Short Summary

I am a comic book writer, author, and screenwriter trying something new. For more than a year, I've had a story idea in my head that harkens back to my love of 80's science-fiction movies (ALIEN, ALIENS, THE TERMINATOR, THE ABYSS, THE THING), all of which were (and still are) major creative inspirations for me. 

The story became DERELICT, which followed a "Dirty Dozen" style group of scientists and engineers -- all people at the end of their respective roads, each seeking redemption where they can find it. Their desperate straits lead them to accept a dangerous contract: explore a mysterious derelict spacecraft that has been found in an unexplored star system, unravel its mysteries, and bring it back to human space. 

The frightening realities of what they find there, however, are not what any of them expect.

As the story formed, it wasn't something that seemed like a new novel (it felt like it should be more visceral than that) and it wasn't something I wanted to just sell as a script and be done with.

This is when the idea of doing the story as a narrative podcast occurred, which was very compelling.

The most exciting part was the idea of being able to take an audience on a journey with the characters. With just creative imagination, sound (and your eyes closed) listeners can viscerally experience the exploration of the ship. And the fact that a majority of the story is told through the "radio communications" of the team, makes it feel all the more real, like you're listening in to events as they transpire. 

We hope you as a fan of good science fiction, or just good stories in general, will help bring it to life...

The Story

Thirty seven hours ago, the IWS Crichton discovered the remains of a derelict vessel in an unexplored star system. 

Eleven hours ago, all contact with the Crichton and her crew was lost...​

When the galaxy's most powerful corporation discovers that the derelict ship belongs to them, they send the only people they can, a group of washed up engineers and scientists who would do anything to reconstruct their shambled lives.

Their objective: find out what happened to the crew of the Crichton, and bring the derelict back...at any cost.​

But, as they soon learn, there are some mysteries that should remain buried. And there are some things lost that should never be found.

Where We Are

We have recorded and produced the first episode from our first season, and it will officially premiere August 24th, at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention Bubonicon, in Albuquerque, NM. But you can listen to it right now, using the video version in the media gallery at the top of this page, or by visiting the DERELICT website. 

We recorded the first episode in my basement office, which was converted into a sound studio for episode one.

While this served its purpose to get us where we are, to continue to do this story in the way it deserves to be done, we are going to need a few things...

What We Need & What You Get

We are asking for an initial investment budget of $30,000. But where does all that money go... 

Roughly half of the investment will help us form our production studio where we can record all our actors at once. This means:

• Five separate Rode based microphone stations, with sound dampening enclosures
• A new USB audio processor that can handle that many stations
• Sound proofing
• Studio space rental, including utilities
• All the little necessary odds and ends - cabling, headphones, speakers, mic stands, boom arms, script stands, lighting, storage, printing paper, chairs, desks, you get the idea.

Having this space will enable us to not only produce other seasons of DERELICT, but eventually other stories as well.

As far as the second half of the budget, any story is only as strong as the performers in it, so it's imperative that we cast accomplished actors and actresses. In my biased opinion, I would say we knocked it out of the park in this regard. You can read more about our amazing cast below, but the remainder of our budget will go to taking care of them. Here's why:

• Many of our actors are not local, and will require travel expenses for the production.
• Our two actresses are Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members, which increases their pay rate significantly, and requires contributions to health care and the purchasing of production insurance. 
• Because we respect those pursuing artistic and creative lives and careers, we want to pay all of our actors the same rate as those who are SAG.

In addition to the budget allotted for our performers, we have other expenses:

• Music and effects licensing and creation
• Marketing
• Craft services

So, what do you get out of helping us make our goal? We have some great perks to contributing, no question, but the main thing you get is DERELICT itself.

We are trying to do something pretty unique; bring exciting, high-concept, feature film level genre experiences to the audio format. If you're a fan of genre stories like the movies I mentioned above, you're going to love DERELICT. And you're going to want to see this story not just come into the world...but continue to grow and develop.

All I ask is that you listen to episode one yourself, and then see how you feel after that. 

The Cast and Team

Everyone involved on this project is passionate about seeing it completed. Our actors have already traveled on their own expense to New Mexico to record the first episode, and deferred their own payments. It will happen one way or another, but you have an opportunity to help us make it happen in the best form possible.

J. Barton Mitchell - Creator

J. Barton Mitchell is a writer and photographer living in Santa Fe, NM. As a writer, he’s developed properties for Warner Bros, Twenty First Century Fox, Sony, Valve Software, and Boom! Studios, and is a published author of four novels. His third novel, VALLEY OF FIRES was awarded Best Science Fiction Novel of 2015 by the RT Book Review, and his fourth novel, THE RAZOR, was published by TOR Books in November. 

Kirsten Rudberg - Producer

Kirsten is a writer and producer, working on both her Masters of Divinity...and the final edits of her book, WE RULE THE WORLD for Microcosm Publishing. A journeywoman, she is a published essay writer, has worked with Dave Eggers at THE DAILY ILLINI, and, besides DERELICT, is currently developing a web series, a TV series, a graphic novel and a little bagatelle of a book series. In short, she's very busy. 

Chad Morgan - Raynor

Chad Morgan has been fortunate enough to have worked in film and television for the last twenty-five years. 

Her first film was opposite Emilio Estevez in THE WAR AT HOME, and her first starring role was in the Sundance Film Festival sweetheart and coming-of-age film WHATEVER. Since then, she's worked with Michael Bay (PEARL HARBOR), for Steven Spielberg (the SyFy channel mini-series TAKEN), alongside Seth McFarlane (FAMILY GUY), and has played a plethora of pop culture icons (and a few Popsicle sticks) on ROBOT CHICKEN and ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS.

Michael Mau - Blayne

Michael Mau is a writer, teacher, father, runner, actor, tinkerer, artist, and snappy dresser. 

His short fiction has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Portland Review, Fifth Wednesday, Mount Hope, Jelly Bucket, Firewords Quarterly, and other places. 

Michael’s various voices can be heard in BIG SANDY, a narrative podcast based on the novel of the same name; the audiobook HOBO-COP; as well as many radio and television spots. On screen, he's been featured in the films OUR SCRIPTED LIFE, FATHERLESS, and LAST HOLLER. 

Dani Payne - Freed

Dani Payne is an actor, singer, and business coach who has recently moved her life to Albuquerque, NM. She has over 10 years of acting experience and has studied her craft all over the world; Vancouver, Los Angeles, and, most recently, Glasgow, UK. Dani can been seen in numerous television shows, such as THE NIGHT SHIFT, GRAVES, and CHAMBERS, as well as the films REMEMBERING US and THE SHORT HISTORY OF THE LONG ROAD which made its debut at the Tribeca International Film Festival. 

Ian Geiberger - Chambers

Ian Geiberger lives for making sounds people want to hear. He is a Los Angeles/San Diego-based electronic/hip-hop producer, voiceover artist, illustrator and graphic/sound designer. 

J.D. Cerna - Stevens

J. D. Cerna is the voice of Beau Handsome on the Emmy winning animated series WORDGIRL which also stars Maria Bamford. His solo show NOT AS CUTE PICTURE has been performed in several American cities and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Cerna has also appeared in the 1988-89 Troma horror film THE DEAD COME HOME, performed twin brothers in the Miramax feature LIE DOWN WITH DOGS, and played the lead role of Jack in the film ALKALI, IOWA, opposite Mary Beth Hurt.

"Gus" - Consultant

Little is known about the mysterious "Gus" (if that really is his name). Former covert operative? International assassin? Renowned jewel thief? It's safer not to ask. What's less understood (and shrouded in secrecy) are the shadowy contributions he makes to the DERELICT podcast. But it's fairly clear his paw prints are all over the production...

Other Ways You Can Help

We know money is tight for a lot of people. We totally understand that.  Sharing our campaign on your social media accounts and helping us spread the word would go a long way to helping us achieve our goal.  If you enjoyed episode one, and want to hear more, please click that little "share" button on our campaign page and let the world know.