New Haven

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. While it may seem like not much is going on, we are steadily continuing work behind the scenes. There are only about five of us, so most everyone has like double to triple duties, on top of all those lousy real world obligations like school, work, and families.

I can say that writing on what we hope to eventually be the Pilot/Film has begun. I’m making good progress and hope to have the first draft done by the end of the month. Chances are you won’t see it for some time however. We’re still sticking with the idea of beginning with short features to introduce our characters and the universe we have created.

The surprise I mentioned a few post back is still in the works. A few details remain to be worked out, but hopefully in a few weeks I can let you all know what is going on with New Haven in a new more interactive way.

I’ve added a FAQ page which can be found to the right of this post. We’ve also a Donations page with information for anyone that might want to help contribute financially to the production of New Haven. All proceeds gained through both donation methods will be used for this production and nothing else.

So that’s it for now.  See you on the flipside.

I’m currently working on a FAQ, ( a list of frequently asked questions) so if you have a specific question about the series or the project, preferably not related directly to the story, then let us hear it by leaving a comment to this topic. Here is what we have so far:

Why do you call it the Tico-Project if the series is called New Haven?

The reason why we call this thing, the Tico-Project, is because the Tico, our nickname for the Ticonderoga, was the first ship that we designed. Above all else, the Tico has always been at the center of the story in one form or another. And so, while we started looking for an official name, we just started calling it Tico. So the Tico-Project just seemed like a natural extension of what we were already doing.

When is the series set?

The series takes place in 2167.

What’s the premise?

The Earth is dead, having forced humanity to make its new home among the stars. Two rival factions have come to power; the UN, the government, and the Colonials; the people responsible for making the Sol System fit for human life. Unhappy in the negligent way in which all their hard work and sacrifice is being treated, the Colonials decide that they should be running the show.
The result, Civil War.

Can you tell us anything else?

Let’s see…There are no aliens, there is no FTL travel, and no one has ever left the Sol System.

Isn’t that a bit soon to be using such advanced space ships?

We don’t think so. The story plays out so that there is a very realistic and strong drive that pushes the human race into space, far earlier then we might have otherwise gotten their. As such, technological advancements are also increasing at a faster rate.

What’s your overall goal for this project?

We plan to start out small, creating some short episodes, then hopefully being able to build up to longer episodes as we gain more experience and funding. We eventually hope to be able to create a full length pilot episode and a continuing series of full length episodes, like any other show you might see on TV. That prospect is very much on the back burner for the moment.

Are you still accepting volunteers?

Yes we are, in a number of fields for people that want to work either in the Lexington Kentucky area, or from their home via the web. We have openings in the following positions:
Concept Artist;
3d Artists
Graphic Artists
Sound
Lighting
Writing (script)
Editing (script)
If you would like to Join the Tico-Project in one of these positions, or believe you have a skill that we might could use that isn’t listed here, then send an Email to:

Who is paying for this project?
I am, along with a few other donors, however to date, I have been footing the bill. We have several methods of accepting donations and we’re actively engaged in procuring some type of advertising to help offset the cost of the project.

Are you making any money from this?

I won’t lie to you. No. We’re not making any money at this. That is one of our goals however. When this project was started, we could have gone down the course that so many others have gone down and simply focused our efforts on a universe that already exists. The world of fan films is a great one and I give them credit where credit is certainly due.

The thing that separates us from them though, is that from day one, we intended to make a profit. Moreover simply to recoup any losses procured from the expense of producing this project, but also to show that an online series such as this, could be successful and profitable.

Hasn’t the Space Opera been done already? What is there left to say or do with it?

Those are both valid points and guidelines that we keep in mind every time we look at Tico in any sort of creative way. We’re constantly asking ourselves, “has this been done already to the point where we can no longer offer anything new?”

But to call Tico, simply a space opera is a terrible mislabel I believe. There is going to be so much more to it then that—so much more then just the aspect of space combat. As I said above, we’re conscious of the need to do knew things and to not simply repeat what has already been done. So I think that when you finally see Tico, you’ll be seeing something that is quite unique.

What sort of gear and software is your team using to produce the series?
So far, we’re using:

We’re using a Canon HV20 camcorder
Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8
Lightwave
Adobe After Effects (though I may change this after I try Combustion 2008)
Adobe Photoshop

I’ve heard that the story as well as the very premise of the series has changed several times.  Is it still based around the battleship concept?

Yes we’re still basing our series
around the battleship concept.  Off the top of my head, I can really
only think of Star Trek as the only modern space opera that features
something like a battleship that isn’t also a carrier.  The common
theme seems to be to build a ship that functions as both a carrier and
a heavy capital ship, like a star destroyer or a battlestar; so we
wanted to do something different.

We may end up with some type of carrier, though it will likely be much more like a modern Escort Carrier that ferries around Marines.  And at least for the time being, it won’t play a significant role in the story.  I however don’t think of it as a carrier so much as a landing craft.  Even though it doesn’t actually land itself, it’s sole purpose is to deliver Marines and their equipment to a planet.  Including the Rapier fighter, which will serve in a ground combat support role.  Think of the Apache helicopter as apposed to the F-18 fighter.  Even that aspect of the series won’t be stressed that greatly however.  As of yet, none of the main characters, or supporting characters for that matter, are pilots.

How much chromakeying / greenscreen do you think you’ll have to do?

As far as green screens are concerned, we’ll most likely be forced to use CGI sets for any interior shot of the ships themselves, as well as troop transports, and perhaps a few of the +more exotic locations that we can’t get to…like Mars or the moon. lol

In more ways then one and this time, with half the fat. Ok, so I’m just going to jump right in because there is a lot coming.

1. Reports of our demise, while true for a time, have been greatly exaggerated. The Tico-Project is back, with our original goal of filming live action episodes, firmly placed in our gun sights.

2. The Blog was down for a while and if anyone was actually inconvenienced because of this, then we apologize. We’re back now though and very soon, regular updates will get back on track. Plus there is a surprise I have in store, which I’m not going to mention just yet. You’ll have to check back to see what exactly that is.

3. You may notice that all of the pictures from previous posts are gone. There was some rearranging of the photopucket, so all those links were changed. I’ll fix those in the next day or two.

4. There’s been a slight shift in the story and to reflect that, we’ve been re-branded. The new series title, is hopefully something that will be much more easy to remember.

5. In the coming weeks, I also hope to unveil a new look for the blog which will help to liven up this place a bit.

So I hope you’ll stay with us, as we get this project back on track and bring you the story of the Colonial War.

…maybe. Nothing is for sure yet, but as soon as I know something, I’ll let you all know.

It is with great sadness and disappointment that I must bring you the news of what I hope is only our temporary halt in production. Through no fault of those involved in this project, we’ve seemed to hit one road block after another, each pressing upon us, perhaps no one more evidently than me, that this undertaking is quite literally beyond our capabilities and resources at this time.

It is still my hope to bring you the tale of the War Beyond the World’s End at some point in the future. I still have immense faith and belief if the need to tell that particular story, but as it has come to be shown to me, now is not the right time for that story to be told. It will be told though, that I promise you. I cannot however, say when.

This blog will remain open for the foreseeable future in the event that any news regarding this project develops.

Whatever the future holds for this project, I have to give thanks to everyone that signed on and took the leap of faith to follow me when I was just a wide eyed with ideas and thought of this as nothing more then just some cool idea we could try. To those people, and they know who they are, I am in your debt. I’ve enjoyed every minute of this…well almost every minute. Lol

And to all of them I say, if this picks back up, I hope you’ll follow me again.

And to everyone that has been following this project to some degree, I say thank you. I don’t think there are many of you really but to those of you that are out there, we all appreciate your comments and feedback. They’ve been of great help and we thank you.

So, I hope to hear from you…if not, then that’s cool to.

Later,

Jimi James

AKA: Jon May

BOOM!!!!!!!!

Jane Cobb: Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don’t you think?

So they’re dummies of course, but they’re still pretty cool I think.

I’ll spare you all the talk, and get straight to the pictures.

There are a few other things we’re working on at the moment, related to the prop department, but those are secret for right now. Stay tuned though…

I’m not sure if ‘fabrication’ correctly describes the low budget nature of the first physical prop that is currently being built for our production, by me. The prop, an Airsoft rifle, is currently undergoing heavy modification to make it looks less like an Airsoft gun and more like an futuristic weapon of war. Pictured below is a shot of the original gun.

As I mentioned above, the final version will be heavily modified from the original so that it doesn’t look like the Airsoft gun it started out as, or its real world counterpart.

In other news:

Work is also underway in the costume department (also me), to produce a futuristic looking combat uniform for both the Colonial and UN ground forces. No pics from this department yet, but hopefully in the next few weeks we should have something to show.

Until then…if not sooner.

Jimi James

I apologize for not posting anything new in over a month. I know our legions of fans are desperate for any scrap of news they can get a hold of, so here’s something to tide you over…

The project is not dead. We’re just stalled. The fact is, volunteers for this sort of thing are hard to come by, and those that are volunteering are only doing so during their free time. Between school, jobs, and all the other commitments that life requires, we’re simply moving slower right now. But we are moving.

So if you take away nothing from this, let it be this fact. I am committed to this project. Whether we only produce on episode or 100; I intend to stick with it until it bears fruit…until we actually have an episode we can point to and say…a group of people who met online, came together and made this sci-fi story.

So until we reach that point, I’m in it for the long haul. After that…well we’ll cross that Stargate when we get to it.

This was posted just for Mak.