This is an amazing shot of Trumbull’s boys lighting the 1701 refit in it’s drydock berth. Look at that rig the guy in the foreground is fussing with. It’s festooned with dental mirrors which he is adjusting to look like spotlights on the Enterprise. What an ingenious idea.
I really meant to post something today much earlier than this. I started looking through the files, and kept stopping at pictures from the original “reboot”, Star Trek The Motion Picture. I remember being afraid of this new movie, and what could go wrong. Star Trek is such a delicate souffle. Science fiction is easy, Star Trek is hard. What made Trek different was that a visionary kind of guy, infused it with his very appealing ideas about the future of humankind. Even at it’s worst, the various incarnations of Trek have basically preserved that. The idea that human beings have grown up, and that people have evolved made Star Trek visionary, and not just science fiction. Humans don’t delight in kicking ass. We grew out of that.
What an incredible entrance the Enterprise made in Star Trek The Motion Picture. The new movie needed a sexier introduction for the ship, we can all agree on that. As a B-17 pilot, Roddenberry knew what it was like to love a machine and stake your life on it. Gene also saw the Enterprise as being iconic of what humans can do if they really want to. Gene’s Enterprise is not just a sci fi spaceship, it’s an idea.
(Below) Andy Probert’s conceptual sketch that sold the idea of the Enterprise being self lit, against the darkness of space. I don’t think any spaceship has succeeded in looking better.
(Below) This is a very early shot of the Enterprise miniature being constructed. I could be wrong, but it might be as far back as Magicam and the derailed TV project, Star Trek: Phase II. Good grief, look at that! Putty and sanding is still going on. A lot of these pieces are pre-mold and original templates.
A lot of changes to come when Trumbull would take over, Probert would candy coat it, and the modelers would push over it into the realm of masterpiece. (Below) Nuff ‘said.
Trumbull and his team blew doors off
(below) Andy Probert opened a big can of sexy on TMP, which nobody can deny.
Probert and his universally loved Vulcan shuttle which delivered Spock to the Enterprise.
The drydock was a gigantic miniature (like jumbo shrimp), and comprised of thousands of small parts. I’ll never forget when we were getting ready to do one of the Next Gen films, Herman had the drydock trucked down to Paramount so that we could evaluate it. What an amazing feeling to look inside this enormous wooden crate and see the dock having made it through the decades.
(Below) A remarkable shot of the drydock translight that was hung outside the rec deck windows. What’s even more remarkable is that’s Production Designer Harold Michaelson on the left. Harold is one of the all time greats. I got to know him on Dick Tracy. What a sweet gentleman. He did all of Hitchcock’s, and Wise’s pictures. Hollywood at it’s best, ladies and gentlemen.
(Below) Wow! Dig this pic Rick just sent over of himself going over TMP starfleet logos in the art department. Sense of organization and functionality is pivotol on a Roddenberry starship… It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing. Sternbach swings, baby!
This office is directly above 8 and 9, and remained the Trek art department all through TNG, and Voyager. (Git out that map I made for you last week!)
(Below) While just downstairs from Rick, the filming crew sets up a shot in the Enterprise corridors.
(Below) Illia and Decker on the rec dec. I was struck by the simple beauty. Not a lens flare to be found!
Striking TMP concept art. Who is the artist?
(Below) The air tram that transports Kirk to the Admiralty under construction in the Marathon Mill (Maps! Everyone!)
(Below) Getting there, but still work to be done.
(Below) Same room… maybe even the same day. I just love the shadow on the wall.
(Below) The custom decal sheet for the Enterprise.
Star Trek The Motion Picture aspired to be 2001: A Space Odyssey. In many ways it succeeded, even in the ways you wouldn’t want it to. For instance it was extremely slow and ponderous. The new Star Trek is all about fast paced action, and it delivers beautifully on those levels. But Star Trek The Motion Picture has it’s it’s creators soul. If we could infuse JJ’s new Trek movie with about 25% of that, you’d really have something!
B – E – A – ootiful!
I don’t hate the new one, but this version is where my heart is. Sentimental is right. Thanks for a great look back, Doug.
Both TMP and “The Cage” (and ultimately, TNG) certainly took Trek in a more cool-headed and introspective direction than the original series ultimately delivered, while the new movie prefers to move into the other, “visceral” direction. I guess both directions are valid, but it certainly makes Trek less unique now given that it is the route gone by most, if not all, science fiction productions these days, which are really rather “space adventure”, “space drama” or “space opera” than science fiction as it used to be. But I will certainly concede that the goals of producing a hard “science fiction movie” and a “mainstream summer tentpole movie” are mutually exclusive (at least at this time and age). Science fiction will never be mainstream, and per se that really isn’t a bad thing at all. But since they wanted to go “summer tentpole” and invested big bucks, I suppose they had no choice but to produce the Trek movie they have produced.
I began watching Trek in the late 80′s early 90′s and so TNG is the one I most fondly remember. It is for me Doug what TOS is for you; my favourite. As such, Andrew Proberts Galaxy-class design remains (followed closely by John Eaves Sovereign) my personal favourite.
Having said all of that, I have nothing but admiration (and more than a little jealousy) of the talent, igenuity and sheer effort put into making shots like these an on screen reality. Dental mirrors? Genius!
Thanks as always for sharing.
Barrie.
I enjoyed the new film, but Star Trek: The Motion Picture remains my favorite Star Trek feature.
To me, the most interesting thing is the Phase II Enterprise. I like it’s simple TOS style, even in unfinished form. The TMP Enterprise turned out great, though. All the little panels that were added really sell the ship, particularly in closeups,like at the end when the Enterprise escapes the destruction/birth of V’Ger.
Doug
One of the best things about TMP was the dry dock fly by. I’ll never forget the slow approach in the travel pod, the slow passes over sections of the Enterprise.
I remember thinking “When are they gonna beam aboard?” throughout the film to that point…then it was “Man, I’m glad they didn’t beam aboard! Wow.”
I’ve always loved Gene’s introduction to the TNG technical manual:
“The Starship Enterprise is not a collection of motion picture sets or a model used in visual effects. It is a very real vehicle; one designed for storytelling.
“You the audience, furnish its propulsion. With a wondrous leap of imagination, you make it into a real spaceship that can take us into the far reaches of the galaxy and sometimes even the depths of the human soul.
“The purpose of all this? To show humans as we really are.”
Love this design! It really is sexy! She has such classic lines that fuel the imagination.
Did anyone ever have the model kit of this Enterprise? I tried 3 times with this thing and could never get the nacelle pylons to sit right. They were just too darned heavy for those little dinky plastic tabs they had you insert into the engineering hull and I lacked the grips to hold it in place. It ended up being a fancy drydock shaped of books to try and keep those things in the right place while they dried!
The verisimilitude of the K’t'inga fleet in the first scene and the Enterprise the drydock scene have been unmatched in Trek productions — until, arguably, the latest movie came along. I don’t remember any particular shots of the Enterprise that wowed me, except for a shot of the ship turning and allowing us a significant look through the forward viewport into the bridge. On the other hand, the first shots of the Kelvin were incredibly cool.
WOW, dude, thanks! That’s the stuff eh! No two ways about it!Yep, the dental mirrors, ya gotta LOVE that genius right there, eh. And yeah I believe that is the Phase II E being built. Can’t recall if that was Magicam or not… I recall Paul Olsen painted TMP E’s pearlescent finish, eh. Here’s a link on that:
http://www.olsenart.com/strek.html
Ha, and look at that whipper-snapper Rick!
TOS E is my gal, but TMP E, she was a vision in her own right, no ’bout a doubt it. :: sigh ::
Such great stuff, all of it, thanks Doug!
LLP,
deg
Oh, and as 2001: aso is my fav film, TMP was awesome to me as well, as I’m a patient guy by nature. Peeps I went with feel asleep, just like C whenever I put on 2001: aso, LOL.
PLL,
deg
With all the script flaws, rarely has the hardware been as well thought out and portrayed on Trek as in TMP, and the introduction of the Enterprise really made it feel like a character, possibly the only truly interesting character in that movie. To me, TMP has always been the hardware and music movie, both of which managed to survive through all the future incarnations in some form.
“All I ask is a tall ship……”
Indeed and Enterprise is the tallest.
Thank you for the pics, they brought back some very warm and very fuzzy memories of sitting in the theatre way back in the day, with chill bumps as we saw The Lady for the first time.
*sigh*
What a breath of fresh air. Those shots of the Enterprise in drydock are quite breath-taking, and I defy anyone to tell me that doesn’t hold up.
Thanks for the great pics, Doug. I have been a Star Trek fan to one degree or other for around 30 years and you are still pulling out images I have never seen before – the drydock translight shot is terrific and all new to me. “Star Trek – The Motion Picture” seems to be an endless well of “Wow, I’ve never seen that before” everytime I think I’ve seen everything.
Btw, Doug, I just bought myself a Bob Justman autographed trading card on eBay, so don’t forget about me
In regards to the Rec Deck: I love the clean lines of the seventies conception of the future. Give me than over the “Alien”-influenced industrial look anyday.
Truly beautiful.
I really believe this ship is real when I see her onscreen from the moment she is introduced with small workbees flying past her giving a real sense of scale. ST:TMP breaks down the walls of reality with how believable it makes everything look and feel.
Fascinating collection! Thanks for posting!!
I believe that both picture numbers 3 & 4 were both referenced in the Art of Star Trek book and that the latter of the two was indeed a mid-construction effort for the Phase II project.
The link below is to a fan’s recreation of one of the best scenes in the entire run of the franchise; this artist recreated it in 3D – It’s damned beautiful work!
Hi Doug,
The two pieces of concept art that you were asking about were done by a member of Robert Abel’s group when they were still working on ST-TMP. I first saw them illustrating an online interview that Richard Taylor gave back in 2001. The interview – minus the illustrations – can be found at:
http://www.ottens.co.uk/forgottentrek/tmp_9.php
Parts of the interview, as well as some of the illustrations, were used in the December 2001 issue of Star Trek The Magazine. The artwork was also part of the Profiles in History December 2001 Star Trek Auction, but while artists were listed for some of the artwork, there were no names attached to these pieces. I did save the illustrations to my work computer, and I should be able to send you what I have when i go back in on wednesday, assuming that nobody else does it before I can.
A fantastic post, Doug.
The most interesting thing to me is the image of translight of drydock… never seen that before (although it looks like some stage equipment or something was photoshopped out). The size of it mirrors the great sense of scale and detail of everything in TMP. Sure, they had warp drive and transporters, but Trek’s never felt so grounded in reality for me as in TMP.
Well, apart from Enterprise, but that goes without saying.
You will note in pictures 15 & 16 showing the Enterprise model from the rear that the B/C deck is rounded not unlike the original Ent. This detail was altered later, I’m not sure, but I think at Doug Trumbull’s request. As always, Thanks for the pics Doug.
Yeah, that unfinished Enterprise is under construction for Phase II by Brick Price based on plans drawn up by Matt Jefferies in his spare time while working as Art Director for “Little House on the Prairie” (he wasn’t willing to give up his position there, but was willing to help redesign his starship). If they followed Jefferies plans, the model (assembled) would have been about 5 feet 4 inches long (quite a bit shorter than the final TMP Enterprise).
My first exposure to Trek was ST:TMP, as the scifi TV series of my youth was Space:1999. Later Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica arrived. Coming from the heavily nurnied style of matte gray-white painted spaceships, discovering this Enterprise was nearly a cultural shock! The subtlety and elegance of the ship’s design, paint scheme and self-illumination, plus Trumbull’s way with lights and flares and semi-abstract motion graphics redefined my VFX expectations forever. Nothing beats his warp jump effect or Dykstra’s laser-based photon torpedoes.
Sadly, no other space movie matched that ever, and I’d say The Director’s Edition watered it down a bit here and there (even if the added character development scenes were imprescindible).
It’s funny: ST:XI is sort of the fast and furious version (I mean it in a good way. even if I long for any series or movie that takes its time to let us enjoy these views.
Please get as much ST:TMP model shoot and VFX material as you can: I have the photocopied version of Cinefex #1 and #2, and oh how I wish these guys could reprint them in full colour.
There is no better scene in any movie than Kirk and Scotty flying slowly around the drydock with bits of the model showing through and that awesome music by Jerry Goldsmith playing that reaches its pinnacle when the travel pod turns and the whole front of the starship is seen. I saw that sometime in the early ’90s (it was the 3rd Trek movie I ever saw, I think) when I was around 12 or 13 and it really moved me. Even though I’d already seen TVH and TFF, that scene still gave me goosebumps.
I really love that shot of Brick Price’s miniature for the Phase II show being built. Unfortunately, since they scrapped that model and had a new one commissioned, (the first one was too low quality for a motion picture) pictures are all that is left of what would have been a great model, I think.
Thanks for the great look behind the scenes Doug. My opinon of TMP (especially since the Director’s Cut) has gotten higher and higher the more I learn about it.
Ah, now I want to see the movie again. I too like the theatrical version over the Director’s Edition. Anyone else feel the same way? The effects in the Director’s Edition is pretty great but call me old fashioned for liking the Model work and Dykstra’s photon torpedoes.
Ideally I’d like to have the theatrical cut, the special longer version, *and* the director’s cut, and I certainly enjoy the former two for their nostalgic and historic value and to hear Shatner say “OH my gaaawd”, but when I want to watch STTMP, no doubt for me, I am watching Bob Wise’s cut. I’m guessing something like 90% of the original effects are still there including the Dykstra torpedoes, so I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.
Once of these days when I get the review copy of the TOS movies on Blu-ray I can tell you more about how the theatrical edition holds up. The buzz from Europe (where is already out) is good for TMP.
Boy, so much stuff here that it took me ALL day! jk I could comment on every picture, but I promise I won’t! The mirrors are great and it’s nice to see Andy and his Vulcan friend…great pic, BTW…all the way through the pics there are fabulous details that I know I will be looking at again!!
When I saw the title of the post, I was actually hoping it would be about your B17 close encounter with the lovely Sentimental Journey, but I must say I’m glad I was wrong. Now I have to catch up with the other posts…I take it you aren’t working on the new job yet; I expected you to slow down some by now, Superman!
Thanks for those great shots, Doug. I like the one of Rick working on the logos. The transporter room logo even appears in the new Star Trek movie, which I found really cool. Mike’s Federation logo, Vulcan script, Romulan script and the IDIC are also seen in the new movie, it’s cool to see that some of those designs will carry on to be seen in Star Trek!
Hi Jay,
I’m pretty sure the Klingon Torpedoes are new effects, not sure about the Enterprise’s Toorrrpeeeeedooooessss
The new Blu Ray edition of TMP is the original cut. Perhaps Paramount will consider upgrading The Director’s Edition later (I hope the added 3D VFX scene files weren’t lost with Foundation Imaging’s demise).
The torpedoes are the same ones
What I dislike from the director’s edition is: seeing V’ger approaching Earth in a rather uninspired camera move that absolutely diminishes it, the same goes when we see it shooting its weapons into earth0s orbit. Also, when Kirk and crew emerge on the saucer’s hull to walk to V’ger’s core, the metallic dark selfilluminated hull is changed to a bland creamy one. Sna Fancisco Starfleet HQ terminal is overbusied by opening that right wall and having shuttles taking off while Kirk and Sonak talk is as distracting as ny of Lucas’ Special Edition of Star Wars’ additions. Also, it looks like they wanted to match certain aspects of TNG onwards’ sound design, so, for example, the klingon battle scenes are too full of little “user interface” beeps and clicks, Enterprise’s alarm sounds change from adrenaline-inducing to TnG’s “oh, I guess there’s incoming fire. Mmmm, OK, would you please raise shields. Oh, no please, take your time” ones. Etc.
The added character interplay was another thing entirely: it clarified things, Spock’s journey specially.
A few TMP VFX linkies that I discovered around:
Filming V’ger: http://www.barbeefilm.com/vgerpage01.htm
A guy explaining and reproducing the laser scanning technique behind ST:TMP’s transporter “tube” effects: http://www.geocities.com/~special_effect/star_trek_tmp.html
Lots of pics, drawings and things: http://movies.trekcore.com/motionpicture/
including the whole film in snapshots: http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/index.php?cat=18
All its VFX sequences YouTubed into three parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BQUk82AF-E
(Sorry, I didn’t expect those YouTube links to turn into movie viewers in your blog. Also, some of those are available in HQ quality when viewed in Youtube’s website. My apologies)
That’s strange about the Torpedoes. I looked at caps of the DE and they look as they did originally but when I watched it on DVD the first time it was very different. They were bright red instead of Orange, looked very different and closer to the Torpedoes we see in the Next Generation.
Perhaps that’s due to the overall film restoration process: one thing I read is that they “rediscovered” how colourful the movie really is, after years of watching old telecined versions.
A last link: a discussion in some forum about the painting of the model. The person starting the thread was able to discuss things with Olsen and gives even more detailed data about the lacquers used and things: http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=188494
I think I have hijacked things more than enough by now. Sorry I got carried away by my enthusiasm. It’s just that I adore this film.
(I forgot: http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/STMPEnterprise/STMPEnterpriseTop.htm
The B&W pics are the truly TMP ones. All these pictures reveal how quite “nurnied” or “greeblied”, in a very subtle way, the ship is)
I’ve watched the “Tour” around the refitted Enterprise so many times and it always is a treat, the details on the model, the feel of size and scale and the music makes it a great moment in Trek, maybe the best scene ever.
Andy made a tribute to Matt’s original Enterprise and its a fitting one and its a rare piece of art.
Olson’s paint job also must have been incredible, maybe someday someone could hand him the model for a while so he can repare/restore/redo it.
OMG! I have never seen some of these images. Thank You so much Mr. Drexler!
I have had want for more images of the PRE-finalized Enterprise (or mid-construction) but I figured you have been so inundated with requests, I chose not to, in the thread where you asked about our interests.
I notice in the next to the last image there are extra striping on the aft top of the Nacelles. I never knew it was physical to this version. I only saw it drawn in Andy Probert’s Illustrations. So thank you for that image in particular.
Also, does anyone realize that the missing letters in the last image spell out “Andy’s” ??? That made me LOL.
“What I dislike from the director’s edition is: seeing V’ger approaching Earth in a rather uninspired camera move that absolutely diminishes it, the same goes when we see it shooting its weapons into earth0s orbit. Also, when Kirk and crew emerge on the saucer’s hull to walk to V’ger’s core, the metallic dark selfilluminated hull is changed to a bland creamy one. Sna Fancisco Starfleet HQ terminal is overbusied by opening that right wall and having shuttles taking off while Kirk and Sonak talk is as distracting as ny of Lucas’ Special Edition of Star Wars’ additions. Also, it looks like they wanted to match certain aspects of TNG onwards’ sound design, so, for example, the klingon battle scenes are too full of little “user interface” beeps and clicks, Enterprise’s alarm sounds change from adrenaline-inducing to TnG’s “oh, I guess there’s incoming fire. Mmmm, OK, would you please raise shields. Oh, no please, take your time” ones. Etc.”
I disagree with all that
Giving the viewer an better idea of what the V’ger craft looks like fixes a longstanding point of confusion from the original cut. I seriously doubt anybody who saw that film the first time came away with an understanding of V’ger’s shape and size. THe wingwalk sequence if greatly enhanced in the director’s cut by the removal of that very ineffective matte painting of the Enterprise saucer, which omitted the structure below the bridge and above the saucer proper. Far from being “Lucas Special Edition”-style distracting, I think you have one shuttle launching during Kirk and Sonak’s walk-and-talk. The Klingon battle sequence actually has a sound design now as opposed to the very spare quality the theatrical cut exhibited. The absence of the computerized RED ALERT RED ALERT NEGATIVE CONTROL AT HELM NEGATIVE CONTROL AT HELM klaxon voice was a noticable change, I’ll admit, but its presence in the original cut was weirdly distracting, especially given how many times it appeared in the film, and its removal accomplished one of Bob’s goals, which was to “warm up” and humanize the Enterprise sequences more, so as to draw a more defined contrast with the cold technology of V’ger. And ultimately, whether you like the changes or not (obviously I did and you didn’t, Mr. Snafu), they were Bob Wise’s choices and I’m glad he got the chance to make the movie as close to his original vision as possible.
Very cool, I remember seeing ST-TMP on opening day. Ah, memories.
Oh, I understand the need for re-editing: I am the first to admit the film is slow and ponderous. Its rhythm completely falls apart during the V’ger flyover, and the small character scenes added are just what the doctor ordered. Also, I respect that the new edit was according to the original plan.
It’s just that as soon as one sees that pan shoot of V’ger approaching Earth, so relatively small in the frame after all these ominous low-flying vistas, it looks too diminished and… well… sort of like some nondescript Babylon-5 Ancient ship or whatever. The shooting style lacks amy sense of size and menace. It looks like a toy. And also it looks very un-Trumbull-like.
Well: agreed to disagree. Anyway, no sweat about it: I have both versions of the film, so happy here
(I ought to do my own remix 
)
I have an old issue of American Cinematographer covering the film, plus a fex Starlog FX specials and things. I wonder if it would be appropiate to scan some of their pictures and send them to Mr. Drexler for him to check if he would be allowed to post them here.
Yes, agree to disagree, that’s fine with me
I have all three versions and wouldn’t want either the theatrical or special longer version to disappear as they are wonderful artifacts and I am very much in favor of having more as opposed to having less, but for me Bob’s cut is the definitive one.
I’d love to see your American Cinematographer on the movie. I have xeroxes of the Cinefex issues covering the movie and they are fascinating reads. As I’ve said before, for a movie nerd, “Star Trek – The Motion Picture” is a gift that keeps on giving. Thirty years later and I am still peeling off layers of that very dense onion.
That is one jaw-droppingly sexy starship. I remember renting TMP for the first time as a kid and just staring at the entire docking with enterprise sequence in awe.
The first time.
The second time, well… I’ll be nice and just say there was judicious use of the fastforward button.
Shadow – good eye! I wonder where those letters were put to use!!
Maybe Andy’s lunch box, because someone kept eating his lunch…maybe.
I hope I’ll be able to do some scans in a few days. It wasn’t that extensive an issue, but there were some interesting pics, such as the internal armature of the ship, the devices that produced the warp core’s water-like lighting effect, some Magicam models before being refurbished by Trumbull and Dykstra, etc.
In my mind, TMP always reminds me of IDIC. Mr Roddenburry’s ideals and visions are definitely inspired. But it alone cannot make Star Trek the cultural treasure it is today.
Star Trek without lensflare…who’a thought?
Maybe they understood how to manage a handycam? Maybe they’d studied depth of field?
Hmmmm..
The DC
Actually, TMP had lots of lens flares. The whole drydock tour is a big lens flare fest, and I love it for that. We are talking Douglas “Close Encounters” Trumbull here, after all
.
(is it true that they put aluminium foil around the lenses to get extra light shafts in? I read that somewhere, I think)
where did you find these pictures of the enterprise model under construction, because that was when robert abel was in charge of the VFX. if you got more behind the scenes pics of the VFX, post them!
After reading your post a couple of days ago Doug I discovered a fantastic modeller, also named Mark (alas not me, my modelling skills are nowhere NEAR THIS GOOD!) has recently posted his recreation of the drydick scene in 1/350 scale, on that wonderful bastion of sci-fi modeling prowess, Starship Modeler.
Here is the link folks: http://www.starshipmodeler.info/gallery13/mn_drydock.htm
Hope this links ok.
Mark
Mark A-C, Wowzers! This guy is amaazing! I want one!
I just finished looking at it, too, and it *is* awesome work! Thanks, Mark A-C, for sharing that.
<8-0
To steal a phrase from the theatrical Captain Sulu, “My … GAWD!”
Astonishing!
I’ll report back when my jaw is out of dropped position!
OK, I have a first few scans from American Cinematographer done. The issue is, of course, that it is copyrighted material. I don’t know if fair use would allow fot posting a few selected pica and abstracting the accompanying text. What should we do here?
This first batch is four pages about the guys who lit the warp core, V’Ger’s core and did a few of the bridge’s abstract-artsy computer readouts. They have a few pics of the warp core setup.
Hi Snafu, I think if we run them complete, and say where they come from, it’s no big deal. The lighting of the core was done by Sam Nicholson, who is a friend of mine. He’ll have no problem, in fact he would probably be delighted…. and thank you!
Hey Doug, Deanne and Jay,
Pretty impressive right. I so want one.
Sorry for the DryDock typo I just noticed, WordPress is a harsh mistress…..
Mark
Not as harsh as drydick!
***Charles Nelson Reilly noise here***
Snafu, I’m not sure what the better course would be, vis-a-vis the copyright concerns. Its been a long time since my IP class. Maybe you could just e-mail to intersted parties?
Surely. Actually, I’d like to submit them to Mr. Drexler first: perhaps he knows some of the people who did the pictures and they can cede permission to post them.
(Other than these ones I mentioned, I have some other angles of the Enterprise+Drydock camera setup, and some of the scale models. It’s not that crucial a set, but they could be interesting to some)
Glad to be of help. I am doing some cleaning of the images, as the paper yellowed a bit. Any email I could send them to or place to upload them?
Just got the 6 TOS movies on Blu-ray for review. Watching TMP now. It’s the theatrical edition, and even so, the matte paintings on Vulcan and the amazing artwork when Spock explores the memory banks for V’gr in a thruster suite are incredible. Naturally the big E herself looks fantastic. And Goldsmith’s score has always been a favorite of mine
Oh and modelers, there’s insaine detail on the Klingon ships from the beginning.
Now if Paramount Home Video had seen fit to work on the rest of movies… TMP and TWOK seem to have recieved the best treatment, while the later movies get pretty mediocre re-uses of masters originally made for HD cable/satellite premium movie channels
Wow, with yo much talking about the different TMP versions going on, it seems that I have to get them somehow. Although the movie is really long at times, I too enjoy watching it every now and then. Immediately after the transporter incident killing Sonak I have to think about the ape being turned inside out in the “The Fly” movie with Jeff Goldblum.
Besides all those great pictures, I wonder what happend to the Air Tram Mockup. As far as I know, it has never been reused or redressed.
And – no question about it – that Travel Pod sequence together with the score is a piece of art.
Cheers
Thorsten
All of I have to say is that this represents real movie making. CG may be faster and create a more real loking image, but in the end, using dental mirrors on a light rigging and building ships from scratch is priceless.
The story on the Phase II enterprise model as far as I have reconstructed it:
After Matt Jefferies’ redesign was approved for the Star Trek: Phase II television project in 1977, detailed construction blueprints were drawn up for construction of the physical studio model (which were not the ones published in Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, color section). To ease the workload, Magicam hired Brick Price’s Movie Miniatures (currently WonderWorks Inc.) to build the master model. Price brought in modeler Don Loos to do the bulk of the construction work. Work on the four-foot model was in progress when the project was upgraded to the Star Trek: The Motion Picture movie project. Both Robert Wise and Douglas Trumbull decided that the model was too small and not detailed enough to meet big screen requirements and a new model had to be build from scratch. Price was pulled off the project in early 1979 (though his company would remain to build props for the movie) and the task of building a new model reverted back to Magicam.
The fate of the unfinished model is somewhat unclear. Although unsubstantiated it is possible that Price finished the model years later for “The Planet Hollywood” restaurant in New York in the early 1990′s. The saucer section and torpedo launchers were heavily adjusted to reflect the appearance the refit Enterprise has in the movies. The nacelles, secondary hull and the upper dorsal however retained its original Phase II design, resulting in an unfamiliar looking hybrid between the Phase II and the Movies-Enterprise. Star Trek aficionado William S. McCullars has maintained on his now defunct website “The Idic Page” that it was indeed the original studio model, showcasing pictures provided by Price himself. The model has been on display in the restaurant during the 1990′s.
Although this particular design has not become canon, the design has captured the imagination of fans. Daren Dochterman has build a CG model that will be used in the fan film production Star Trek: New Voyages (now known as Star Trek: Phase II) in their upcoming episode Enemy: Starfleet.
Text copied from Memory Alpha (Don’t worry, it is my text):
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Constitution_class
(with links)
AH, thanks for that E back-info, R.J.Minnes!
LLP,
deg
Is it me or did the phase 2 Enterprise survive and finished? The model of the Enterprise hanging in Planet Hollywood New York looks very much like the construction pictures of the Phase 2 ship, though painted to look like the TMP ship. Note the nacelles are definatly from the phase 2 design.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2312/2044965687_7b1c4b8ffd_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2880967998_c33fd9589d_b.jpg