Your Calls: CGI Made it Better, CGI Made it Worse.

[Albertese]

Is the attic temperature- and humidity-controlled? If not, the heat and humidity that can form in attics might cause repairable problems with the discs, such as warping or data layer adhesive drying out and separating.

Ditto for all things electronics, especially if they are not wrapped in plastic with a silica gel packet to absorb water (and those can only absorb so much moisture over time as well.)

Our attic isn't technically "finished" but it it's a real small house and the roof is insulated so it doesn't get very different (climate-wise) from the rest of the house. But, all my stored DVDs are in sealed plastic tubs so they are fairly well protected.

Thanks for the advice though!

--Alex

 

[korblborp]

it's been some years, but i think that the problem i had with some of the new shots was that they felt off. like even if the original production had had the budget and time to make more and better models, and more effects, they just wouldn't have shot them the way some of the tos-r replacements and additions were, so it was discordant.

 

[Tosk]

the heat and humidity that can form in attics might cause repairable problems with the discs

If the problems are repairable then there's no problem!

 

[Qonundrum]

If the problems are repairable then there's no problem!

Ventilation, temperature and humidity can help - if you want to use those. But disc rot it not repairable. But there can be workarounds. But if your goal is to not have the problem in the first place, then what?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Ventilation, temperature and humidity can help - if you want to use those. But disc rot it not repairable. But there can be workarounds. But if your goal is to not have the problem in the first place, then what?

When disc failure is caused by imperfect manufacturing, it's going to show itself eventually no matter what you do, usually within a couple of years. That's why you should back up your DVDs to hard drive files if you can, and ideally do it when they're new.

But if a DVD was made right in the first place, just store it vertically, protected from sunlight, in a room that never gets hot. They can last for decades.

 

[Tosk]

Ventilation, temperature and humidity can help - if you want to use those. But disc rot it not repairable. But there can be workarounds. But if your goal is to not have the problem in the first place, then what?

I was making a joke about using the word repairable when I think you meant irreparable.
If I am mistaken then I apologize.

 

[Nerys Myk]

If they ever do it again, they need to duplicate the the textures of the original SFX. I found a lot of the work to be a bit "cartoony."

Anyone know if they did scans of the original models when creating the CGI? Or was that not a thing back then?

 

[Tallguy]

Anyone know if they did scans of the original models when creating the CGI? Or was that not a thing back then?

I don't believe so. 1) Not all of the models were available and 2) it would have been the state that the Enterprise was in before this latest restoration.

But really it just mostly had to do with what television CG was able to do, especially at the price point that TOS-R was at.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Anyone know if they did scans of the original models when creating the CGI? Or was that not a thing back then?

Memory Alpha has the scoop:

Constitution class model (original)

During the production of the Star Trek television shows, most notably Star Trek: The Original Series, numerous studio models were created representing the Constitution-class, in particular the USS Enterprise, more than for any other class of starship. Starting out with traditional physical...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

In short: CBS Digital got down to the last minute and had to buy a fan-made Enterprise model for TOS-R. The model was originally made by Petri Blomqvist, which was based on Gary Kerr's blueprints, which in turn had been informed by caliper measurements of the 11-footer.

 

[Tallguy]

"In the original series you only see it in 17 poses, we are going to give you 50 or 60," Rossi elaborated.

Grrrrrr.

TOS HAD 60.

 

[Vger23]

I love the original VFX, but I have to admit that I almost always watch the remastered versions now...mainly because I view them as curiosities. I've seen the original versions so many times, that the CGI is fun for a change.

That doesn't mean I prefer it, it just means I find it to be an interesting change.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I will be turning 58 next month. I first saw Star Trek in early syndication and saw TAS in first-run.

I find the current CGI to be a mixed bag. Some good, some not so good.

'The Doomsday Machine' was always my favorite episode. Someone posted a side-by-side of clips from the original and the remastered on youtube:

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Throughout the remasters, overall, I don't like the cgi Enterprise as well as the original. I will get to why in a moment....and I probably have an odd take on it.

The cgi Constellation is MUCH better.

The planet killer....in my opinion, the original is more menacing and also somehow better conveys the idea that it is ancient.

Now....about the Enterprise:

I didn't have the opportunity to see 'Airplane II: The Sequel' in a theater, and to this day it irritates me that I missed it. That was the one and only time that the original, pre-refit Enterprise ever appeared on the big screen in theaters. It was only for a few moments, but the impact of seeing her up there like that....cgi simply would not have the same effect.

Here she is, toward the end of this clip:

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[MarcKle1964]

I grew up watching the original Trek SFX made with stone knives and bearskins. While some things were definitely improved, like the now digital chronometer from TiY, others were not. They should be unobtrusive improvements.

FYI I loved the Jim Henson Yoda and hated the CGI one.

 

[David cgc]

FYI I loved the Jim Henson Yoda and hated the CGI one.

The question is, how do we feel about the Episode I puppet? That's the kind of thing that'll get you to believe conspiracy theories about preparing the way for CG Yoda by intentionally screwing up Puppet Young Yoda.

 

[Tallguy]

The question is, how do we feel about the Episode I puppet? That's the kind of thing that'll get you to believe conspiracy theories about preparing the way for CG Yoda by intentionally screwing up Puppet Young Yoda.

Except that they STILL couldn't make Yoda "real" when they made The Last Jedi.

There is a fellow who made a modern day Yoda puppet recently who somehow had access to stuff from the original creators (Freeborn's molds, I think) that even Lucasfilm did not. The difference is not subtle. This thing just LOOKS like Yoda in a way that no other puppet other than the original does.

Interesting to know that Yoda has his own Uncanny Valley.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I don't think the CGI makes them either better or worse, just slightly different. Not different enough to affect my enjoyment either way.

 

[mb22]

That was the one and only time that the original, pre-refit Enterprise ever appeared on the big screen in theaters.

Some washed out footage of the TOS Enterprise appeared briefly at the beginning of the 1973 Turkish Trek parody Turist Omer Uzay Yolunda, although it's unlikely that anyone saw it outside of Turkey.

 

[TrickyDickie]

Some washed out footage of the TOS Enterprise

That brought this to mind. Slap a few extra pieces on, blur it out a bit, and voila....copyright successfully circumvented:

 

[ZapBrannigan]

That brought this to mind. Slap a few extra pieces on, blur it out a bit, and voila....copyright successfully circumvented:

It's wildly obvious that that's an AMT Enterprise model. Who wasn't going to know?

This reminds me of a movie that used part of the AMT Space Station K-7 model as its ship miniature. I just can't remember what film it was. I remember a photo of it in Starlog magazine.

 

[Shawnster]

That brought this to mind. Slap a few extra pieces on, blur it out a bit, and voila....copyright successfully circumvented:

Who says it was circumvented? Maybe they got sued for infringement.