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MARK HARRISON VFX
L I B E R A T O R
AFTERSHOCK
Q&A
Hello everyone and welcome to the LIBERATOR: AFTERSHOCK Kickstarter Questions and Answers page.
What’s this all about?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually be on board the famous Blake’s 7 spacecraft the Liberator? To actually wonder the corridors of the ship, to stand on the flight deck and meet ZEN. Well, this is the premise of B7: Prelude to Spacefall, a fully Immersive 360degree story.
For those unfamiliar with Blake’s7. Blake’s7 was a BBC sci fi drama TV show that ran in the 1970s and was written by Doctor who’s, Dalek inventor Terry Nation. ‘Prelude to Spacefall’ is a short story based within the universe of the Blake’s 7 TV series.
Is it a story, a film a VR experience? What is it?
The answer to this question it is yes it is all those things. Prelude is a Blake’s 7 short. It is set In the hours before the spacecraft London finds the Liberator adrift in space. It is a film that is shot in 360 degrees using the latest visual effects techniques.
Simple answer is No. You will be able to watch and be immersed in this on most devices. It will just feel more immersive using a VR headset. There will also be a 2D edit for those who just want to view it as a film.
Will I need a VR Headset to watch this?
When will the Kickstarter commence?
The Kickstarter campaign is now scheduled for mid June 2021. There will be more information shortly
What’s the Story?
The story will feature a new character. His name is ‘Avery Kane’ and the story will playout though Kane’s eyes. Avery Kane is a deep space salvage operator. His salvage ship is destroyed in a space battle. Yep that one! He is stranded adrift in space when a severally damaged DSV spacecraft appears. I’ll leave it there. SPOILERS!!
Why add a story and not just make it an immersive experience?
I don’t want it to appear like a Architectural walk through It would be dull. I want to tell a story that will add drama, apprehension and wonder and overall have a massive Wow factor. Most of the successful experiences I have witnessed work this way.
Why is it called LIBERATOR: Aftershock
Liberator Aftershock is a Prelude to B7 story Spacefall. It is set in the moments after the unseen battle of the Liberator and nearly 12 hours before spacefall.
Will the Liberator look like the one in the TV show?
The Liberator will be absolutely true to the show. This will probably be the most faithful CG recreation of the iconic spaceship ever. I’m building it right now! It’s going to be huge! It’s going to be viewed at glorious 4K resolution so it’s got to look good. Currently I have nearly a hundred pieces of reference of the Liberator inside and out that’s to help from the guys in my B7: Liberator Facebook group. Special thanks
Why am I doing it?
I was 12 years of age when Blake’s 7 hit the TV screens in the late 1970’s. In the run up to the show I was pretty excited about, at the time, this new sci fi drama by the inventor of the Daleks! Terry Nation. One Saturday morning on Swap Shop of all shows I saw the amazing Matt Irvine present the spectacular Liberator model. I thought it was fantastic and loved it more than the show itself. Matt was definitely one of the inspirations that sent me eventually on a career in visual effects. I’ve always wanted to step on the Liberator flight deck and this is one way I know how.
What qualifies me to do this?
On top of being a big fan of the show I am more importantly a feature film Visual Effects veteran. I have worked in visual effects and animation for more than 20 years having worked on films like Star Trek Beyond, Captain Scarlet, Thor: Ragnarok, Harry Potter, Mission Impossible: Fallout amongst many others in the capacity as both VFX artist and supervisor. I almost feel like I have a connection to the show. Years ago I worked with Ron Thornton on Captain Scarlet. Ron worked on Blake building the other great ship from the show the Scorpio. I learned a great deal from Ron and enjoyed his stories of his time on the show.
Why now?
With the covid pandemic effecting everyone lives I think its great to try and give others something to truly look forward to. Also B7 is over 40 years old. I for one would like to put a spot light back on this amazing show once again and celebrate the model Artists and set builders who created the unique and much loved
Why are we doing a Kickstarter?
Creating something like this takes a huge amount of time and effort and unfortunately money. There still a huge, loyal, fan base that love and support the show, it’s stories, its characters, its spaceships and props and its legacy. I’ve been fortunate to have met and become friends with a lot people who share their love and interest in the show through the B7: Liberator facebook community. The plan is to try and raise a minimum sum of £5,000 to complete the project. This may seem a lot to some but it’s really a drop in the ocean when you realize what will go into making this happen. Model building, Animation, sound and rendering amongst other things. The good news is this can be achieved £10 here, £15 there can soon mount up, and then there’s the rewards. There are going to be some awesome REWARDS
What are the rewards?
The Kickstarter Yummy bit The Rewards. On top of the 4K 360 film hopefully a reward in its own right we’ll be offering up some great incentives here’s some ideas we have. Some are yet to be CONFIRMED. Thank you Zen! I am looking at getting prints of renders made up. Some of the prints will be available in huge AO formats of the Liberator. Some people love the idea of being in the credits in films and projects like this so we will be offering credits for varying support of the project. This will include producers and executive producers. For those who love there CGI I’ll be giving away the CG model in the film as a Reward. This will be a cool reward since the final model will be up on Turbo Squid for £250. There is also the possibility that we will be creating 3D printed models of the Liberator as a reward. We are still looking into the cost. They’ll be more detail about the rewards when we launch the campaign.
What will Happen if we don’t reach the minimum target of £5000 on the Kickstarter?
With Kickstarter, campaigns are an all or nothing scenario. If we do not reach our minimum target price we do not receive any of the money pledged. The Kickstarter fails and the money of those who have pledged is returned. In this circumstance it is more than likely that the project will be shelved. If we only fall short of the pledge there other crowd funding sites that we can use.
What happens if we exceed our Target on the Kickstarter?
Well that would be cool wouldn’t it. There will be stretch goals the more money the better. I would like to include new areas of the Liberator never seen in the show. A large engineering bay amongst other things would be something I would love to do. Also a 3D cut away of the Liberator would be an awesome extra. There will be more on stretch goals once the campaign is underway.
How long will it take to make?
With the highlighted budget. The production time will be three or four months and probably a further six weeks render time. Some rewards will be issued sooner.
More questions on the project: Will the film feature Blake and the Crew?
No. Blake and the crew won’t feature in Prelude to Spacefall since they are else ware in the timeline creating mischief on the London prison ship.
Will the film feature the Liberator in the Battle?
.It will feature the very very tail end of it.
Will the film feature Zen?
Confirmed! I’ll say nothing more.
Will the film feature the DSV3?
SPOILERS!
Is this an Official Project?
No. This is not an official project. It will be classed as a fan film and will not be subject to any kind of profit. All pledged proceeds will go towards the making and development of the film. This is all above board. Many fan made Star Trek projects have been sanctioned in this manner.
Will I be able to buy merchandise after the Kickstarter ran its course?
Unfortunately not. Project rewards will only be available while the campaign is active. So it will hopefully make the rewards quite collectable.
Will everyone get to see the film once it is released?
No not immediately. In fairness to the folks that have pledged and or have been involved in the project, they will receive their copy of the film three months before it gets a general release. In that time we will be looking at getting some media attention from the project. This will be very cool if your name comes up in the titles.
VR Questions : Will this be 3Dof or 6 Dof?
The immediate film will only be 3 Degrees of freedom ( you’ll be able to look up and down and around but not move through space.) If this project is a success I would like to move into a 6 Dof app.
Will this lead to other B7 projects?
If this is successful I’d love to do more. I’d love to tell the story of the Battle that crippled the Liberator. Has anyone a spare £100,000. Lol!
I hope this gives you all a bit of a glimpse into the B7; Prelude to Spacefall project and I hope you like and feel excited by some of the ideas going into this unique film.
I’d like to thank you in advance and appreciate all the support already going it the project. I would like to thank all the members of the B7: Liberator group for your interest and support. And a special thank you to Paul Williams and Andy Spencer who have already been a great help in getting things underway.
Thanks, everyone.
Mark Harrison
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