I chalk the orange/woodgrain style shifting to just style changes of the times. The mid-to-late 2270s got away from the swag and swoosh of Phase-II (itself an evolution of the 60s ergonomics) for something more professional, austere, and scientific. Riding a new wave of techno-futurism (for the time) with the freshly refitted Enterprise and trying to standardize the fleet to a template. By '85 it's a decade and a half later, Enterprise is no longer the new hotness (Excelsior is) and by then the ship is lived in and Federation Style moved away from that sterile, machine optimism (which... the Excelsior is returning to). These retrofits and customization not only come in from extra consoles and the dilithium chamber added into engineering, but Federation style starting to lean into warmer colors and natural textures. Small confession though but with the wood paneling in the rec room... I'm itching to see some metal detail set decorations mounted on the wood. Could be the Starfleet arrowhead and circle, or a 18th century helm wheel in metal (foreshadowing the ST V Lounge?), or some other nautical fixings.
According to Chekov's Enterprise, they shot the crew briefing scene on October 16-17, 1978. (Presumably the Decker-Ilia probe rec deck scene was shot just before or after, while the set was still up.) According to The Making of ST:TMP, shooting began on August 7, 1978 and wrapped on January 26, 1979. So a bit less than halfway through.
Yes, but I believe Walter also said his wrap date ended up being six weeks later than originally intended, which fits with the film falling far behind schedule. My educated guess is the officer's lounge scene was late in the schedule after all the minor players were released, and after they'd spent too much money and so any grander plans for this set got the kibosh. I'd like to see what plans Hal M. had for this set, because all we've seen are the Probert concepts for it. Heck, let me ask Andy.
My suspicion is he doesn't, since Hal decided to do his own thing and not follow suggestions from RA&A where Andy was, but I will ask anyway. @Rick Sternbach worked in the Art Dept. and would be closer to the set designs. I know told me the signage for the set was done with a technique that put color down on sheets of aluminum. I don't recall the particulars off hand and would have to dig through some old chats to find it.
The handful of times I talked to Rick, he seemed to only have memories of working on the bridge set. Hmm. And yeah, I figured it was a long shot with Andy having anything to do with the Rec Deck as constructed, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask!
I'd like to see a darker or brighter blue for the chairs in the TWOK version, personally. Something with some more zing to it. I'm picturing something closer to the blue they use on the uniforms on Discovery: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/how-star-trek-discoverys-costume-designer-evolved-the-show-in-season-2
From my notes, I've got the Rec Deck filming on October 16/17 (Epsilon 9 destruction), and 27 (Decker/Ilia).
Spent the evening getting the VIP "pit" and windows in, and got my own new Refit model out the window, instead of the rather low-poly model I'd used last time (from a Bridge Commander mod from way back in the day). Didn't have time to do a lighting build on the TMP version, so here's the TWOK version for now until I can show more. Also I got a couple weird sparkly lighting artifacts in this render, but didn't have time to investigate before bed, so just ignore those for now
Nice, but I'd like it if the ship exterior were lit as in TMP, self-illuminated against the darkness of space. After all, if the hull were brightly illuminated, you probably couldn't see the stars because your eyes or camera wouldn't be dilated enough. It annoys me when space shows and movies show bright, clear stars through the windows when the room interior is brightly lit. All you'd really see are reflections of the room. (Although I've tried handwaving it to myself by assuming the windows are some sort of smart material that selectively amplifies or filters the light passing through it to brighten the stars and dim other things like direct sunlight, though being able to do that consistently for every viewing angle at once would be tricky.)
Did anyone have any thoughts on the chance the planter cover is related to the TNG power transfer conduits?
I see the resemblance, but the proportions are quite different. The PTCs are smaller than the planter cover, the "windows" are much smaller, and the vertical ribs between them are much narrower. It's just a coincidence.
From what I've heard, the response from every director in history when someone points out how dim stars are and that they wouldn't show up in an otherwise brightly-lit scene is "We're not making a documentary."