Wrath of Khan - Regula 1 - VFX Shot Recreation

[PixelMagic]

So here is my fully CG recreation of a Regula 1 shot from Wrath of Khan. My aim was to match the same vintage look as a 1982 VFX shot, not a modern one. I was seeing how close I could make a CG shot match miniature work.

To that end, I had to take into account a few considerations. Realistically, as the camera pans down at an angle, the starfield, nebula, and planet should parallax at the same rate.
However, back in 1982 when this shot was made, there was no camera tracking software. The starfield was an element shot through material with back lit holes poked in. The nebula was a cloud tank element, and the moon was a miniature. Because of all the elements being shot seperate, they don't all quite parallax together as they should. If you look really close you can tell, but it's not noticable while just watching a movie. This also happens a ton in the old Star Wars films.

I may come back later on and alter this shot to be a "modern" VFX shot just for comparison sake. Fun little day project! CG Regula model by David Metlesits.

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[Q2UnME]

Pretty cool, almost exacting! Very nice work.

I vote 'yes' to the notion of making a modern VFX take, just to see the difference.

 

[Michael]

This looks awesome, @PixelMagic! I just wish the embedded Vimeo player would allow for fullscreen replay. I'd love to study your work in more detail. But still, this looks incredibly sophisticated. Thanks for sharing!

 

[PixelMagic]

This looks awesome, @PixelMagic! I just wish the embedded Vimeo player would allow for fullscreen replay. I'd love to study your work in more detail. But still, this looks incredibly sophisticated. Thanks for sharing!

Just click the "Vimeo" in the lower right-hand corner and it will take you to the Vimeo page for full screen display.

Pretty cool, almost exacting! Very nice work.

I vote 'yes' to the notion of making a modern VFX take, just to see the difference.

Here is the modern version. Changes include...

1. Sharper image. 4k digital cinema cameras are more detailed than 1982 film run through an optical printer multiple times. Also there is no more film dust pops or film grain. Only replaced with slight digital noise.

2. Natural behavior of light in space instead of mimicking studio lights on a miniature. (No attenuation)

3. Unified color palette instead of slightly variant colors after optical compositing.

4. Background elements now parallax together in a unified motion. Also the background moves the correct direction compared the the actual camera move on the space station.

6. Nebulas are now more detailed matte paints. Richer visually.

7. Modern color grading on the final shot.

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[Maurice]

So here is my fully CG recreation of a Regula 1 shot from Wrath of Khan. My aim was to match the same vintage look as a 1982 VFX shot, not a modern one. I was seeing how close I could make a CG shot match miniature work.

To that end, I had to take into account a few considerations. Realistically, as the camera pans down at an angle, the starfield, nebula, and planet should parallax at the same rate.
However, back in 1982 when this shot was made, there was no camera tracking software. The starfield was an element shot through material with back lit holes poked in. The nebula was a cloud tank element, and the moon was a miniature. Because of all the elements being shot seperate, they don't all quite parallax together as they should. If you look really close you can tell, but it's not noticable while just watching a movie. This also happens a ton in the old Star Wars films.

I may come back later on and alter this shot to be a "modern" VFX shot just for comparison sake. Fun little day project! CG Regula model by David Metlesits.

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Is there a way to see that bigger? In my browser there seem to be no way to see it as anything but an inline postage stamp,

 

[PixelMagic]

Is there a way to see that bigger? In my browser there seem to be no way to see it as anything but an inline postage stamp,

Try a direct link instead.

h**ps://vimeo.com/406987158/f4e5313c25

Copy and paste that link, then fix the https that I had to astreik out to prevent auto-embed.

 

[publiusr]

Here is an idea.

In the film, Reliant trailed sparks after the nacelle was blown off—but in the ILM effects stills, we see the amputated pylon bleed plasma...and we saw Enterprise phasers hit the roll bar, even though we never actually saw that.

Bring those scenes to life for us, please...