The Enterprise
There was a time when we thought we might be doing the new VFX for the remastered TOS episodes. This was our ship.
Click for a better look
14
Jun
09
The Enterprise
There was a time when we thought we might be doing the new VFX for the remastered TOS episodes. This was our ship.
Click for a better look
Gorgeous! but who does “we” refer to?
She is a beauty Doug. It’s a shame they didn’t use your
talents.
The nacelle caps looks just right (the litmus test for 1701 models, eh?) and I see there’s even the little thingamagig connected to the sensor dome. Did you guys have to put in a bid or make test shots? I’m curious how these things work, since it seems a lot of time and money can be invested in things that aren’t eventually used.
Incidentally, I was just watching Scott Gammans’s (I think he posts on here) reimagining of the The Doomsday Machine’s effects. Brilliant work, particularly the opening shot of the Enterprise, which looks just like something they would have done in the ’60s.
http://www.scottgammans.com/
Y’know, a lot of us TOS enthusiasts have griped about the Enterprise they made for the “Remastered” episodes. If you guys had done it, I don’t think there would have been any complaints. I never really liked the textures or the bussards on theirs, yours looks a lot more true to the original.
” … I don’t think there would have been any complaints.”
There will always be complaints.
And I should say, the prospect of a TOS-Remastered with a Drexler semi-leading the charge makes my Trek gland all tingly.
The remasters look like cgi..
This one looks like a solid model painted up just right.
Wow! What a gorgeous shot of The Grey Lady. I may not have always been happy with the shots CBS-Digital produced for TOSR, but it was obvious they were giving the project everything they had.
Still, it would have been amazing to see what you and your friends would have come up with, Doug. I also have a technical question. It’s obvious in the image above that the ship’s windows have either a material map or there are actual CGI rooms behind them. So, which is it? Rooms or maps? And if they are maps, what images were used? Actually, I guess that’s two questions.
evil_genius_180: I have one of your TOS Enterpise models in my library and it’s one of my favorite meshes. Meticulously detailed, yet quick to load and render. It’s obvious you really did your homework when you built it. Great work!
Buck, Rooms were built behind windows.
Very nice. Haven’t seen the remastered TOS, so I can’t compare.
Is it my imagination, or does it have some sort of (very faint) “Aztec pattern”?
And I’m curious too… who exactly are “we”?
Machf, No aztec pattern at all. We’d never allow that. We’re purists.
She’s a beautiful lady and we love her!
If there is anyone who can empathize with obsessing over the original Enterprise, it’s me… though in recent months I’ve been obsessing over her slightly older sister (and my wife is starting to get jealous).
Beautiful work!
Now that’s a beautiful render of the classic ship. And I agree with ARVEY up there, that it really does look a lot more tangible than the ship used in TOS-R. I gotta come to grips with the fact that this is the age of computer graphics, and physical models are a dying breed, but that model, CG as it is, really looks classy.
One thing that I’m suddenly curious about is your stance on the incidental ships. In TOS-R a lot of the ships that’d been unseen were given a chance to have a face to their names like Mudd’s transport, or were given an overhaul like the Eymorg ion ship. Do you think that if you guys had ended up doing the effects shots you’d have come up with retro-inspired designs or would you have pulled from the things we saw on Enterprise as a stepping stone for what could be buzzing around Kirk and Co.?
Doug, this is one of many reasons why I love visiting this site and I’m grateful to Mike Okuda for pointing me to it.
Thank you. You’ve given me a superb desktop background.
Man, if that ship isn’t a sight! The care and respect that you have for this ship is very evident in how well you’ve modeled her! Love it!
Did you also do effects like the ships firing weapons?
Very nice job! So is that just a little space grunge? Or is it the light reflecting off of an not perfectly smooth surface? I would never presume it was the “A” word, though!!
I must say, overall, I prefer the way TOS looks *without* the new effects shots. I’ll take a grainy, wobbly, badly comped model shot over sub standard CGI any day. I think if a higher-end effects house (Doug’s unit for example – their mesh looks great) had done the shots, it would have been a lot better. But I still don’t see the point of replacing effects shots in TOS – it only makes the limitations of the other elements of the show that much more apparent. At least the original versions look visually cohesive. Start replacing any one element of a 60’s TV series and pretty soon you’ll be having to replace everything to make it look and feel consistent. Hence, the new movie.
Is that the EdenFX Connie, or the NV? Who’s “we?”
I thought CBS-D did a great job on the planets, rotoscoping, and set-extension stuff, but the 1701 and anything space-combat-related really looked fake and Playstation-2-ish. I was disappointed by that.
And a finger wag to Mike Okuda for letting CBS-D color the 1701’s impulse exhaust red, when Constitution impulse engines had already been shown on-screen as good, wholesome, freedom-loving blue!
Syd, It’s neither The Eden ship, nor the NV’s ship.
Ooooooh no. Let’s not start a Red vs Blue war. Where I come from, them’s fightin’ words.
More to the point, why *didn’t* you?
After they fixed the Bussard collectors several episodes in, I liked CBS-D’s Enterprise, and for that matter, a great deal of what the Okudas, Rossi, et al, were able to do. The mattes were always great and a lot of the little “surprises” (the chronometer, Norman’s belly, etc.) were as tasty as candy.
Yes, I wish Paramount/CBS had given them the time and money to fix everything (most especially “James R Kirk” as well as re-rendering the Enterprise in those initial episodes with their newer, better model) and I wish they had been able to leisurely fix those issues for the DVD/Blu-ray releases. But still, a great effort and one that I enjoyed watching every week.
Love the subtle weathering. So uch like the original physical model.
The poly count on that thing must be in the millions, or at least the hundreds of thousands. And the textures are stunning.
You did her proud. She’s gorgeous and still looking well at 45!
It’s like the first time you fall in love. You never quite love a woman like that again.
Me likey! Doug that’s the most realistic CG model of the 1701 I’ve ever seen!
CG-wise, I only seem to have love for the first Gammans stuff I saw, probably because he emulates the lighting so well, plus he seems to have picked the right virtual lenses … but this one would definitely have been in the running, and miles ahead of the Remastered stuff I tried to watch briefly.
Whether it’s represented by an eleven-foot-long miniature, a three-foot-long miniature, or a CG model, that ship is a classic.
And that CG model is awesome.
Out of curiosity, Doug, what do the modeled room interiors look like? Would it be possible for us to get an “extreme close-up” looking through the saucer rim windows? (Obviously the room interiors are unlikely to be suitable for close-ups in a television episode. I’d just like to see what was actually modeled.)
Thanks as always!
Oh! Yeah! I want what Greg Tyler wants! Please please please! Gimme gimme gimme!
Me likey, too! I have a feeling there would have been far fewer gripes with your version.
Doug
Still looking good 40 plus years later. I always said Matt Jefferies got it right.
I agree, it looks like a physical model and not CG. I would love to have my hands on that lwo and generate some beauty shots and animations.
Ahhhhh…..
LLP,
deg
Doug, your version is very nice, I did not like the Remastered version very much, It had an AZTEC pattern on the hull which was dumb, since the logic was there was some kind of outer skin coating on the TOS E that they had done away with by the movie era( like the coating on the Space shuttle External tank) Also who’s idea was it to make the secondary hull running light the ion pod??? I also disliked the way the “bomb bay doors open on the bottom of the ship, they should have been slide out hatches like in ST-TMP. Yes I think your version would have been better and also you could have giving us an un-molested D-7 too
…But hopefully still a Romulan D7 with the raptor’s wings painted on.
Yes I agree the Romulan D-6 should have the elaborate bird pattern on the lower engineering hull, Or you could make a variation of the pattern use in the ST-TAS Romulan D-6’s. Just please git rid of those extra Blue impulse engine thrust ports! They were terrible! the one unit under the shuttlecraft hanger is enough!
Syd, Who said the Constitutions Impulse engines were blue?? Red is the color I would use also.
35 years (that I know the ship) and still in love. And nothing can take that love away from me.
That is really nice. Definitely one of the best CG renders I have ever seen. NICE!
Ah, quite possibly the most iconic spaceship in science fiction!
– Fantastic!!! 
Unfortunately what I’ve seen of the re-mastered editions of Star Trek only consist of what’s been posted on either You Tube or startrek.com; it looked truly fascinating and I must admit, contrary to what appears to be the general consensus amongst the Trek fans I thought the re-mastered Enterprise was coooool! (don’t hate me!
)
Despite the fact that I continue to profess my adoration for CGI over and over again, I do own these stories on the original DVD releases already so I can’t really justify forking out for them again just for the sake of some tidied up effects footage no matter how cool I think it is; not yet anyways! (watch me crack!!)
Doug’s version of the classic Enterprise is exceptional of course however if you’d like to pay a quick visit over to Foundation 3D you’ll see a stunning example modelled by a fan; he’s one of the most inspiring modellers (to me at least!) of Trek ships I’ve ever seen in the community. The first link contains a picture of his version of the classic Enterprise that he’s generously released to us mortals! The second is a link to his WIP on a truly bonkers-version of the same ship!
http://www.foundation3d.com/forums/showthread.php?t=481
http://www.foundation3d.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6180
Doug, this is a beautiful beautiful example of this ship! Thanks for showing her off!
)
(God I love CG!
Paul: The Mirror Universe 2-parter of ENT revolves around the USS Defiant NCC-1764, which is shown with blue impulse exhausts. (it’s tied with Best Of Both Worlds for my all-time favorite Trek episodes ever)
In my opinion, the blue impulse exhausts were a mistake… TMP established impulse engines as having a warm glow… there is no reason that the TOS ship wouldn’t have been that way too.
Syd, great choice of favorite epis!! Mine, too!
You have good taste, mi amigo.
Had to look at this again . . . . wow. Wonder how this would look up on a forty foot screen . . . .I’ll bet it would be beautiful!
Riffing mildly and quite tangentially on the esteemed Lord Dochterman’s comment, I would probably also have preferred “warm” red/orange impulse engines. The nacelle cap effect tends toward the red end of the spectrum, and I have some kind of lizard brain level reaction to engines mixing red and blue. I never liked that Starfleet ships, beginning with the Enterprise-D, had engines that were red in places and blue in places. I mean, I accept it as what Gene wanted and that’s fine, but I just never liked the look. I realize the TMP Enterprise had a (sometimes) blue navigational deflector with red/orange impulse engines, but you never saw them in the same shot since they were facing in opposite directions, and thus I never got hit with that distracting red-first-then-blue that started with the TNG era.
Don’t burn me at the stake. Or have kittens. Genesis is going to work. They’ll remember you in one breath with Newton, Einstein, Surak …
Great shot, especially since I’m currently watching the remastered episodes on DVD(out of curiosity – what’s wrong with the CGI-parts made bei CBS so that fans dislike them? And what was wrong with the Bussard Collectors in early episodes? Thanks)
Being somewhere in the middle of the second season, I found a new admiration for the original series and why it became so popular – especially in the states. Being somewhat spoilt with the partly cheesy german dubbing, it is quite enjoyable to hear serious dialoges. And yes, that Matt Jeffries design is a classic, no matter if it is the eleven or three foot model or just bits and bytes.
Cheers
Thorsten
Niiice. Would love to see some more shots of your Enterprise, Doug…
Thorsten: the CBS Digital (CBS-D) Enteprise initally was rather flat looking and the nacelle caps were sort of lifeless, they missed that special Christmas lighting behind a frosted dome look. As you may already know CBS-D did the episodes out of order, so there are 8 episodes scattered throughout the first two seasons that have the early CG model. Take a look at Balance of Terror (the very 1st episode CBS-D ever did) versus The Corbomite Manuever (one of the later first season episodes they worked on).
Even with the revised model, the general objection most had to it was that CBS-D took a rather realistic approach to the lighting and general color of the Enterprise paintjob. They rendered it fairly close to how the model from 1969 looked under normal lighting (and then it was darkend a little bit more because of being in space), rather than the intense lighting and blue color spill that came from filming it for the optical effects shots infront of a blue-screen as was done in the ’60s.
1. The Blue Impulse Vents, Since the Refit has Red ones too.
2. Aft Phaser banks were the refits E’s were (that area under the “shelf” of the
shuttle bay area is Hollow and there would be no place for phaser Equipment like on
the Refit.
3.Aft Firing Photon Torps at all on an Original Constitution, Since even the “up gunned” refit of the
E in the movies did not have Aft Torpedoes (And no I am not found of the NX’s aft torps ether
Sorry Doug)
4. The whole premise of the Episode! Since a captured Constitution would have giving
the mirror U’s Empire a 100 year tech advantage and make the I.S.S. Enterprise more
advanced in TOS “Mirror Mirror” when it was the same over-all tech as our Universe.
As far as I’m concerned the Defiant stayed lost in inter phase!
That was a Reply to syd
@Paul F
The USS Defiant tech may or may not be distributed to the Terran Empire. Since the ISS Enterprise was clearly the Pike era version. Which could also suggest that the Terran Empire was behind technologically in some areas.
Crimson, I’m curious. What makes you say that the Defiant is clearly the Pike era version?
TOS impulse engines were definitely blue IMO. I base this on three facts;
1; Early impulse engines were blue, as depicted in “Enterprise.”
2; Early publicity shots of the Refit Enterprise from “TMP” showed blue Impulse Engines, both with the original command module and the finished one. My “fanon” mind likes to think the engines were eventually revised and that the ship actually existed like that at one point in time. The refit looked better with blue engines too, I’m not sure who decided to change to red at the last moment but shame on them.
3; The TOS-E looks better with blue impulse engines. It just compliments the hull better.