In the real world we have powerful energies around us…that are largely invisible. Lightning is an exception.
Lighting up physical or cgi miniatures is an attempt to make them more visually dynamic particularly when you can’t show flaming exhaust coming out the back. But strictly speaking it doesn’t make them look more “real.” It just makes them look kewl.
But to my eyes those bright primary glowing colours look…cartoony.
Forgive me for quoting myself, but I wanted to elaborate on my point.
Back in the dark ages, 1960s/‘70s sci-fi, it was common to show a computer in operation with lots of blinking lights and sound effects. Why? Because watching real computers in operation is more akin to watching paint dry—essentially noiseless (more contemporary computers anyway) and not much to see until the computer completes the task you just set in motion. It’s boring visually.
So you add lots of winking lights and appropriate whirring and beeping sound fx to dramatically convey the fact the computer is actually doing something.
In reality the bridge of the
Enterprise would be a lot quieter than what we hear on television. But that would be kind of boring. So we hear all kinds of sounds to convey the idea of sophisticated machinery in action. And that includes the howling sound of the warp engines rapidly accelerating and decelerating.
At warp speed we would never actually be able to see the
Enterprise in motion. Our eyes or any camera (as we know it) could simply never be able to track it visually.
Lots of stuff is done in film and television (and not just in sci-fi) to convey an idea that is totally divorced from what we would experience in reality.
And this practice actually exists in the real world as well largely because we respond to sensory feedback. Even a simple game like solitaire or jigsaw puzzles on your iPad can have accompanying sound effects to make the games more interesting. Indeed we can feel something is wrong if those sound effects aren’t there. We do the same thing with our phones and other devices to have that satisfying “click” or “beep” when we use the buttons or keyboard. Automobile manufacturers simulate shift points in cars with CVT transmissions. Or they’ll pipe in fake engine and exhaust noises through the entertainment system to simulate a sporty exhaust note. It’s the extension of film and television fakery.