New Ship
Mood:  spacey

Decision made - The original model used for the USS Mojave will not be used in the film. This model is a modified USS Enterprise from Diamond Select (about 16 inches long). Instead, I'm going to construct a new model of the USS Mojave, on a much larger scale (about 36 inches long). A guy I know at work is a good airbrusher and should be able to make it look good.

Yes you heard right - model. This is not CG, I have a physical model, just like the sets were physically constructed and are not green or blue screens. While some green screen will be used for shots of the ship, I'm not using green screen with actors, although there may be one exception to this, we'll see.

Slow...
Mood:  down
Actors! I need actors! People keep bailing on me, requiring re-films and script re-writes. I started with enough interest, but now there are few people left. Sets sit for weeks with no one to populate them. All photography was scheduled to be done by now. I'll just have to advertise I guess and suffer the ridicule. There's plenty of it to go around.

Shooting Continues...
Mood:  rushed

Yesterday shooting was completed on the transporter set. This set will now be deconstructed and the next put in its place. The outdoor on-location shoots are scheduled for Saturday morning, but I'll probably delay another week. Anyway, I hope to have production completed by the end of August, then spend September in post-production.

Bridge is Done!
Mood:  bright
A few pick-up shots today conclude all filming on the biggest and most complicated set - the bridge! Next up in the studio is the transporter room. The on-location outdoor scenes will also be done in the next few weekends.

One Year Anniversary
Mood:  rushed
Today it has been one year since I got the idea for Starship Mojave. I remember thinking it would take about a year to do it, but preproduction took eleven months. Shooting continues, but getting everyone together at the same place and time is challenging. I still expect to release episode one later this year.

In Production!
Mood:  celebratory
Episode 1 of the film is now in production! Everyone came over for a potluck, then we spent about 3 hours in the studio. In that time we collected 102 video clips for a total of 310 megabytes of data. Things went well, but it was tiring. My feet really hurt - I should get a director's chair. I learned a lot! And one of the first things I did was burn all the clips to a CD - just in case. Some of the scene dynamics are irreplaceable. Problem is the boom microphone didn't work, and some of the scenes are too dark because it was getting late and I was getting lazy to move lighting. Plus a few minor technical problems thrown in, but we overcame them and had a good time. There are plenty of bloopers!

The Party Begins
Mood:  bright
Filming is scheduled to begin Sunday June 22 on the bridge set, and we'll have a potluck for dinner! Hopefully everyone can make it to the studio.

Setbacks
Mood:  down
I lost my camera at an amusement park! I'll now have to beg and borrow to get filming done. It was not an expensive camera, just a little Sony that can be replaced for a few hundred bucks, but it took good video, and I couldn't have lost it at a worse time. To add insult to injury, I had just received, the same morning, a new 4-gigabyte memory card for it for Father's Day. It would be nice to have a Canon XH-A1 for $3000, but I cannot justify a purchase like that right now. Remember, Starship Mojave is a no-budget endeavor!

Scheduled Start
Mood:  cool
Sets are almost done, costumes are almost done. Photography is scheduled to start on Saturday June 21 on the bridge set. Hopefully everyone can be gathered at the studio on this day. I'm taking two weeks vacation from work in order to get most of the principle photography done. 

Slow Progress, but Progress Nonetheless
Mood:  bright
I'm currently typing an entry into this blog from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, far from my ancestral grounds. I'm happy to report that this is my last consecutive work-related travel ( I've been to Dallas, Texas four times in the last four weeks), so I will soon have a normal life and resume work on Starship Mojave. I have the transporter console almost finished, it just needs one more coat of paint and a few details done. The bridge set, spanning about 20 feet wide, is almost complete. The captain's quarters set is also almost complete, as is the transporter room. Of course I don't have room in the studio to set up all sets at the same time, and parts are recycled whenever possible, but it's all slowly coming together. I have a great idea for the patches on the Starfleet uniforms that will save me about $100. The actor portraying Commodore Smith is visiting soon too (currently residing in Japan) and I think I'll re-film his part, because I've learned a lot since August, especially about set lighting.