Help create the first fan funded movie studio!
In 2014 and 2015, fans of the Star Trek fan film “Axanar” helped fund the conversion of a southern California warehouse into a multi-purpose production soundstage. That facility, Industry Studios, serves as the home to Axanar Productions – Hollywood’s premier, nonprofit, film production company dedicated to helping small independent, fan and student filmmakers produce films and other digital content.
Your contribution will help cover the operating costs of Industry Studios so the facility can be used by more up-and-coming filmmakers in 2017. We want to keep going, and not only make Axanar, but new, dynamic science fiction content, as well as being able to help other film makers to do the same!
Industry Studios houses the offices of our production company, Axanar Productions. It’s where we store many of the props and sets created for our productions and it includes a 11,000 square foot soundstage, production offices, dressing rooms and full-service edit bay.
In short, it’s a “one-stop shop” for small films – whether they’re independent productions, fan films or student projects.
The production facility is ready for shooting, has already hosted one fan film, been used by several other small film makers and is being actively marketed to commercial projects on a short-term basis. The edit bay is now wrapping up the edit of its third, feature-length movie.
The on-site offices are the home to Axanar Productions and also include a fulfillment area for the shipment of donor perks from our crowd funding campaigns.
“Origins” is first of many great projects that will be produced at Industry Studios. This documentary is a must for any Axanar fan as it gives a behind the scenes look at the making of three different Axanar projects, as well as a deep dive into building the mythos of Axanar.
1. The Making of Prelude to Axanar
An extended documentary looking at the making of Prelude to Axanar.
2. The Four Years War
A look at the various incarnations of the Four Years War with Alec Peters (Axanar), John Thiessen (FASA’s The Four Years War supplement) and Stephen Fender (The Four Years War novels).
3. Shooting the Vulcan Scene
A behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of the Vulcan Scene from the unfinished AXANAR feature film – a project that launched a 13-month legal battle between Axanar Productions and CBS/Paramount
4. The making of “Heroes”
In November 2015 the Axanar team shot a vignette about Garth of Izar on the sets of Star Trek New Voyages.
This documentary is being produced by the award winning Axanar team of Alec Peters, Robert Meyer Burnett and Diana Kingsbury and as a documentary, is fully protected by Fair Use Laws and not subject to any CBS guidelines.
Personal Space is an original science fiction franchise about astronauts who have no idea their therapy sessions are broadcast on Earth as reality TV.
The first season is finally about to be released this Spring. Alongside a cast featuring actors from Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Stargate, and Sons of Anarchy, the season features beloved actor Richard Hatch in a leading role. Richard tragically passed away in early February.
Personal Space’s second season will be produced at Industry Studios. We at Axanar Productions are proud to now be a part of it. At the close of the last episodes of Season One, we will be launching a crowdfunding campaign for Season Two. We know Axanar fans will want to support this amazing project.
All money raised through this crowdfunding effort will be used to pay the following costs:
• Indiegogo, bank fees and costs of this campaign
• Production of perk items
• Shipment of perk items
• Monthly rent of Industry Studios
• Monthly utilities for the Industry Studios facility
• Monthly insurance for the Industry Studios facility
• Monthly off-site storage costs for props, costumes and sets (if needed)
All of the money raised will be deposited into a restricted fund which means the money can only be spent for the costs designated above.
Following our fiscal years’ end, Axanar Productions will provide an accounting of how the donor funds were used – according to the cost centers outlined above. That information will be provided via a donor update email.
No salaries or other compensation will be paid with money raised in this campaign.
RENTING THE STUDIO
We want to set up all of the Axanar sets on a permanent basis and make them available for anyone to use for Star Trek fan films or any science fiction project under a 501(c)3 non-profit. Because of the professional way the sets were built, they are adaptable to many projects. But in order to dedicate the facility to this use, we have to be able to not worry about renting out the studio and paying the rent. So we have three goals.
MAIN GOAL – $ 100,000
We have 10 months left on the lease here at Industry Studios in Valencia. The lease cost is $ 12,500 a month. Add to that approximately $ 2,500 in Utilities, Insurance, Internet and such, and we need about $ 15,000 a month or $ 150,000 for ten months. (The ongoing annual cost would be $180,000 a year when you figure on a 12 month basis – $150,000 rent + $30,000 in monthly expenses).
So if we can raise $100,000, that means after Indiegogo and payment fees and perks, we will have $75,000 and can pay half the rent for the rest of the year. We think we can then cover the balance with studio rental fees that will allow us to stay through the end of the year. However, this option means we will have to move for 2018 to a more cost effective solution.
STRETCH GOAL – $200,000
This allows us to pay the rent and operating costs for the rest of the year – $150,000 for ten months. We can then, at the end of the year, determine if we have the financial capability through donations and studio rental fees, to continue renting the property. If so, we can extend our lease (we have two one year options). If not, then we will have to move for 2018 to a more cost effective solution.
Axanar Productions and Industry Studios are in the process of filing for a 501(c)3 non-profit status. We have hired a firm who handles this process for us and we are currently waiting for the California Secretary of State to approve our change of corporate status. Because of the amount of money Axanar Productions raised for “Axanar”, this process has taken longer than normal. (The documents were also returned after 2 months for missing the word “and”. No joke). But we will keep all donors up to date on our progress.
We take our obligation to our backers to be financially accountable very seriously. So we like keeping donors abreast of where the money goes. We have gotten high marks from our communication with our donors because we value the fact that YOU make this all possible!
The financials for both the Prelude to Axanar and Axanar crowdfunding campaigns are available to donors. No other fan film has released their financials as Axanar has. In addition, once our 501(c)3 application is finalized, we will have to release annual financials per Federal law.
INDIEGOGO FINANCIAL BASICS
First, understand that generally, a project only receives about 90% of the total money raised. 10% goes to Indiegogo and to payment processing fees. Then, another 15% gets reserved for Perks (the gifts you earn at different donation levels) and shipping them.So after that, the production gets about 75% of the total to use for the purposes stated!
We learned a great deal about fulfilling the perks we offered in the first three campaigns, and have applied those lessons in this Indiegogo. Most notably we now have a comprehensive donor management and digital perk delivery system named Ares Digital. This proprietary technology allows us to manage all donors efficiently and keep your address and contact information up to date. Please note that delivery dates for perks are estimations, and subject to change. But we will endeavor, as always, to keep you well-informed through our updates here on Indiegogo, through our website, and through our donor email list.
We also take the cost of all perks and set them aside in a separate account so that no matter what, we fulfill the perks you have donated for.
Industry Studios is being run as a non-profit movie studio and has retained a firm to file its 501(c)3 application. This has never been done before and so there is a risk that we cannot execute this. The risk is mostly financial as we already have built the facility. If we don’t raise enough money, we can’t keep the studio open.
The noted projects hope to work with us and our studio. However, they’ll need to raise their production funds separately. Between now and then, anything can happen. For example, if Personal Space ends up being sold to a TV network, and its creators are no longer tasked with producing and shooting it themselves, they wouldn’t need to shoot at our studio. But even if that were to happen, the team behind the project would like to create something else with us. The idea is to give them the opportunity.
Also note that you are donating to a project. You should share in our enthusiasm and vision for helping other film makers and understand that we will need more funding each year to keep the studio open.