Horizon...fan made show?

[Nem2k]

ive been reading through some of the first script and im loving it so far

i was thinking, maybe we could take the idea of horizon and turn it into an actual fan made SG show? i know its a lot of work, but this could be the first spinoff series of a scifi show which is made completely by fans

is this a possibility? do we have enough people with the relevant knowledge to be able to pull something like this off?

[SierraGulf1]

Relevant knowledge? Quite possibly. Joe Hodkiss is a film student, and Alex has looked into screenwriting and the works quite a bit. If it were based on knowledge alone, I think it would be very possible to pull off, and very interesting to see as well.

It's the resources I don't think we'd have; not now at least. There have been people who thought this was an actual TV show, but right now the finances probably wouldn't support it. I've heard about Stargate: Delta, a fan made show, and that seems like a very interesting idea.

If we ever had the means to do it, that'd be great, especially to show at conventions and what not. Never say never, I always say.

[prion]

ive been reading through some of the first script and im loving it so far

i was thinking, maybe we could take the idea of horizon and turn it into an actual fan made SG show? i know its a lot of work, but this could be the first spinoff series of a scifi show which is made completely by fans

is this a possibility? do we have enough people with the relevant knowledge to be able to pull something like this off?

You'd probably have to square it with the legal folk at Sony first since the name "Stargate" is being used.

[Nem2k]

well its just that we watch films like star wars and star trek and thered be fan films based on those, and ive always wondered by there werent many for SG

SG horizon is a kick in the right direction because theyre scripts for an entire spinoff series so we already have that side of things covered

the name thing...well, i dont think sony would have too much of a problem with it given this is a fanfilm thats used to promote a product they already own. cant do them much harm can it?

im thinking if we could assemble a small team of people, we could actually pull this off! i guess if this was taken seriously we could get together enough money to make it work, but if we involve money in this, then we're gunna need producers, directors etc to make sure its all handled efficiently

[SierraGulf1]

It's actually quite difficult.

While it is a product that they already own, and they do copyright it, we would definitely have to get it approved, and as you say, taken seriously. That in itself is a much harder task than one would think. Plus, a lot of us like in different states/provinces/countries, making communication an issue. But that's the easy part compared to...

...Money. It would cost money for all kinds of effects and what not, particularly ships such as the Valiant and Horizon itself. We would need actors (and there's no way we'd get anyone from our virtual cast) and money to hire actors. When I say money, I mean millions. If we're talking lower-key-not-on-TV-fan-film, then we'd still need an assload of money to make things look nice and believable.

I'm not saying it isn't possible, and it would definitely be completely awesome, but when I say that it has as much chance of happening as a snowball has a chance of surviving in Hell, I'm not using hyperbole.

However, the fact that you believe it's worthy of becoming that one day is very reassuring and spirit-lifting. I hope you continue to enjoy.

[prion]

the name thing...well, i dont think sony would have too much of a problem with it given this is a fanfilm thats used to promote a product they already own. cant do them much harm can it?

Actually, that's how the studio would look at it: what harm can a fan production do? If it involves money, and lack of money for Sony, then Sony wouldn't be happy. These are the people now putting spyware on some of their CDs so people can't 'rip' copies of songs.

Studios tolerate fan fiction and fan sites as they're free promotion of sorts as fans don't make money off them. In a way, they're a 'necessary evil' to doing tv shows The average person knows that fan fic isn't from the studio, ditto with websites as they say they're unofficial. The line blurs when people try to do movies. Fans have done their own flicks for movies and while some are tolerated, others are stomped down by the studio for copyright infringement. Depends on the studio and the the laywers.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

As cool as it would be, it'd take too much effort and not to mention their teams ispretty much...worldwidely.

[AzMcNeil]

I see a SG Horizon conference in our future...Lets see, how does New York sound to everyone I'll take a vacation for that

[SierraGulf1]

That would certainly be interesting, though perhaps a bit empty.

[Nem2k]

ahh i think you guys are thinking that im thinking of making it bigger than you think it will be...or something like that

i wasnt talking about hiring big name actors and having this thing played on tv, or even at conventions. i just meant some of us get together to act out a horizon script, film it, rough edit the thing and just do it all for fun and itll be like a cheaply made SG fan series, not just a fan film. i never meant hire actual actors to do the job
and as far as vfx goes, i think ive got that covered, i know a lot of very talented people who could realise the valiant in cg

but yeah i guess ur right, it would take up a lot of time and effort, but the only reason i put the idea forward was because SG-1 nearing an end and thought it would be cool if us SG-1 fans could band together and do something in honour of our show, and carry on the legacy it has left behind

ooh just had another idea! a radio play!! lol i guess another reason im coming up with these ideas is cos ive always wanted to act in something stargate related

[Alex Rubit]

ahh i think you guys are thinking that im thinking of making it bigger than you think it will be...or something like that

i wasnt talking about hiring big name actors and having this thing played on tv, or even at conventions. i just meant some of us get together to act out a horizon script, film it, rough edit the thing and just do it all for fun and itll be like a cheaply made SG fan series, not just a fan film. i never meant hire actual actors to do the job

That is an interesting idea definitely. And, sure, I've thought about the possibilities of an actual fan film before. However, I'll admit I'm not so sure how well that would work. It starts with the budged; not only do you need actors, you also need costumes, sets, and, as mentioned before, visual effects. If you can get actors and the effects for free, you'd still need sets. And, if I'd be involved with it, the actors should at least be similiar to the actors in the virtual cast. I just can't see the characters being too different from them.

But I do think the number one challenge would no doubt be the budget. The way the show is written now, the average cost of an episode would be quite high. Of course you could change that for filming the episodes, but the question is how well would that work? And would it do the series justice? So, when thinking of all that, I came to the conclusioin that keeping it a virtual series does have its advantages. This way it's just like a television series, just that you have to read the episodes.

I will say it would be great to actually see the episodes. There's no doubt about that, and, as I said, I think you have a really interesting idea. But it's very unlikely that we'll be seeing that officially any time soon, for the reasons I've mentioned.

I say officially because if anyone out there would like to unofficially give it a go, you have my blessing. It would be fun to see some people take one of the episodes and actually film it. So it wouldn't be officially part of the series, but as long as it's made clear that it's merely a fan made film (meaning made by Horizon fans), feel free to go ahead. Like I said, it would be interesting.

and as far as vfx goes, i think ive got that covered, i know a lot of very talented people who could realise the valiant in cg

Hmm. Do you think you could have some of these talented people contact me?

We're currently looking for people to join the art department, so we'll finally be able to visualize some parts of the episodes. I'm thinking of CG images as well as CG animated videos (on the top of the list is an opening title sequence). So, if you know someone who's interested, make sure to let them know.

but yeah i guess ur right, it would take up a lot of time and effort, but the only reason i put the idea forward was because SG-1 nearing an end and thought it would be cool if us SG-1 fans could band together and do something in honour of our show, and carry on the legacy it has left behind

ooh just had another idea! a radio play!! lol i guess another reason im coming up with these ideas is cos ive always wanted to act in something stargate related

Yeah, it would definitely take up a lot of time. Working on the series takes up a lot of time as it is.

With regard to SG-1 ending, I'm sure Atlantis will continue for quite some time after SG-1 will have ended. And after Atlantis ends (or even while it's still in production) I can see another television spin off coming up at some point actually. I wouldn't be surprised.

And with regard to doing something in honor of Stargate, hey, that's what we're trying to do with every episode. But I'll leave it to the fans to decide whether or not we're successful at that.

[Nem2k]

Hmm. Do you think you could have some of these talented people contact me?

ill ask them. the only reason i know them is because im a freelance cg animator, and on the game im currently working on, we have a whole team of talented cg people. obviously the problem is time becase those who arent currently working are very busy slaving away at demo reels, and plus the fact theyre not exactly big SG fans

but i dont remember seeing any 2d concepts from any of the episodes? where can i find them?

With regard to SG-1 ending, I'm sure Atlantis will continue for quite some time after SG-1 will have ended. And after Atlantis ends (or even while it's still in production) I can see another television spin off coming up at some point actually. I wouldn't be surprised.

ah yeah i know, but im not a big fan of the spinoff tbh. I guess im just an SG-1 fanboy, but i absolutely love that show to death and am dreading the day it ends

Yeah, it would definitely take up a lot of time.

ok, i began blocking out the script to awakening. me and friend just had a brainstorming session over it...i think we have quite a few bases covered between us, me with animation, acting and directing, and him with experience in compositing and cg render elements...and basically after looking through the awakening script from a production pov, we basically said "screw that, its impossible" lol

its actually a lot harder than i first thought because when i first read the script, i was reading it as a viewer kinda thing, not as someone who was actually going to produce it. and after breaking down the scenes, its too big of a task

i mean, we decided it would be somewhat possible to produce just the first 3-5minute teaser for the pilot. even that in itself will bring about some problems

biggest one is the set. theres no way we can shoot in antartica, but then theres no way we can afford to build an ice set like the antartic base

the creatures should be easy, and we can achieve a lot of the explosion effects without the use of pyro through some clever plate matching and switching to cg elements to do the explosions

but once again we came back to the set...that end sequence with the collapse of the base will be a problem because you need physical elements with that as cg wont interact bleh

yeah, big task! however, i am still seriously considering giving this thing a go, be interesting to see how well made thisll turn out to be, but in all liklihood, i'll probably scrap the idea come tomorrow morning

[Nem2k]

(on the top of the list is an opening title sequence)

ooh ok, i missed this the first time around, but this would probably be an easier project to pick up

when you say opening title sequence, you mean like the SG-1 opening montage kinda thing?

what exactly do you require for that? because it sounds like you'd need to go out on location to film some footage anyway dont you?

[Alex Rubit]

ill ask them. the only reason i know them is because im a freelance cg animator, and on the game im currently working on, we have a whole team of talented cg people. obviously the problem is time becase those who arent currently working are very busy slaving away at demo reels, and plus the fact theyre not exactly big SG fans

but i dont remember seeing any 2d concepts from any of the episodes? where can i find them?

There haven't been any 2D concepts released so far. We are working on some drawings for upcoming episodes right now actually. Things with regard to designs have been going a bit slow lately, but that should be changing soon.

There is link to a sketch of the Valiant in the Valiant episode thread, though. It's one of the first posts in the thread. I think it's maybe the fifth post. If you can't find it, I'll just look up the URL and post it here.

ah yeah i know, but im not a big fan of the spinoff tbh. I guess im just an SG-1 fanboy, but i absolutely love that show to death and am dreading the day it ends

It will still be around for at least Season Ten, and maybe even more.

ok, i began blocking out the script to awakening. me and friend just had a brainstorming session over it...i think we have quite a few bases covered between us, me with animation, acting and directing, and him with experience in compositing and cg render elements...and basically after looking through the awakening script from a production pov, we basically said "screw that, its impossible" lol

its actually a lot harder than i first thought because when i first read the script, i was reading it as a viewer kinda thing, not as someone who was actually going to produce it. and after breaking down the scenes, its too big of a task

i mean, we decided it would be somewhat possible to produce just the first 3-5minute teaser for the pilot. even that in itself will bring about some problems

biggest one is the set. theres no way we can shoot in antartica, but then theres no way we can afford to build an ice set like the antartic base

the creatures should be easy, and we can achieve a lot of the explosion effects without the use of pyro through some clever plate matching and switching to cg elements to do the explosions

but once again we came back to the set...that end sequence with the collapse of the base will be a problem because you need physical elements with that as cg wont interact bleh

yeah, big task! however, i am still seriously considering giving this thing a go, be interesting to see how well made thisll turn out to be, but in all liklihood, i'll probably scrap the idea come tomorrow morning

Yeah, it is difficult. The show is written just like a TV show, including the budget it would take to produce it. However, there are easier scenes to shoot and produce in a lot of the episodes, if you're just trying to shoot certain scenes. I could see that working.

I think the biggest challenge with regard to a set would probably be the Horizon interiors.

[Alex Rubit]

ooh ok, i missed this the first time around, but this would probably be an easier project to pick up

when you say opening title sequence, you mean like the SG-1 opening montage kinda thing?

what exactly do you require for that? because it sounds like you'd need to go out on location to film some footage anyway dont you?

I was thinking more along the lines of a CG opening sequence, along with an original theme. I'd like to actually include images of the cast. I'm not sure yet whether or not it would be legally okay to do that, even if it's just images as opposed to clips. I got the idea of just using images from the Season Two 60 minute Atlantis opening sequence actually, where most of the cast shots are more similiar to just photos as opposed to clips, more or less. Actually I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right. You probably know what I mean if you've seen it. I will say it looks great.