Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine - Teaser Online June 12

Some of you may be aware of this project, with which I've had a love/hate relationship for the past three years or so: an experimental attempt to completely replace all of the visual effects from an entire episode of Star Trek. For this exercise, I picked one of the most popular (and technically-challenging) episodes of the series, "The Doomsday Machine":

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About a year ago I quit after getting almost halfway through the episode. Work was a bear, and frankly I was burned out from spending hours in front of a computer at work, only to come home and spend more hours in front of my computer, laying out scenes and editing footage. Also, I wasn't satisfied with the quality of the work I was producing... I needed a break to refresh my batteries and improve my skills. I figured if I got the "itch" to start this project up again, I could always come back to it someday.

Well sir, the new Star Trek movie gave me an itch, and I've been a-scratchin' it:

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The teaser and opening credits premiere tomorrow night here, and Act I should be ready by mid-to-late July. The overall goal is to finish all four acts to coincide with the release of the 2009 Star Trek movie on DVD, which means I've got about four months to crank out four acts... tight, but doable.

This is the third time I've attempted to complete this project, and it's going to be the last (and this time I mean it). If I don't finish it this time, it'll never be finished... but this time I really do think I'm going to do it. I've got the itch bad to get this done, and with all the renewed interest in Star Trek I hope that this project will get a little visibility this time around. Wish me luck!

(p.s. Additional screencaps may be found in this thread.)

 

Looking forward to it. I know it can be rough when you've been working on a project for FOREVER.

 

Yes, I know you can feel my pain.

The video is now live... download details can be found here.

 

Excellent stuff. Really looking forward the rest.

And should you ever get the urge to do any Next Gen era fanfilm FX work, give me a shout.

 

Thanks... but I think I'll try to get through this project first

 

Looks f'ing awesome cool! I like how the push into the Enterprise matches the push through the bridge in the opening shots.

 

Thanks That shot actually had originally been the other way around... take a look.

 

Looks great Prof ! Just watched it for the second time. Liked your take on on the "camera angles". Very dynamic without jumping too far away from the orginal show feel. Very nice balance there. Can't hardly wait for more!

Q2UnME

 

Brilliant work, I also love how you've played with the camera angles to give it a more modern approach without looking like jet fighters. A very franchise-compatible look, and not just a straight replication as the "official" re-do had it. Well done!

Gives me hope that someday, someone out there will re-do "Yesterday's Enterprise" with the CGI update the episode deserves. I storyboarded it out a few years back. Ahh, the heady days of pipe dreams...

Mark

 

Totally wonderful and amazing. The best version of this I've seen, and not by a little bit.

And that's some hella rotoscoping.

 

Awesome job, very very nice.

 

Very nice piece of work.

 

Very wise.

 

And I still have to do it one more time at the end of the episode. Not something I'm looking forward to... that was three solid days of work for the sixty-odd frames you see there, and my hand was cramped into a quivering ball after gripping that damn tablet pen for so long.

 

Amazing all around. Just amazing. I am blown away. The ship looks great; it has a real sense of size and mass. I love the gleam of the starlight across the hull-it gives the surface a very realistic appearance. I also love the flickering lights (a fire?) on the shattered bridge of the Constellation in the teaser-very ominous. Strong, strong work. I cannot wait to see more! That is what fandom is all about!

 

Thanks. As for the flickering, it's coming from shorted-out consoles on the wrecked bridge... hopefully to be better seen during Act I.

 

Nice work Prof, look forward to seeing more.

 

Thats awesome work, can't wait for the rest

 

Marvelous work! I've been so looking forward to this for such a good while. All of the samples you've released up until now have been some of the highest quality stuff I've seen from either fan projects or even the official broadcast revisions. You are one of a rare few that have managed to make an exceptional episode even more excellent.

 

I just purchased TOS season 1 on blu-ray. I've only watched three of the early episodes so far. Your Enterprise looks SO MUCH better. Congratulations.