Galaxy Class Main Shuttlebay miniature

[TheTrekBack]

Hi all,

and here it is. More or less final. I put some extra attention and care into clean and precise detail work that paid out. With a test film emulation and color grading, it still looks very convincing even very closely. Especially since it is a very small scale for a filming model actually. The type 6 shuttles are from Eaglemoss – but the small standard ones (not XL special issues). So, the scale is roughly around H0 1:87 only I guess. I will composite then the shots from the bay model with motion control shots of my big class 6 Shuttle Studio Model that will slowly fly through the bay and break through the force field to depart into open space.

Galaxy Class Main Shuttle Bay Miniature by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr
Galaxy Class Main Shuttle Bay Miniature by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr
Galaxy Class Main Shuttle Bay Miniature by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr
Galaxy Class Main Shuttle Bay Miniature by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr
Galaxy Class Main Shuttle Bay Miniature by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr

 

[ashleytinger]

Outstanding!

 

[Professor Moriarty]

The integrated lighting makes all the difference. It just comes alive, doesn’t it?
This is just simply magnificent. Richard Datin would have been proud to have built this.

 

[Michael]

Whoa, those look stunning! Excellent model work, down to the last decal. And yes, the lighting makes this come to live.

I guess the only thing that betrays my sense of this being “real” at this point is the shallow depth of field. I guess with a longer shutter speed you might get less lens blur.

But other than that … these looks gorgeous. The planet and starfield are a digital insert, right? Have you thought about putting a screen there and include the background “in camera”?

 

[Mage]

Absolutely magnificent!!!

 

[HIjol]

Stunning...I truly feel like I am looking at the Real Thing. Now THAT is some real Talent, Time and True Love!!!

Well Done!

 

[137th Gebirg]

I, too, would like to recognize how amazing and dead-on this project is. My only comment would be to find a way to integrate bendable mini-LED tube lighting around the bottom of the door and inside the tracks to simulate the force-field glow holding in the atmosphere. Other than that, brilliant!

 

[blssdwlf]

Whoa, those look stunning! Excellent model work, down to the last decal. And yes, the lighting makes this come to live.

I guess the only thing that betrays my sense of this being “real” at this point is the shallow depth of field. I guess with a longer shutter speed you might get less lens blur.

But other than that … these looks gorgeous. The planet and starfield are a digital insert, right? Have you thought about putting a screen there and include the background “in camera”?

Is it longer shutter speed or stopping down aperture to get more depth of field? A computer monitor or tv screen as a digital backdrop would be interesting

 

[TheTrekBack]

Hi all,

thanks for your words and support. My wife thinks I am too old to build models^^ . Good to see some people who understand the real value here

The integrated lighting makes all the difference. It just comes alive, doesn’t it? Richard Datin would have been proud to have built this.

My approach was not to illuminate the model with external sources but to scale down the light sources and how they could be in the real environment. Having all these dimmable LEDs produces natural and convincing lighting and reflection.

I guess the only thing that betrays my sense of this being “real” at this point is the shallow depth of field. I guess with a longer shutter speed you might get less lens blur.

Indeed… depth of field range is the miniature cinematographer’s natural enemy. One of many I shot these pictures with a 50mm vintage Zeiss superspeed lens and closed the aperture as far as possible already. Not enough obviously for a proper scale illusion. For the actual shooting I need to test with a shorter focal length – so going wider with the view angle. But I think I can't go so close anyway for the real shooting. To reduce the DoF problem, you should normally try to build the scale model as big as possible – depending on how close you want to go. H0 scale is simply too small actually for the optical physics.

The planet and starfield are a digital insert, right? Have you thought about putting a screen there and include the background “in camera”?

Exactly, I added these backgrounds digitally “quick and dirty” for visualization. I was indeed thinking about using a backdrop. Modern flat-screen technology makes it possible very easily and it would be better since the light reflections are more natural with the actual environment around. But the problem will be that to increase the depth of field range I need to lower the aperture. In consequence, the intensity of the internal lighting of the model must be increased to comensate the loss of light that comes into the lens - but this would require having the backdrop very bright too, which I guess will not be possible to this extent. A solution for that would be a classic multi-pass shooting or to use modern cameras ability of dynamic range. My camera has a dynamic range of 13 stops… so composing of different exposure instances of the same shot could be a solution too. But I have to test it. In the end... solving this completely digitally would be the easiest solution. We will see.

My only comment would be to find a way to integrate bendable mini-LED tube lighting around the bottom of the door and inside the tracks to simulate the force-field glow holding in the atmosphere.

I thought about it. Also, to use some kind of laser beam but in the end decided to solve this in post-production digitally.

Is it longer shutter speed or stopping down aperture to get more depth of field?

No - not the shutter speed: it effects exposure and motion. General rules to increase the depth of field: aperture as low as possible, vocal length as low as possible, model scale as big as possible... and keeping the right distance. As said, there are restrictions set by the physicals of opticals that can't be solved, when the model is too small.

 

[C-Dub]

Really impressive!

 

[Santaman]

That's really good work, pro level in any case.

 

[Kaiser]

Epic awesome

 

[TheTrekBack]

Epic awesome

Dankeschön - I appreciate this salut from the Kaiser

 

[Kaiser]

Dankeschön - I appreciate this salut from the Kaiser

Willkommen

 

[TheTrekBack]

Here is another test shot I made with a 15mm Zeiss lens, aperture fully closed and reframed in post. Some digital retouching to cover some major red flags. It's amazing how sensitive the human eye is when it comes to details that affect the illusion of reality. Texture and glossiness of the ceiling beams doesn't look right. But overall not bad for a model of this scale. Ceiling and roller door are just flat black from inside because the original idea was to have a shot only from outside through the forcefield.

IMG_0576_edit_15mm_closed_Aperture by Alan Smithee, auf Flickr

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Oh that is spiffy! I think your textures (digitally altered or not) look spot-on. But at the risk of being that guy I have to ask—on the second level where those railings are… if I’m Ensign Ricky and I’m walking along that catwalk right to left, is there any room to get around that girder on the left?

 

[publiusr]

Speaking of the Galaxy class…
https://www.reddit.com/r/RedLetterMedia/comments/17wqosl/displaying_our_exploded_uss_enterprise_d/

Now, there are two other options:
Cotton ball explosion covering the missing bits…and or…finish the job with high explosives and a super slow-mo camera…

 

[Firebird]

Oh that is spiffy! I think your textures (digitally altered or not) look spot-on. But at the risk of being that guy I have to ask—on the second level where those railings are… if I’m Ensign Ricky and I’m walking along that catwalk right to left, is there any room to get around that girder on the left?

Starfleet managed to get the construction permit for the Enterprise before Fed-OSHA had time to plancheck the design.

 

[TheTrekBack]

Starfleet managed to get the construction permit for the Enterprise before Fed-OSHA had time to plancheck the design.

I was hoping for a creative explanation like thatOtherwise I was thinking about short range transport pads from one side to the other... maybe?

Seriously spoken, I just copied the original shooting model and I didn't think about it.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Oh you know I’m just joshin’. Your physical miniature of the main shuttlebay is absolutely fabulous.

I, on the other hand, managed to stab myself in the leg with an XActo knife the last time I tried to build a physical model of something (true story!).