Hello to everyone and welcome to the Star Command site. I’m Ben Boardman, one of the creators, writers and directors of this series. From time to time I’m going to try and update you, the viewer, with what’s going on behind the scenes. How the shows are progressing, our successes and our stumbling blocks. Hopefully we’ll give you a good look at the triumphs and pitfalls of being a low (no) budget filmmaker.

First let me explain how this whole Crazy Idea <tm> came about. About two years ago Jason Carlile (the other creator of this show) and I were hanging out watching a fairly crappy episode of Star Trek: Enterprise and we started riffing on the idea of the worst ship in Starfleet. From there the idea morphed and evolved into a riff on the entirety of science fiction television and films. That first night we basically came up with the entire bridge crew and the Lee.

Fast forward a few months. I couldn’t get the idea of Star Command out of my head. I sat down and banged out scripts for the first two episodes. The first an introduction to the ship, the crew and a sample adventure for these misfits to set the tone for things to come. The second was a wacky adventure meant to showcase our goofy sensibilities. Jason and I had been working with Brian Clements and Zach Gaskins doing HeadGames Podcast for the better part of a year at that point and we ended up roping them into the production. From there things began to snowball, sets were built, roles were cast, props were acquired, costumes were made. We spent a year filming off and on, editing, re-editing, and doing post production work. The film finally came together in a “final” (I still tweak occaisionally) version just in time for our first exhibition at MegaCon in Orlando FL.

We were nervous and excited. We weren’t sure what kind of reception we’d get, especially since we had done pretty much no advertising and all we had was a little booth with our video playing and our own winning personalities. Over the course of three days we sold more than 20 DVDs. We were elated, this was a good sign, people actually seemed to like our stuff.  Less than 2 weeks later we exhibited again at MomoCon in Atlanta. Our booth was even smaller, and this convention was more anime-themed than sci-fi themed. I wasn’t expecting much. By the end of the weekend we had sold another 20 DVDs and sold out our production run.

Now we’re moving forward with a little money in the bank and some new ideas. We’re starting to plan Episodes 3, 4 and 5. We’re looking for studio space to launch more professional productions. And starting to advertise around the web. All in all it’s been a fantastic experience that’s getting better every day. It’s going to be great fun sharing the future with all of you.

I can’t wait to get started!

–Ben