[Newstar]

MedSci is a futuristic medical drama in space, driven by very real characters with thought provoking problems and action-packed adventures. This concept takes leading edge medical science and technologies of today and notches them up a level for innovative yet realistic tools, weapon, and gadgets. The moral dilemmas of genetic engineering and bio-cybernetic technologies come to a head in this future universe as different ideologies battle it out. This show is a unique blend of medical and bio-tech drama with action-adventure, including martial arts mystique.

Episodic stories with long-term threads woven in take place on a hospital and bio-research ship sixty years from now. Most of the plots are set in a region of space near mysterious aliens, the Fabru, who help Chiron in it's mission to find a cure for an alien plague threatening to wipe out humanity. Chiron's goal is endangered by aggressive aliens, the Tasla, who want the alien DNA all to themselves for the power it gives to their race.

This is the public interface for MedSci story development. I'll try to keep you informed, and answer any questions you might have.
A talented group of SFS members has been hard at work laying the groundwork for what we hope to see produced as a major new Science Fiction franchise, complete with games and toys. We've come a long way, but there's still a lot of work to do. The completed pilot is undergoing its final revision. Our designor Istvan Szabo has drawn most of the ships in the pilot, and others. The season one outline is sketched out, and fleshing out as we speak. The SFS members already involved have built the basics needed for the Medlab universe, but there are lots of details yet to be worked out, and episodes to write. If you're a writer, experience or aspiring industry talent, or just someone with ideas, we welcome your input. Don't be shy, drop me a PM or post on here.

We want to hear what you think. You can join the creative team, or simply voice your opinion. Tell us what you want to see. Make this your show, steer it the direction you would like it to go. The more people who contribute, the more likely this will be something we all want to watch.

Enjoy your browsing, and don't forget to visit our friendly Neighbours at Who Am I, Order of the Shadow, and stories that are just getting started in the "Basic Story Creation" area.

[SantaBJ]

I need one of those graphics for Order o_O

[Christine G. Roberts]

SantaBJ, on Apr 20 2008, 07:10 PM, said:

I need one of those graphics for Order o_O

Can I get one too? I don't have it.

[Newstar]

Christine, I just emailed you a copy that's higher resolution, and could be printed (and handed out at convetions like the House one?)

BJ, I'd love to get an OS graphic, too. We'll have to brainstorm for ideas, and I can see what I can do in Photoshop.

I've made some new web banners everyone is welcome to use on websites, emails etc.

They can be linked to http://www.scifistudios.com/community

[Newstar]

The MedSci Creative Team So Far:



Newstar, AKA Wendy Gamble:

I'm the MedSci project leader, an ideas person tying together a team full of talent. My specialty is dialogue, characterisation and story plotting. I depend on the "tech department" to build the structure of the universe, and our script writer and advisors to help put it all together.

After fascinating studies in microbiology/genetics I switched to more purely creative fields. I took some art classes, and was lucky to be mentored by published and experience writers. The novels on my hard drive being polished and written got set aside when this project took off. I found that right here on the forum I was able to meet other talent that could partner in to bring this huge undertaking together.

I've had features on artists published in a glossy horse art magazine, served as editor of an on-line newsletter/magazine, and written numerous articles for the SFS Magazine. I'm also licensed by the Mounted Police Foundation to sell approved paintings, prints, and products of the Canadian cultural event, the musical ride.

My newfound passion for practising karate is an ideal companion for writing hand-to-hand scenes, and studying the Japanese culture central to one of our characters.


In alphabetical order:

BJ, AKA SantaBJ: A Norwegian student of computer science/multimedia programming who is also a whizz at creating fictional technology derived from the latest and greatest new inventions of the day. He also delves into abstract physics and a lot of "what if" scenarios, but he's not happy if something doesn't make enough sense to be almost really possible. Thus BJ is instrumental in creating the fabric of the MedSci universe, and a lot of the technology placed in it. He also has a good sense of how to make characters appealing, so he's an all around vital development guy.

The Quantum Displacement Drive, which allows the ship to travel long distances, is BJ's invention, along with the fictional genius engineer character who creates it, and other key MedSci technologies.

BJ also runs his own story thread, Order of the Shadow , and participates in Who Am I and other stories.

You can see more about BJ in the Skillz thread.

Canadian Trooper (Formerly Canadian Mind):

Has been with us from the beginning, helping to form the concept. He was a highschool student then, and has had to take a hiatus from the project because boot camp doesn't leave much time for anything else!

CM is highly creative and intelligent, and an all around contributor to plots, characters, and technology.

Christine Roberts:

With us from the start, helping flesh out characters and setting. After scripting the first pilot draft from the story and setting we all formed, she had to take a lengthy sickness leave. She's rejoined us for the bible writing and final pilot revision, and we hope she will reach full health!

A trained scriptwriter, has been submitting spec scripts for shows, and is our main MedSci scriptwriter. Christine's great sense of humour translates to witty lines she adds in. She works hard and keeps us on track with the script and bible writing. Her work in a vet clinic also helps us out with the medical personnel and descriptions.

She's very involved in the SF community, and is currently helping organise a House MD convention, where she can help promote MedSci with flyers and discussion.

Christine tells us she has her name in five production companies right now. When she was doing DS9 spec scripts, she managed to have pitching sessions every three months instead of the more usual two or three years most people have a chance. She currently has projects submitted in production offices for House, The Simpsons, King of the Hill. Walt Disney Productions gave her a research credit, and complemented her on her work
You can see more about Christine in the Skillz thread.

Dave Andrews:

Trained at a top American film school, Dave has been valuable from the start for his ideas, knowledge, and critique. We're hoping he'll have a chance to use his extreme talent in voice acting or other skills, in a future MedSci project.

You can see more about Dave in the Skillz thread.

Doc: An ear, nose, and throat specialist acting as a medical consultant for the script and medical technology. He's a new addition to the team, but has already proved invaluable for the realism he added to our medical dialogue. We can thank Terrell for bringing in the good doctor, his brother.

Freelancer, AKA István Szabó, Ifj:

Both a talented writer and artist, for MedSci his contribution is designing the ships and presenting them as beautiful graphics. (See feature article on Istvan for examples). He has been invaluable in bringing structure, detail and visual images to life for the team and those following the story, and has also added important elements to the long term plot.

This young upstart has movie credits already, game industry experience, and lets not forget, studied engineering before that. Under his new company name Aurora Dynamics, he was also an Exec Producer, Director, writer, and storyboard artist for the production of a short film, 15 Minutes of Fame, which took 3^rd place out of hundreds of entries in the Hungarian AXN Film Festival 2007. Hollywood Producer Andy Vajna especially liked the film.

Freelancer is also great to work with, he re-drew our flagship Chiron without complaint until it was just right, and has continued on from there with designs for pilot and beyond.

Watch for his Crystal Shade story to come out in the future, a publishing company has shown interest in a trilogy from his potential mini-series script.

Scott Brody, AKA Brode:
An actor/writer/director member of SAG and AFTRA who pops in regularly to offer critique, advice, ideas, or moral support. Scott is pretty busy running the Who Am I thread but still finds time to help us out.

You can see more about Scott in the Skillz thread and his public Who Am I thread next door.

Startripper:

A mechanical engineer and long-time Science Fiction buff. Being the husband of Newstar, he also acts as a regular sounding board for ideas as well as contributing his own inventive ones. He is also Newstar's favourite sparring partner in karate class, where they have worked up to brown belt so far.

Terrell T. Himmelheber:

A script writer and actor/director, Terrell is useful in all aspect of the MedSci creative process. He plans to be an episode writer, and from his SF spec scripts it's easy to see he has some great ideas.

A congratulations is in order for his fifth place finish out of many entries in the startrek fanlib contest sponsored by CBS and run by Andre Bormanis with his story KvP_4a1 . Terrell was also a featured security guard in the movie Coffee Date. Terrell is also newly credited with a speaking role in the film Waking Up With Monsters. For more about Terrell's acting accomplisments, you can visit his IMDB listing.
Terrell T. Himmelheber's IMDb LISTING


Other contributors have been Rogue Entity with some important technology, RHS with some great character bios and ideas, and lets not forget, a few others who have popped in to offer help of some kind.

[Newstar]

A couple of udated, new web banners loaded on another server this time so I should be able to get the URL into a signature for on here. Anyone who wants can use them or the old ones, which I still like, on websites, etc. They can be linked to http://www.scifistudios.com/community





A little update for anyone who doesn't know: Christine is working on the script for the episode called "Evolution." Doc is going through a list of futuristic medical equipment and plans to add to it, think of what doctors would like to have available. Terrell, BJ, Brode and I have been hashing out the long term plot for the characters, which we've been getting written up for the bible, and also for how and when the DNA infection arc will be resolved. We've decided to plan for a four year arc with it, then start a new one, linked somehow of course.

Freelancer sent the ships to me without bacgrounds and tech info so I can do promo and sneak peek graphics with them. So I'll post them here later in a way that should give a teaser, but not give anything away. Freelancer has one more ship to finish for a movie he was hired to do work for, then he hopes to get some more MedSci work done. We all look forward to it.

I'm also working on a list of what help we especially need to join our creative team. If you're excited about the show and want in, give me a shout (or a PM). There are many different ways to help, including honest critiques and spreading the word about us.

I've also updated the promo graphic in the first post, a new font with colour, some QDD (Quantum Displacement Drive) effects around the Chiron ship. Comments welcome!

More details and updates later, folks!

[Newstar]

I changed the font colour, and added it to a page that summarises what the show is about, and what we need more help with to make the show. The design is still in progress, but this gives you the idea quickly of what the show is about.




A new Poster from Freelancer, AKA Istvan Szabo!:



I love the way the energy producing "TREIT conductors" glow.

[SantaBJ]

Cool! Great to have some new content from him again

[Christine G. Roberts]

I love the second one. that is so cool.

[medanomaly]

Hi All,
I'm a medical student (one year of school to go) and happy to help. Sounds like an interesting show.

[Brode1627]

I really love the new poster (2nd one) a lot.

[SantaBJ]

medanomaly, on May 19 2008, 07:53 AM, said:

Hi All,
I'm a medical student (one year of school to go) and happy to help. Sounds like an interesting show.

Welcome

Medical people are VERY welcome! We're working on getting "medical approval" on some of the medical technology we're inventing for the show, and could certainly use some input there. Also, we are always interested in new ideas for any area of the story - but since you're a med student, I'm thinking the place you could be of most immediate assistance is in suggesting functions not yet available, or not sufficiently covered, in hospitals / medical laboratories you would want filled or improved by technology. For example, uhm...I dunno, an improved suture technology or something. Whatever you need

If you can do that, then I can try to come up with (pseudo)technological suggestions for your approval

[Dave]

I wanted to make a comment on the sentence "A futuristic medical drama driven by thought provoking problems of today."

It's a good thought to keep in mind, and a good phrase to use in promotional material when looking to sell or promote the project, but I don't think it's strong enough to be the catch phrase on the poster and other promo material.

We're very low on time as far as FedCon goes, so we may have to use it for that, but I think we need to try to come up with something else (he says with a head completely free of the burden of good ideas).

I wish I could just pull one out of my head, but it's not coming.

Think big though... dramatic. Think "In a world where...etc. etc. etc."

I think the word "futuristic" is a problem. It's accurate, but I'm not sure it's a word we want to use. I would feel better with "A medical drama set in the future, but driven by thought provoking problems of today," but I'm not suggesting we use that either.

The basic reason is that any good science fiction set in the future will always make it relevant to the topics of today. Star Trek TOS hinted at things like communism and war. More modern ones reflect our concerns about terrorism, so basically all SciFi should always "be driven by thought provoking problems of today." Know what I mean?

I wish I could offer more, like a great alternative, but all I can offer is my gut feeling that this phrase is not "the one." The graphics look excellent though. Highly professional!

[Christine G. Roberts]

Okay how about "a medical drama that uses futuristic equipment and is driven by hard factual events." or " a medical drama that going beyond our whelms of knowledge to help people both now and in the future.'

[Dave]

Even though I don't think the one that's on the image right now is the right one to go with permanently, I think we should probably stick with it unless we come up with something perfect that will really grab people and make them want to learn more.

[Brode1627]

Dave, along the lines of a more captivating quote, what do all of you think of these types of suggestions:

"The cure for humanity lies in their hands" "Medsci - The Cure For Our Future." "A Cure For Humanity" "Healing the Universe"

I guess you can see the way that I am going with this but I do think this is much more grabbing of someone's interest and I know the show isn't just about finding the one cure of the virus but that is why I linked the word cure with both humanity in general and with our future.

(meant as a laugh, based on Heroes) "Save the Fabru, Heal the World"

[Newstar]

Welcome Medanomaly (or Med for short)!

I've been trying to decide if I should re-do the magazine page with the new graphic, or aim to use the old (greenish) one for that and the new one for the Poster. I haven't got an answer from Freelancer on that yet.

I kind of like "MedSci: The Cure for the Future" If that's better than the long one we have, or at least as good, we can use it. On the poster, I guess we would leave out the MedSci: since it's in the graphic prominently.

[LLAP-TERRELL]

Brode1627, on May 20 2008, 04:19 PM, said:

Dave, along the lines of a more captivating quote, what do all of you think of these types of suggestions:

"The cure for humanity lies in their hands" "Medsci - The Cure For Our Future." "A Cure For Humanity" "Healing the Universe"

I guess you can see the way that I am going with this but I do think this is much more grabbing of someone's interest and I know the show isn't just about finding the one cure of the virus but that is why I linked the word cure with both humanity in general and with our future.

(meant as a laugh, based on Heroes) "Save the Fabru, Heal the World"

Actually, that's not bad at all - seriously, Brody!!! How about THIS instead? "MedSci: The cure for Humanity may lay beyond Earth and heal the future galaxy?"

Newstar, on May 20 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Welcome Medanomaly (or Med for short)!

I've been trying to decide if I should re-do the magazine page with the new graphic, or aim to use the old (greenish) one for that and the new one for the Poster. I haven't got an answer from Freelancer on that yet.

I kind of like "MedSci: The Cure for the Future" If that's better than the long one we have, or at least as good, we can use it. On the poster, I guess we would leave out the MedSci: since it's in the graphic prominently.

That's pretty good, Wendy - "MedSci: The Cure for the Future" - but how about "MedSci: The cure for Humanity may lay beyond Earth and heal the future galaxy?" Wendy?

It may be a little long, but equally discriptive without being too revealing, right?

LLAP, TERRELL

[SantaBJ]

I like the idea, but it's too dragged out (and I can't figure out the last part). How about "MedSci - The cure for humanity is not on Earth" or "MedSci - The cure for humanity is out there" ("The cure is out there"? Sounds familiar.. ).