2014-06-05

finetuning

← Older revision

Revision as of 12:51, June 5, 2014

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[[File:Federation Alliance fleet.jpg|thumb|left|CGI [[Federation]] and [[Romulan]] starships in {{e|Tears of the Prophets}}]]

 

[[File:Federation Alliance fleet.jpg|thumb|left|CGI [[Federation]] and [[Romulan]] starships in {{e|Tears of the Prophets}}]]



The very first CGI used in ''[[Star Trek]]'' was in the [[wormhole]] sequence of {{film|1}}, created by [[Robert Abel & Associates]] using the [[Evans & Sutherland]] Picture System. A more notable use was in {{film|2}}, where Lucasfilm Graphics Group, then a subsidiary of [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (ILM), was responsible for the [[Genesis (planet)|Genesis]] effect. The Graphics Group later evolved into [[Pixar]], in {{y|1986}}.

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The very first CGI used – for all intents and purposes – in ''[[Star Trek]]'' was in the [[wormhole]] sequence of {{film|1}}, created by [[Robert Abel & Associates]] using the [[Evans & Sutherland]] Picture System. A more notable, highly publicized, use was in {{film|2}}, where Lucasfilm Graphics Group, then a subsidiary of [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (ILM), was responsible for the "[[Project Genesis]]" demonstration sequence effect, the very first fully textured 3D CGI representation shown in the motion picture business to a general public. The Graphics Group later evolved into [[Pixar]], in {{y|1986}}.

 

 

 

Very limited CGI was used in the next four {{Star Trek films}} and ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' ([[TNG]]), due to the expense of creating CGI effects at the time, though producers [[Robert Justman]] and [[Edward K. Milkis]] investigated the feasibility of applying CGI to the new television show. Justman recalled, "''Eddie Milkis and I investigated the possibility of generating everything on the computer. We had great reservations about it, because it still didn't have the reality. The surface treatment wasn't totally believable ''[remark: Justman is referring to a CGI refit-{{Class|Constitution}} that was commissioned for evaluation]''; we could have gotten by, it would have been acceptable, but it wasn't satisfactory.''" (''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints]]'', booklet, p. 14; ''[[Cinefex]]'', issue 37, p. 10) Milkis declined the prospect of adopting CGI for another reason. He commented, "''It was incredibly good, and it took some real thinking on our part, but ultimately we decided that if something ever happened to that company and they couldn't deliver, then we'd have nothing. We were very concerned about that and ultimately they did go out of business.''" (''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion]]'', p. 11)

 

Very limited CGI was used in the next four {{Star Trek films}} and ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' ([[TNG]]), due to the expense of creating CGI effects at the time, though producers [[Robert Justman]] and [[Edward K. Milkis]] investigated the feasibility of applying CGI to the new television show. Justman recalled, "''Eddie Milkis and I investigated the possibility of generating everything on the computer. We had great reservations about it, because it still didn't have the reality. The surface treatment wasn't totally believable ''[remark: Justman is referring to a CGI refit-{{Class|Constitution}} that was commissioned for evaluation]''; we could have gotten by, it would have been acceptable, but it wasn't satisfactory.''" (''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints]]'', booklet, p. 14; ''[[Cinefex]]'', issue 37, p. 10) Milkis declined the prospect of adopting CGI for another reason. He commented, "''It was incredibly good, and it took some real thinking on our part, but ultimately we decided that if something ever happened to that company and they couldn't deliver, then we'd have nothing. We were very concerned about that and ultimately they did go out of business.''" (''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion]]'', p. 11)

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Of the ''Star Trek'' production team, [[David Stipes]] in particular, as well as – at a later time, to a lesser degree – [[Mitch Suskin]], [[Dan Curry]], and [[Ronald B. Moore]] were the foremost advocates of applying CGI, Stipes already overseeing some of its earliest applications during the [[TNG Season 6|sixth season]] of ''TNG'' . Stipes had lobbied, in vain, for a CGI version of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} during that season. He explained, "''On '[[The Chase (episode)|The Chase]]' we were all over the galaxy – warp here and warp there – and I have basically the one or two jumps to warp that we had in stock. When TNG was started, the first bits of material were shot at ILM and they shot the original jump to warp with slit scan and streak photography. That served us very well for seven years, but it was very difficult to do and expensive. I had been pushing to build a CGI ''Enterprise'', but no one wanted to incur the expense at that point so I lived with the stock shots.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 79) In regard to the the costs, he later remarked, "''The approach to the visual effects work was based upon models and motion control photography. We were limited by track lengths and sizes of the models. I began looking at the software available at the time. As I remember, the leading software was about $40,000 a module and you needed three or four different modules to possibly do any film quality work.''" [http://makingfx.net/archives/139]

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Of the ''Star Trek'' production team, [[David Stipes]] in particular, as well as – at a later time, to a lesser degree – [[Mitch Suskin]], [[Dan Curry]], and [[Ronald B. Moore]] were the foremost advocates of applying CGI, Stipes already overseeing some of its earliest applications during the [[TNG Season 6|sixth season]] of ''TNG''. Stipes had lobbied, in vain, for a CGI version of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} during that season. He explained, "''On '[[The Chase (episode)|The Chase]]' we were all over the galaxy – warp here and warp there – and I have basically the one or two jumps to warp that we had in stock. When TNG was started, the first bits of material were shot at ILM and they shot the original jump to warp with slit scan and streak photography. That served us very well for seven years, but it was very difficult to do and expensive. I had been pushing to build a CGI ''Enterprise'', but no one wanted to incur the expense at that point so I lived with the stock shots.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 79) In regard to the the costs, he later remarked, "''The approach to the visual effects work was based upon models and motion control photography. We were limited by track lengths and sizes of the models. I began looking at the software available at the time. As I remember, the leading software was about $40,000 a module and you needed three or four different modules to possibly do any film quality work.''" [http://makingfx.net/archives/139]

 

 

 

In the early stages, Stipes' persistence on CGI was met with considerable scepsis at first by his colleagues. Aside from the perceived cost issue, there was also the barrier of reluctance of accepting the new technology by producers and visual effects artists who were born and bred in the true and tried traditional methods of producing VFX, such as ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' ([[DS9]])'s Visual Effects Supervisor, [[Gary Hutzel]]. "''It's prohibitively expensive for ''Deep Space Nine'',''" he said. "''Dan set out with ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' ([[VOY]]) to create a new look, but we have a show that's established. And nobody's going to accept a CGI ''Defiant'' that has that kind of texture to it, so we're forced to create really photo-realistic CGI elements that have to be consistent with the look of our show – and it's expensive. Plus I ''prefer'' to photograph the ships, especially a beautiful ship like the ''Defiant'', or the station.''" ({{STC|105}}, p. 57) Elaborating a bit further, Ron Moore recalled, "''During the run of ''Voyager'', David Stipes joined us as one of the visual effects supervisors ''[sic: Stipes already joined at the start of ''The Next Generation''{{'}} [[TNG Season 5|season five]]]''. He was a big believer in using CGI and was working with Amblin Effects ''[sic.]'', located on the Universal lot. Dan Curry and I were reluctant to use computer models but David wanted to jump right in. We knew that they would continue to cut ship shots we had created for previous episodes into new shows. We were concerned that these older stock shots would not look the same as new CG shots. We didn't think the two models looked enough alike. Over the course of the show the shots that David brought in got better and better and in the end he won us all over. It changed our lives.''" (''[[Flying Starships]]'', p. 33) Essentially speaking for all of them at the time, ''DS9''{{'}}s Visual Effects Producer, [[Robert Legato]], put it very succinctly, when he stated, "''It looks too pristine. I don't believe it.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 24, No. 3/4, p. 105)

 

In the early stages, Stipes' persistence on CGI was met with considerable scepsis at first by his colleagues. Aside from the perceived cost issue, there was also the barrier of reluctance of accepting the new technology by producers and visual effects artists who were born and bred in the true and tried traditional methods of producing VFX, such as ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' ([[DS9]])'s Visual Effects Supervisor, [[Gary Hutzel]]. "''It's prohibitively expensive for ''Deep Space Nine'',''" he said. "''Dan set out with ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' ([[VOY]]) to create a new look, but we have a show that's established. And nobody's going to accept a CGI ''Defiant'' that has that kind of texture to it, so we're forced to create really photo-realistic CGI elements that have to be consistent with the look of our show – and it's expensive. Plus I ''prefer'' to photograph the ships, especially a beautiful ship like the ''Defiant'', or the station.''" ({{STC|105}}, p. 57) Elaborating a bit further, Ron Moore recalled, "''During the run of ''Voyager'', David Stipes joined us as one of the visual effects supervisors ''[sic: Stipes already joined at the start of ''The Next Generation''{{'}} [[TNG Season 5|season five]]]''. He was a big believer in using CGI and was working with Amblin Effects ''[sic.]'', located on the Universal lot. Dan Curry and I were reluctant to use computer models but David wanted to jump right in. We knew that they would continue to cut ship shots we had created for previous episodes into new shows. We were concerned that these older stock shots would not look the same as new CG shots. We didn't think the two models looked enough alike. Over the course of the show the shots that David brought in got better and better and in the end he won us all over. It changed our lives.''" (''[[Flying Starships]]'', p. 33) Essentially speaking for all of them at the time, ''DS9''{{'}}s Visual Effects Producer, [[Robert Legato]], put it very succinctly, when he stated, "''It looks too pristine. I don't believe it.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 24, No. 3/4, p. 105)

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===Derivative alternate uses for CGI===

 

===Derivative alternate uses for CGI===

 

[[File:Star Trek Fact Files Part 69 cover.jpg|thumb|''Files'', no. 69, first derivative use of a ''Star Trek'' production CGI model]]

 

[[File:Star Trek Fact Files Part 69 cover.jpg|thumb|''Files'', no. 69, first derivative use of a ''Star Trek'' production CGI model]]



While the technique was first and foremost employed for the live action productions VFX, it turned out that the produced CGI had an unintended, advantageous side-effect for the franchise. Once produced, the effects could easily be used, or equally easily adapted for (licensed) print publications as illustrations. One of the very first people to fully realize this potential, at least where the ''Star Trek'' franchise was concerned, was [[GE Fabbri]]'s chief editor [[Ben Robinson]], who recollected, "''When we were first doing the [[Star Trek Fact Files|Fact Files]] they were just introducing CG on the show and I realized it was an incredible resource for any publication. If you've got a CG model you can look at something in real detail. We approached Foundation and Eden FX '' [note: at the time still Digital Muse]'' about getting people to render CG models out for us. [[Robert Bonchune|Rob ''[Bonchune]'']] was one of the guys who really took that on and we became good friends, so when I started on [[USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual|this project]] he was one of the first people I thought of. There’s no substitute for a good render of a starship. It's as close as to the real thing as you could ever get.''" [http://www.startrek.com/article/haynes-enterprise-manual-co-author-ben-robinson-interview] Robinson followed up with the inclusion of the first-time use of (adapted) beauty and orthographic views of a life-production CGI model, that of the [[Voth research vessel]], featured in, and prominently on the cover of issue 69 (1998) of the ''Star Trek Fact Files''. CG imagery thus conceived, and likewise featured on the covers, was included onward ever since, it also being the case for the entire run for its US derivative, ''[[Star Trek: The Magazine]]''. Prior to the Voth vessel, non-production CGI versions of the {{Class|Oberth}}, [[Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd century)]] and {{Class|Daedalus}} were already especially constructed the previous year at either effects house for representation in the ''Fact Files''.

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While the technique was first and foremost employed for the live action productions VFX, it turned out that the produced CGI had an unintended, advantageous side-effect for the franchise. Once produced, the effects could easily be used, or equally easily adapted for (licensed) print publications as illustrations. One of the very first people to fully realize this potential, at least where the ''Star Trek'' franchise was concerned, was [[GE Fabbri]]'s chief editor [[Ben Robinson]], who recollected, "''When we were first doing the [[Star Trek Fact Files|Fact Files]] they were just introducing CG on the show and I realized it was an incredible resource for any publication. If you've got a CG model you can look at something in real detail. We approached Foundation and Eden FX '' [note: at the time still Digital Muse]'' about getting people to render CG models out for us. [[Robert Bonchune|Rob ''[Bonchune]'']] was one of the guys who really took that on and we became good friends, so when I started on [[USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual|this project]] he was one of the first people I thought of. There’s no substitute for a good render of a starship. It's as close as to the real thing as you could ever get.''" [http://www.startrek.com/article/haynes-enterprise-manual-co-author-ben-robinson-interview] Robinson followed up with the inclusion of the first-time use of (adapted) beauty and orthographic views of a life-production CGI model, that of the [[Voth research vessel]], featured in, and prominently on the cover of issue 69 (1998) of the ''Star Trek Fact Files''. CG imagery thus conceived, and likewise featured on the covers, was included onward ever since, it also being the case for the entire run for its US derivative, ''[[Star Trek: The Magazine]]''. Prior to the Voth vessel, non-production CGI versions of the {{Class|Oberth}}, {{Class|D7}}, [[Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd century)]] and {{Class|Daedalus}} were already especially constructed the previous year at either effects house for representation in the ''Fact Files''.

 

 

 

Adam Lebowitz (together with Bonchune) too, was one of the first people to realize the print potential of CGI, while working on the CGI [[Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards]] sequence for the ''VOY'' episode {{e|Relativity}}, "''In fact, the whole time we were working on the episode, we thought it was a shame that the people at home would only see this stuff on blurry TV screens, and not in the high-resolution glory we had created them in.''" ({{STTM|2|9}}, p. 102) His notion resulted in the highly successful ''[[Star Trek: Ships of the Line]]'' calendar series, its [[Ships of the Line|book derivative]], as well as the ''[[Star Trek: Starship Spotter]]'' [[Reference works|reference book]].

 

Adam Lebowitz (together with Bonchune) too, was one of the first people to realize the print potential of CGI, while working on the CGI [[Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards]] sequence for the ''VOY'' episode {{e|Relativity}}, "''In fact, the whole time we were working on the episode, we thought it was a shame that the people at home would only see this stuff on blurry TV screens, and not in the high-resolution glory we had created them in.''" ({{STTM|2|9}}, p. 102) His notion resulted in the highly successful ''[[Star Trek: Ships of the Line]]'' calendar series, its [[Ships of the Line|book derivative]], as well as the ''[[Star Trek: Starship Spotter]]'' [[Reference works|reference book]].

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==Computer software==

 

==Computer software==



CGI made its tentative entry into the motion picture industry in the 1970s, in movies like ''{{w|Futureworld}}'', ''{{w|Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|Star Wars}}'', ''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}'', ''{{w|The Black Hole}}'', and ''Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan''. In most cases, the CGI was limited, 3D {{w|wire-frame model}}s, aptly used as computer displays. The [[Genesis Device]] effect sequence, created by Lucasfilm Graphics Group (who themselves referred to the sequence as the "Genesis Demo") on their own in-house developed software for ''The Wrath of Khan'', was not only a CGI first for ''Star Trek'', but was also the very first fully CGI-realized 3D sequence – not being a wire-frame but rather a full-textured 3D representation – ever to be shown in the motion picture business to a general public.

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CGI made its tentative entry into the motion picture industry in the 1970s, in movies like ''{{w|Futureworld}}'', ''{{w|Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|Star Wars}}'', ''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}'', ''{{w|The Black Hole}}'', and ''Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan''. In most cases, the CGI was limited, 3D {{w|wire-frame model}}s, aptly used as computer displays. The [[Genesis Device]] effect sequence, created by Lucasfilm Graphics Group (who themselves referred to the sequence as the "Genesis Demo") on their own in-house developed software for ''The Wrath of Khan'', was as is not only a first for ''Star Trek'', but was also the very first fully CGI-realized 3D sequence – not being a wire-frame but rather a fully textured 3D representation – ever to be shown in the motion picture business to a general public.

 

 

 

In those early days, CGI was generated by using computer programs that were developed at universities (such as the [[Computer Graphics Laboratory]]) or by in-house programmers of VFX companies themselves (often indicated as "{{w|propriety software}}", though the term is not quite correctly used in this context), meaning that interchangeability was non-existent. One such early program was ILM's own, "Reyes" (acronym for the somewhat flippant "Renders Everything You Ever Saw"), developed in-house by [[Loren Carpenter]]. That program was used to construct the very first CGI ships for the ''Star Trek'' franchise, that of the the [[Constitution class model (refit)#CGI refit models|CGI refit-''Enterprise'']] and [[K't'inga class model#CGI models|CGI ''K't'inga''-class]], which served as a probation piece for the Graphics Group in order to obtain permission to go ahead with the "Genesis Demo". (''[[American Cinematographer]]'', October 1982, p. 1038) The CGI models themselves though, have never been seen by the general public.

 

In those early days, CGI was generated by using computer programs that were developed at universities (such as the [[Computer Graphics Laboratory]]) or by in-house programmers of VFX companies themselves (often indicated as "{{w|propriety software}}", though the term is not quite correctly used in this context), meaning that interchangeability was non-existent. One such early program was ILM's own, "Reyes" (acronym for the somewhat flippant "Renders Everything You Ever Saw"), developed in-house by [[Loren Carpenter]]. That program was used to construct the very first CGI ships for the ''Star Trek'' franchise, that of the the [[Constitution class model (refit)#CGI refit models|CGI refit-''Enterprise'']] and [[K't'inga class model#CGI models|CGI ''K't'inga''-class]], which served as a probation piece for the Graphics Group in order to obtain permission to go ahead with the "Genesis Demo". (''[[American Cinematographer]]'', October 1982, p. 1038) The CGI models themselves though, have never been seen by the general public.

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Traditionally, animated effects such as ''Star Trek''{{'}}s phaser beams were hand-drawn by a craftsman onto, either each single film frame (or cel) itself, or onto a separate transparent cel, later to be composited into the final visual in post-production editing by means of specialized equipment, such as the {{w|optical printer}}. Obviously a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, animation was revolutionized during the late 1970s, early 1980s, with the advent of computers in the post-production editing departments. The advent of commercially available {{w|Computer graphics|graphics painting}} software programs, of which Microsoft Paint is perhaps the best known to the general public, greatly enhanced the efficiency of animation in post-production, and was, alongside the traditional animation techniques, already employed for the more straightforward beam effects by ILM for their ''Star Trek'' productions of the 1980s as well as by [[The Post Group]], when ''The Next Generation'' went into production 1n 1987. While these computer generated animation effects could, strictly speaking, already be considered as CGI, in practice at the time however, due to tradition, they were originally treated separately as part of the post-production editing process, unless generated as part of a CGI sequence, constructed in dedicated CGI software (which, though related, was considered separate from paint software as the latter is static and incapable of rendering), as it increasingly became from the 1990s onward.

 

Traditionally, animated effects such as ''Star Trek''{{'}}s phaser beams were hand-drawn by a craftsman onto, either each single film frame (or cel) itself, or onto a separate transparent cel, later to be composited into the final visual in post-production editing by means of specialized equipment, such as the {{w|optical printer}}. Obviously a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, animation was revolutionized during the late 1970s, early 1980s, with the advent of computers in the post-production editing departments. The advent of commercially available {{w|Computer graphics|graphics painting}} software programs, of which Microsoft Paint is perhaps the best known to the general public, greatly enhanced the efficiency of animation in post-production, and was, alongside the traditional animation techniques, already employed for the more straightforward beam effects by ILM for their ''Star Trek'' productions of the 1980s as well as by [[The Post Group]], when ''The Next Generation'' went into production 1n 1987. While these computer generated animation effects could, strictly speaking, already be considered as CGI, in practice at the time however, due to tradition, they were originally treated separately as part of the post-production editing process, unless generated as part of a CGI sequence, constructed in dedicated CGI software (which, though related, was considered separate from paint software as the latter is static and incapable of rendering), as it increasingly became from the 1990s onward.

 

 



Moving computer console display imagery, prior to ''The Wrath of Khan'', was also accomplished with the use of traditional animation. CGI has made the traditional craft of animation all but obsolete from the mid-1990s onward, incidentally not in the least due to the ground-breaking work both Video Image and Pixar have done in this field.

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Moving computer console display imagery, prior to ''The Wrath of Khan'', was also accomplished with the use of traditional animation. CGI has made the traditional craft of animation all but obsolete from the mid-1990s onward, incidentally not in the least due to the ground-breaking work Robert Abel & Associates, Video Image and Pixar have done in this field.

 

 

 

==Durability of CGI models==

 

==Durability of CGI models==

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