The Elongated Corridor (Caution, This is Rather Disenchanting)

[Michael]

This is something I never paid much attention to before, but isn't the backmost part of the corridor set on Deep Space Nine merely a huge photo creating the illusion of a longer corridor? You never see anyone coming from there and whenever people run towards it (like O'Brien in Whispers) they jump to the site in the last possible moment (see the second image below). Another hint is that the photo of the fake corridor always stays the same (compare the two images). The pattern of the lights on the floor and ceiling also doesn't really match the pattern on the real set.

So, did anyone else notice this? And – more importantly – does anyone have any background information on this? How long is the actual corridor? Is there an image of the photo wall?

 

[TheGodBen]

Yeah, I noticed it when I watched the show on DVD, it was pretty noticeable. That being said, it was nowhere near as noticeable as the Jefferies tubes extensions you'd see sometimes, those weren't even the right colour.

 

[od0_ital]

Ya didn't really think they build a long freakin' hallway, did ya?

Wanna know something else? The runabouts? Don't really run about.

 

[Navaros]

Ya didn't really think they build a long freakin' hallway, did ya?

Well, they are always bragging about how huge the DS9 sets were. The find in the OP, presuming it is an accurate analysis, seems to fly in the face of them taking great pains to build huge sets. If the photo theory is true, then that's evidence of them cutting corners to make the sets appear bigger than they are.

 

[thedude]

I remember one episode in particular (possibly a TNG episode) where someone was coming out of a jefferies tube and accidentally kicked the matte painted corridor down... it was only visible for a moment, but very funny.

 

[od0_ital]

Well, they are always bragging about how huge the DS9 sets were. The find in the OP, presuming it is an accurate analysis, seems to fly in the face of them taking great pains to build huge sets. If the photo theory is true, then that's evidence of them cutting corners to make the sets appear bigger than they are.

When talkin' about the huge sets for DS9, think about the two story Promenade, the three story Quark's, and the multi-level Ops, not the hallway.

 

[Praetor]

I've noticed it. They used one in TMP and early on in TNG too, which IMO looked even less convincing. The darkness helps the DS9 corridor painting, but from certain angles it is obviously flat. They also used those paintings in certain Jefferies tubes shots, where it was often really obvious.

Myself, I'd have rather had a wall there indicating a cross corridor junction, like TOS did in their sets. The junction near the transporter room on TOS comes to mind.

 

[Michael]

Ya didn't really think they build a long freakin' hallway, did ya?

To be honest with you, yeah, I did for a long time. I don't think that as a child I thought they wouldn't build such a set.

I remember one episode in particular (possibly a TNG episode) where someone was coming out of a jefferies tube and accidentally kicked the matte painted corridor down... it was only visible for a moment, but very funny.

Aw, I'd love to see that! You really don't think you could remember the title of that episode?

The darkness helps the DS9 corridor painting, but from certain angles it is obviously flat.

Yeah, I agree about the darkness. It does help to create the illusion. Actually I think it's a rather ingenious idea to use this technique. I just wish they would have worked more on the perspective portrayed on the image of the corridor.

So, am I the only one who'd love to see an image of that part of the set under more revealing lighting conditions?

 

[thedude]

Aw, I'd love to see that! You really don't think you could remember the title of that episode?

I really wish I could... I find it eventually and post a screen cap. I'm pretty sure it was TNG season 3... and I have 3 or 4 eps left in season 2 so I'll be there in no time. I'm sure I'm not the ONLY person to see it... I bet it's on the Goofs on IMDB.com...

 

[Praetor]

Actually I think it's a rather ingenious idea to use this technique. I just wish they would have worked more on the perspective portrayed on the image of the corridor.

So, am I the only one who'd love to see an image of that part of the set under more revealing lighting conditions?

Agreed to both. They probably could have also just been more careful about the angles they shot those things from.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

They use a similar method of extending the Promenade beyond the edges of the set. Watch the background windows when a scene takes place on the upper level.

 

[ncc74302]

Aw, I'd love to see that! You really don't think you could remember the title of that episode?

I really wish I could... I find it eventually and post a screen cap. I'm pretty sure it was TNG season 3... and I have 3 or 4 eps left in season 2 so I'll be there in no time. I'm sure I'm not the ONLY person to see it... I bet it's on the Goofs on IMDB.com...

I know I remember instances where they used the completely wrong jefferies tube picture altogether.... such as on DS9 using the Defiant/Voyager/Ent-D starfleet Jeffries extension.

 

[Praetor]

You know, come to think of it, I have never seen the actual DS9 set plans. The most I've seen are the Promenade layouts from the DS9 TM. Kind of odd, when you consider how easy it is to find the TOS and TNG/VGR set plans on the internet. (I don't think I've ever seen the ENT set plans, either.)

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Memory Alpha has pages devoted to the various stages where Trek was set up. Some of them have floor plans.

Stage 4, for example, has the layouts of the cargo bay, ops, and the corridors & crew quarters.

 

[Praetor]

Say, thanks.

I didn't know that the cargo bay, ops, and the crew quarters were all on the same soundstage.

 

[Anticitizen]

They should have built a forced perspective hallway, like the one in the original Willy Wonka! Then we could watch Worf appear to grow in size the further down the hall he goes

 

[NIUPonyBoy]

Did you remember the main hall in Babylon 5? That was the worst hallway mat painting EVER! lol

 

[Marie1]

I actually don't mind the DS9 painting- nice they used a painting instead of CGI... I think they did a good job, never really notice it while you're watching the show.

And yeah, beats the effort of building a hallway if you don't need it.

 

[robtclements]

To be fair to Herm Zimmerman et al, the production team wasn't expecting the clarity of dvd reproduction when they designed these routine sets. They hoped - not unreasonably - that the audience would be watching the foreground action. But when you've seen the same show a dozen times or more, details DO slip out

 

[RobertScorpio]

To be fair to Herm Zimmerman et al, the production team wasn't expecting the clarity of dvd reproduction when they designed these routine sets. They hoped - not unreasonably - that the audience would be watching the foreground action. But when you've seen the same show a dozen times or more, details DO slip out

This is an interesting thread because I didn't know some of the behind the scenes stuff now...I think the only behind the scenes stuff I knew was the use of children in the TMP engineering room to make it seem it had more depth..

But the long hallway in TMP is very obvious. Kirk and Decker have the long scene and not once does anyone appear at the far end of the hallway. Only from that hallway five feet from them....oh well..fun to watch still..

Rob