Are you planning to finish the entire story before you go back to edit and make changes?
For the most part yes, there are some things that would hold up production for too long (i.e. some of the motion shots of the Fitzgerald bridge) to be done along the way. There's other things (most particularly the "V'Ger Flyover" sequence) that need to be refined bigtime that'll have to keep until the first two-hour cut is complete. The reason it's taken almost two years to get to this point was that I kept getting bogged down with tiny details and they were holding things up for too long. This way, I can get the entire thing done and then go back to make additions and changes (i.e. the missing background plates, bad walk cycles, etc.)
The turbolift scene is up in its entirety now, this includes everything from the moment Data and Troi beam aboard the Fitzgerald to the moment the Enterprise departs.
ok, music....amaizing, but, The chief can use some more movements she looks much frozen the same thing is troi, and you need sound of turbolift... to the dialogue, can you let data or troi ask about oficers what be wounded?
The next scene takes place in Main Engineering. The set turned out absolutely BEAUTIFUL, but shots take a while to render because of how it's lit.
This scene will be well worth waiting for though, it's the best kind of Star Trek scene that blends technobabble with some wonderful character moments. And I've written the scene so that it ends with a terrific "WHA?" moment.
I use a total of four PCs for render work, one's a dual-core and the other three are quad-core. How long a render takes depends on the scene and which PC it's being done on. Suffice it to say that with the best and fastest system I have, Main Engineering still takes a while. The bridge isn't much better.
How do you set up tracking in bryce? can you import camera settings from poser? How do you set up special effects? After Effects? I know you answered some of this, but i need a satisfactory answer
Just thought y'all might enjoy seeing this, it's a minute-long preview of Scene 17, "Main Engineering." There's some really good stuff in this scene, and as promised we start off with some good character moments between Erickson and Ronston. (The way she refers to the android as "it" was inspired by the character of Kate Pulaski, from TNG season 2). Worth watching, I think, even if it's short. Just bear in mind this is still a VERY rough cut of this part of the scene (as you can tell, the shot of the android against the Master Systems Display isn't even fully rendered, and there's an unnaturally long pause between two of Erickson's lines), so don't expect perfection.
1. Tracking: the answer is, "I cheat." It's almost impossible to get the camera to both change position and rotate with the right kind of fluidity, so first I move the camera around where I need it, then target it on a sphere to get the rotation the way I want it. From there, I use the Advanced Motion Lab to set up motion curves to govern how fast or slow things happen.
2. If there IS a way to do it, I don't know what it is. (I just noticed you asked about the tracking shot in sickbay, my apologies for missing that the first time! Here's how I did that: I took the background plate of sickbay behind Reyf and Prentice, and then applied it as a material to a one-sided square in Poser that I placed behind the characters; from there, all I had to do was animate the Poser camera and I was gold!)
3. Special FX: it depends on what effect you're referring to. If you're referring to the lensflares, that's all done in my video editor (including those associated with the transporter beams). If you mean the transporter matter streams, that's a longer process but here goes. First thing I did was to create a master clip (fullscreen of course) of the transporter matter stream. After that, shaping it to meet the needs of an individual scene was easy: all I have to do is create an alpha-channel overlay clip to tell my video editor where I want the matter stream to show up. Once that's done, it all gets composited together, and voila: instant transporter beam. All I have to do then is crossfade from an image with the characters to an identical shot without them (or vice versa), and just like that you can beam people in and out at will.
Hopefully that's a little more helpful than past answers
By the way, as of this scene we've now seen three distinct versions of the exterior of the USS Fitzgerald, each based on a different Enterprise-D mesh, and you can tell the age of the shots based on which of the three is in use. The three are:
-USS Enterprise-D model by Ralph Schoberth: this one is only visible once, in the final scene of the launch sequence, when the Fitzgerald engages its warp drive. This version is distinctive because of its too-round deflector dish and its green hull tint. This shot is among the oldest in the present cut of Specter of the Past.
-USS Horizon model by Star Trek Horizon: this model is presently seen the most of the three, and can be discerned by its thicker saucer section, increased surface detailing, the larger "bulge" of its secondary hull around the deflector dish, and the metallic sheen of its hull. This version makes its first appearance at 17:53 (7:53 into the second clip available on YouTube), as the Deep Space Nine theme moves into its final loop.
-USS Enterprise-D model by (unknown author: the third and most recent version is the most accurate to the TNG TV series, distinctive thanks to its streamlined saucer section, accurate deflector dish, and moderate metallic sheen. This model is the one seen during the very first exterior at Deep Space Nine, and is the one used during most of the launch sequence.
Changed out the first preview for something that doesn't feel quite so...half-way done. This new clip is about two minutes long and has all the pieces in play (which isn't to say some small elements are still missing--will be interesting to see who notices what).
Now you can get a better idea of what this scene is about. This, like the exchange in the turbolift before it, is a light-hearted scene, and while it DOES deal out some important story points, also has some good character moments between the crew.
The fun thing about scenes like this is that you can show the differences in personality, while also having one of the characters be a surrogate for the audience (sometimes using those personality differences as a cover). In this case, Ronston appreciates the android as the technological marvel she is, while Erickson seems to see it only as a threat. She also acts as the voice of the audience, asking the dreaded question "So what?" of Ronston, and asking him to explain why we haven't already done what Geordi did with Data many times. That helps establish that these aren't amateurs and they know what they're doing--or at the very least they aren't overlooking any alternatives that we, the audience think they should be pursuing.
By the way, you can probably already tell where this scene is leading, but if not let me say that this scene is going to end on a VERY interesting note (on more subjects than one).
Damn, youre crazy. I can sort of see how youre doing the scenes now, but i havent used poser in a while, dont plan on going back anytime soon. what video editor are you using? AE? And ill need to reread the part on alpha mapping the transporter beam effects, way too much for me now...
Nice job so far in Engineering, but shouldnt you have Data be trying to figure out the android? after all, isnt he starfleets resident expert on androids?
And i would like to venture a guess that gaius didnt get a chance to finish the android, although his leaving clues to his location would make that sloppy on his part - so, a decoy meant to throw off rayf, or caught with his pants down, making him bolt and run? (and you never addressed my earlier post about the intro)
By the end of this scene we'll know why Data's not working with this particular android (we've already hinted at it by calling it so different than anything we've ever seen, we're about to clarify why it's so different).
The editor I use is an older one, Ulead Media Studio Pro 7.3. And as far as transporter effects go...don't take that on unless you mean it.
I can't comment yet on your predictions, not till this scene is finished. Hopefully that'll be sometime today. Then we'll know a little more and we can talk about where we go next
Now this is more like the kind of dialogue you might hear between Troi, Crusher (and possibly Yar?), or Geordi & Guinan. Keep it up! Or possibly Reg, Geordi, & Troi if Barclay wasn't on Earth assigned to "Project: Voyager" in the episode "INSIDE MAN".
I'm not happy with how quickly Ronston goes "Oh!" in surprise near the end, but that can be fixed. There's also a few shadow artifacts on the Fitzgerald's saucer section near the end, also on the to-fix list. All in all though, this scene came out a lot better than I expected.
-like the scene before it, this scene in Engineering was meant to be a lighthearted offering with some good character moments
-this scene underwent some major revisions from the original concept. Originally, Reyf was to visit engineering to get an update from Ronston and Erickson, who was to have guards posted at every entrance to the room; also, the android's skull was to have been exposed, revealing the intricate circuitry beneath. The first change was to scrap Reyf's appearance in favor of giving Erickson and Ronston some room to talk more freely.
-the dialogue between Ronston and Erickson, in which he sees the android as a living thing and she sees it as a threat, echoes a similar discussion between Tuvok and the EMH in the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "The Gift." Also, Erickson's predilection for referring to the android as "it" was inspired by the character of Kate Pulaski, from the second season of Star Trek TNG.
-Erickson's line "To me, it's just another bunch of blinking lights and shiny spare parts" is a holdover from the earlier draft which was to have shown the android's brain. In that draft, the line would have provided a small comedic moment, as the android was to have looked up at Erickson indignantly upon hearing those words. That was also scrapped when it was decided that the android was to respond to emotional stimuli instead of the words.
-The particulars of the android's responses will prove an important clue later in the film. Notice that she does not respond to Erickson's derogatory language, and does not seem to notice anything other than what is directly in front of her (when Erickson stands before her, the android looks up to meet her gaze, but as soon as Erickson steps away, the android simply resumes looking at the wall).
-Many viewers have expressed puzzlement that Cmdr Data is not heading up the examination of the female android. One reason for this is that in Star Trek Nemesis, a similar examination of the B-4 android was headed entirely by Geordi with minimal participation from Data. The "real world" reason was that the writers wanted to give the Fitzgerald crew some exposure without the "visiting dignitaries" around. This was also one of the main reasons the scene was rewritten to exclude Reyf (another reason for which was fear of overexposing the character).
-Ronston's clear romantic interest in Erickson--along with his failure--was inspired by Geordi's repeated romantic failures in Star Trek TNG.
-The ensign that responds to Erickson's halting statement, "Actually I..." is the only female character to have a long and curly hairstyle, and is also the only character to have the brilliant blue sheen to her hair. This was a deliberate move to make her memorable.
-The ending to this scene mirrors a similar moment in "All Good Things," in which a sort of "love triangle" existed between Riker, Worf, and Troi. In this instance, though, the writers plan to take the dynamic between Ronston, Erickson, and the unnamed ensign in an unexpected direction.
-The exterior shot that bridges this scene with the turbolift scene before it is a recreation of the infamous shot from the TNG TV series of the "guest ship" Excelsior-class leaving orbit, while leaving the Enterprise-D in orbit by itself. This was done deliberately, highlighting the intention of the original designers of the Enterprise-E to make it "the new Excelsior."
-The music cue that plays under the above exterior shot is a short excerpt from "The Bak'U Village," from the expanded soundtrack of "Star Trek Insurrection." In that film, the music accompanies the first introductory shot of the Enterprise-E.
-The music cue that ends the scene is an excerpt from one of the cues from the soundtrack of "These Are the Voyages," the finale episode of Star Trek Enterprise.
-The final exterior shot of the Fitzgerald in orbit is a re-use of a similar shot of the Enterprise-E in orbit of Earth from "Star Trek: First Contact."
-Like the other sets in this film, Main Engineering has colors and lighting strongly reminiscent of those from the film "Star Trek Generations."
-Note that the schematic on the Master Systems Display shows a different configuration of the Fitzgerald than the ship's actual appearance. This is so because a suitable and more accurate graphic could not be created in time for production, and so the decision was made to proceed with the incorrect graphic. An alternative idea--to proceed with the standard Galaxy-class schematic, with none of the modifications seen on the ship's exterior--was rejected as bending unreality a little too far, as the "refit schematic" gag from Star Trek III has already been used twice--once on the Daystrom in the prologue, and again when scanning the ISS Voyager in the shuttlecraft.
Patient, you must be :-) We won't see the android again for a while. When she next appears, the scene will be just before a big "uh oh" moment.
Something to look forward to!...but in the meantime, we've got another "difficult but necessary" scene coming up, followed by something a little more fun (and a lot more enlightening if you haven't seen it yet).
no offense, while its a decent story, and great animation considering, im finding it to develop into a classic TNG-style story: Its becoming a little cheesy, the whole villain thing with garr isnt really cutting it by me, and way too much treknobabble. Please tell me im wrong about this, because i do want to enjoy it, but it just doesnt work for me.
the whole villain thing with garr isnt really cutting it by me
Again, elaborate? We haven't really developed that angle yet, and believe me when I say Garr hasn't even begun to show his villainous side yet. (Wasn't there supposed to be a survey team showing up sometime around now?)
That my dear sir is a necessary element of any good Trek story. And if you notice, the treknobabble (which I assume is a reference to the scene in Main Engineering) is mixed in perfectly with some good character moments.
The reason those links don't work anymore is because the videos they link to have been taken down. The reason is that many of the clips I posted the first time around were either a) low-res, b) had missing pieces, c) included material that was updated after the clips were posted, or d) cut off at bizarre places. Worse yet, some clips overlapped and duplicated material in other segments; so I decided to just pull all the old stuff down and put up fresh, more up-to-date clips for public viewing.
Clicky for part 1. There are six pieces of this altogether. Those six pieces, in order, are:
The first four are ten-minute blocks (the maximum that YouTube will support). I'm about sixty seconds (of program time) shy of having a ten-minute part 5 up. Look for that hopefully sometime tomorrow!
Okay kids, the next scene is finished, it's assembling right now. As soon as it does, I'll convert to MP4 and then up onto YouTube. If it brings us to the 50-minute mark, which I think it might, I'll go ahead and chop us another 10-minute block of footage.
We're about thirty seconds shy of having a full 50 minutes, so no 10-minute block yet. But those who have been wanting to catch up with the ISS Voyager will be pleased, we get our first peek inside the evil starship since Beta Reticuli.
Some trivia about these two scenes (one clip, two very distinct scenes):
-Troi's office is a faithful recreation of the same room as it appeared in "The Next Generation." Some set dressings have been altered and updated to reflect tastes of the mid-2370s.
-thought was given to making the circular wall hangings to either side of the lighted panels behind Troi more like the wall hangings seen in her Enterprise-E office in "Insurrection," however circular wall art of a similar type had already been seen in the Fitzgerald observation lounge, so the circular hangings remained here to preserve the continuity.
-there is a small blooper in this scene: in the first wide shot of the office, note that the low table in front of Troi has a pink bowl on it and nothing else. But in the very next shot, a three-dimensional chess set can clearly be seen in the foreground. This was the result of a last-minute change meant to give Reyf something to play to, since his dialogue involved references to he and Garr having played chess. (chess board courtesy of Trekmeshes.ch)
-Troi's line: "In a way, being on this ship feels like coming home" is a reference to the entire seven-year run of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and also a subtle nudge to the audience pointing out the accuracy of the recreated TNG sets.
-this scene serves an important purpose on the development of Reyf's character. Because of this conversation, the audience can begin to appreciate the depth of Reyf's emotions, and also why he is so afraid of Garr.
-Troi's description of Garr as "focused" and "withdrawn" are not only allusions to Garr's everyday life during his tenure at Starfleet Intelligence but also to his five-year disappearance, during which he would have worked in near-total isolation save the android he created.
-Troi's final line of the scene, in which she theorizes that Garr's hostility stems from resentment at Reyf's normal life, followed by Reyf's response questioning why Garr hasn't enjoyed the same thing, serves as the lead-in for the next scene.
-Troi's final glance at the chess board serves to visually tell the audience that the game is a metaphor for the situation in which they find themselves. The only question is, are Reyf and his crew the King and his Knights? Or are they simple pawns?
-The music cue that begins at Reyf's exit is the cue titled "Not Enough Time," from the commercial soundtrack release of "Star Trek Voyager: The Caretaker"
-the entire nightmare sequence was deliberately produced without audible dialogue. This was done in part to make the scene easier to shoot, as time would not need to be set aside for lip-synching.
-doing this scene without dialogue and relying entirely on visuals, music and sound effects also helps maximize its impact to the audience. It not only serves to reinforce the surreal nature of the scene, it also continues the trend that began at Mellis II, with Garr remaining either totally silent or nearly so for most of his appearances.
-the distorted screams that can be heard for the first few seconds of the scene are re-used from the episode "Where Silence Has Lease," from the first few seconds aboard the fake USS Yamato.
-the "whoosh" noises that accompany many of the scene transitions are the impacts of the Caretaker's energy pulses from the pilot episode of ST:VOY
-the scenes of Garr in the light space were inspired by scenes from within the Celestial Temple from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." An early version of this scene had Garr in a dark space instead of a bright one, however it was changed to white after the decision was made for the entire sequence to have a slight diffuse glow to it.
-this scene features the second appearance of the ISS Voyager mess hall. For this scene, the set was redressed with only the single table. Although it is never shown, a fully detailed kitchen area was built for use with this set.
-note that unlike the "present day" Garr who almost never speaks during his appearances and whose expressions are very muted, the "past" Garr sitting at the mess hall table (in the blue VOY-style uniform) is very lively and animated. This is meant to get filed away along with the things Reyf noted as different in the previous scene
-though interpretations of this scene vary somewhat, the most commonly held is that Garr feels as though he can't escape his memories of his time with the person after whom he modeled the android (thus confirming she IS indeed based on a real person), and that for unknown reasons he fears either her or the memories themselves, and yet when he attempts to confront them, he relives the painful experience of being betrayed.
-the set shown as Garr's quarters was actually built first, even though the redressed version seen as Reyf's quarters (based on Captain Picard's quarters on the Enterprise-E in "Insurrection") was seen first. The image on the wall monitor behind Garr is a famous image of the Eagle nebula, one of the earliest images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope.
-for this shot only, note that "present day" Garr's uniform has a purple-gray collar of the same shade as the early VOY-style uniform "past" Garr is wearing.
-viewers have pointed out that the Astrometrics lab wouldn't be present even on the ISS Voyager, for the simple reason that it was an innovation developed by Seven of Nine and Harry Kim in the fourth season of ST:VOY, which is estimated to have taken place in either 2373 or 2374. In either case, shortly after its appearance in "Year of Hell," the episode "Message in a Bottle," in which the EMH journeyed via the Hirogen sensor network to the Alpha Quadrant, offers a plausible explanation: it is possible that the doctor provided details on modifications made to Voyager since it was lost in the Delta Quadrant, including Astrometrics.
Posts
For the most part yes, there are some things that would hold up production for too long (i.e. some of the motion shots of the Fitzgerald bridge) to be done along the way. There's other things (most particularly the "V'Ger Flyover" sequence) that need to be refined bigtime that'll have to keep until the first two-hour cut is complete. The reason it's taken almost two years to get to this point was that I kept getting bogged down with tiny details and they were holding things up for too long. This way, I can get the entire thing done and then go back to make additions and changes (i.e. the missing background plates, bad walk cycles, etc.)
The turbolift scene is up in its entirety now, this includes everything from the moment Data and Troi beam aboard the Fitzgerald to the moment the Enterprise departs.
View and comment!
The next scene takes place in Main Engineering. The set turned out absolutely BEAUTIFUL, but shots take a while to render because of how it's lit.
This scene will be well worth waiting for though, it's the best kind of Star Trek scene that blends technobabble with some wonderful character moments. And I've written the scene so that it ends with a terrific "WHA?" moment.
Scene coming soon
Just thought y'all might enjoy seeing this, it's a minute-long preview of Scene 17, "Main Engineering." There's some really good stuff in this scene, and as promised we start off with some good character moments between Erickson and Ronston. (The way she refers to the android as "it" was inspired by the character of Kate Pulaski, from TNG season 2). Worth watching, I think, even if it's short. Just bear in mind this is still a VERY rough cut of this part of the scene (as you can tell, the shot of the android against the Master Systems Display isn't even fully rendered, and there's an unnaturally long pause between two of Erickson's lines), so don't expect perfection.
@homerpalooza67: I'll do my best to satisfy this time
1. Tracking: the answer is, "I cheat." It's almost impossible to get the camera to both change position and rotate with the right kind of fluidity, so first I move the camera around where I need it, then target it on a sphere to get the rotation the way I want it. From there, I use the Advanced Motion Lab to set up motion curves to govern how fast or slow things happen.
2. If there IS a way to do it, I don't know what it is. (I just noticed you asked about the tracking shot in sickbay, my apologies for missing that the first time! Here's how I did that: I took the background plate of sickbay behind Reyf and Prentice, and then applied it as a material to a one-sided square in Poser that I placed behind the characters; from there, all I had to do was animate the Poser camera and I was gold!)
3. Special FX: it depends on what effect you're referring to. If you're referring to the lensflares, that's all done in my video editor (including those associated with the transporter beams). If you mean the transporter matter streams, that's a longer process but here goes. First thing I did was to create a master clip (fullscreen of course) of the transporter matter stream. After that, shaping it to meet the needs of an individual scene was easy: all I have to do is create an alpha-channel overlay clip to tell my video editor where I want the matter stream to show up. Once that's done, it all gets composited together, and voila: instant transporter beam. All I have to do then is crossfade from an image with the characters to an identical shot without them (or vice versa), and just like that you can beam people in and out at will.
Hopefully that's a little more helpful than past answers
-USS Enterprise-D model by Ralph Schoberth: this one is only visible once, in the final scene of the launch sequence, when the Fitzgerald engages its warp drive. This version is distinctive because of its too-round deflector dish and its green hull tint. This shot is among the oldest in the present cut of Specter of the Past.
-USS Horizon model by Star Trek Horizon: this model is presently seen the most of the three, and can be discerned by its thicker saucer section, increased surface detailing, the larger "bulge" of its secondary hull around the deflector dish, and the metallic sheen of its hull. This version makes its first appearance at 17:53 (7:53 into the second clip available on YouTube), as the Deep Space Nine theme moves into its final loop.
-USS Enterprise-D model by (unknown author: the third and most recent version is the most accurate to the TNG TV series, distinctive thanks to its streamlined saucer section, accurate deflector dish, and moderate metallic sheen. This model is the one seen during the very first exterior at Deep Space Nine, and is the one used during most of the launch sequence.
Changed out the first preview for something that doesn't feel quite so...half-way done. This new clip is about two minutes long and has all the pieces in play (which isn't to say some small elements are still missing--will be interesting to see who notices what).
Now you can get a better idea of what this scene is about. This, like the exchange in the turbolift before it, is a light-hearted scene, and while it DOES deal out some important story points, also has some good character moments between the crew.
The fun thing about scenes like this is that you can show the differences in personality, while also having one of the characters be a surrogate for the audience (sometimes using those personality differences as a cover). In this case, Ronston appreciates the android as the technological marvel she is, while Erickson seems to see it only as a threat. She also acts as the voice of the audience, asking the dreaded question "So what?" of Ronston, and asking him to explain why we haven't already done what Geordi did with Data many times. That helps establish that these aren't amateurs and they know what they're doing--or at the very least they aren't overlooking any alternatives that we, the audience think they should be pursuing.
By the way, you can probably already tell where this scene is leading, but if not let me say that this scene is going to end on a VERY interesting note (on more subjects than one).
Nice job so far in Engineering, but shouldnt you have Data be trying to figure out the android? after all, isnt he starfleets resident expert on androids?
And i would like to venture a guess that gaius didnt get a chance to finish the android, although his leaving clues to his location would make that sloppy on his part - so, a decoy meant to throw off rayf, or caught with his pants down, making him bolt and run? (and you never addressed my earlier post about the intro)
The editor I use is an older one, Ulead Media Studio Pro 7.3. And as far as transporter effects go...don't take that on unless you mean it.
I can't comment yet on your predictions, not till this scene is finished. Hopefully that'll be sometime today. Then we'll know a little more and we can talk about where we go next
Scene is up!
I'm not happy with how quickly Ronston goes "Oh!" in surprise near the end, but that can be fixed. There's also a few shadow artifacts on the Fitzgerald's saucer section near the end, also on the to-fix list. All in all though, this scene came out a lot better than I expected.
-like the scene before it, this scene in Engineering was meant to be a lighthearted offering with some good character moments
-this scene underwent some major revisions from the original concept. Originally, Reyf was to visit engineering to get an update from Ronston and Erickson, who was to have guards posted at every entrance to the room; also, the android's skull was to have been exposed, revealing the intricate circuitry beneath. The first change was to scrap Reyf's appearance in favor of giving Erickson and Ronston some room to talk more freely.
-the dialogue between Ronston and Erickson, in which he sees the android as a living thing and she sees it as a threat, echoes a similar discussion between Tuvok and the EMH in the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "The Gift." Also, Erickson's predilection for referring to the android as "it" was inspired by the character of Kate Pulaski, from the second season of Star Trek TNG.
-Erickson's line "To me, it's just another bunch of blinking lights and shiny spare parts" is a holdover from the earlier draft which was to have shown the android's brain. In that draft, the line would have provided a small comedic moment, as the android was to have looked up at Erickson indignantly upon hearing those words. That was also scrapped when it was decided that the android was to respond to emotional stimuli instead of the words.
-The particulars of the android's responses will prove an important clue later in the film. Notice that she does not respond to Erickson's derogatory language, and does not seem to notice anything other than what is directly in front of her (when Erickson stands before her, the android looks up to meet her gaze, but as soon as Erickson steps away, the android simply resumes looking at the wall).
-Many viewers have expressed puzzlement that Cmdr Data is not heading up the examination of the female android. One reason for this is that in Star Trek Nemesis, a similar examination of the B-4 android was headed entirely by Geordi with minimal participation from Data. The "real world" reason was that the writers wanted to give the Fitzgerald crew some exposure without the "visiting dignitaries" around. This was also one of the main reasons the scene was rewritten to exclude Reyf (another reason for which was fear of overexposing the character).
-Ronston's clear romantic interest in Erickson--along with his failure--was inspired by Geordi's repeated romantic failures in Star Trek TNG.
-The ensign that responds to Erickson's halting statement, "Actually I..." is the only female character to have a long and curly hairstyle, and is also the only character to have the brilliant blue sheen to her hair. This was a deliberate move to make her memorable.
-The ending to this scene mirrors a similar moment in "All Good Things," in which a sort of "love triangle" existed between Riker, Worf, and Troi. In this instance, though, the writers plan to take the dynamic between Ronston, Erickson, and the unnamed ensign in an unexpected direction.
-The exterior shot that bridges this scene with the turbolift scene before it is a recreation of the infamous shot from the TNG TV series of the "guest ship" Excelsior-class leaving orbit, while leaving the Enterprise-D in orbit by itself. This was done deliberately, highlighting the intention of the original designers of the Enterprise-E to make it "the new Excelsior."
-The music cue that plays under the above exterior shot is a short excerpt from "The Bak'U Village," from the expanded soundtrack of "Star Trek Insurrection." In that film, the music accompanies the first introductory shot of the Enterprise-E.
-The music cue that ends the scene is an excerpt from one of the cues from the soundtrack of "These Are the Voyages," the finale episode of Star Trek Enterprise.
-The final exterior shot of the Fitzgerald in orbit is a re-use of a similar shot of the Enterprise-E in orbit of Earth from "Star Trek: First Contact."
-Like the other sets in this film, Main Engineering has colors and lighting strongly reminiscent of those from the film "Star Trek Generations."
-Note that the schematic on the Master Systems Display shows a different configuration of the Fitzgerald than the ship's actual appearance. This is so because a suitable and more accurate graphic could not be created in time for production, and so the decision was made to proceed with the incorrect graphic. An alternative idea--to proceed with the standard Galaxy-class schematic, with none of the modifications seen on the ship's exterior--was rejected as bending unreality a little too far, as the "refit schematic" gag from Star Trek III has already been used twice--once on the Daystrom in the prologue, and again when scanning the ISS Voyager in the shuttlecraft.
Something to look forward to!...but in the meantime, we've got another "difficult but necessary" scene coming up, followed by something a little more fun (and a lot more enlightening if you haven't seen it yet).
Stay tuned! Lots more coming up.
Still a great job mind you.
If you're going to make a comment like that I'll need to hear some examples.
Again, elaborate? We haven't really developed that angle yet, and believe me when I say Garr hasn't even begun to show his villainous side yet. (Wasn't there supposed to be a survey team showing up sometime around now?)
That my dear sir is a necessary element of any good Trek story. And if you notice, the treknobabble (which I assume is a reference to the scene in Main Engineering) is mixed in perfectly with some good character moments.
Clicky for part 1. There are six pieces of this altogether. Those six pieces, in order, are:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5 - "Distinguished Guests"
Part 6 - "What She's Made Of"
The first four are ten-minute blocks (the maximum that YouTube will support). I'm about sixty seconds (of program time) shy of having a ten-minute part 5 up. Look for that hopefully sometime tomorrow!
Stay tuned!
We're about thirty seconds shy of having a full 50 minutes, so no 10-minute block yet. But those who have been wanting to catch up with the ISS Voyager will be pleased, we get our first peek inside the evil starship since Beta Reticuli.
Some trivia about these two scenes (one clip, two very distinct scenes):
-Troi's office is a faithful recreation of the same room as it appeared in "The Next Generation." Some set dressings have been altered and updated to reflect tastes of the mid-2370s.
-thought was given to making the circular wall hangings to either side of the lighted panels behind Troi more like the wall hangings seen in her Enterprise-E office in "Insurrection," however circular wall art of a similar type had already been seen in the Fitzgerald observation lounge, so the circular hangings remained here to preserve the continuity.
-there is a small blooper in this scene: in the first wide shot of the office, note that the low table in front of Troi has a pink bowl on it and nothing else. But in the very next shot, a three-dimensional chess set can clearly be seen in the foreground. This was the result of a last-minute change meant to give Reyf something to play to, since his dialogue involved references to he and Garr having played chess. (chess board courtesy of Trekmeshes.ch)
-Troi's line: "In a way, being on this ship feels like coming home" is a reference to the entire seven-year run of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and also a subtle nudge to the audience pointing out the accuracy of the recreated TNG sets.
-this scene serves an important purpose on the development of Reyf's character. Because of this conversation, the audience can begin to appreciate the depth of Reyf's emotions, and also why he is so afraid of Garr.
-Troi's description of Garr as "focused" and "withdrawn" are not only allusions to Garr's everyday life during his tenure at Starfleet Intelligence but also to his five-year disappearance, during which he would have worked in near-total isolation save the android he created.
-Troi's final line of the scene, in which she theorizes that Garr's hostility stems from resentment at Reyf's normal life, followed by Reyf's response questioning why Garr hasn't enjoyed the same thing, serves as the lead-in for the next scene.
-Troi's final glance at the chess board serves to visually tell the audience that the game is a metaphor for the situation in which they find themselves. The only question is, are Reyf and his crew the King and his Knights? Or are they simple pawns?
-The music cue that begins at Reyf's exit is the cue titled "Not Enough Time," from the commercial soundtrack release of "Star Trek Voyager: The Caretaker"
-the entire nightmare sequence was deliberately produced without audible dialogue. This was done in part to make the scene easier to shoot, as time would not need to be set aside for lip-synching.
-doing this scene without dialogue and relying entirely on visuals, music and sound effects also helps maximize its impact to the audience. It not only serves to reinforce the surreal nature of the scene, it also continues the trend that began at Mellis II, with Garr remaining either totally silent or nearly so for most of his appearances.
-the distorted screams that can be heard for the first few seconds of the scene are re-used from the episode "Where Silence Has Lease," from the first few seconds aboard the fake USS Yamato.
-the "whoosh" noises that accompany many of the scene transitions are the impacts of the Caretaker's energy pulses from the pilot episode of ST:VOY
-the scenes of Garr in the light space were inspired by scenes from within the Celestial Temple from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." An early version of this scene had Garr in a dark space instead of a bright one, however it was changed to white after the decision was made for the entire sequence to have a slight diffuse glow to it.
-this scene features the second appearance of the ISS Voyager mess hall. For this scene, the set was redressed with only the single table. Although it is never shown, a fully detailed kitchen area was built for use with this set.
-note that unlike the "present day" Garr who almost never speaks during his appearances and whose expressions are very muted, the "past" Garr sitting at the mess hall table (in the blue VOY-style uniform) is very lively and animated. This is meant to get filed away along with the things Reyf noted as different in the previous scene
-though interpretations of this scene vary somewhat, the most commonly held is that Garr feels as though he can't escape his memories of his time with the person after whom he modeled the android (thus confirming she IS indeed based on a real person), and that for unknown reasons he fears either her or the memories themselves, and yet when he attempts to confront them, he relives the painful experience of being betrayed.
-the set shown as Garr's quarters was actually built first, even though the redressed version seen as Reyf's quarters (based on Captain Picard's quarters on the Enterprise-E in "Insurrection") was seen first. The image on the wall monitor behind Garr is a famous image of the Eagle nebula, one of the earliest images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope.
-for this shot only, note that "present day" Garr's uniform has a purple-gray collar of the same shade as the early VOY-style uniform "past" Garr is wearing.
-viewers have pointed out that the Astrometrics lab wouldn't be present even on the ISS Voyager, for the simple reason that it was an innovation developed by Seven of Nine and Harry Kim in the fourth season of ST:VOY, which is estimated to have taken place in either 2373 or 2374. In either case, shortly after its appearance in "Year of Hell," the episode "Message in a Bottle," in which the EMH journeyed via the Hirogen sensor network to the Alpha Quadrant, offers a plausible explanation: it is possible that the doctor provided details on modifications made to Voyager since it was lost in the Delta Quadrant, including Astrometrics.