If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone as...

[The Rock]

....the TNG show, I personally would've preferred that over the dark lighting that they used.

Here's why.

To me, Generations didn't FEEL like the TNG show. We had the same characters and the same ship as the show, but it just felt too different to me, as if it was taking place in some parallel universe. And that's because the atmosphere and tone on the Enterprise didn't feel right at all.

Now don't get me wrong, I totally understand why they filmed it like they did. Because they wanted it to feel like a real cinematic experience. I can respect that. However, in doing so, they totally changed the entire mood of the show.

I wish they had the filmed Generations with the exact same lighting and tone as the show (on the Enterprise). I really do. I mean are we supposed to believe that throughout the seven years of TNG, the ship really had that dark lighting all of this time? I can't accept that.

I know this sounds really nit-picky, and that people will get on me for this, but I even hated how they changed the freakin' SOUNDS of the Enterprise! And by that I mean the bleeps and blips when they pressed the buttons on the LCARS panels, the door bell chime, and even the red alert klaxon noise (though I guess on the movie screen the regular red alert klaxon noise from the show would be way too loud, so I guess that's why they changed it).

Anyone know where I am coming from here?

 

[Seven of Five]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I liked the moodier lighting.

I know it was different to the series but I can't imagine a film with such bright lighting for the ship. Well, The Motion Picture I suppose. But then the tone and appearance of that film is 1979, compared to 1994 for Generations. I just thought the Ent-D looked good on screen with the darker lighting and extra bridge stations - less like a hotel lobby and more like a starship maybe?

I agree that some of the sound seemed a bit goofy, but that's after seven seasons of hearing things a certain way. The sound people would have to interpret what they could do okay on TV into something that would work for the cinema.

 

[Blip]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I preferred the look, personally. And, much preferred the sounds used over the "twitter-glitter" of the series - it tied it in with Voyager at least, even if I'm not a huge fan of some (most) of the writing on that show...

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

Personally, I much preferred the darker lighting and overall look. As has already been stated, it's far more cinematic and creates a real "atmosphere".

 

[MacLeod]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

Another one who preffered the cinematic lighting, shame the series couldn't have toned down the lighting a bit

 

[Kirks_Flying_Wig]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I wasn't overly impressed with the extreme darkness in some scenes (though having said that I don't like the film anyway!) but I don't see how you can say it should have been filmed with "the same" lighting in the series since the lighting in the series changed over time. Would you have liked to have seen on the big screen bland and flat lighting on the bridge with those pieces of black paper covering up the reflections on the back wall science stations?

 

[The Rock]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

Would you have liked to have seen on the big screen bland and flat lighting on the bridge with those pieces of black paper covering up the reflections on the back wall science stations?

As weird as this sounds, yes.

 

[Mark 2000]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

The lighting in Generations was very much like the lighting in TOS. It was a huge improvement. Mostly what was nice is that stuff outside the windows had an effect on stuff inside the windows. In the show crazy stuff was on the viewer or out the window all the time - nebulas, stars, explosions, it never made an impact on the set. Remember that shot of Guinan and Wesley in 10 forward as the D goes to warp? The set lighting didn't blink.

They should have done this on the series. There was an attempt in "The Child" and it looks great, but the abandoned it.

 

[Skywalker]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

The cinematic lighting also helped make the Enterprise look more like a starship and less like a luxury liner.

 

[Brikar99]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I also loved the look of 'Generations'. I wish the show had the time and money to look that good on a weekly basis.

 

[Harvey]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

The cinematography in Star Trek: Generations is the only part of the movie that's perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Also, it helped keep imperfections in the sets that were the result of seven years of use invisible to the eye. Sure, it doesn't look anything like the series, but, hey, it's a movie.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

If I recall correctly, a big reason that the lighting was so low during filming is that the old sets may have looked fine for the resolution of a television screen, but things would have looked pretty shoddy when shown on the big screen. I think a different process or different type of film is used for television vs. a theatrical release.

The Enterprise interior did look darker, which- for me translated into more of a grittier feel. Although I never had a problem with the lighting on the series, the dimmer lighting suited the feel of the story (for me).


^^ Ah- Harvey! I see you beat me to the punch!

 

[JarodRussell]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I LOVE the Generations cinematography. All other movies, including Trek 2009, look pale in comparison.

 

[SPCTRE]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I liked the moodier lighting.

I know it was different to the series but I can't imagine a film with such bright lighting for the ship.

Agreed, the TV lighting wouldn't have worked too well on the big screen.

I liked the modified bridge design in general.

 

[Harvey]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

If I recall correctly, a big reason that the lighting was so low during filming is that the old sets may have looked fine for the resolution of a television screen, but things would have looked pretty shoddy when shown on the big screen. I think a different process or different type of film is used for television vs. a theatrical release.

It's more or less the same type of film (35mm), but the difference is that Star Trek: Generations was exhibited in 35mm, while the television series was exhibited in standard def video, quite a difference in terms of resolution.

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

The cinematography in Star Trek: Generations is the only part of the movie that's perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Also, it helped keep imperfections in the sets that were the result of seven years of use invisible to the eye. Sure, it doesn't look anything like the series, but, hey, it's a movie.

Agreed. A feature film should not look like a syndicated tv series.

And the movie looks great. That opening shot of the wine bottle flying through space is gorgeous.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I didn't care for the lighting aboard ship in the movie. It just didn't work very well and I didn't buy it for most of those environments.

Notably, JJTrek lit up the interiors like Christmas, and judging from the film's success the audience didn't have any trouble with it.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

If I recall correctly, a big reason that the lighting was so low during filming is that the old sets may have looked fine for the resolution of a television screen, but things would have looked pretty shoddy when shown on the big screen. I think a different process or different type of film is used for television vs. a theatrical release.

It's more or less the same type of film (35mm), but the difference is that Star Trek: Generations was exhibited in 35mm, while the television series was exhibited in standard def video, quite a difference in terms of resolution.

Thanks, Harvey! I appreciate your clarification regarding that film/video issue.

 

[Saito S]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

There are a couple specific moments in GEN where things are perhaps a bit TOO dark - in one scene that I recall, Riker leaves Picard's ready room, and it looks like he is walking out into total darkness as he steps onto the bridge.

Other than a few little moments like that, though, I like the lighting in the movie, and agree with those who have said that it had excellent cinematography overall, especially during the scenes at Amargosa with windowed rooms being bathed in this really noticeable orange glow, as they WOULD be if they were that close to a star. And I LOVED the wine bottle sequence! Very creative way to open the film. Seeing the D (my favorite Enterprise) on the big screen was great, and also, I always thought GEN had the most dynamic visuals out of all the movies, in terms of how ship externals were filmed. Stuff like the Ent-B flying RIGHT into the camera as it pulls away from the Nexus ribbon, the view from "above" as the Bird of Prey slows and stops near the observatory, another "ship flies right into the camera" shot as the Ent-D maneuvers away from the BoP later in the film (with the BoP's disruptor bolts flying straight toward the viewer), etc... By comparison, I found the visuals of the ships in the other movies to be much more "standard". Nice looking, certainly, but "standard". Some of them have a couple of MOMENTS like this, but GEN maintains it throughout.

On sound: I liked the changes. The Ent-D would have been upgraded to newer versions of LCARS as they became available; making the computers feel more like those on the Defiant and Voyager made sense in that regard. As for the red alert sound... that was a welcome change in my book, since I always found the classic, rising tone, "bwaaRRRRRP!" red alert sound used in TOS and TNG pretty grating.

As much as I loved the show, I'd have to say that in terms of the feel of the ship overall, GEN contains my favorite rendition of the Ent-D. Too bad some lazy writing, combined with the decision to re-use the BoP explosion effect from TUC, caused this magnificent ship to be brought down in a pretty pathetic way.

 

[los2188]

Re: If they had filmed 'Generations' with the same lighting and tone a

I loved the darker lighting. I remember seeing it for the first time on the big screen and at that very moment I got the feeling that this was something big. Too bad the movie, even though I did like it up to a point, wasn't big. I also wish they would have used those new uniform designs because I really hated that mix.