BUMCHEEKS2: INTERVIEW WITH THE CREATOR OF LOST HOPE

I recently got chatting with Jeff Saamanen, creator of Lost Hope Series via twitter and was kindly given the opportunity to do this interview. As you can see from my blog, this is my very first interview, so I'm honoured that this has happened. Within this interview, I have added links and images so please take a look and give support to this project.

What inspired you to create the animated show?

Lost Hope is a strange one for us as it is kind of a culmination of things, our desire to open an animation studio, our need to learn the ins and outs of production in animation, and of course, our passion to create something unique and new! These three factors are the leading reasons we built Lost Hope, but once we dove into it became entirely its own beast.

Why I created it then V's, why I create Lost Hope now, is a substantial change. I make Lost Hope now because I have fallen in love with my characters, and after hearing them brought to life by our voice actors I know in every bone in my body this is what I was meant to do. Natalie and I are HUGE sci-fi nerds, and Lost Hope has become an amazing creative outlet for that, at this point I think Lost Hope relies less on me then I do it!

I have to say the cast line-up is awesome. Did you have an idea who you wanted for the show before casting?

When we first developed the stories and characters we had NO IDEA what was going to happen with them. I used shows like Archer, Sealab 2020 and the venture brothers to help build my archetypes but outside of that, we had no inclination as to whom might take these archetypes and turn them into living breathing beings with their own aspirations and motivations.

But to be honest, we are very fortunate to have garnered the interest of our main cast. But all it actually took, was asking. Many aspiring independents tend to let their stress or insecurities stop them from simply asking for things and this can be very detrimental to your project. So I went out and I asked, and wouldn't you know it they answered the call!

Could you give a summary of the pilot episode, the characters and what to expect from your animated show?

Our goal of an initial 4 part pilot combined to create a 96-minute movie are pretty grand, but manageable by even our small team. The story of our pilot will follow Dawson Conner, Clara Hope, Marcello Carlos and the rest of the team as a series of events that push them together aboard the USS Hopeful. These events culminate in the destruction of earth, the USS Hopeful, and her crew, and what is left of humanity, are forced to flee.

The initial pilot will set up our backstory, and the events leading to this apocalypse and then follow our team after the event itself as they attempt to survive. With tensions high and stress through the roof, our undermanned, outgunned and severely low on resources crew will survive through perseverance, determination and no short supply of sarcasm, for even at the end of the world they have not Lost Hope.

How many episodes will there be?

Well, this is a difficult question as it all relies on the fans. in the age of the internet the independent scene has grown substantially, and with that, a new way of doing things needs to be built. We are trying something entirely new, being a fully fan-funded animated series that will hopefully one day prove itself and join the ranks of syndicated television or apps like Netflix! That being said we will ALWAYS make more Lost hope IF we can get it funded, so really it's all in the fans hands as to the longevity of our series.

We wanted to take this route as we want to make a change in the world's entertainment industry and stop what we have lovingly called the 'Firefly Syndrome' a show canceled regardless of the fans out-pour of support due to network execs and their inability to see past numbers and into the fandom itself. We are finally capable as a community of nerds and geeks to fully fund things out of our own pockets! Usually, we wait for a network to finish something and then give them our money, but why not fund the production itself and know that your hard earned cash is going DIRECTLY to the creators and actors?

This to me is ALWAYS how it should have been, but the middle men destroyed the creative industry, and now it's time to take the power back!

Have you any other projects or ideas for the future?

Well, Natalie and I have TONNES of ideas and other projects, we even want to go back one day and animate our graphic novel called Worlds Beyond the Grave: The Story of Fate, which follows an alien subjugated from his people, crash-landing on earth and befriends a cat he aptly names Fe! The two start a galactic romp across the universe in search of Fates redemption! But outside of that we are truly focused 100% on Lost Hope, so many ideas come around, but most must be shelved in favour of ensuring the success of LH and we are DETERMINED!

I'm from the UK, will the animated series be online or is there potential for airing on tv, satellite etc?

We will be releasing in advance each episode as it is completed online to all our direct crowdfunding backers free as each is completed. Once all 4 parts have been funded and completed, we will then release the first 4 part pilot online for everyone. So our online distribution model will enable anyone with an internet connection to watch our series. Although we cannot control specific country restrictions, we still want to be as accessible as possible. In the advent we get popular enough however, we hope to one day be picked up by places like Netflix, or the PlayStation network or any other new services. Syndicated TV I am not so sure about as I feel the future doesn't lie with them, but if an opportunity to make Lost Hope a huge success arrives we will jump at it, and we will not forget the fans along the way!