CGI backup model: grm.
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== Physical studio model ==
== Physical studio model ==
[[File:Intrepid class physical studio model, orthographic views.jpg|thumb|The physical model, orthographic views]]
[[File:Intrepid class physical studio model, orthographic views.jpg|thumb|The physical model, orthographic views]]
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Starting on 16 June 1994, Sternbach needed about a month to re-design the model along the "curvier" lines requested before it was approved. The physical studio model, essentially a collaborative design effort by Sternbach, [[Michael Okuda]], and [[Richard James]] (of which the latter had to match the interior sets with the outer appearance of the ship), was eventually built, after Sternbach produced detailed blueprints in August 1994, at [[Tony Meininger]]'s [[Brazil-Fabrication & Design]]. Constructed out of vacuum-formed plastic and cast resin with internal neon lighting, it measured 61×24×10 inches, and was commonly referred to by the production staffers as the "five foot model". {{DrexFiles|2009/05/10/voyager-details-by-starlight/}} After eleventh-hour detailing, entailing the application of the ships graphics and decals, Meininger delivered the model to [[Image G]] (where staffers [[Andrew Millstein]] and [[Tim Stell]] were eagerly awaiting to start {{w|motion control photography}} on the model) for shooting on 19 October 1994, though modifications and detailing, including a late decision to have the warp engines being able to pivot, continued until mid-December. Slated to be the visual effects producer for the series, meant that [[Dan Curry]] was the effects staffer primarily responsible for photographing the model. Having already kept a close eye on the design stage of the model, he continued to do so during its construction. He wanted to make sure that surface details were designed with well-placed mounts in mind, in order to allow for maximum creativity in designing and filming motion control sequences through good camera angles, which might otherwise not be available for him. (''[[A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager]]'', pp. 217, 295, 325)
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Starting on 16 June 1994, Sternbach needed about a month to re-design the model along the "curvier" lines requested before it was approved. The physical studio model, essentially a collaborative design effort by Sternbach, [[Michael Okuda]], and [[Richard James]] (of which the latter had to match the interior sets with the outer appearance of the ship), was eventually built, after Sternbach produced detailed blueprints in August 1994, at [[Tony Meininger]]'s [[Brazil-Fabrication & Design]]. Constructed out of vacuum-formed plastic and cast resin with internal neon lighting, it measured 61×24×10 inches, and was commonly referred to by the production staffers as the "five foot model". {{DrexFiles|2009/05/10/voyager-details-by-starlight/}} After eleventh-hour detailing, entailing the application of the ships graphics and decals, Meininger delivered the model to [[Image G]] (where staffers [[Andrew Millstein]] and [[Tim Stell]] were eagerly awaiting to start {{w|motion control photography}} on the model) for shooting on 19 October 1994, though modifications and detailing, including a late decision to have the warp engines being able to pivot, continued until mid-December. Slated to be the visual effects producer for the series, meant that Visual Effects Producer [[Dan Curry]] was the effects staffer primarily responsible for photographing the model. Having already kept a close eye on the design stage of the model, he continued to do so during its construction. He wanted to make sure that surface details were designed with well-placed mounts in mind, in order to allow for maximum creativity in designing and filming motion control sequences through good camera angles, which might otherwise not be available for him. (''[[A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager]]'', pp. 217, 295, 325)
The model was also outfitted with tiny still photographs of interior settings, positioned behind the windows, echoing what had been done fifteen years earlier with the [[Constitution class model (refit)#Eight-foot refit model|eight-foot refit-''Enterprise'' studio model]]. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol 27 #4/5, p. 46) Curry has stated in this respect, "''The ''Voyager'' hero model was a five-foot miniature. And one of the things we did with that, is inside the larger windows, we'd gone around the sets and took slides of various sets and then bent them into little arcs like miniature cycloramas inside the windows. So when tighter shots of the ship fly by, you'd get a sense of perspective shift as the ship move by, which would help the verisimilitude, as rather having white-lit windows.''"
The model was also outfitted with tiny still photographs of interior settings, positioned behind the windows, echoing what had been done fifteen years earlier with the [[Constitution class model (refit)#Eight-foot refit model|eight-foot refit-''Enterprise'' studio model]]. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol 27 #4/5, p. 46) Curry has stated in this respect, "''The ''Voyager'' hero model was a five-foot miniature. And one of the things we did with that, is inside the larger windows, we'd gone around the sets and took slides of various sets and then bent them into little arcs like miniature cycloramas inside the windows. So when tighter shots of the ship fly by, you'd get a sense of perspective shift as the ship move by, which would help the verisimilitude, as rather having white-lit windows.''"
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The studio model was offered in the ''[[40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection]]'' auction as {{stala|1778-0495|Lot 495}} with an estimated sales price of US$4,000 to $6,000, where it ultimately sold for US$8,500 ($10,200 with premium). It has the distinction of being the only kitbashed model offered in that auction, or any other for that matter.
The studio model was offered in the ''[[40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection]]'' auction as {{stala|1778-0495|Lot 495}} with an estimated sales price of US$4,000 to $6,000, where it ultimately sold for US$8,500 ($10,200 with premium). It has the distinction of being the only kitbashed model offered in that auction, or any other for that matter.
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====The ''Elkins''-type model====
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| class="even" | <center>...as featured in the far top background</center>
| class="even" | <center>...as featured in the far top background</center>
|}
|}
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====The ''Elkins''-type model====
The episode "A Time to Stand" featured the earlier mentioned USS ''Elkins'' (NCC-74121), albeit barely discernible. Built by its namesake, Judy Elkins, this {{Type|Elkins}} vessel was kitbashed from the [[saucer section]] of a Revell-Monogram USS ''Voyager'' model, the body of an F-14 fighter jet model, warp pylons from an AMT/Ertl runabout model, and warp nacelles from an AMT/Ertl {{USS|Reliant}} model. {{DrexFiles|2009/03/30/elkins-redux/}} The episode marks its only appearance. The ''Elkins''-type was probably inspired by the the above-mentioned ''Voyager'' prototype study model of Rick Sternbach. As mentioned, many have confused the ''Elkins'' with ''Voyager'' prototype due to their similar designs.
The episode "A Time to Stand" featured the earlier mentioned USS ''Elkins'' (NCC-74121), albeit barely discernible. Built by its namesake, Judy Elkins, this {{Type|Elkins}} vessel was kitbashed from the [[saucer section]] of a Revell-Monogram USS ''Voyager'' model, the body of an F-14 fighter jet model, warp pylons from an AMT/Ertl runabout model, and warp nacelles from an AMT/Ertl {{USS|Reliant}} model. {{DrexFiles|2009/03/30/elkins-redux/}} The episode marks its only appearance. The ''Elkins''-type was probably inspired by the the above-mentioned ''Voyager'' prototype study model of Rick Sternbach. As mentioned, many have confused the ''Elkins'' with ''Voyager'' prototype due to their similar designs.
==CGI models==
==CGI models==
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At the time of inception of the ''Voyager'' series, however, [[CGI|computer generated imagery]] (CGI) was becoming more affordable and the decision, prompted on by [[David Stipes]], was made to have also a CGI model made for the intricate title sequence in which both models were to be used.
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At the time of inception of the ''Voyager'' series, however, [[CGI|computer generated imagery]] (CGI) was becoming more affordable and the decision, prompted on by Visual Effects Supervisor [[David Stipes]], was made to have also a digital model constructed for the intricate title sequence, slated to serve alongside its physical counterpart.
===CGI main production model===
===CGI main production model===
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| colspan="2" class="even" | <center>Amblin's wire-frame model under construction, resulting in the shot in {{e|Unity}} on the right</center>
| colspan="2" class="even" | <center>Amblin's wire-frame model under construction, resulting in the shot in {{e|Unity}} on the right</center>
|}
|}
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[[Santa Barbara Studios]] (SBS), the effects company responsible for creating the sequence, originally used their own low-resolution CGI model while mapping out the sequence. Upon completion, their prelimanary model was replaced with a more detailed and finished model built at [[Amblin Imaging]] by [[John Gross]], [[Grant Bouchet]], [[D.H. Jones]] {{trekcore|blog/2013/07/voyagers-visual-effects-creating-the-cg-voyager-with-rob-bonchune}}, and [[Bruce Hall]], who remembered, "''Wow, it been a long time since I have seen [[render]]s of that...takes me back to my Amblin days and the sweat that went into building it with David Stipes sitting over my shoulder pointing everything out that was wrong with it.''" {{DrexFiles|2011/02/06/uss-voyager-cgi-pictorial/comment-page-1/#comment-30150}} Amblin had the physical studio model [[CGI#Building|scanned and digitized]] at [[Cyberscan]] which built a detailed CGI {{w|wire-frame model}}. That model was then turned over to Amblin for [[Render|rendering and animation]], using high resolution pictures taken from the physical model for mapping. In the end their model consisted of over 300,000 polygons, one of the most complicated models of that time. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, pp. 72-75, 79-81)
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[[Santa Barbara Studios]] (SBS), the effects company responsible for creating the sequence, originally used their own low-resolution CGI model while mapping out the sequence. Upon completion, their preliminary model was replaced with a more detailed and finished model built at [[Amblin Imaging]] by [[John Gross]], [[Grant Bouchet]], [[D.H. Jones]] {{trekcore|blog/2013/07/voyagers-visual-effects-creating-the-cg-voyager-with-rob-bonchune}}, and [[Bruce Hall]], who remembered, "''Wow, it been a long time since I have seen [[render]]s of that...takes me back to my Amblin days and the sweat that went into building it with David Stipes sitting over my shoulder pointing everything out that was wrong with it.''" {{DrexFiles|2011/02/06/uss-voyager-cgi-pictorial/comment-page-1/#comment-30150}} Amblin had the physical studio model [[CGI#Building|scanned and digitized]] at [[Cyberscan]] which built a detailed CGI {{w|wire-frame model}}. That model was then turned over to Amblin for [[Render|rendering and animation]], using high resolution pictures taken from the physical model for mapping. In the end their model consisted of over 300,000 polygons, one of the most complicated models of that time. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, pp. 72-75, 79-81)
The method of mapping flat-lit photographs over a wire-frame model had a slight drawback as 2D imagery manipulated in 3D space resulted in slight distortions as Sternbach later observed, "''From what I understand, the five foot filming miniature was photographed to produce the surface texture maps, the CG model was built by Santa Barbara Studios, and the projection of the maps onto the CG polygons didn't match exactly. (...) The shield grid lines and phaser strips, as well as the [[Structural integrity field|SIF]] field reinforcement strips, should be absolutely horizontal as they were in the ''[physical]'' model ''[rem: when seen from the side]''. Tony Meininger and his Brazil Fabrication crew set up the hull perfectly straight on a flat surface and "walked" a scriber around to get the deck levels/grid lines. My guess is that the model photography introduced some kind of distortion; maybe it wasn't shot from a long enough distance away.''" {{DrexFiles|2011/02/06/uss-voyager-cgi-pictorial/#comment-28676}}
The method of mapping flat-lit photographs over a wire-frame model had a slight drawback as 2D imagery manipulated in 3D space resulted in slight distortions as Sternbach later observed, "''From what I understand, the five foot filming miniature was photographed to produce the surface texture maps, the CG model was built by Santa Barbara Studios, and the projection of the maps onto the CG polygons didn't match exactly. (...) The shield grid lines and phaser strips, as well as the [[Structural integrity field|SIF]] field reinforcement strips, should be absolutely horizontal as they were in the ''[physical]'' model ''[rem: when seen from the side]''. Tony Meininger and his Brazil Fabrication crew set up the hull perfectly straight on a flat surface and "walked" a scriber around to get the deck levels/grid lines. My guess is that the model photography introduced some kind of distortion; maybe it wasn't shot from a long enough distance away.''" {{DrexFiles|2011/02/06/uss-voyager-cgi-pictorial/#comment-28676}}
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===CGI backup model===
===CGI backup model===
[[File:Intrepid class studio model digitized at Viewpoint Data Labs.jpg|thumb|Viewpoint staffers digitizing the studio model]]
[[File:Intrepid class studio model digitized at Viewpoint Data Labs.jpg|thumb|Viewpoint staffers digitizing the studio model]]
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As a precaution and back-up, Stipes and [[Ronald B. Moore]] decided to have SBS also construct a full-fledged CGI model at the same time Amblin was constructing theirs. Using different software, SBS's own in-house developed {{w|Dynamation (software)|Dynamation}} versus Amblin's {{w|LightWave 3D}}, meant that the two models were not interchangeable. The same methodology was used as with the Amblin model, with their scanning and digitizing done at [[Viewpoint DataLabs International, Inc.]], for which the physical studio model was shipped out to their Orem, Utah, facility. Nevertheless, it was the "Amblin" model that was solely used in the subsequent episodes of the first two seasons of ''Voyager''. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, pp. 72-75, 79-81) [[Mitch Suskin]], one of ''Voyager''{{'}}s effects supervisors, elaborated further, "''The model we're using now was built at [[Digital Muse]] ''[sic: what he meant was Muse's immediate predecessor Amblin]'', a computer graphic model that has been enhanced over the months. We keep adding little odds and ends to the Light Wave model Dan Curry has been very helpful in guiding us and the animators into the nuances of lighting for ''Voyager'' and for ''STAR TREK'', making the ship look as much like the real thing so that you can't really tell the difference anymore. We've started rendering at higher resolutions, to have a lot more detail. That's enhanced things a lot.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 104) The experience garnered by SBS proved useful, however, when it came to digitizing the ''Enterprise''-E for the later motion picture, {{film|9}}.
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As a precaution and back-up, Stipes and [[Ronald B. Moore]] decided to have SBS also construct a full-fledged CGI model at the same time Amblin was constructing theirs. Using different software, SBS's own in-house developed {{w|Dynamation (software)|Dynamation}} versus Amblin's {{w|LightWave 3D}}, meant that the two models were not interchangeable. The same methodology was used as with the Amblin model, with their scanning and digitizing done at [[Viewpoint DataLabs International, Inc.]], for which the physical studio model was shipped out to their Orem, Utah, facility. Nevertheless, it was the "Amblin" model that was solely used in the subsequent episodes of the first two seasons of ''Voyager''. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4/5, pp. 72-75, 79-81) [[Mitch Suskin]], one of ''Voyager''{{'}}s effects supervisors, elaborated further, "''The model we're using now was built at [[Digital Muse]] ''[sic: what he meant was Muse's immediate predecessor Amblin]'', a computer graphic model that has been enhanced over the months. We keep adding little odds and ends to the Light Wave model Dan Curry has been very helpful in guiding us and the animators into the nuances of lighting for ''Voyager'' and for ''STAR TREK'', making the ship look as much like the real thing so that you can't really tell the difference anymore. We've started rendering at higher resolutions, to have a lot more detail. That's enhanced things a lot.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 104)
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The experience garnered by SBS proved useful though, when it came to digitizing the ''Enterprise''-E for the later motion picture, {{film|9}}.
== Appendices ==
== Appendices ==