Our Very Own Spaceship Unveiled!

Since November 2nd, the crew of Chasing Atlantis have been running an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign to help with the growing production costs that are associated with all our new story developments. Around that time we were contacted by Ellie from Frosticular Design who created an original painting for one of our contribution perks. Today I am proud to unveil this masterpiece.

Frosticular Shuttle

Ellie describes that Frosticular Design creates, “whimsical paintings inspired by children’s drawings.”

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Here you can see the evolution from her son’s drawing to the 18×24″painting we have before us. This original work is now available through our IndieGoGo campaign. There is only one in existence so hurry now to our IndieGoGo campaign before it is claimed by another! To see more of Frosticular Design’s work or commission your very own painting please visit their Facebook Page.

– Paul

A Moment with Chris Hadfield: Future ISS Commander

On December 19, 2012 history will be made. Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield will board a Russian Soyuz rocket, blast into space, and board the International Space Station as the first Canadian commander of a space vehicle. During production we had the amazing opportunity to sit down and discuss with Chris about  the retirement of the Shuttle program, his first introduction to the space program growing up as a farm kid, and his future mission. As we follow Chris’ journey towards December 19th we want to share with you an excerpt from our interview with him regarding his 5 month mission.

– Paul

An Awesome Time for Space Geeks Like Us

Hey fellow Chasers,

Earlier this week I have been reflecting on the time in which we live. It is an amazing time for space geeks like us. 15 years ago the capabilities on the internet weren’t nearly as expansive as they are today. Heck, five years ago it would have been close to impossible for us to pursue such an out of this world film project because the production tools weren’t as easily accessible as they are today. Even the term Social Media was just some buzz word that we didn’t really understand. But now, with all of these advancements in our culture we are in a very literal sense able to chase after Atlantis.

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Things have been going extremely well for us at Chasing Atlantis. If you haven’t heard, our last trip down to Florida to attend the Atlantis Roll-out at the Kennedy Space Center was fantastic. We interviewed astronauts, engineers, and even an astronaut candidate . As a result of our trip, new opportunities are unfolding before us and now it looks like we’re taking our production to Seattle, Vancouver, Houston, Washington DC, and of course back the Cape. In light of these new developments we have launched a crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo to generate a budget that will allow us to purse these interviews. Stay tuned, we intend to put short teasers about these interviews up on our site as we get them.

With all of this being said, this last week has been a whirlwind. If it wasn’t for the marvels of email, cell phones, the inter-webs, and social media I don’t really know where we would be right now. Just this past Thursday CBC radio connected to both Matthew and I (in Vancouver and Toronto) through our cell phones for a pre-recorded interview. Hopefully they’ll make us sound good when the interview airs sometime this week. Then there has been the interviews and articles by the blogging and web community. Then on Friday author, blogger and good friend, Geoff Micks posted an article after conducting an interview with us about Chasing Atlantis and the inspiration that started it all. You can read his wonderful writing here.

Then there is the fantastic news that I read in my inbox 15 minutes ago. Earlier this week I was interviewed by New-Startups.com, a website that shares “bright new ideas from around the globe with the intents of keeping you up to date on incredible emerging businesses, offering our reviews, and providing a platform to engage in discussions.” Well, this article has been added to their website this morning. I am excited and humbled by the fact that there is a community of people who are rallying behind us. I tend to think that it is not just because of the communal interest in science, technology, and fantasy, but because there is a human interest story that is embedded at the very roots of Chasing Atlantis; a story that in my mind gets to the heart of why we as individuals and communities put so much into chasing our own Atlantis  – whatever that dream may be.

To read the New-Startups.com article, click here.

– Paul

Beneath Her Wing

This past Friday, Paul and I stood beneath the wing of the last space shuttle to fly a mission to space. I could actually read the serial numbers on each of the thermal protection tiles as Atlantis hovered above me on its carrier. 

Beneath the wing of Atlantis during her final roll-out

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Atlantis Comes Home as We Launch IndieGoGo Campaign (NEW TRAILER!)

Hey Chasers!

We are only 3 hours from heading to the Kennedy Space Center to see the start of Atlantis’ journey to its new home at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex. In anticipation of this historic event, we have launched our Chasing Atlantis IndieGoGo campaign. The campaign is a way for us to secure critical funding for us to complete the film as well as generate awareness. We believe in community building. That’s what space is all about…exploring the universe as a means of exploring ourselves. We want this campaign to be a way to build that community as we work to complete Chasing Atlantis.

We invite you to visit the IndieGoGo Campaign page where you can check out our latest NEW TRAILER as well. Please forward the campaign to those who would be interest in helping this vision become reality!

We will see you following Atlantis’ roll out! Be sure to check out the live coverage on NASA TV

 

Back to NASA, Press Passes, and Window Writers

Hey Chasers!

I just received our media accreditation from the Kennedy Space Center this morning. Atlantis’ final Roll-out to be put on display at the KSC is scheduled for this Friday November 2nd. 

This is definitely a “full circle” moment for us as we head down to Florida once again to see Atlantis put to rest. In June of 2011, we made our first request to the KSC for media accreditation. It was too close to the Atlantis launch (one of the most anticipated in history) to get the passes the first time around. We conceived of Chasing just prior to June and larger media agencies scooped up the spotlight before hand. We left on a day’s notice for Atlantis’ move to the VAB that we captured last March. Again too late.

Our plane tickets to see Atlantis’ final roll-out this Friday, November 2nd were already booked before we had the passes we got this morning so I have been anxious about the trip not knowing if we would actually get access. This uncertainty echoed of our first journey to Florida in July of 2011 when we weren’t even sure if the launch was going to happen; Florida drenched in Summer rainfall. We also have much more of the vision for Chasing to show. Last time we were applying for media passes on good intentions and charm (not always a bad place to start. Certainly marketable qualities) but this time we have footage, interviews, stills, the improved site. With something more tangible to show our odds increased. However, this was one of those “who you know” situations as well. The incredible people we have been able to meet while filming Chasing as been a remarkable part of this journey as well as how we met all of them. Jim Kennedy we met through a damaged air conditioner in Paul’s PT Cruiser. Bodyshop owner happened to know him and mentioned it when Paul brought up the project in casual conversation at the dealership. Our latest connection to NASA public relations came through window writers. The day before we left on our first journey to Florida, I passed a toy store and thought it prudent to buy some window writers and decorate our car (with Mel’s and Paul’s assistance given my utter lack of artistic talent) with the web address and twitter feed. A month after returning, we were connected through twitter to a series of people who helped us climb the ladder until we had the direct contact information needed to submit our media accreditation. Not sure what the life lesson is from that. Shameless promotion? Colorful branding? I’d like to think it’s that the smallest opportunity can lead to incredible experiences if we let them.

We will be keeping you posted over the next few days on our latest Florida expedition to Chase Atlantis one last time. Be sure to join us on WordPress, Facebook, Twitter and our newsletter! Also keep an eye out for our impending IndieGoGo campaign to help complete the film that will be posted by the end of the week with a new trailer! So stoked!

-Matthew

Neil Armstrong and the Shadow of the Moon

This Thursday, September 13th, a public service will be held for Neil Armstrong at the Washington National Cathedral. Armstrong, the first human to set foot on another world, passed away on August 25th. He is to be buried at sea.

When interviewed on Neil’s passing, Jim Lovell, astronaut of Apollo 8 and commander of the infamous Apollo 13, said that water was, for many astronauts, the signal of a mission’s end and would go on to signal the end of life. Armstrong had a long Navy career. Flying nearly 80 combat deployments, all had return flights to the USS Essex aircraft carrier. His Gemini and Apollo missions both ended with parachute deployed splash landings into the Pacific Ocean. When returning home, it was to water. I got the news of Neil’s death by SMS as I was about to deliver a session to a group of new student-staff  Residence Advisors at Simon Fraser University. Standing at the front of the lecture hall, I put moment behind me as I continued, but three thoughts that entered my mind; we have lost a very courageous man, he sparked a moment that unified the world, and we have yet to return. I was at a loss for a while to put it all into words, especially since Apollo had been brought very close to us through the interviews with NASA staff for Chasing many of whom worked directly with the rocket. I felt it easiest to express each thought individually:

Moon Shot Through Skywatcher ED80/Canon Rebel T3i

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