Hey Everyone,

Just thought I’d take a moment to formally introduce myself to Frontier’s fans. My name’s Gerrard Southam and I’m coming on board to help produce a full revamp and visual overhaul of Frontier. I just wanted to let you all know that my goal in doing this is to help Lewis with his vision for the show and to basically lift the overall production value of Frontier to be as epic as he has always imagined it.

Because you guys have been with Lewis since the beginning I want to let you know what the plan is. We are planning to take the first episode of Frontier and re-make it as a pitch and pilot that we will be submitting to you guys (our Audience) for funding. Once we have completed that pilot, it’s our plan put that pilot on Kickstarter where other people can help invest and show their support for the world and characters that Lewis has created. Whatever funds we raise will be then put into making a whole series.

Union Troop Concepts by Jared Toth

Being that you guys have been supporters from the beginning you will always be special to us. We will be regularly updating this blog with teasers from the pilot, including artwork and designs, while in the background we are also working on building a new website that will be eventually replacing this one.

Please stay with us and we’re really excited to have you on board. I hope that what we produce will be something you’ll be able to talk about later by saying…

“I was there when they first started out.”

Stay tuned Frontier Fans, it’s going to be an exciting ride.

Kind Regards

Gerrard (No, not the character from the show.) Southam

Huge and amazing things are in the works for Frontier ladies and gentlemen. Firstly the web-series now has a full-time producer – Gerrard Southam, (see his IMDb page here), Gerrard is ex-WETA and has worked on some of the most amazing films to date, including the Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy and the soon to be released Hobbit movies.

So what’s happening? Well there are big plans, and a tonne of stuff is in the works right now, so watch this space because shit’s about to get real.

Conceptual designs by our Storyboard and Conceptual Artist Jared Toth

And also many apologies for the continued lack of release for Chapter 12, I know I’ve said time and again it’s coming at this date and that date, all I can say is, it sucks not having it ready for you all when I’ve said it would be, but shortly I should have a solid indication of how much longer we are going to have to wait for it. What I can say is, Sven has done some amazing work on the score and it is almost complete!

Well it’s pretty lame of me that this is the first update of 2012, but as you all know we’ve been in a bit of a state of limbo. BUT FEAR NOT FOLKS (and I know I’ve said this before) but Chapter 12 is coming! But it might be a couple of weeks longer than February 29th…

I can now reveal what the hold up’s been, a big congratulations is in order to Sven (our composer) as him and his wife have had a baby boy named Flinn! And of course as we all now life comes first, and so whenever there’s been a free moment Sven has been dashing away to work on the music for Chapter 12.

I am pleased to announce that Sven has finished all the writing and piano mock-up for the Chapter 12 score which is very intense as it’s one big space battle, so all that’s left to do is put the instrumental instruments in, which Sven tells me is the easy part!

So we are looking at March 12th as the Chapter 12 release date and here’s hoping we can stick to this one. But at least you now know the reason we’ve been abit slow. I imagine it’s a bit of a mission getting used to a new baby in the household!

In other news, Frontier has been nominated for Best Animated Series in the 2nd Annual Indie Intertube Awards! – which is freaken epic! Very very cool news, make sure you watch the awards show on MingleMedia TV on March 11th PST!

Lew

Ender, Devers and Stewart at the Command Post

Well it’s been awhile since I gave any updates on the progress of the show, (albeit some delaying messages on facebook) so I felt an update was in order now before Christmas.

As I previously mentioned on facebook, Sven is tied up with a production under James Newton Howard and so the music may be slightly delayed on Chapter 12, and for those of us who saw the original beta version, we’re all aware how intense the music is for this particular chapter – being a battle scene. However, the worst thing would be to rush it and have it sound not so hot, so I’m happy for Sven to take his time and let’s just hope he gets a moment between now and the 31st to get the music done.

I’m currently working through the shots of Chapter 15, and it’s quite nice with my new knowledge of Maya that I learnt this year just gone, to be able to put out some better looking models and scenes. I must admit I’m very keen to move to 3D characters, but of course it would be a bit odd to do that mid-movie so it can wait until Frontier – Dark Nemesis.

Wexler

But rest assured in the knowledge that each and everyday work is being done on Frontier, and we only have two more Chapters to go until the new stuff starts appearing on your screens!

So I hope everyone has an awesome Merry Christmas and a really Happy New Year! Lets hope the Mayans weren’t right about 2012 or else I’m not gonna be able to finish this three season webseries!

Lew

Chapter 11 is now up, this puts us another step closer to the very long awaited Chapter 14!

At the moment Sven is hard at work on the very demanding score that will accompany Chapter 12, as those of you who saw the original beta episodes, you will be aware that Chapter 12 contains a massive complex score, and so this will be alot of work!!

As a thanks for the 300 subscribers on youtube, I released that Dark Nemesis teaser. What is Dark Nemesis a few of you asked me, well Frontier – Dark Nemesis will be the second movie (or season) that will follow on from Prelude to Darkness. Like PTD, Dark Nemesis will contain roughly 24-26 Chapters, and like the title suggests, the story is gonna be pretty…well…dark.

Another little thing I’ve begun doing is releasing a few outtakes, these are pretty much the raw audio files of some of our voice actors attempting to get their lines right, or just trying to find a line that works for them, the results can be quite humorous.

Frontier has now found a place at both Unleashed Video which is a division of Spidvid, headed by the very awesome Jeremy Campbell, and also at Mingle Media TV, and a big thanks to Stephanie Piche for being so helpful there!

I have also begun setting up a Frontier page on blipTV, as we all know, the more circulation the better!

And a massive thanks to those of you who donated to our cause, Frontier made it into the submissions for the IAWTV Awards! So hopefully we get nominated! Fingers crossed.

And a big congratulations to Travis Gordon, as Spellfury has now got a combined view count of over 4 Million!! Well done indeed!

Also in regard to Chapter 15, I have completed Scene 32 which is sort of a quarter of the chapter.

So until next time folks!

Lew

Hi Everyone! Well hope you all enjoyed Chapter 10! I imagine you’ll notice the beautiful music there by Sven Faulconer!

I was extremely excited to see our Subscriptions move over 300 on youtube! And I have been planning the behind the scenes video for you all and liaising with some other cast and crew to try and get you something that’s a little polished and little nifty and will a one shot small little teaser for Frontier 2!

Frontier was acknowledged by the International Academy of Web Television last week through the interview I did with Travis Gordon, they posted a tweet about it and mentioned that perhaps Frontier should get entered into their upcoming Awards!

With Gen Con (and I haven’t forgotten those of you that helped out with that one, I have characters and ships with your names on them coming up in the future Chapters!) which was a very exciting and successful event for Frontier raising the profile of the series and getting us a little prestige too (note the cool emblem on the top of the website!). So thanks once more to those who helped us out!

Hazen Dunfee

Rachael Rigda

and

Christopher Reid

You’ll also be going into the ending credits under the Special Thanks section!

So (takes deep breath) like last time I’m putting out my poor student hand and seeing if we can raise money to get Frontier into the IAWTV Awards! The amount to be raised is $90USD for an annual membership in the IAWTV and a further $45USD to submit the show! (So $135USD total). Entries close on October 31st.

To donate, click here or at the top of the site on the donate box!

Like last time those who help us raise the fee will get either a ship, character or planet named after them in the series (their choice), and a spot on the special thanks list!

So stay tuned for the behind the scenes vid which should be coming over the next few weeks, possibly alongside Chapter 11 which is due out on November  7th!

Lew

Science fiction crossover projects can be very hit or miss.  For every series or film that gets it right (see “Firefly”) there is another series or film that makes you want to poke your own eyeballs out (see “Tank Girl”).  Genre crossovers seem to work pretty well on paper, with excellent novels such as “Perdido Street Station”, “American Gods”, and “The Outback Stars” to name a few recent publications, handily making the case that genre crossovers can be vital and interesting.  However, this success does not always translate to film and television.  Whether it is an adaptation of a graphic novel or book, or an original series, sci-fi crossover programs have had a very unstable history.  Even when the right tone was found, the necessary audience was not always around to appreciate it.

To understand why the sci-fi crossover has had such a spotty existence, it helps to look at a few productions that got it right, but failed anyway.  Three such productions are “Nightmare Café”, “Brisco County, Jr.”, and the aforementioned “Firefly”.  Each series used science fiction tropes, in combination with another recognizable genre, to create something different and new.  Unfortunately, each series also met with an early demise.

Nightmare Cafe

“Nightmare Café” premiered in 1992, sharing a night with “The X-Files”.  A very dark show with comic overtones created and produced by Wes Craven, it was marketed as “horror-light” for fans of Craven’s film work.  A master of the horror film, Wes Craven is known for such projects as “The Last House on the Left”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Swamp Thing”, and “The Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise.  “Nightmare Café” combined elements of science fiction, horror, theology, mystery, and romance.  The series revolved around two seemingly ordinary people who find themselves at a diner.  Frank Nolan and Fay Peronivic have both recently been involved in incidents that brought them close to death.  They soon discover that there is no leaving the café, and it is, in fact, a sort of purgatory and they are both dead.  Both of them are destined for Hell, unless they can rectify a wrong that they each committed while they were still living.  If they can accomplish that, they will be allowed to remain in the café, as waiter and waitress.  As they both try to repair the damage they left behind in their old lives, a parade of characters makes their way through the café, and Frank and Fay help them solve their own issues so that they can move on from Purgatory.

The show ran the gamut from funny, to creepy, to heartbreaking, depending upon the issue that needed to be addressed in order for the guest character’s soul to continue its journey.  The characters were from every walk of life, and Frank and Fay did their best to help each soul move on.  It was a rather beautiful conceit, but unfortunately, it proved to be too high a concept for most people, and the show was canceled after six episodes.  This is an example of one of the primary reasons that sci-fi crossover series do not last.  The majority of them require more analytical thought, and a greater willingness to suspend disbelief, than their single genre counterparts.  Since most people turn on the television so that they do not have to think, a show that is intellectually challenging can have a tough time pulling in an audience.

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and Firefly

This same phenomenon occurred with the short-lived series, “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.”.  Meant as a vehicle for the criminally underrated actor, Bruce Campbell, “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.” was part-action comedy, part-Western, part-Steampunk, and part-science fiction.  The show premiered in 1993 and ran for 27 episodes before being canceled.  It was one of the first projects created by successful writer/producer Carlton Cuse, who went on to produce and/or write for such series as “Martial Law”, “Nash Bridges”, and “Lost”.  Again, the premise was high concept.  The show revolved around a Harvard Law School graduate, played by Bruce Campbell, who traveled around the Old West looking for the gang that had killed his famous sheriff father.  However, the people in this version of the Wild, Wild West carried futuristic guns, and Brisco kept finding and collecting golden balls that were imbued with strange properties.  The show was less confusing and random than it sounds, and earned a cult following that has remained vocal and active to this day.  It also required a certain level of commitment and concentration to pick up all of the puns, allusions, and important plot points contained in the often dense, but very funny script.  After the first season sadly, it became apparent that audiences just couldn’t be bothered to work that hard.

Perhaps the most famous of the sci-fi genre crossovers is Joss Whedon’s “Firefly”.  The series premiered in 2002, and ran for 11 episodes, which were not actually aired in the correct order.  However, DVD sales of the one season were so incredible that a feature film was “greenlit” in order to tie up some loose ends.  The show revolved around a group of mercenaries traveling in a spaceship in a version of our world a few centuries in the future.  There’s been an economic collapse, both English and Chinese is spoken by everyone, and the frontier spirit has become more prevalent as humans move farther and farther out in to the galaxy, colonizing planets as they go.  Peopled with the kind of rich characters for which Joss Whedon has become known, the show made stars out of all of the cast members, and has remained popular to this day.  Interestingly, “Firefly” was canceled for slightly different reasons than the other two projects.  In the case of “Firefly” it was not the audience who found the show confusing.  Instead, it was the executives who did not know what to make of it.  With its cast running around in western gear, shooting old fashioned guns, spouting Chinese, and flying in a spaceship, executives simply threw up their hands, unsure of how to market the series and to whom.  The end result was that it was canceled.

There are certainly many, many more shows and movies that have attempted to combine science fiction with another genre. They are, of course, of varying quality, but the projects that are good, are like gold.  Challenging, intelligent, scary, or gut-wrenchingly sad, projects that take the best elements from multiple genres and throw them into the creative blender together, need time to find an audience.  Hopefully, executives will come to realize this.  I, for one, am very tired of sitting down on one of my recliner sectionals, turning on the television, and being disappointed when I discover that my favorite show has been unceremoniously cut from the schedule.

By Isabella Woods