CHECK OUT the eScape preview at www.eScapeTheSeries.com

LOS ANGELES — What if you woke up one day at summer camp to discover all the adults had disappeared? That’s how the kids’ adventure series, eScape, begins when it comes to the Web this summer, producers announced today.

Created by Mike Feurstein of New York-based MovieQuest Productions and co-produced by Blue Seraph’s partner company, Runic Films, eScape tells the story of a group of campers seemingly abandoned by their counselors. They soon discover they are trapped in a video game that grants them amazing abilities. But in the real world, this game is the object of a power struggle between powerful corporations and mysterious military interests.

The first three seasons of eScape will premiere on the Web this summer on its Web site, www.eScapeTheSeries.com. A trailer and a preview of the show are available on the site now.

“The show tells a great story in the same vein as Lost,” said Feurstein. “Young and older viewers alike connect with its characters’ struggles to make the right life choices in the face of adventure, danger and unimaginable odds.”

eScape’s third season is currently in production in and around Albany, N.Y., starring local actors and school children. The students also worked behind the scenes to help produce the series.

“Wide release of eScape this summer will introduce viewers to the space- and time-bending world of the show,” said Runic Films producer Ben Alpi.  “It’s a world we plan to continue to explore.”

eScape is the latest project from Runic Films, which comprises the creative team behind the Web series Star Trek: Phase II, winner of TV Guide’s Online Video Award for Science Fiction, and nominee for the Hugo and Nebula awards — science fiction’s highest honors.

Alpi, who had contributed visual effects to the first two seasons of eScape, introduced series creator Feurstein to his Runic partners — writer-producer Carlos Pedraza, cinematographer David Berry, and visual effects artists Joël Bellucci and Matt Jolly — after their recent departure from the Trek series.

Watch the Trailer

Feurstein and his young filmmakers have produced movies that have won gold medals in New York state competitions and top prizes in regional film contests. Feurstein himself earned Best Local Filmmaker kudos in readers’ polls from the Albany, N.Y., Times Union, and the Metroland newsweekly. He has also produced an international educational DVD series on autism, contributed to the blockbuster award-winning Guitar Hero video game and owns Cucumber Alley, a film lighting rental company.

“Ben, Carlos and the rest of the Runic guys came aboard to help make the third season of eScape the best yet,” Feurstein said, “and its release on the Web is an exceptional showcase for the cast and crew.”

Runic Films is a production and entertainment company developing original properties for Web, film and television. Now located in Los Angeles, Runic was founded by two brothers in New York, and has grown to a staff of award-winning writers, directors, artists and technicians. Dedicated to upholding the rich traditions of storytelling, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

Based in historic Schenectady, N.Y., MovieQuest Productions is a motion picture production company dedicated to offering young people educational opportunities to create quality films.

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Links

• eScape Web site http://www.eScapeTheSeries.com
• Runic Films http://www.runicfilms.com

TREKMOVIE.COM is among the leading sources of Star Trek news on the Web.

TrekMovie.com, the leading Star Trek movie news site, named the Star Trek: Phase II production of Carlos Pedraza’s screenplay, “Blood and Fire, Part 2″ the best Star Trek fan production of 2009.

Carlos co-authored the screenplay with noted scifi author David Gerrold (“The Trouble with Tribbles”), who also directed the episode.

TrekMovie.com hailed “Blood and Fire, Part 2″ as:

An emotional yet exciting story, complete with the excellent production values and effects that we have come to expect from the Phase II team.

The past year also attracted kudos for Carlos’ work from Joss Whedon, who told Rolling Stone that the Phase II episode, “World Enough and Time,” which Carlos co-executive produced, inspired Whedon to create the Internet phenomenon Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.

Rolling Stone, by the way, named Phase II, among its five must-watch Web series.

“Blood and Fire” is based on a script Gerrold originally wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation in the 1990s. It was never produced because its passing reference to a male couple aboard the Enterprise was considered too controversial by the producers.

Carlos adapted the script for the original Trek series-based Phase II, expanding the story to include Captain Kirk’s nephew Peter as one part of the male couple. Interestingly, two decades later, that portrayal proved controversial when “Blood and Fire, Part 1″ debuted a year ago.

Fortunately, Part 2’s release this past November was greeted by far fewer objections.

“Blood and Fire” was shot by Judas Kiss‘s director of photography, Dave Berry, and second-unit director Ben Alpi of our partner company, Runic Films, with visual effects by Joël Bellucci.

THE USS COPERNICUS and the Enterprise in Star Trek: Phase II's 'Blood and Fire.'

The second part of “Blood and Fire,” Star Trek: Phase II‘s newest episode, is scheduled for wide release on the Internet on Friday, Nov. 20, according to the Phase II Web site.

“Blood and Fire” was written by Blue Seraph’s Carlos Pedraza with noted scifi author David Gerrold, who wrote the original script for Star Trek: The Next Generation in the late 1980s. Principal photography was in June 2007. Part 1 was released in December 2008. Both parts feature stunning visual effects by Blue Seraph partner Joël Bellucci of Bellucci Designs.

Read more about “Blood and Fire, Part 1,” and watch a clip from that episode.

ON THEIR OWN Campers in eScape have to fend for themselves when the adults suddenly disappear.

LOS ANGELES — The creative teams behind eScape and the award-winning Web series Star Trek: Phase II, including Blue Seraph writer-producer Carlos Pedraza, have joined forces to produce a new science fiction-adventure series aimed at tweens and teens.

eScape, a reimagining of a series created by MovieQuest Productions, will tell the story of a group of kids who wake up to find all the adults at their summer camp have disappeared. They soon discover they are trapped in a video game that grants them amazing abilities. But in the real world, this game is the object of a power struggle between powerful corporations and mysterious military interests.

The original series, now in its third and final season, was created and produced by Mike Feurstein of MovieQuest Productions. The series was shot in and around Albany, N.Y., and starred local schoolchildren and actors.

Runic Films plans to re-imagine the original series, casting professional actors and scaling up its production values.

DEEPENING MYSTERY The campers of eScape strike out on their own only to find their parents' abandoned cars.

“The original series tells a great story in the same vein as Lost,” said writer-producer Pedraza. “Young and older viewers alike connect with its characters’ struggles to make the right life choices in the face of danger and unimaginable odds.”

Pedraza and his Runic partners — producer-director Ben Alpi, cinematographer David Berry and visual effects supervisor Joël Bellucci — had been shopping for a new project after their recent departure from the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Web series, Star Trek: Phase II. Alpi had contributed visual effects to the first two seasons of eScape and introduced the Runic staff to series creator Feurstein.

“The premise of the original series really struck us with its originality,” Alpi said. “Mike was able to tell an excellent story, something with great scope, on a very limited budget. We want to take that story to a broader stage.”

Runic’s other lead visual effects artist, Matt Jolly, is also joining the eScape co-production.

Meanwhile, Feurstein and his child actors have produced movies that have won gold medals in New York state competitions and regional contest top prizes. Feurstein himself earned Best Local Filmmaker kudos in readers’ polls from the Albany, N.Y., Times Union, and the Metroland newsweekly. He has also produced an international educational DVD series on autism, contributed to the blockbuster award-winning Guitar Hero video game and owns Cucumber Alley, a film lighting rental company.

“Ben, Carlos and the rest of the Runic guys have been helping with the third season of eScape,” Feurstein said, “and I’m looking forward to working with them on the re-imagining.”

Feurstein’s MovieQuest Productions is currently shooting the final season of eScape on location in the Albany region.

Runic Films is a full-service HD, film and visual effects studio offering cutting-edge development, production and post-production services. Founded in 2001 by two brothers in upstate New York, it has grown to a full staff of award-winning writers, directors, artists and technicians with presence on both coasts. Runic Films also specializes in rich media content for Web and next-generation devices.

MovieQuest Productions, based in Schenectady, N.Y., was created by Mike Feurstein to produce eScape.

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Links

Runic Films http://www.runicfilms.com
MovieQuest Productions http://www.moviequestproductions.com

1. Begging for Change — Written & directed by J.T. Tepnapa
2. “Blood and Fire, Part 1” (Star Trek: Phase II) — Written by Carlos Pedraza, cinematography by David Berry, visual effects by Joël Bellucci, second unit director Ben Alpi
3. Masturbation: Putting the Fun into Self-Loving — Written & directed by J.T. Tepnapa

Watch the Blue Seraph Productions Reel

THE BRIDGE of the U.S.S. Enterprise comes under attack in “Blood and Fire, Part 1,” written by Carlos Pedraza.

Pursued and damaged by repeated Klingon attacks, the crew of the Enterprise responds to the distress call from a Federation research vessel.

In a matter of hours, that ship and crew will be consumed by a nearby star while the crew of the Enterprise faces a mysterious horror that threatens both ships.

BLOOD AND FIRE, PART 1 Carlos Pedraza adapted this acclaimed, controversial and never-produced Star Trek: The Next Generation script by David Gerrold into this two-part episode for the award-winning Web series, Star Trek: Phase II. Guest-starring Evan Fowler and introducing Bobby Rice as the Captain’s nephew, Ensign Peter Kirk, Part 1 of “Blood and Fire” breaks new ground for the Star Trek franchise, introducing the first openly gay characters in the original series’ history.

UPDATE Part 2 of “Blood and Fire” is scheduled for release Friday, Nov. 20, according to the Star Trek: Phase II Web site. More information.

Watch a clip from “Blood and Fire”

The 52-minute “Blood and Fire, Part 1,” directed by “Trouble with Tribbles” creator David Gerrold, was released in 2008 and is available online at the Star Trek: Phase II Web site. Part 2 is scheduled for release in late 2009.