The post from TrekCore about finding that some of the old computer models from DS9 still exist, and various commenter's feedback on that got me thinking… I think it would be a good idea if someone or some group started building HD versions of the late-season DS9 combat scenes. Like the TNG Remastering project is doing with their recomposites, these HD combat scenes could be made exactly like the original scenes in composition, timing, etc. If they are made under public license or some kind of agreement where they would be made available to CBS for use in the DS9 blurays, then this would make the best possible versions available to cut down on the difficulties for the (eventual) CBS remastering team. As is clear from TNG season 2, there are time and cost constraints that could very easily harm the biggest, coolest special effects sequences. Like the questions about Kickstarter campaigns funding studio movies, there is the question of “why would you want to essentially fund CBS when they are just trying to sell you a product?” but, just like Kickstarter, I see this as a way for fans to contribute and ensure the quality of the product that they want. As an option, to further improve the blurays, new variants of combat scenes could be created to replace those original scenes that reused footage from earlier episodes (which weakened the impact of those later scenes) or to otherwise enhance some of the final Dominion War combat scenes. Yeah, all this would take a lot of time and effort, but after all, who cares more about and has more time to devote to this work than DS9 fans out on the internet? I don’t have any training or skills in building HD models or computer animation, so I can’t really contribute anything to this effort beyond proposing it, but it would be interesting to see if it could succeed. Tobias Richter is a name I have seen applauded for his renders, but again I know little about this area so I don’t know where the effort should start. Maybe someone over at TrekCore or Anthony at TrekMovie.com could be enlisted to communicate with CBS to discuss the licensing/sharing/use of the resulting CG. Any thoughts?
Your proposal is not really what Kickstarter is for. If CBS decides to go ahead with DS9 blurays, and if the season 6 and 7 CGI fleet scenes need to be redone, they will spend their own money to do it. The last thing they're going to do is accept submissions from fans. Personally, if this does happen (and if it does it won't be anytime soon), I would prefer that all new CGI battle scenes be created that look nothing like what was done before. At the time, the producers of DS9 needed CGI starships for the battle scenes, so they remapped three of the FC ships plus a CGI Miranda built for FC, used the Nebula class U.S.S. Bonchune for only one scene, and scanned the Enterprise-D, Defiant, and Greg Jein's Excelsior built for VOY "Flashback" into CGI models. The Galaxy, Defiant and Nebula classes are fine, but we saw way too many Mirandas and Excelsiors for my taste. And I hate the FC ships. I would prefer that if the scenes need to be redone, then all new designs should be created. I mean it's CGI; they can come up with anything they want. There's no reason at all to reuse old designs like the Reliant and Excelsior now. Of course, I'm sure none of that will actually happen.
I wasn't proposing that this be done via Kickstarter, I was just likening the idea of supporting CBS in this fashion to the hubbub over the Veronica Mars Kickstarter. And I am less than totally serious about it. I think it would be a fun project to see evolve, though I doubt that CBS would ever accept the material. They are notoriously stingy about that sort of thing, with some good reason. But I still think there is a possibility in this new world of social media and internet connectivity that the fans could contribute something like this.
Some people did some great work in trying to do TOS-R shots their own way, but naturally CBS favored their (IMO inferior) in-house work instead. But it's their investment, if they want to keep their already-contracted graphics houses busy, they'll do it their way. And *I* like the FC designs. I'd love to see them re-done for the DS9 scenes, while they lose the Mirandas, keep a token Excelsior or two in the background, and beef up the presence of the Nebula. And sure, if they have the time, give us the New Orleans or something relatively easy to CG. Mark