For the first time in Thunder Bay, a group of local filmmakers will be releasing an original sci-fi web series. This group – consisting of Nicholas Palinka, Jessica Graham, and Matt King – were once part of an online sketch comedy group called, Film Force Films. However a change of heart led them to create something more professional that would challenge them as filmmakers. After raising funds via Indiegogo, the trio were finally able to put their idea into motion and create Space Hock, a sci-fi web series.
Space Hock is a sci-fi comedy that follows two humans and their discovery of a crashed space ship. Director Nicholas Palinka doesn’t want to give too much away but explains, “the first season which consists of four episodes, follows how the space ship ends up on Earth, the alien who pilots it, and what Space Hock is.” The series will star a cast of experienced local actors: Stan Alto, Kyle Turner, Alexandra Rheaume, Andrew Paulsen, Sarah Furlotte, Lucanus Pell, Geoff Medwid, and Becky Suttle. The team filmed the twenty-page script in just four days and continued editing for another six months. Now they are ready to release Space Hock into the universe.
According to Palinka, they decided to apply the web series format and use YouTube as their platform because “it is accessible to pretty much everyone.” The group will be uploading the material to Vimeo as well so users can choose where they want to view it. “With our Indiegogo campaign we didn’t want to have our series go into a festival circuit after it was completed where it would not be viewed by anyone for another year.” says Palinka. They would rather have their material on a platform where their fans could view it as soon as it is completed.
Aside from challenging themselves creatively, the group also hopes that this project will prove to aspiring filmmakers that there are opportunities in Thunder Bay. “Our creative team are all Confederation College Film grads, so we hope to show that there is a way to create projects in Thunder Bay without having to go to a bigger centre of film.” says Palinka.
The team have recently released a behind the scenes video, “The Journey of Space Hock”, in which the trio along with members of Film Force Films discuss the writing and creative process behind Space Hock.
The first episode will be released on March 31 via YouTube and will continue to be released once a week until April 21. Be sure to check out this project and support the local filmmakers behind this original sci-fi adventure.
