How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek IV?

During the scene at the beginning of Star Trek IV, where they are looking at footage of the destruction of the Enterprise in that Federation courtroom or whatever it was, I always thought it was weird how it's the exact same footage we saw in Star Trek III. Just how did the Federation get this footage? Were there cameras floating around in space at the time the Enterprise self-destructed?

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Kor, in ERRAND of MERCY did specify to Kirk that Klingons were always "under surveillance" ... effectively spying on eachother. Still, you're right, it is odd, is it not?

The Bird of Prey somehow recorded the Enterprise blowing up and this record was conveniently preserved in the ship's computers, so that Kirk could transmit all this to StarFleet. This padding is there to not only eat up time, but to make it possible for each sequel in the Khan story ark able to stand alone, so that new audiences wouldn't be confused.

Curiously enough on that point, the whole business of Kirk's courtmartial wasn't even necessary to the movie, really ... but, there you go. Harve & Lenny like padding their pictures.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

STIII had footage from STII in it too.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Probably automated surveillance satellite footage coupled with the Enterprise "black box".

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Haven't you seen Spaceballs?

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Ignoring the camera angle changes for a moment (as we saw in the "flight recorder visual" of II in STIII), I say it's long-range imaging from something akin to Epsilon IX or the Argus array.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

I don't recall exactly what's shown, but some of the external shots could probably be justified as having been recorded by the BoP. As for the internal shots, it's not unreasonable to assume Enterprise's flight recorder was ejected before the ship self-destructed and the recorder was then picked up by the BoP.

That said, there's likely a number of shots which realistically couldn't have been captured in such manners, but...it's a movie, these things happen.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

In the novel it says that Maltz ejected the flight recorder before committing suicide

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

I think they probably just phoned up Paramount distribution and hired the film print.

(Yeah I agree, it is a little disconcerting when they do this sort of thing with stock footage being presented as in-universe archival evidence. But I tend to bypass it as being dramatic licence. Short of bulking up some extras in Klingon outfits and shooting the entire bridge sequence again from a single camera on the other side of the bridge set... I guess the studio bean counters would ask, 'why go to all the expense for only a couple shots?'. )

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Since it was the Klingons making a complaint, it could be video shot from the BOP and/or a deployed probe from the BOP, and then sent to the Klingon Empire by subspace.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Didn't the internal recording shoots have Klingon script, which would imply they were of Klingon origin?

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Hmm...

It's possible that what's seen in TVH includes Klingon analysis of the original flight recorder data. Hence, Klingon script.

Or, since it's a given that Klingons would be present for the council meeting, the Klingon script could be subtitles and other information for their benefit, much as I sometimes watch movies with English subtitles to "confirm" what I'm hearing (assuming the subtitles themselves are correct).

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

How about an external view from Epsilon 9 which continues after it has been eaten?

It's just dumb, but cheap.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

I know it's a major retcon, but from Into Darkness we know that recordings of these types are three dimensional and can be manipulated to be viewed from every angle with any close-up at will.
So the angles shown where not that bothersome in hindsight. But the guy editing them together in universe was probably a big movie fan posting on message boards and such.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Yeah, I know what you mean, but to make it work I just assumed that Kirk's command for an external view automagically selected a nearby sensor drone (say, of the kind used earlier to monitor the Klingons). In order for the signal to get relayed to Earth, the drone would have to make contact with another station in the hypothetical chain/grid of stations near Klingon space, presumably when it lost contact with Epsilon XI.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

We can rationalize this all we want, but the camera angles are never far enough away to be "remote" probes. The perspective tells us the "camera" is right there (and magically jumps around for dramatic effect).

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

So, like Flint's spycam in Requiem for Methuselah?

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

Everything ends up on Youtube at some point doesn't it.

 

Re: How did the Federation get footage of Star Trek III in Star Trek I

But HOW?