Axanar is the first fully-professional, independent Star Trek film.  While some may call it a "fan film" as we are not licensed by CBS, Axanar has professionals working in front and behind the camera, with a fully-professional crew--many of whom have worked on Star Trek itself--who ensure Axanar will be the quality of Star Trek that all fans want to see.

For you, the Star Trek fan, Axanar is a return to the type of Star Trek all of us grew up on, with a hopeful future where mankind works with other races to explore the stars, via storytelling that is positive and teaches us about ourselves.  Axanar feels like Star Trek because it is made by two of the biggest Star Trek fans in the world, Alec Peters and Robert Burnett.  Alec was the executive producer/co-writer of Prelude to Axanar, and Rob wrote & directed Free Enterprise.

Axanar is a feature film, but will be broken down into four episodes following the four acts of the script.  With an overall budget of approximately $960,000, that means each episode will cost approximately $240,000.  Add to that a portion of the ongoing studio costs, and the cost of Indiegogo, payment processing, and perks (see below), and we are setting a goal of $330,000 per episode, or $1,320,000.

We can make Axanar one act at a time, if needed (although we'd prefer to make it all at once!).  So, we are setting our first goal at $330,000.  There will be stretch goals at $660,000, $990,000 and $1,320,000, with each stretch goal meaning another episode will get made.  If we raise the entire $1,320,000, then we will have what we need to make all of Axanar.  (Anything above that will just make it better.)

UPDATE 9.8.15

Based on what we have raised so far, we will be shooting the FIRST HALF of Axanar, releasing it, and then raising the rest of the money we need for the second half. 


EXTENDED PAYMENT PLAN

If you want to contribute for something at the $150 level or higher, and need time to pay for it, we allow you to pay in three equal installments over 60 days.  Simply contact Diana at diana@axanarproductions.com for details.

In our first fundraiser, we raised $101,000 and produced the ground-breaking short film, Prelude to Axanar. 

In our second fundraiser, we raised $638,000 and created Ares Studios, a 16,000sf warehouse that we have turned into a functioning sound stage. 

(OK, we really don't have a sign that big on the building... yet! ;))

We first put in a professional stage floor:

Then sound-proofed the warehouse doors:

And started on set construction with the best Star trek bridge possible.

Our master stage plan:

We take our obligation to our backers to be financially accountable very seriously,  so we like keeping donors apprised of exactly where the money goes.  We have recevied high marks from our communication with our donors because we value the fact that YOU make this all possible!  The budgets and accounting for both the Prelude to Axanar and first Axanar fundraisers are available to donors (see our 2014 Annual Report here,  http://www.startrekaxanar.com/axanar-annual-report/).

Also, we communicate constantly through our website at www.startrekaxanar.com.  Alec writes a daily Captain's Log, which details the daily happenings at the studio.  And Diana writes her Fulfillment Blog, which details everything you need to know about delivery of the perks and other items donors get.

No other production keeps its donors as informed as we do!

Casting for Axanar commences in September, so stay tuned for casting announcements.

Every time Axanar Productions has a fundraiser, we will produce an Axanar Veterans patch featuring a different campaign in the Four Years War, as a way to say "thank you!" to our loyal fans.  If you contributed at least $10 in our last campaign, AND you contributed at least $35 in our private launch 2-day event, you get the new Axanar Veteran patch--The Cygnus Campaign--for free! 

First, understand that generally, a project only receives about 75% of the total money raised. For the other 25%, 4% goes to Indiegogo, 3.5% goes to payment processing fees, and the rest gets reserved for Perks (the gifts you earn at different donation levels) and shipping them. So when we say we want to raise $1.3 million, we will only get about $1 million of that!

We want to give you great perks for your backing donations.  We believe we do better than anyone in giving you the best rewards for the money, while being financially responsible so that the most money possible goes to the production.

We learned a great deal about fulfilling the perks we offered in the first two fundraisers and have applied those lessons in this Indiegogo campaign.  Please note that delivery dates are estimations, and subject to  change.  But we will keep you better informed than any other project through our DAILY updates on our website, our Facebook Donor Group, our donor email newsletter, and our podcasts and webcasts.

Handling 10,000+ donors (which we expect to double this time) is a full-time job, so Diana Kingsbury was hired to be our full-time Fulfillment Director.  If you have dealt with Diana, you know that she is awesome at what she does.  You can always reach her at support@axanarproductions.com.

There are always risks and challenges when making a film - actors dropping out, locations and/or sets not being available, unforeseen costs, equipment trouble, inclement weather, etc.  In addition, "Star Trek" is a licensed property of CBS and so they have the final say in any Star Trek venture. Every member of the Axanar team is also a professional, and has proven his or her skills on other projects and films.

PLEASE NOTE:  As of 1/30/15 Axanar Productions has been served with a lawsuit by CBS for copyright infringement.  We take this issue seriously and will be posting updated on our website www.axanarproductions.com.

Q: I want to be an extra.  When is the series taping?

A:  The series is taping in January, 2016 in the Los Angeles, CA area (specifically Valencia).  If you are contributing to be a background actor, production assistant or associate producer you will be required to sign a release and an NDA on set.

Q: I'm a new donor to Axanar and would like to access the Donor Store on your website, the exclusive Donors Group on Facebook, and your digital fulfillment system called Ares Digital.  When can I begin to enjoy those benefits and perks?

A:  For access to the exclusive Axanar Donors Group on Facebook, we will be sending an invitation directly to the email address that each donor used with their donation as soon as a few weeks after this fundraiser ends, once we receive the final donor list from Indiegogo.  Every donor is manually invited by hand, one email address at a time, and we do this to ensure each donor receives the personal attention that they deserve.  Please be sure to watch your inbox and spam folders for an email sent through Facebook's systems, but that will be identified by the name "Terry McIntosh," who is our in-house geek.  He's handling all invitations personally for each donor.  Please know that due to the manual nature of the Facebook invitations, we'll only be inviting 100 or so per day, so it will take some time for all of the invitations to go out once the process has begun.

Our Donor Store is now available through our Ares Digital fulfillment platform and all donors up to January 2, 2016 have been loaded in to Ares Digital.  Simply visit http://axanar.ares.digital and use the email address that you provided with your donation as your system login if you've donated prior to that date.  If you're a recent donor and the Ares Digital system does not recognize you then it means that your donation was made after our latest donor list import, so try back again 7-10 days after the date shown in bold text above.

Q: What is Axanar Productions?

Axanar is not just an independent Star Trek film; it is the beginning of a whole new way that fans can get the content they want, by funding it themselves.  Why dump hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on 400 cable channels, when what you really want is a few good sci-fi shows?  Hollywood is changing.  Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other providers are redefining content delivery, and Axanar Productions/Ares Studios hopes to be part of that movement.

DVD/Blu-ray Specific FAQs

Q: Will the discs be region-free?

A: Yes! We're going to make them region-free so you can play them no matter where you are. 

Q: I contributed for a Blu-ray in the last fundraiser, can I use that donation to upgrade to the new 5-disc deluxe set?

A: No. The amount of paperwork this would entail would bury poor Diana (and she doesn't get to spend enough time with her cat Boomer, as it is!).  However, if you bought the Blu-ray last campaign, you can exchange that for a special Axanar: Origins Blu-ray, which will have 5 different special features about Axanar and the Star Trek universe.

Q: If this campaign doesn't reach its goal, and the movie ends up being filmed in a couple of parts, how will that affect what ends up on the DVDs or Blu-rays?

A: However we film the movie--either all at once or in separate acts--the completed film is what will be on all of the AXANAR movie discs (no matter which funding campaign you contributed to). The funding only affects the speed at which we're able to have the completed product ready for you.