Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

[wildstar]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

I remember seeing him at a convention in the early 90's, not long after St 6, talking about how the bridge was on a gimble. Possibly the same story told after both movies. But to have that proof plus seeing it bounce around.

I wanna say it was the E-B in Generations. I say that because I saw Shatner at a convention after the filming of Generations but before it's release and I recall he was talking about it. Also, he forgot to grow out his sideburns for the movie, so the in the E-B stuff, he's wearing a costume mustache clipped in two and glued to his face. But he later grew out his own for the rest of the movie. Also some random lady in the audience asked to come up on stage and kiss him, and he allowed it. Those are my memories from that convention.

--Alex

 

[137th Gebirg]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

After going back and watching the scene, everyone seems to be getting buffeted about by inertia in sync with the water-dome thing. This would imply the potential use of a gimbal. There's no physical way every actor on stage could synchronize such random and chaotic movements with an object like that otherwise, especially since some of them seem to be facing their consoles and monitors, unable to catch any visual cues to incite motion. This can most clearly be seen occurring at about 3:35, 4:48, 5:04 and 5:39. Although some of the actors do look as if they're exaggerating the ambient shaking with some gyrations of their own, making it look fake. The 3:35 and 5:04 segments, though, are really the best examples.

 

[pfontaine2]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Regarding the gimble question, I just can't imagine a set of that complexity, with all the blinking lights and all the 8mm loops playing on the monitor screens, could have been physically rocked back and forth on the gimble.

Scenes where people are thrashing to and fro as if the ship is being buffeted are simply achieved by the director yelling "left!" and "right!" so that all the actors throw themselves in the same direction. Any on-set direction recorded during a take is then edited out. At least that's how I've seen it done when I've seen similar scenes filmed.

If the dome was filled with water so that the "compass" inside could tilt and rotate during these scenes, I think it more likely that it was manipulated from above, possibly by someone stationed on an overhead catwalk.

This is just my opinion and I would be very happy to be proven wrong!

 

[Redfern]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

If the dome was filled with water so that the "compass" inside could tilt and rotate during these scenes, I think it more likely that it was manipulated from above, possibly by someone stationed on an overhead catwalk.

This DOES seem the far more reasonable and believable solution.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Jose Tyler]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Regarding the gimbals, this is from tvtropes.org:

The first aversion of the trope in the Star Trek franchise, using gimbal sets instead, was on the bridge sets of Enterprise and Excelsior for Star Trek VI. Shatner's memoirs of making the films have an amusing anecdote of the gimbal knocking him off his feet during a take. The Shat saved himself from injury with a shoulder-roll, but his attempt at using the aftermath to flirt with an attractive female assistant who came to see if he was okay was spoiled when she expressed genuine concern he might have broken his hip in the fall.

YMMV

 

[cardinal biggles]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

^

This just makes the wormhole scene that much more impressive -- the amazing level of painstaking coordination required to pull it off is why Wise was a master of his craft.

 

[wildstar]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

The wheel section of the USS Discovery in 2001 was fully rotatable, which is how they were able to pull off some of those shots. So having monitors and electronics an everything mobile isn't beyond belief. Although I don't know for certain about the bridge set in Trek.

 

[Mytran]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Having monitors fixed on a constantly turning wheel puts a lot less stress on fixings than a gimbal, which would be rocked violently to and fro.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

^

This just makes the wormhole scene that much more impressive -- the amazing level of painstaking coordination required to pull it off is why Wise was a master of his craft.

If true and a gimbal wasn't used then very much agreed that it was a highly masterful level of direction and synchronization to make it look like they were been shaken about, with something as innocuous as the water bubble to complete the illusion. I am in awe!

 

[Jose Tyler]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

I'm almost certain that gimbals were not used in TMP. It becomes pretty clear when after they exit the wormhole and Persis Khambatta continues to bounce up and down when everybody else has stopped. From the same article on tvtropes.org:

Also notable in Star Trek The Motion Picture during the Wormhole Effect sequence. The old TOS actors wobble relatively sedately, while Persis Khambatta bounces in her seat like a five-year old who just ate an entire bag of candy.

 

[Maurice]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

"Water bubble"?

 

[cardinal biggles]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=11054428&postcount=1434

 

[Donny]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Slowly nearing completion...

 

[Maurice]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=11054428&postcount=1434

But that thing doesn't DO anything in the movie, does it?

 

[137th Gebirg]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

It bounces around!

No, seriously, it really does.

 

[Tallguy]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Slowly nearing completion...

Looking terrific, of course. But do you think you could add more segments to the "well"? Being such a large piece the segmentation stands out more than in other places.

 

[Donny]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Slowly nearing completion...

Looking terrific, of course. But do you think you could add more segments to the "well"? Being such a large piece the segmentation stands out more than in other places.

Done. That was bothering me as well. I also optimized the lightmap so the shadows aren't so low-res.

 

[Tallguy]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Yaaay!

 

[Nightowl1701]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Looks amazing.

So you did the other side of Sickbay, Donny - are you going to double up here and do the starboard Torpedo Bay too?

 

[Donny]

Re: Donny's TOS Enterprise Interiors

Looks amazing.

So you did the other side of Sickbay, Donny - are you going to double up here and do the starboard Torpedo Bay too?

That's the plan. One bay will have its launch track closed, and the other open and ready to be loaded...once I learn some more advanced scripting, I plan on having the player be able to trigger consoles and have an entire torpedo load sequence play.