The f/x of TOS....

[Redfern]

I personally don't think there's ever been better weapons sound effects than the TOS phasers and photon torps. Everything that came since sounds watered down and wimpy.

Ah, but let us remember those two sounds (or more if you count the various "pitches" of the phaser audio as separate sounds) existed several years before Star Trek. They existed at least as early as 1953 when they were used in George Pal's production of "War of the Worlds". The "photon torpedo" effect was the "wing tip meson disruptors" of the Martian war machines. The "various "phaser" sounds served as the "levitation" audio for the war machine's "magnetic legs".

The "K'Twang!" of the pho-torps may have existed as early as 1951 because I feel reasonably confident I heard it in a "Martin & Lewis" comedy. as Jerry climbs into the upper berth on a train, he strikes his head against the underside of the bed and I heard the iconic "recoil".

But it can not be argued Trek used the sounds to impressive effect!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Forbin]

I believe they were simply stock sound effects re-used (Hawaii 5-0's pilot episode used some of Trek's sound effects!), but yes, Trek used them best and made them iconic.

 

[jayrath]

I loudly agree with all the positive comments above. Additionally, having grown up on the very first reruns, I can assure you that all the visual effects were perfect for broadcast television at the time -- and I do mean broadcast, as in from an antenna. No one ever mentioned matte problems until much later -- and only when VCRs came in. (Actually, I don't even remember any complaints then; we had to wait until the DVD era.) No one expected re-re-re-re-repeated viewings of a single episode.

I disagree with the notion that more money might have made everything better. Yes, it might have made some things better. But, for example, I am very fond of all of TOS' energy-type creatures. I don't believe we got many energy aliens in subsequent series. Even so, they could hardly top TOS' bizarre, flicker-y what-is-its. Inventiveness overcame limited budgets.

And the giant amoeba is, of course, unsurpassed. Period.

 

[jayrath]

P.S. I always roll my eyes when people complain about things like "TOS' stupid fake rocks."

I do believe that the budget back then allowed for real rocks. There may possibly have been some slight, other reason to use fake rocks. Gee, I wonder what that might have been?

 

[Green Shirt]

P.S. I always roll my eyes when people complain about things like "TOS' stupid fake rocks."

How can anybody bitch about penis rock? Its a classic.

 

[Warped9]

How can anybody bitch about penis rock? Its a classic.

To this day I still cannot understand how they got away with that. That took balls...and the rock had them, too.

 

[PCz911]

How can anybody bitch about penis rock? Its a classic.

To this day I still cannot understand how they got away with that. That took balls...and the rock had them, too.

Pardon my ignorance.... But just what in the world are you referring to?

 

[Melakon]

what in the world are you referring to?

Close, but the actual title is "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

 

[plynch]

my impressed face

 

[Maurice]

How can anybody bitch about penis rock? Its a classic.

To this day I still cannot understand how they got away with that. That took balls...and the rock had them, too.

Pardon my ignorance.... But just what in the world are you referring to?

Do a Google image search for TREK PENIS ROCK

 

[HarryM]

Oh, my.

 

[johnnybear]

The Enterprise looked like a real spaceship or dare I say model whilst The Enterprise D looked more like a twisty cartoon! The best transporter effects have always been in TOS, the films and later shows were too bright with ridiculous energy flying everywhere! The original looked more contained and believable!
JB

 

[FormerLurker]

If I recall correctly, representatives of Howard Anderson and the other effects houses have stated that not only were they inventing how to do several types of effects, but that feature films like 2001, with their much larger f/x budgets, were able to take what had been invented for TOS and run with it, to great effect. I kind of believe them. Just look at the difference from before TOS(Angry Red Planet) to after TOS(the aforementioned 2001).

 

[Metryq]

feature films like 2001, with their much larger f/x budgets, were able to take what had been invented for TOS and run with it, to great effect..

I don't think so. The FX techniques used in the two productions were quite different. TOS bluescreened its models, while 2001 worked with "latent" multi-pass photography. TOS used cyclorama for its "outdoor" sound stages, while 2001 used front projection. I can't think of any "animation" FX in 2001 (eg. phasers, engine glow, id monsters, etc.).

 

[Melakon]

I can't think of any "animation" FX in 2001 (eg. phasers, engine glow, id monsters, etc.).

There is animation in 2001, but it's subtle. Some of the space scenes are photo cutouts on an animation stand. Others appear in control console displays.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

feature films like 2001, with their much larger f/x budgets, were able to take what had been invented for TOS and run with it, to great effect..

I don't think so. The FX techniques used in the two productions were quite different. TOS bluescreened its models, while 2001 worked with "latent" multi-pass photography. TOS used cyclorama for its "outdoor" sound stages, while 2001 used front projection. I can't think of any "animation" FX in 2001 (eg. phasers, engine glow, id monsters, etc.).

Although I don't know for sure how they were made, the "computer graphics" on the display monitors looked drafted by hand to me.

 

[spockboy]

I personally don't think there's ever been better weapons sound effects than the TOS phasers and photon torps. Everything that came since sounds watered down and wimpy.

Also TOS photon torp explosions - amorphous expanding blobs of white light that sometimes blanked out the screen - looked more convincing as super-powerful anti-matter detonations than the oil flame spurts we got in later shows.

Well you must like War of the Worlds because both the Phaser and Photon Torpedo sounds were lifted from that movie.
This is certainly not a crack against Star Trek's Sound FX team who did an exceptional job!

 

[Forbin]

feature films like 2001, with their much larger f/x budgets, were able to take what had been invented for TOS and run with it, to great effect..

I don't think so. The FX techniques used in the two productions were quite different. TOS bluescreened its models, while 2001 worked with "latent" multi-pass photography. TOS used cyclorama for its "outdoor" sound stages, while 2001 used front projection. I can't think of any "animation" FX in 2001 (eg. phasers, engine glow, id monsters, etc.).

Although I don't know for sure how they were made, the "computer graphics" on the display monitors looked drafted by hand to me.

Yes. They were, I think, standard cell animation, filmed and rear-projected into the displays.

I personally don't think there's ever been better weapons sound effects than the TOS phasers and photon torps. Everything that came since sounds watered down and wimpy.

Also TOS photon torp explosions - amorphous expanding blobs of white light that sometimes blanked out the screen - looked more convincing as super-powerful anti-matter detonations than the oil flame spurts we got in later shows.

Well you must like War of the Worlds because both the Phaser and Photon Torpedo sounds were lifted from that movie.
This is certainly not a crack against Star Trek's Sound FX team who did an exceptional job!

Yup, like I said earlier, I think they were stock sound effects, very well used.

 

[Warped9]

Very good effects were possible during TOS' era, but it took time and money. There were a lot of good examples, but I'll name only a few: The Day The Earth Stood Still, War Of The Worlds, Forbidden Planet, Fantastic Voyage, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet Of The Apes. I will say that even Lost In Space and Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea were known to offer up some nice efforts.

A bit more time and money might not have looked greatly different, but it would have afforded a bit more polish and consistency on some things.

 

[Ronald Held]

Would more money have produced overall better looking effects for broadcast reception?