THUNDERBIRDS 1965: NEW EPISODES FROM 1960s RECORDINGS

Thunderbirds Set Visits
about 9 years ago – Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 12:45:31 AM

Finally, having wrapped on our first episode, The Abominable Snowman, we've begun opening the studio up to backers who pledged for our studio visits and Thunderbirds 1965 set tours. 

We're currently scheduling the remaining of our TB65 set visits - so if you haven't heard from us yet, you will do soon. Backers who pledged for the standard studio tours should have e-mails now. If you haven't received yours yet, please drop us a line via the private messaging system on here and we'll book you in for a visit!

Here are some pictures from recent tours. It's been great fun for us to share this unique experience with some of the people who helped make it happen!

Introducing Thunderbirds is GO!
about 9 years ago – Sun, Oct 25, 2015 at 09:23:01 PM

Hello everybody! Work continues apace on Thunderbirds 1965 and we're now into our second episode. Producer Stephen La Rivière has relinquished the director's chair to Justin T. Lee who will be handling the prequel, Introducing Thunderbirds, before he makes way for original series director David Elliott who will be in charge of our final episode, The Stately Homes Robberies.

The hours are long, and the puppets haven't got any easier to work with after fifty years, but there's a real team spirit that bubbles through our small studio as we work to bring the marionettes and models back for what might be their last adventures. We hope to be able to bring you another teaser soon...

We had a special visit from Academy Award winner (and ex-Thunderbirds SFX director) Brian Johnson on Friday. He had a look at our first episode, The Abominable Snowman, and had this to say afterwards:

Recreation is a very difficult job and we spend ours obsessing over the tiniest details - right down to remaking entire models, sets and puppets that don't pass our screen test reviews. It's therefore very reassuring for us to have a written endorsement from Brian!

It's Sunday today but we're back at work. We have only weeks to go to complete all three episodes!

Backers for set visits and TB65 Experiences have begun receiving potential dates - if you haven't received yours yet you will do very shortly. Our first TB65 Experiences have taken place and it's been great fun for the crew to share this special experience with those who helped make the project a reality.

And now, back to Tracy Island. We're being given a tour and the chance to see some launches... We'll write again soon!

First Screening and Backerkit
about 9 years ago – Fri, Oct 16, 2015 at 08:01:08 PM

Hi everybody! It's been a busy couple of weeks here on the Slough Trading Estate so we apologise for the slow down in updates.

A week ago, a work-print copy of our first episode, “The Abominable Snowman” was screened at the Mondrian Cinema in London for a select group of invited guests. You can read all about the night thanks to Steve Berry’s much appreciated report at this LINK, but here is a taster:

“The big question on everyone’s solenoid-powered lips has to be, “Does it still look the same?” And, as the familiar opening sequence gives way to newly-shot footage, it’s no understatement to say it is utterly impossible to spot the join. This is a CGI-free zone, full of backdrop paintings, heavy-looking model spacecraft and polystyrene snowscapes. The effects are practical, the fire is real and – yes – the strings are very much attached. Stephen La Riviere and his Slough-based band of perfectionists have recreated the spirit of AP Films with the very finest attention to detail.”

As many of you will know, we experienced an unfortunate glitch in our Backerkit set-up that affected some of your orders. This was particularly problematic for those of you who pledged extra during the Kickstarter campaign in exchange for limited edition rewards like the CD and Vinyl packs. This issue has now been resolved, meaning that anybody who begins completing their survey now should have no problems. We’ve also manually revised the accounts of those of you who got in touch to say the problem was affecting your order.

Inevitably, there are going to be some folks who have slipped through the net. If you haven’t done so already, we urge you to please check your surveys and get in touch via Private Message or Backerkit Support if you spot any issues.

You can access your surveys HERE using the same email address you used to sign up to Kickstarter.

Now that we are entering the production of our second episode, we are working to cement dates for the Set Visits, Preview Screenings, and remaining Thunderbirds 1965 Experiences. We appreciate that many of you will need to make special travel arrangements for these and we will endeavour to provide as much notice as possible. 

Episode 1 - Filming Wrapped!
about 9 years ago – Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 08:19:20 PM

What a month it's been! It seems incredible only a few weeks ago we were fund raising, and now a whole episode has been shot. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped make this happen - not just those who have financially contributed, but to those that have offered their skills and services to make this the best production possible.

Thank you also to everyone that has completed their Backerkit survey. This is incredibly useful to us and will help with the smooth fulfillment of rewards. As noted the other day, a problem with Backerkit has resulted in a few issues with the CDs and vinyl rewards, but rest assured this is all in hand. We are manually fixing and confirming everyone's orders. Obviously, this takes a bit of time (not least because we have to make the episodes too!), but rest assured: if you ordered these rewards then you will definitely receive them. We apologise for this last minute gremlin!

We'll be back in touch again soon. For now though, here are some more pictures from the production:

Backerkit is Go
about 9 years ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2015 at 10:18:03 PM

Hello everyone!

We have said this before, but thank you all for making our project a reality! Without our backers, this project simply wouldn’t be possible.

With this is mind, we’re very keen to make sure you receive all of the rewards you pledged towards. In order to start producing these, we have assembled an easy to use survey on a platform called Backerkit.

We will soon be sending an email with a special link to BackerKit surveys. It is important that when you receive the survey, you get it back to us as quickly as you can. Our ability to make an order depends on receiving this information. Filling out your BackerKit survey is not required, but will help out our project tremendously, and help us get your rewards out to you quicker. Backerkit also allows those of you who pledged for multiple rewards to make sure that your items are in order. We have done our best to set each backer up individually, but mistakes inevitably occur and this is your chance to correct them.

Backers who pledged towards set visits, 1965 experiences, and premiere or preview screenings will receive separate emails with information on how these will be organised in due course.

Backerkit also allows you to add to your order. If you feel like you missed out on an item during the campaign, or would now like to order multiple copies for family and friends, you will be able to do so using the add-ons section of your survey.

You do not need to make a login and password to fill out your survey, just fill it out and you’re all good to go! If you want to go back to review your info, just click on the link in your email again or input your email into our project page for another survey link.

If you used Facebook to login to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey link will be sent to the email you used for your Facebook account. If you have another email you prefer it to be sent to, please message us.

Again, thanks for all your support. We can’t wait to send you your classic Thunderbirds goodies.