?"

 

All in all, it was a great weekend. I haven't seen final numbers, but a story I saw says that there were at least 12K people there and probably much more. I was safely behind a table, but many people complained that crowd management was nonexistent and one guy told me it took him 25 minutes to go from the 4th floor to the 1st floor on the escalator. They had to stop them because they emptied out at the same junction where the ticket line and concession line intercepted. Craziness.

 

As promised, I'm now making it available online! You can get it here. I had set up a store at this website over a year ago intending to sell books there and never did anything with it. A person suggested that I use them for the DVD and I was like, "hey, I'm already set up there." So I changed the name of the store and made it live.

[markw]

it's time to jump out of the ol' airplane and see if the chute opens. I am both very nervous and really excited.

 

Geronimo! :-)

Well what do you know, looks like you could fly all along! Didn't need no parachute after all

Glad it all went so well for you

[Rodney]

I will DEFINITELY have plenty of DVDs leftover to sell online. :-)

 

Everyone that passed by earlier and didn't purchase wanted to go back to your table and buy a DVD but because of the crowd/confusion they got lost and couldn't find their way back!

 

Obviously.

 

Congrats on the gig Mark.

(I like your online store. Very simple and straightforward)

[largento]

That's the ticket! :-)

 

It was great fun. I look forward to having both the "Stalled Trek" and "Stalled Trek: TMG" DVDs at the next one.

 

Plus, the web series will be up by then, and I'll hopefully have more people aware of it.

 

Thanks! It's a Storenvy store. I may do something more fancier with it later on, but it works for now.

[mouseman]

With all the promptness one would regularly attribute to Canada Post, my copy arrived today! I watched it twice and enjoyed it immensely!

 

I was slightly surprised the Paunk! Show lead-in was not on it. I liked the extras, especially seeing the DVD version of the trailer for The Wannabe Pirates comic, and going through the Stalled Trek history was neat, too.

[largento]

Thanks, Chris!

 

It is crazy that it took longer for you to get it in Canada than people across an ocean, but I'm glad you got it ...and especially glad you enjoyed it!

 

My plan was to have the webseries as part of the DVD, but I just ran out of time. Not including the Paunk! Show pilot was just forgetfulness. I had intended on putting it on there. I think I got distracted by the Wannabe Pirates trailer finally being finished and it slipped my mind.

 

Thanks again for your help!

[largento]

Thought I would revisit this thread one more time because I had first public showing of Stalled Trek: Amutt Time at FenCon today!

 

There were some bumps: For some reason, they took down my poster advertising it (?!) and started it without me so that I missed seeing the audience's reaction to the first four minutes. They were playing the DVD on a computer attached to a projector and had the aspect ratio messed up...

 

BUT what I did see of it with the audience went over really well! Such an amazing feeling hearing a group of people laughing and enjoying the film!

 

I noticed one of my legs was shaking when I sat down to watch it, nervous I guess, ...but it stopped once I heard them laughing, and I know I had a giant grin on my face. :-)

 

This is why you make something like this! It was a great rush.

 

After it was over, I got up and did a little Q&A and the audience was really great. They loved it and thanked me for doing it and wanted me to make more!

[robcat2075]

Thought I would revisit this thread one more time because I had first public showing of Stalled Trek: Amutt Time at FenCon today!

 

There were some bumps: For some reason, they took down my poster advertising it (?!) and started it without me so that I missed seeing the audience's reaction to the first four minutes. They were playing the DVD on a computer attached to a projector and had the aspect ratio messed up...

 

BUT what I did see of it with the audience went over really well! Such an amazing feeling hearing a group of people laughing and enjoying the film!

 

I noticed one of my legs was shaking when I sat down to watch it, nervous I guess, ...but it stopped once I heard them laughing, and I know I had a giant grin on my face. :-)

 

This is why you make something like this! It was a great rush.

 

After it was over, I got up and did a little Q&A and the audience was really great. They loved it and thanked me for doing it and wanted me to make more!

 

I hope you got your poster back. I'm glad you had that success, it's well-deserved!

[Rodney]

Congratulations Mark!

 

I agree with your fan base. Make more 'Stalled Trek' films!

 

Having folks enjoy something you've created at that level is a huge reward in and of itself.

[KenH]

If only they cried tears of coins with their laughter. But it's almost the same. Well done!

[Gerry]

congratulations, Mark, and I'm not surprised! Good luck with more like this!

[Fuchur]

congratulations, Mark, and I'm not surprised! Good luck with more like this!

 

Same from me .

Congratulations and keep on rocking .

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[itsjustme]

Congrats, Mark!

[Kamikaze]

That must have been a blast after the nerves settled........So Cool