Synthetic actor in the Cage???

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Cheapjack, Oct 31, 2009.

  1. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Are the different CGI models taking that into account? Meaning, it's not a glitch in the effects, but deliberately made that way? (like the spikes on the nacelles in the pilot version)
     
  2. Mytran

    Mytran Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yes, a few cosmetic changes (like the height of the bridge dome and the spikes) were made to the CGI model for the pilot episodes.
     
  3. Gepard

    Gepard Vice Admiral Admiral

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    As Mytran says, they did change the CG model to reflect the original state of the pilot ship.
     
  4. seigezunt

    seigezunt Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I was able to pause where the synthetic actor turns his head a bit, and he looks a little familiar, but I can't place it...

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Doug Otte

    Doug Otte Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Robert Smith from The Cure?
    ;)
    Seriously, I bet that's a member of the CGI team, because the hair is way too long to be intended to be a regular crewmember from that era.

    Doug
     
  6. Captain Robert April

    Captain Robert April Vice Admiral Admiral

    How'd that hippie get on board?
     
  7. ahkyahnan

    ahkyahnan Captain Captain

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    I haven't watched to see exactly what we're talking about, but are we certain it's a "he"? Women didn't wear skirts in The Cage is why I ask. I guess if the actor looks familiar though, then one must be able to see their face clearly enough.

    Mark
     
  8. Voyagerian

    Voyagerian Commander Red Shirt

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    I will go down on record, and gladly state I am pleased with what was done on 2.0. I don't have the remastered discs, but i've seen all the redos on tv, and they look GREAT. Look at 'Doomsday' or the added material for 'Tribbles' at K-7, for ex.... I look at screencaps of the original, compared to the new...you just can't compare-and I hold TOS as one of my three preferred Treks, so there's no offense here.I would surely think, that were Gene alive, he'd have no problem, indeed, salute, these retouches of his creation-what he wouldn't have given for that kind of budget, and technology all those years ago!Granted-all the fx in the universe are but additions to the core essentials of any good drama-adventure-good characters, and stories. The cgi merely enhances a timeless series for me.
     
  9. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    I'm mostly happy with the new FX, mainly the clear HD shots of the Enterprise which replaced the old blurry stock shots. They're basically HD versions of the old FX. As far as specific episodes, I think "The Corbomite Maneuver" is a great example of the right way to redo the FX. The cube is the same, just with more dimension to it -- you can see the cube edges a little clearer, the light reflecting off the Enterprise hull is more realistic. The larger ship has added detail to the domes and you can see some of the structure underneath each dome, but it's still very close to the original. At the other end of the spectrum is "The Galileo Seven," where much of the new FX look like scenes from a Star Trek video game. The original shuttle launch looks much better than the new one. I wish they'd simply replaced the starfield when the shuttle bay doors opened or at least made the shuttle look a little more realistic.

    But all in all, I found the new FX pretty non-intrusive and complementary to the new HD transfer, which is the real star of the show. In fact, as I watch the show on blu-ray, I'm rarely paying the new FX any attention; it's the crystal clear live action footage I'm interested in.
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2009
  10. Orcus

    Orcus Captain Captain

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    No: wrong collar - the CGI person is wearing a 'male' shirt...
     
  11. Tan Ru

    Tan Ru Captain Captain

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    [​IMG]

    HOLY CRAP!

    Who can actually turn their head THAT far to the left?? A little Linda Blair thing goin' on there.

    Just lookin' at that pic makes my neck hurt!

    Nice CGI shadow-work though...........
     
  12. Start Wreck

    Start Wreck Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Sort of. It's fairly trivial to mix live action with CGI, and there are quite a few shots in TOS-R that did just this. The problem with it is matching things like camera movement, motion-blur and of course, anything moving in front of it.
    I'm doing a film project myself where all the 'screens' are a post-production effect, and the amount of rotoscoping required to block out the obscured parts of the monitor displays is staggering! The simple reason they didn't replace all the monitors on the bridge for TOS-R is because it would have been an exceptional amount of work and might not have looked very realistic anyway.

    There are some great examples of rotoscoping done for TOS-R (the background scenery of Earth from The Cage is the best) but it's generally kept to short sequences that don't appear repeatedly.


    As for the CGI man in this clip: he does draw the eye somewhat, but the rest of the scene is immaculately done. I can only assume still-frame cutouts of the characters were taken from the original source and then these 2D elements were layered into the new simulation. A lot of Spock's walk across the bridge is totally CGI, though; as, I think, is the body (or at least the arm) of the guy with the clipboard next to Pike.

    No easy shot, this, given what they had to work with. Other examples of CGI people in TOS-R were from a great distance (the walk across the Vulcan clifftops in Amok Time, or the walk across the bridge to Flint's palace in Requiem For Mesuselah) and look excellent.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2009
  13. Nardpuncher

    Nardpuncher Rear Admiral

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    Hey, if that's all she's seen then she was correct to be wary as that really was a very poorly done CGI actor.
    Is she supposed to refrain from judging because she's to assume that they do better effects later? (which they do, but you wouldn't guess that from that clip)
     
  14. Hambone

    Hambone Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    [​IMG]

    Did everyone miss the joke, here? I don't know whose face this is but it's been inserted into the CGI shot.

    Here's the remastered footage (this shot appears at about 0.59 seconds). I think it looks very, very nice.

    \\http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmEuXsa4z_Q
     
  15. Nardpuncher

    Nardpuncher Rear Admiral

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    Is it Data?
     
  16. gastrof

    gastrof Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Earlier someone mentioned how much better Decker's ship looks in DOOMSDAY MACHINE, but in a way I disagree.

    Yes, the damage looks "more real", but they put it out of synch with something Spock said (tho' I believe the same mistake was made in the original too, just differently).

    Spock says 'The bridge is uninhabitable, but the rest of the ship can support life'.

    We then see an external shot, and huge sections of the saucer are missing the outer hull, obviously exposed to space. Yeah. Very habitable.
     
  17. Captain Robert April

    Captain Robert April Vice Admiral Admiral

    Emergency bulkheads closed just out of view.
     
  18. seigezunt

    seigezunt Vice Admiral Admiral

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    we have a winner!
     
  19. Doug Otte

    Doug Otte Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    :alienblush:
    Having embarrassed/humiliated myself on the Interweb many times, I'm not afraid to admit I missed it. Sure, the face/head looked odd compared to the rest of the shot, but I assumed it was because it unnaturally zoomed. Can we see the pre-joke shot? Based upon the shape of the hair, it looks like the person's head was not turned toward us, correct?

    Doug
     
  20. seigezunt

    seigezunt Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Wow, I've never unpacked a gag. :)

    [​IMG]

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