My USS Jenolan Green Screen Visual Effects Test

For Christmas, my dad gave me the choice of two Star Trek Eaglemoss ships from the local comic book store. I picked up two ships that I've always loved, (the USS Jenolan from TNG "Relics" and the Antares from TOS "Charlie X") and decided to do a quick visual effects test with the Jenolan. It truly is a wonderful and underrated design IMO, and the Eaglemoss model is spectacular. I picked up some lime green posterboard and filmed this with my iphone, so the quality isn't amazing, but I'm really excited to share with you all what I've come up with. Let me know what you guys think!

 

For a first test, not bad. The focus is a little fuzzy and the tracking isn't smooth. I've tried to film things with a phone, and I prefer a real camera with a monopod. Even if I don't extended it to the ground, it's just heavy enough to help smooth out the shakes. I've thought about hanging a 1 or 3 pound weight on the bottom to stabilize it even more.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I'm working on getting a tripod soon, and I have a Canon T3i DSLR that I was just unable to use because the battery was dead and I had to charge it. There will be many more effects tests, and most if not all will be filmed with my Canon. I'll keep everyone posted, of course.

 

I would suggest using a program like FIlmic Pro where you can better control and lock both the exposure and the focus.

As to the design: it's just a shuttle from Star Trek VI with nacelles stuck on it.

 

I was debating about posting this update as a new thread, but decided that it didn't warrant it, so I am merely replying on this thread:

Here is a new video I did today, with my Canon T3i DSLR and the Antares NCC-501 model from Eaglemoss. Two things I want to mention: I still don't have a tripod, so the ship still wobbles a bit on screen. Also, in the first shot of the ship, the focus gets SUPER blurry towards the end of the shot, and I have no idea why. If you can catch any other mistakes or bloopers, let me know!

 

Really, updates don't merit new threads. It makes single subjects had to follow. So glad you're adding to this one.

Depth of field is really shallow up close on small objects, so if your focus is locked the ship is going to go out of focus at some pint as its distance changes. Changing manual focus is tricky with the lens I'm guessing you have. Autofocus is easily thrown.

 

I used to photograph miniatures with a set of macro lenses on a 35mm SLR. I had to shrink the aperture to minimum and use four 300W lights to make up for it. This allowed me to get great depth of focus.

 

^^^Yep

 

You don't have to make all the movement in-camera. If you want to show the ship going left or right on the screen, for example, just film from a static camera position while turning the ship very, very slowly, so that you only have a very mild angle change, then do the actual movement across the screen in post. People are going to notice camera wobble way more than simple editing tricks. (Note: It doesn't matter which way you turn the ship model, because you can always reverse the footage. Also, if you want your ship to go the opposite way, and the ship is symmetrical from left to right, just flip the footage.)

 

I actually used to film models this way, until my brother (who I'm sure had good intentions, LOL) told me that it looked too fake compared to in-camera movement. When I did my initial tests he also pointed out the wobbly ship issue, but I can't remember what his advice was. It really doesn't matter though, as none of the film editing software currently available to me is very good at adding movement, so I really have no choice but to get a tripod (as was suggested above). I wish I could go back to filming models the way I used to, but the computer I had then crashed a long time ago, and I didn't have the editing software backed up or anything.

 

Your post is a little hard to follow. Are you suggesting adding movement via software as opposed to moving the camera or model? Because if to the perspective shift of the model is never right if neither camera of model is in motion.

 

What software are you using?

I was specifically talking about the shot where the ship flies perpendicular to the screen, but you may be right. I'd have to experiment with it to see what it looks like.

If he doesn't have a tripod, just buy a $5 mini-tripod and tape the whole thing to anything with wheels, like an office chair or a suitcase. Or find a way to smoothly move the model itself relative to the camera. Point is: Think outside the box.

 

Also, you can buy one of the millions of second-hand tripods that's missing the quick release plate and make one for it. Those tripods are full-sized, cheap and plentiful.

 

Thank you all so much for the advice! I'm making slow progress, but I think I'm improving (at least I hope so). I decided to experiment with shooting still frames of my Diamond Select Enterprise-D in front of a green screen, and adding a moving starfield behind each shot. I showed the results to my dad, who said it was much better than what I have been doing. I dunno, what do you guys think? Check out the video below and let me know!

 

The only way to get good at something is to keep trying new ways of doing it. Failure just leads to improvement in the long run. Each of your clips have been better than the previous. Keep going.

 

Thank you so much for the kind words. I honestly had little faith in that last one, but my dad insisted that it was an improvement. I am glad his advice paid off. I'll be posting more effects shots soon!

 

Honestly? It's easy enough to pull a decent matte on a still. So easy, in fact, it effectively useless as a test of anything, because it's the changes from one frame to the next that are what's hard to deal with, especially the risk of green spill, etc.

The ship is also not in sharp focus in any of the images.

 

Hey, for someone who's just starting out, nothing is "useless" no matter how easy it might be; it's part of the learning process.

To @Admiral Archer I say: Keep playing with it. Expect negative feedback. Accept it. Learn from it. Don't post everything you do; just post the "better" ones -- otherwise you invite harsh negative feedback. You want constructive criticism. Please do try to fix the problems people point out. Like sharp focus, or the lack thereof. You should get that nailed down before posting another sample.

 

My point was simply that he'd be better off continuing playing with the video shots rather than taking stills, even if the video is stationary and he moves it in post, it'll be of more practical value than a digital still.

 

^^^^ == constructive criticism ==