CGI in TNG

[Shat Happens]

In the 1980s CGI in movies was exotic expensive and rare. I remember watching in awe TRON, Last Starfighter, that movie with Emilio Esteves and some tv commercials.

Star Trek II had the Genesis sequence made and they reused that as much as they could and it was also awesome

Then came TNG.

(because I hate myself) I'm rewatching the 1st season and I see some clearly (to me) 80's-style interesting CGI animations. From memory:

• Q's space fence blocking the Enterprise's path in Encounter at Farpoint and Hide-and-Q;
• Wesley and the Traveler's warp simulation;
• Data's tabletop hologram of a planet - I forget the episode;

I probably should get some screencaps to illustrate this post, maybe I'll get back on that.

OR

I don't know if I am just watching the remastered rebutchered edition. I have netflix.

I cant find any more information, articles on CGI only talk about the Voyager and The Enterprise-B

 

[Mudd]

The Crystalline Entity, and the engine sphere of the alien ship in "Haven."

 

[Ragitsu]

Season 2, "Peak Performance" ->

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Very basic graphics, but must have cost a good chunk for its day to make the Enterprise tech look futuristic.

The crystalline entity was probably the most impressive for the early seasons. It’s too bad the original file elements were supposedly lost for the remaster. It’s why I never got rid of my DVDs. In spite of the quality of footage not holding up to HD standards, those were exactly how viewers saw them in their original airing.

 

[Summer Solstice]

^^^ it is amazing what they were able to do on a tv budget at the time with cgi.

 

[Qonundrum]

One of the blu-ray releases (was it a BB extra?) went into detail on how CGI was considered for the Entperise at the time, but ultimately not used and in favor of model work. Not just rendering costs but overall quality.

For a ship, it makes sense - the polygonal count would have to be big. But a 3D crystal with reflective surfaces? That's a piece of cake. Mmmm, diabeeeeeeeetes .

The Commodore Amiga was able to do a ton of neat CGI stuff in the late-80s, with Lightwave, the Video Taster, and so on. TNG used Macs, as I recall, and Commdore missed an opportunity during Star Trek IV (which used an Amiga for one scene, the font is a giveaway, but problems began when the scene with Scotty trying to use a computer and how Commodore did not want to merely lend one out to be filmed in the scene...)

One source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/amiga/comments/he55b8/til_that_famous_scene_in_star_trek_iv_the_voyage/

As for the technology of the time that could do it, and for an insanely silly cost of under $2000 when CGI was otherwise a ton more expensive to do (even if done faster on big server farms, noting the Amiga was used for Red Dwarf at times, and I believe it was used for the 7th Doctor theme as well...)

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/nerdMode

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Commodore did not want to merely lend one out to be filmed in the scene...)

There is a PET in Kirk's apartment in ST III. And it's not even directly involved in the scene.

 

[F. King Daniel]

There is a PET in Kirk's apartment in ST III. And it's not even directly involved in the scene.

Wasn't that an inside joke because Shatner was advertising them at the time?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wasn't that an inside joke because Shatner was advertising them at the time?

I have no idea.

But Kirk had already been established as a collector of antiques, so it makes sense either way.

In any case, the mere fact that the PET is there at all proves that Commodore was not averse to lending their computers out to be used as props.

 

[Arpy]

There’s that floating infographic about the Tkon Empire in the Observation Lounge in “The Last Outpost” too, and the shot of the cesarean section of Junior in “Galaxy’s Child,” that come to mind.