U.S.S. Fredrickson

Anthony, maniacally delighted to find he is the namesake of a ship of the line. We loved the visual effects department, and they loved us.

Raiders of the Lost Ships

Jogging between stage 8 and 9, Vanover and I practically trip over the iconic, and long lost gold ships from the early Enterprise D observation lounge. TNG had just wrapped “All Good Things,” and the iconic ships had been unearthed for flashback sequences. Now here they were, helter skelter in the alley, and next to a dumpster. It looks like rain… Ion storms not a problem… precipitation not so good. We lug ‘em up to the art department for safe keeping. Here we are, brandishing our golden wards. From left to right: Anthony Fredrickson, Jimmy Van, me (listening for anyone left inside), and Alan Kabayashi (who looks like a fisherman displaying his catch).

Being there.

Mike and I were crossing stage 10, better known as “Planet Hell,”  when what befalleth my eye… and I can’t resist. “Mike! Snap it!” I do my best “Conan The King.”  Okuda deftly swings the camera, and snares the shot. I’m quite pleased with myself. A grip yells across the stage… “Hey Conan! Wet paint!”

A Job at the Magic Store

Does the man in the picture look happy? I did a lot of really cool things before I came to Star Trek, but let’s face it… like Gregory Hines says in History of the World… “Born to do it!”

Ted Danson is a Very Funny Fellow.

 

Caglione, Danson, and Drexler.

You always hope that when you work with an actor, they have those qualities you love in their characters. Ted is everything you hope for and more. 

When a production hires an actor, it’s a game of Russian roulette,  you never know what’s in the chamber. If you end up with a madman, your life can be hell for the duration of the shoot. The only danger we faced with Ted was splitting a gut. John and I share a raucous sense of humor, add Ted Danson to that and, well… it just shouldn’t be legal to have that much fun at work. More to come…

 

The picture above was taken during the shooting of “Three Men and a Little Lady.” John did a brilliant job sculpting  Ted’s 90 year old priest character.

The Buckeroo Banzai That Never Was.

“Come again, Mike?… it’s called what?” Mike grinned. “… Supersize Those Fries.”  “Ha!” I said, rubbing my chin. “Buckeroo Banzai with a vengeance. I love it… need illustrations?” Mike grinned. “I thought you’d never ask!”  More on the way…

Dorth of the North

Dorothy is only the greatest human being I have ever known. She is a genius woman, and a true Goddess. How did I, the thing from the basement, ever get so lucky as to deserve her attention? Almost twenty years now, and never a fight. Not once, not ever.

105 Heads Are Better Than One

Starman was probably one of the last motion pictures where replacement animation was used to create a morph. I don’t think the term “morph” had even been coined yet. In Starman, Jeff Bridges is grown from a smidge of DNA. He starts as an embryo, which becomes a baby, then a child, and finally a movie star. The shot was split into three sequences, Stan Winston and Rick Baker would take the first two. Dick Smith and his team would take part three. Show a ten year old boy from the shoulders up, change into a full grown man. Back then quite a dilly. Today, we would just show the computer point A and point B, hit render, and it’s Miller Time.  But back then,  three guys worked six months to make 105 frames of film. One head per frame, each one a little more like Jeff Bridges. Hand crafted,  hand painted. It was a real undertaking. Of course the real wonderful thing was working with makeup legend Dick Smith again.

Dick Tracy was a Character Makeup Artist’s Dream Come True.

Me, Al and my brother, John Caglione.

As John said… “Dick Tracy was a character makeup artists dream come true,”  and a real slice of Hollywood. You know how whenever tinseltown portrays backlot, there are stars everywhere you look? That’s what Dick Tracy was like in reality. It was a Fort Knox of famous faces, and they were ours, all ours…

Beaker Hanging Around… 23 Years and Counting.

I found this noodle head 23 years ago in a hobby shop in North Carolina. I was not looking for poultry, I was looking for acrylic paint.     More of this characters adventures later…

Double Bat Dare ‘Ya!

Shel Dorf called us while we were working on Dick Tracy, and asked if it would be alright if he brought Bob Kane by to meet us. Alright? Are you kidding? The guy who created Batman? Yes please! Bring ‘em over! What an honor! Apparently Bob was a big Dick Tracy fan, and drew on it for inspiration when creating Batman.

So there he was, big as life, in our lab, personable, fun, and clearly enjoying his notoriety. Shel invited a few kids over to meet the Batfather, and Bob ate it up, dashing off little sketches of the caped crusader for them. “Bob,” I said, “I’m sure you could draw Batman with your eyes closed!”  That grabbed him. “Let’s see!” he laughed, snatched up his pencil, closed his eyes, and bat-doodled off a damned good little sketch of his masterpiece character. Everyone enjoyed that a lot, and we laughed over it a bunch. Bob went back to hob knobbing with his young fans, while we continued to bask in his presence.

When it was all done, and the lab was empty again, John and I prepared to get back to making Dick Tracy. As I headed to the plaster bench I spied something out of the corner of my eye… there, shoved in a corner and wanted by no one, was Bob Kane’s eyes wide shut sketch of The Batman. I delicately placed it in a plastic page protector, along with the pencil he doodled it with.

When Metal was Made of Wood

Once upon a time, back in the days when metal was made of wood, visual effects were created using miniatures. I consider myself lucky to have gotten started in the business when miniatures were still being used exclusively. VFX supervisors, like the amazing Gary Hutzel, have a distinct advantage over those who have only worked in the digital world. Gary knows how things work in real life. He knows how light really behaves. Speaking of Gary Hutzel, we met on TNG when I was a makeup artist. The first time I met him, I knew I liked him. Aside from being talented, he was funny, and there is nothing better than funny. When I jumped to the art department at the start of DS9, I got to know Gary a whole lot better. The Star Trek Art Department in those days worked hand in glove with VFX. We made it our business to be a resource for them. Gary knew that if his budget didn’t cover a model of Star Fleet Command in San Francisco, we would make one for him out of bird feeders and CD racks.