Donny’s Late TOS Movie Era Interiors

[Donny]

Wow, I didn't even notice that until @BK613 pointed it out. Considering that Unreal is able to render this stuff in real-time and with such gorgeous fidelity, I'd say the occasional reflection hiccup is worth the end result. If I wasn't so prone to motion sickness I'd strap on a headset right now if I could walk around your Enterprise-A bridge--it's that realistic.

Stunning as always, @Donny.

Last night, I was actually able to adjust some things so that reflection error didn’t happen. Basically, reflections in Unreal reflect both emissive materials AND light objects placed in the world However, light objects are reflected differently than materials, and was causing the error. I simply set the light object to not reflect and now I’m just getting a more pleasing result of just the material being reflected.

I need to set my emissive materials to inject light into the scene rather than relying on attaching light objects to them. This may give a better result as well.

 

[Donny]

So, despite the lack of posts, I've been busy every day cranking out the console graphics for the TUC Enterprise-A bridge. A lot of these repeated graphics are the basically the same and had the same text/numbers on them, but there are subtle color layout differences between each, and the stubbornness in me dictates I must get each display as close as possible to screen accurate as I can. I admit, however, there were a few cases where I didn't have good reference of a particular color pattern and just repeated the pattern from one I was sure of. Also, each of these displays has a distinct blink pattern which I've replicated in-game, and not pictured are all the "Red Alert" versions of each I'm creating with the regular versions. Whew. This has been some work!

 

[Tomalak]

Looks fantastic! Perhaps a good investment of time if you ever get around to doing the Excelsior or Enterprise-B bridges.

 

[Lt. Washburn]

The Exclesior/Ent-B panels are hung on this guy's wall in one of his auction photos.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/star-trek-...388490?hash=item5d8997d88a:g:NU0AAOxyxU1Q8OaQ

 

[Donny]

Looks fantastic! Perhaps a good investment of time if you ever get around to doing the Excelsior or Enterprise-B bridges.

That's the plan! I've always wanted to do both, and getting the Enterprise bridge done will lay the groundwork for making the other two fairly easy.
Also, I'm finding that a few of the graphics were re-used (with minor modifications) from the TVH Enterprise-A set, so it'll make that much easier too.

The Exclesior/Ent-B panels are hung on this guy's wall in one of his auction photos.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/star-trek-...388490?hash=item5d8997d88a:g:NU0AAOxyxU1Q8OaQ

I have a few different images of those panels saved on my hard-drive. I should point out these are most likely form the Excelsior and NOT the Ent-B, since the Ent-B bridge displays were all CRT monitors and not backlit graphics, except for the "keyboards", helm stations, and the MSD. Those panels look like they were part of the Environment or Engineering station of the Excelsior, which we never saw in TUC, unfortunately. Also, whether they were used on the TUC Excelsior set or the VOY Excelsior set is another question. I haven't done my due research into the TUC Excelsior set to be able to tell.

 

[Rekkert]

Those panels are looking great! I can't wait for it all to come together.

Regarding those auction panels, their designs appear on the TUC Excelsior bridge, at least individually. I don't think they do appear in those specific sets of 3 on that bridge though, so they're either from one of the stations we didn't see, they're from Flashback, or the props from the auction are test prints and not screen used.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I especially love this bunch of displays. I don't know how you did it, Donny, but you've really captured the lighting of these backlit graphics... there's a certain ebb and flow to the brightness, kind of a natural warmth, that you don't get you take the same graphics and throw them up on an LED/LCD display. Nice job.

 

[fireproof78]

So, despite the lack of posts, I've been busy every day cranking out the console graphics for the TUC Enterprise-A bridge. A lot of these repeated graphics are the basically the same and had the same text/numbers on them, but there are subtle color layout differences between each, and the stubbornness in me dictates I must get each display as close as possible to screen accurate as I can. I admit, however, there were a few cases where I didn't have good reference of a particular color pattern and just repeated the pattern from one I was sure of. Also, each of these displays has a distinct blink pattern which I've replicated in-game, and not pictured are all the "Red Alert" versions of each I'm creating with the regular versions. Whew. This has been some work!

This is amazing!

 

[Donny]

I especially love this bunch of displays. I don't know how you did it, Donny, but you've really captured the lighting of these backlit graphics... there's a certain ebb and flow to the brightness, kind of a natural warmth, that you don't get you take the same graphics and throw them up on an LED/LCD display. Nice job.

You don't know the half of it. I've been going back and forth with the colors for days now, still trying to dial them in. The color of backlit displays all across Trek are always hard to replicate (don't even get me started on TNG). The colors are influenced by the set lights, the back lights, the colored gels, the film stock, the angle they're viewed from. It's nuts.

Glad you're approving of the colors though! Lets' me know I'm on the right track.

 

[UssGlenn]

I hadn't even consciously noticed the gradient he applied to the colors, until now. They look great. I wouldn't have even thought to include uneven back lighting.

 

[Donny]

I hadn't even consciously noticed the gradient he applied to the colors, until now. They look great. I wouldn't have even thought to include uneven back lighting.

I usually add a subtle gradient to all my “backlit” display images. Makes them look more realistic and more aesthetically pleasing, even though in-universe they are supposed to represent evenly lit displays.

Also, it’s more apparent in-game, but I’ve programmed the materials to be darker from more extreme angles and thus brighter when viewed head-on, as backlit displays are. It’s those little things I like to add that contribute to the realism of a given scene.

 

[Jedman67]

Fantastic. I'm practically drooling on my keyboard looking at these!

 

[pfontaine2]

Wow, they really weren't trying to hide those CRT monitors at all in that set, were they?

I remember when 2010:The Year We Make Contact came out how disappointed I was that various screens on the Discovery where represented with CRT monitors rather than film projections against flat screens in the original film. It's amazing how that small detail really stuck out at me though it likely wouldn't have bothered most of the viewing audience.

Having CRT screens on the Enterprise bridge is similar. No matter how they try to disguise it, CRT monitors instantly take me out of the fantasy and reminds me that they were dealing with very practical concerns on the set.

While I love all the various bridges used throughout the films, I still wish they could have reproduced the screens from the original series. The Okudagrams used in The Next Generation and onwards were a huge improvement to using CRT monitors.

 

[Jedman67]

TNG used CRT's too, but the set designers made efforts to disguise it - you only notice it a handful of times over the show.
DS9 was a bit more obvious with the CRT's, but still used backlits.
Whenever possible, CRT's were disguised by being inserted into black panels, in order to blend in, and less ambient lighting on the close ups. Part of the "magic" for people like @Donny is to identify the parts that create the illusion, the pieces to the puzzle if you will (I wouldn't be surprised to find power outlets and 240v wires plugged in behind his bridge).
Personally, I like being 'fooled' by the illusion as much as seeing the "Behind the scenes" aspect.

 

[Rekkert]

TNG didn't use any CRT for the bridge. In order to keep the displays looking futuristic, all the animated LCARS were added in post (which is why they had to be recreated from scratch for the remaster). CRTs were added to the bridge for Generations though, and were present in the future Enterprise bridge in AGT, as that bridge was literally used to be able to build some of the modifications for the movie under TNGs budget.

 

[Jedman67]

@Rekkert I distinctly recall seeing CRT's on the TNG bridge a handful of times. Granted they were few and used infrequently, I remember seeing Data and Picard sitting in the back of the bridge and using the computer to recreate photos or something; and it used a monitor built into the set.

 

[Tomalak]

I think they just look like CRTs, but are actually inset graphics. The changes for Generations included loads of them in the aft and new side stations though.

 

[Rekkert]

I don't know if they are CRT or another type of screen, but the ones added for AGT and Generations are definitely "real" (as in, not added in post) videos on a loop, as they can be seen playing on behind the scenes videos and photos.

 

[Jedman67]

Yeah, I know AGT and GEN majorly redid the bridge. I'm 99% sure they had 24fps screens in the bridge; although only a few.
If I could remember an episode I could post screenshots. Something to do with Picard and Data extrapolating someones face from a side angle snapshot.

 

[UssGlenn]

Something to do with Picard and Data extrapolating someones face from a side angle snapshot.

That's from Unification part 1

http://tng.trekcore.com/hd/thumbnails.php?album=116&page=5

I'm slightly embarrassed I immediately knew that.