Season TWO OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

[BillJ]

That's fair. I'm not trying to convince anyone else to buy the season, I just know I will.

I plan on buying it. Sometimes things don't look the same in motion as they do in still photos. But if it ends up being a much poorer product than season one, it'll shake my faith in the project and make me much more apprehensive when deciding whether or not to buy future seasons.

 

[davejames]

CBS didn't do the work on Season 2, it was HTV-Illuminate and from what was said during the CBS interviews on Trekcore, CBS-Digital and HTV-Illuminate worked completely separate from each other, nobody from CBS worked with them to assure the quality matched Season 1. Unacceptable.

Pretty sure the Okudas were said to be overseeing both teams. And, again, they've got one of the senior FX guys who actually worked on the show.

Just as with any two FX teams, there's going to be a slight difference in quality. But to suggest that the work here is just miles apart from the quality of S1 is just silly. I know we Trek fans are as nitpicky as they come, but let's get some perspective here.

 

[mswood]

Ok two key points and they are kind of connected.

First episode to episode the effects work of TNG looked dramatically different. This was due to the different style used by Rob Legato and Dan Curry.

I could always tells who had been in charge of that episode by the first new ship shot.

So the fact that there isn't a standard look between all episodes doesn't surprise me because that never was the artist work done between the two different effects producers.

Legato's work was always crispier, with a much richer color spectrum, including blacks.

Curry always had flatter color ranges, almost no solid blacks (a lot of gray) and was much softer focused.

You can check out numerous episodes to see the huge difference this made.

This work, really ,really looks like it was produced by Dan Curry. I mean its just screams it to me.

So my question is how much influence did Dan have on this f/x team. He was the consulting for this other company, and I originally joked about how I feared the material would look different.

Now I am really curious if this is the f/x companies work, or if its due to Curry being the person who is telling them what the shots should look like.

If anyone gets the chance to ask about it, I would really like to know as I really think this is Curry's influence. It just looks style wise way to similar to his work, for it to be a coincidence.

 

[mswood]

CBS didn't do the work on Season 2, it was HTV-Illuminate and from what was said during the CBS interviews on Trekcore, CBS-Digital and HTV-Illuminate worked completely separate from each other, nobody from CBS worked with them to assure the quality matched Season 1. Unacceptable.

Pretty sure the Okudas were said to be overseeing both teams. And, again, they've got one of the senior FX guys who actually worked on the show.

Just as with any two FX teams, there's going to be a slight difference in quality. But to suggest that the work here is just miles apart from the quality of S1 is just silly. I know we Trek fans are as nitpicky as they come, but let's get some perspective here.

I think that is the problem (or if you like the difference).

With TNG you could easily notice the change episode to episode between the alternating team of LEgato and Curry. But with Curry being the consultant for the full season, you aren't seeing a change from one episode to another, but a full seasons change.

And to me when they aired it was a glaring change in style (and in my opinion because I like the richer/sharper style of Legato), and quality.

The only real issue that bothers me here is that that softer, flatter lightening style is now going to be on episodes that Legato had done. It will seem fine for the episodes that Curry had originally overseen.

 

[Salinga]

The only real issue that bothers me here is that that softer, flatter lightening style is now going to be on episodes that Legato had done. It will seem fine for the episodes that Curry had originally overseen.

So, what you are saying is: Curry uses his chance now to override Legato's decisions?

 

[NewHorizon]

So, what you are saying is: Curry uses his chance now to override Legato's decisions?

lol

...and CBS-Digital.

I sincerely hope CBS-Digital plays a larger role in Seasons 4 and 6. I simply can't bare to see this happen to two more Seasons.

 

[MickJo1701]

This issue between the differing styles of work produced by Legato and Curry should be irrelevant. The work CBS D did for season 1 set the tone for the remastering process and that's what should be looked at as the benchmark for quality and continuity.

If the Enterprise doesn't look like this, Its being done wrong.
http://tng.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x01/farpoint_hd_050.jpg

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

That's fair. I'm not trying to convince anyone else to buy the season, I just know I will.

I plan on buying it. Sometimes things don't look the same in motion as they do in still photos. But if it ends up being a much poorer product than season one, it'll shake my faith in the project and make me much more apprehensive when deciding whether or not to buy future seasons.

Yes, I feel the same way. I'll certainly pick up Season 2, but with some trepidation. I can't quite believe I'm actually considering my stance on future seasons - TNG on Blu-ray was an instant, day one, no-brainer purchase for me prior to all this.

This issue between the differing styles of work produced by Legato and Curry should be irrelevant. The work CBS D did for season 1 set the tone for the remastering process and that's what should be looked at as the benchmark for quality and continuity.

Agreed.

 

[TheSeeker]

In the comments of the article people are pointing out some pretty bad mistakes in compositing:

These 3 shots use the EXACT same starfield, despite being different perspectives:
http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/images/cbs_qwhoentfires_hd.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/images/cbs_qwhocube1_hd.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/images/cbs_qwhoentfires2_hd.jpg


The enterprise was "squashed" in this shot:
http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/images/cbs_penpalsdrema4_hd.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/images/cbs_icarussbmontgomery_hd.jpg


I'm going to keep my preorder, but I too am pretty disappointed in the composition of this set...

Of all the things that could bug me, having the same starfield is not one of them. It would have been nice to have them change but I can live with it.

And to be honest, even though I feel the quality might not be as good as S1, I am still going to buy it. It is a bit disappointing though.

 

[davejames]

I think everyone needs to go look at the cartoonish, increasingly dated CG effects on the TOS blu-rays again. Compared to that, what we're getting here looks like it could pass for feature-quality.

 

[trekker670]

I think everyone needs to go look at the cartoonish, increasingly dated CG effects on the TOS blu-rays again. Compared to that, what we're getting here looks like it could pass for feature-quality.

Agreed, that's the reason I never got TOS on blurry. The effects looked outdated and cartoonish even when they first came out. I'm much more impressed with TNG, even with what we've seen in season 2

 

[TheSeeker]

This is true. It's a real shame the negatives weren't kept for all of TOS's F/X work.

 

[davejames]

Agreed, that's the reason I never got TOS on blurry. The effects looked outdated and cartoonish even when they first came out. I'm much more impressed with TNG, even with what we've seen in season 2

Yeah, maybe the ship isn't "contrasty" enough for some people's tastes, but at least we're talking about model work that will still hold up on screen 20 years from now.

 

[Stephen!]

There would be no need. The motion pictures were mastered in 35mm; the only reason they're recompositing Star Trek: The Next Generation is because it was mastered on video.

Were the "special edition" DVDs for the TNG movies mostly identical to the original DVD releases, aside from additional features?

 

[BillJ]

I think everyone needs to go look at the cartoonish, increasingly dated CG effects on the TOS blu-rays again. Compared to that, what we're getting here looks like it could pass for feature-quality.

Agreed, that's the reason I never got TOS on blurry. The effects looked outdated and cartoonish even when they first came out. I'm much more impressed with TNG, even with what we've seen in season 2

I'm glad I bought TOS on Blu-ray, but I turned off the new effects long ago.

 

[Flake]

It's the inconsistency that is annoying me. If we had got these shots for season one instead of what CBS-D did, we would be praising them.

Someone needed to ensure the shots where consistent.

 

[NewHorizon]

Someone needed to ensure the shots where consistent.

In my personal opinion, both CBS and Dan Curry dropped the ball on Season 2. CBS should have had people working directly with HTV-Illuminate on Seasons 2, 4, and 6...or at the very least, have one of their own CGI artists do a final continuity pass before the episodes were finalized.

As an outsider, it feels like Dan Curry took the " lets show those hot shot kids how it's done" approach, when in truth...CBS showered the show with nothing but love and respect for Season 1, striking an amazing balance of 'how it looked in our memories vs. how it looked in reality'. Dan and his crew have gone to extremes to make it look exactly the way it was, only clearer. In many cases using explosions and star backdrops that aren't HD quality, as if to make a point of some type. When I saw the screenshots starting to pour out, my heart sank.

CBS-Digital gave me the show as I remembered it in my mind...and I want MORE of that. If Dan Curry isn't willing to play along with CBS-Digital, then he should step aside so we don't have 3 inconsistent seasons.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Someone needed to ensure the shots where consistent.

In my personal opinion, both CBS and Dan Curry dropped the ball on Season 2. CBS should have had people working directly with HTV-Illuminate on Seasons 2, 4, and 6...or at the very least, have one of their own CGI artists do a final continuity pass before the episodes were finalized.

As an outsider, it feels like Dan Curry took the " lets show those hot shot kids how it's done" approach, when in truth...CBS showered the show with nothing but love and respect for Season 1, striking an amazing balance of 'how it looked in our memories vs. how it looked in reality'. Dan and his crew have gone to extremes to make it look exactly the way it was, only clearer. In many cases using explosions and star backdrops that aren't HD quality, as if to make a point of some type. When I saw the screenshots starting to pour out, my heart sank.

CBS-Digital gave me the show as I remembered it in my mind...and I want MORE of that. If Dan Curry isn't willing to play along with CBS-Digital, then he should step aside so we don't have 3 inconsistent seasons.

Well put, NewHorizon. The really sad aspect of all this - even if TPTB step up to the plate and ensure the consistency of forthcoming seasons, we're always going to have this "sore thumb" painfully protruding from a body of otherwise excellent work.

 

[Michael]

Oh boy, poor Dan Curry has become the popular scapegoat pretty fast around here. Guys, give it a break. Firstly, it's unlikely that Dan Curry and Dan Curry alone is responsible for the decline of quality you think you are seeing. It's a whole team working on the remastering. A team which is notably overseen by Michael and Denise Okuda – just like season one. And secondly: The man worked on the freakin' show we are talking about here. So please cut him some slack. I'm sure once we are able to see the results in motion, most won't be disappointed any longer.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I am really noticing the added brightness in the orbital Enterprise and Enterprise versus the Borg cube shots and I don't think I like it. The general washed-out look of the composited models detracts from the sense of depth that is present in the original shots with more shading. I'm not going to cancel my order or anything but it is kind of disappointing. Hopefully they'll learn and Season 4 will be done with more care.