POTEMKIN PICTURES is…

OUR SETTING:

Our productions are set in the outreaches of Federation territory. The time frame is currently 2306. There are 43 colonies in the outer reaches of Federation space in Quadrant 9, Sector 72 (often referred to as 'The Back Forty-ish'), and they need continued support from colonial support vessels, border patrol ships, hospital ships, heavy cruisers, deep space exploration, diplomatic and investigative ships, even warships. The planets are basically agrarian, with a few scientific and medical outposts present. In addition, there are hundreds of unexplored, unknown worlds, replete with heretofore uncontacted lifeforms and civilizations. Also present in the sector are Klingon colonies, Romulan outposts, Orion planets, even Tholian seed worlds. It's a broad tapestry upon which we can convey our stories.

OUR PRODUCTIONS:

Currently, Potemkin Pictures is developing and producing three new productions in Lexington, Kentucky: 

The U.S.S. Webster, NCC-4104, is a newly-commissionedCentaur- class starship conducting various types of missions throughout Sector 72. Its motto, In Omnia Paratas,means “prepared for all things.” Appropriate considering the broad scope of its mission.

The U.S.S. Caliborn, NCC-5306, is a Abbe-class photon torpedo cruiser, capable of overwhelming superior forces through massive fire power from its photon torpedo hull. Considered a warship, the Caliborn has seen little service, and is generally kept spacedocked at Starbase 211. However, recent developments in the sector have forced Starfleet to change in status to active, and a new crew has been assembled to meet the challenge of incursions and active aggression against Federation interests in the quadrant.

The Imperial Klingon Scout Qab’elth is a new Klingon-centric production. Honor. It is the beginning, the middle and the end of all true Klingons. It is the proper warrior's code, and the captain and crew of the Imperial Klingon Scoutship QAB'ELTH love, live and die by honor. Stay tuned to this group for the Klingons are coming to Lexington.

Some of the Birmingham Creative groups will continue to be produced in Lexington, including Starship Deimos and Starship Tristan. Many more, including Starship Triton, Starship Endeavour, Starship Alexander, Hospital Ship Marie Curie and Battlecruiser Kupok may have “guest starring” appearances, but regular production on these productions has ceased. But never count out any ship or crew. A new Project: Potemkin production is in the works in the Albany Georgia area, featuring many of the original cast and crew, and using footage from an episode that was revised to give the series a proper finale.

Other starships may be visited from time to time as well. If you're unsure of which production you'd like to write for, don't worry. You can write a generic script, and we'll place it with the creative group we feel would best tell your story!

OUR STUDIO:

Studio 4 – Potemkin Pictures, as we’ve named the facilities in Lexington, Kentucky, will consist of several standing sets: a bridge, a briefing room, a turbolift, a Sickbay, and a full-scale three-person shuttlecoupe. We also have a transporter room, a Klingon bridge, and a turbolift. We even have a large green screen available for whatever interiors and exteriors you can imagine. Always keep in mind the necessity of a set: Is it necessary for the script?

LOCATIONS:

Central Kentucky has quite a diverse number of biomes. We have old forests of deciduous trees, young forests of coniferous trees. We have farmlands, caves, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and streams. We have mountains, grasslands, and hills and plains. 

The architecture is equally diverse; we'll have access to some really modern facilities and some really run-down buildings that look as though they've been nuked. So don't worry about the locations; you write the story, and let us find the right place to film it.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

The pleasure of working with like-minded Star Trek fans, the joy of seeing your story brought to life by actors on the small screen, and appropriate screen credit. Sorry, but that's about it. This is, by its nature, a non-profit endeavor. CBS-Viacom-Paramount has set down a set of guidelines by which we can utilize their intellectual properties for "fun." We want to keep it that way. Production length is limited to 15-20 mins (which is roughly 12-20 pages of script), and we abide by their guidelines to the best of our interpretation and ability.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

First and foremost we are looking for science fiction stories that fully utilize and maximize our characters. We don’t want a technobabble-filled script spoken by cardboard characters, nor do we want a room full of angst-filled losers whining about how nothing ever happens... while nothing is happening. In other words, if asked if we want plot-driven stories or character-driven stories, our answer is a resounding "YES!"

We are a "low budget" production. Honestly, make that "no budget." Please don’t send us a script wherein two armies of five thousand fully costumed and armed foot soldiers clash on a fantastic alien battlefield littered with crumbled statuary erected to long-since-forgotten Old Ones. We’d much rather the epic clash in your story occurs between one of those soldiers and a member of our crew, and that the clash be of wills and character.

Scripts cannot be more than 20 pages in length, but don’t think they must be 20 pages long. They should be only as long as necessary to tell the story. Do NOT pad your script. If your script runs 12 pages, let it run 12 pages. If it runs 9 or even 4 pages, let it. Don't get hung up on the length, modern-day script structure, acts, epilogues, teasers. Be flexible, and we will be, too. Due to the sporadic nature of funding and mounting a fan production, we want exciting standalone stories.

WHAT ARE WE NOT LOOKING FOR?

• Avoid Modern Trek species such as the Ferengi, the Borg, Species 8472, the Vidians, and even the Denobulans.

• Avoid the events of the 2009 Star Trek movie, Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond (collectively known as JJ Trek) as that is an alternate universe.

• Avoid references to the series, Enterprise. It takes place in an alternate universe.

• Avoid references to the series, Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds or any of the official current productions. They each take place in alternate universes.

• Avoid references to other Star Trek fan films. We may, at our discretion, refer to other ships, but only under certain RARE circumstances.

• We are not accepting sequels to original series episodes/movies, or prequels to productions from the latter Star Trek series’ episodes or films.

• Sexuality, sexual preferences, racism, and other "message" stories are not what we’re looking for. This is the early 24th century; gender preference should be no more remarked upon than the preference of blondes, brunettes or redheads (of either sex!) today. Our characters and crew would not think to vocalize such trivialities.

• No "Mirror" or "Alternate Universe/Timeline" stories will be accepted.

• No "Evil Twin" or similar themed stories will be accepted.

• No parodies or outright comedies. Stories may have humor, but don’t let it be the focus of your script. Tell a funny story if you want, but bear in mind our productions are not out-right comedies even though some of our shorter productions are often deliberately humorous.

• No "Section 31" stories will be accepted.

• No musicals will be considered.

• No stories pitting our crew in endless arguments and clashes with each other. These are professional space explorers. Though they may disagree with each other fervently, there is nothing personal about it. Don’t build a story around trivial arguments.

• Avoid modern popular culture references. As wonderful as it may be to have a lovely contemporary ballad playing on the soundtrack, we ask that you refrain from suggesting we do so in your script. As cute as it may be to have our characters growl out Nirvana, Beastie Boys and Limp Bizkit songs, we again ask you not to do so. Putting aside any debate over whether or not most of the musical artists and hits of the 20th century will be known three hundred years from now -- even allowing that the music of The Beatles (to pick the most obvious example) might be somewhat known then -- there is the present day issue of royalties and copyrights. Even though CBS-Viacom look the other way when we use their creations, we seriously doubt that Misters McCartney and Starkey, Miss Ono and Mrs. Harrison, or whoever owns the Apple catalog these days, will be as generous.

• Likewise, we ask that you refrain from having our characters use present day slang, or make references to current events (unless you have written a time travel script, of course). None of our captains would threaten to "pop a cap in yo ass," nor would they compare the political machinations of Planet X to those of the Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama or Trump administrations. Surely in the intervening three hundred years there would be far more relevant and immediate slang and political events to reference. Invent your own.

• Avoid excessive references to Star Trek (The Original Productions). Please don’t have our characters "name drop" the characters and incidents from the original productions unless it is absolutely vital to your story. If your script concerns the tribbles, you may certainly invoke Sherman’s Planet for flavor, but please don’t have one person encapsulate the entire plot of "The Trouble with Tribbles" to another.

SCRIPT FORMAT

Courier or Courier New, 12pt.

The following tab settings are approximate, if you’re off, no one will kill you.

Left margin -- 0” (1” from the left edge of the page)

Character name -- 3” from left margin (4” from the left edge)

Dialogue -- 1” from the left margin 

Parentheticals -- 2” from the left margin

Right margin -- 1” from the right edge of the page (6½” from the left margin)

Top/Bottom Margin -- 1”

Page Number -- top right, approximately ½” from top of paper and ½” from the right edge

We prefer Google Docs for all submissions. It’s easily shareable among our cast and crew, and it’s free.

CAPITALIZE the characters’ names in the narrative when they first appear in your script and over their dialogue and in scene headers if used as such. Otherwise, use an initial cap and then small case letters.

Do not number your scene headers (aka slug lines).

Without trying to crimp your style, we ask you to please, PLEASE refrain from writing camera-heavy scripts. Avoid directing on paper. Do not tell our director if we need a close up, a two shot, an over the shoulder shot, or a long shot. Do not tell our director to rack focus, to dolly forward, dolly back or whip pan. Do not use "wrylys" -- parenthetical directions telling the actor how to deliver the line. 

Let your dialogue speak for itself and let our actors act.

Because no script is more than 20 pages in length, there is no need to break it into acts. You can have a teaser and an epilogue, even a post-credits/post-script scene, but rarely do we need to create artificial constructs to add drama at the end of an act. Simply write the script using the tried and true Aristotle codified structure (beginning, middle, end), but for heaven's sake, don't emulate the original productions' format!

In our scripts at this time, we are still formulating our cast of characters. So instead of naming a captain which will end up being changed, simply put in CAPTAIN, SCIENCES, SECURITY, MEDICAL, ENGINEER, COMMUNICATIONS, NAVIGATOR, HELM, TACTICAL. Once we finalize our cast list, we will substitute in the character names. Sometimes a regular cast member is not available. By not being so specific, we can actually replace the characters with available actors.

Trust our actors to add any little nuances to their characterizations as they portray the characters that, for the most part, they themselves created.

Lastly, if you have any questions, PLEASE ASK THEM. The only feedback we get from our production guidelines is when people come to us with a question about this prohibition or a request for further edification and explanation.

Above all, remember, we’re here to have fun!

The persons and events in this program are ficticious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional.

Produced in 2022 by POTEMKIN PICTURES

Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made film intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.