Never seen TOS scenes...round 3
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Here, I've got one:
Shari Lewis wrote "The Lights of Zetar" with the intention of appearing herself. I say we grant her her wish.
Shari Lewis wrote "The Lights of Zetar" with the intention of appearing herself. I say we grant her her wish.
Here's a hero shot. CGI model courtesy of TallGuy and photomanip by me.
And here's my take on a never seen scene at the end of "By Any Other Name."
The original filming model was filmed the way it was for two basic reasons. It's quite likely the production crew knew that an object in deep space would practically be invisible without a strong external light source. And so artistic licence allowed them to light their model to properly show it off. I think they also understood that the televisions of the day wouldn't really show off subtle graduations in shadow and so they lighted the ship more than it really should have been to look somewhat more "real." That worked until about twenty years ago when televisions really got better with much better clarity and sharpness than before. Today you can show images with many great graduations of shadow that would have looked like a huge swath of black in the bad old days. And if you periodically toss in the right starscape and/or nebula in the background then you can still show off the shape of the ship with good light and shadow while still giving some nod artistic towardscredibility. And thats the kind of effect I shoot for with my photomanipulations. I love the TOS E--it's just a gorgeous piece of work--and I prefer to build on the basic sensibilties on how it was originally filmed. That means using flattering angles, more dramtic lighting and a measure of artistry to really show the ship off and try to achieve a dramatic impact visually.
And here's my take on a never seen scene at the end of "By Any Other Name."
The original filming model was filmed the way it was for two basic reasons. It's quite likely the production crew knew that an object in deep space would practically be invisible without a strong external light source. And so artistic licence allowed them to light their model to properly show it off. I think they also understood that the televisions of the day wouldn't really show off subtle graduations in shadow and so they lighted the ship more than it really should have been to look somewhat more "real." That worked until about twenty years ago when televisions really got better with much better clarity and sharpness than before. Today you can show images with many great graduations of shadow that would have looked like a huge swath of black in the bad old days. And if you periodically toss in the right starscape and/or nebula in the background then you can still show off the shape of the ship with good light and shadow while still giving some nod artistic towardscredibility. And thats the kind of effect I shoot for with my photomanipulations. I love the TOS E--it's just a gorgeous piece of work--and I prefer to build on the basic sensibilties on how it was originally filmed. That means using flattering angles, more dramtic lighting and a measure of artistry to really show the ship off and try to achieve a dramatic impact visually.
GodThingFormerly
A Different Kind of Asshole
^ Whoah, dude/s. Any chance of seeing the NCC-1701 approach a globular star cluster such as 47 Tucanae or (with apologies to James Blish) M13? 
TGT
TGT
I did this image once before, but this is with trying to use the new CBS cgi Enterprise. I must say I'm not happy with the bottom image. I don't like the angle and much prefer the original approach angle we're familiar with which is more severe and set more towards the viewer's POV. I can also see where I didn't complete the image properly. Ugh.
For me one of the great “characters” of Star Trek has always been the Enterprise. As I understand it GR stressed that if the viewers didn’t believe in the Enterprise then they wouldn’t buy into anything else. And I’ve always accepted this, that the Enterprise encapsulated all that made TOS work. It was a wonderful mix of inspiration and scientific extrapolation with the end result that it was just so convincing as a far future, deep ranging starship.
The original Enterprise was romanticized much as men had done with ships and planes they had served on throughout history. This was not only done through the show’s characters but also how the ship was photographed. It was almost always shown in graceful majestic flight and flattering angles. There were several “hero” or glamour shots that would be become widely familiar to fans over the years. And despite the limits of 1960s f/x something of that massive 11ft. filming miniature came through the lens and managed to convey a genuine sense of great three-dimensional size and mass.
On of my favourite shots has always been of the Enterprise flying out of the distance and right at the viewer’s point-of-view and zeroing in on the lower part of the support hull. You couldn’t help but feel that that massive ship was going to smack you in the face and run right over you. Enhance that scene with the appropriate musical fanfare and you just felt it in your bones. Wonderful!
Even Robert Wise understood this. When he directed ST-TMP he understood the Enterprise couldn’t be treated casually as just another piece of hardware. To the fans the Enterprise mattered as much as any of the actual characters.
And with this thought in mind I express my concern over the new cgi f/x for TOS. It isn’t that I don’t think it cannot be done, but that it really does matter that it be done right. That means that any new cgi model of the Enterprise must not only fly as majestically as the original it must also convey that wonderful presence, that subliminal yet still tangible sense of great size and mass. Many younger viewers may not grasp or be familiar with this idea, but if the new f/x fail to be appreciably convincing then a significant element of TOS would be lost and rob viewers new and old of an engaging aspect of the original series.
Even as primitive as the original f/x are by today’s standards it must be said that no ship in any of the spin-off Treks (save TMP) has ever recaptured that sense of real presence onscreen. And I find that sad. The 1701D for example wasn’t a bad design, but it just never had any real screen presence. Part of the reason was that the ship just wasn’t romanticized the same way as the TOS Enterprise. It’s also a matter of how later Trek ships were filmed, as little different than easily interchangeable fighter planes no matter how pretty the pictures could be.
It isn’t enough just to make the original Enterprise look nice in new f/x shots. It has to look like it’s made of some metal alloy and not plastic. It has to look credibly three dimensional and BIG.
Do her justice.
P.S: *Sigh* I think I'm going to have to get hold of a really good model I can photograph and digitally paint to my heart's content to get some of the shots I'd really like to see.
For me one of the great “characters” of Star Trek has always been the Enterprise. As I understand it GR stressed that if the viewers didn’t believe in the Enterprise then they wouldn’t buy into anything else. And I’ve always accepted this, that the Enterprise encapsulated all that made TOS work. It was a wonderful mix of inspiration and scientific extrapolation with the end result that it was just so convincing as a far future, deep ranging starship.
The original Enterprise was romanticized much as men had done with ships and planes they had served on throughout history. This was not only done through the show’s characters but also how the ship was photographed. It was almost always shown in graceful majestic flight and flattering angles. There were several “hero” or glamour shots that would be become widely familiar to fans over the years. And despite the limits of 1960s f/x something of that massive 11ft. filming miniature came through the lens and managed to convey a genuine sense of great three-dimensional size and mass.
On of my favourite shots has always been of the Enterprise flying out of the distance and right at the viewer’s point-of-view and zeroing in on the lower part of the support hull. You couldn’t help but feel that that massive ship was going to smack you in the face and run right over you. Enhance that scene with the appropriate musical fanfare and you just felt it in your bones. Wonderful!
Even Robert Wise understood this. When he directed ST-TMP he understood the Enterprise couldn’t be treated casually as just another piece of hardware. To the fans the Enterprise mattered as much as any of the actual characters.
And with this thought in mind I express my concern over the new cgi f/x for TOS. It isn’t that I don’t think it cannot be done, but that it really does matter that it be done right. That means that any new cgi model of the Enterprise must not only fly as majestically as the original it must also convey that wonderful presence, that subliminal yet still tangible sense of great size and mass. Many younger viewers may not grasp or be familiar with this idea, but if the new f/x fail to be appreciably convincing then a significant element of TOS would be lost and rob viewers new and old of an engaging aspect of the original series.
Even as primitive as the original f/x are by today’s standards it must be said that no ship in any of the spin-off Treks (save TMP) has ever recaptured that sense of real presence onscreen. And I find that sad. The 1701D for example wasn’t a bad design, but it just never had any real screen presence. Part of the reason was that the ship just wasn’t romanticized the same way as the TOS Enterprise. It’s also a matter of how later Trek ships were filmed, as little different than easily interchangeable fighter planes no matter how pretty the pictures could be.
It isn’t enough just to make the original Enterprise look nice in new f/x shots. It has to look like it’s made of some metal alloy and not plastic. It has to look credibly three dimensional and BIG.
Do her justice.
P.S: *Sigh* I think I'm going to have to get hold of a really good model I can photograph and digitally paint to my heart's content to get some of the shots I'd really like to see.
Wicked! But give Spock his TMP collar or that TNG issue with collar
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