SOTL Flashback – 02

“Uneasy Truce”  – Rob Bonchune – SOTL – 2009

SOTL 2010 – On Sale Now – From Simon & Schuster

Steve Canyon-25

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-return-of-steve-canyon/

http://stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com/

Cardassian War Room Set Extension

When you need a fourth wall in a three wall set, and you have no money, who ya’ gonna’ call?

The yard long  fourth wall miniature  stands by to take it’s turn in front of the camera.

The story called for a Cardassian war room, and the plan as to redress the DS9 cargo bay. Gary Hutzel approached us about building a miniature fourth wall with an enormous view screen to display tactical information. We had been working hand in hand with VFX for so long, and it had been such a fruitful relationship, that it prompted Jim Vanover to post a sign in the graphics room that read: “…making life easier for visual effects.” Whenever Gary, Dan, Ron, or Dave came to us with a problem and asked if we could help, we would simply point to the sign. I remember another sign that quoted Gary,  prompted while I was building a CG model for him. I warned him that the poly count was getting on the heavy side to which he responded, “…polygons don’t frighten me!” Laughing,  Jimmy V quick made a sign out of that one, certain Gary would rue the day.

I’m here to tell you that after five years of working CG with Gary on some mighty huge TV, that polygons still don’t frighten him. Not one bit.

Screen caps courtesy Matt Boardman.

Calling Dick Tracy! 87

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Joltin’ Joe Longo

One of my favorite characters on Star Trek was not a cast member, but the prop master, Joe Longo. Here is Joe holding a bust of Kahless I sculpted for use in Worf’s quarters.

Joe told me an amusing anecdote about his first job at Universal where he started out with craft services in the 60′s. Not sure what to do with the the young Longo on his first day at work, his boss handed him a broom and told to clean up the soundstage. Joe was determined to make a good impression, and cleaned that danged stage from top to bottom. It was very dusty, and literally filled with cobwebs, but Joe made it sparkle. Unfortunately it was the Munster house, and was supposed to be dusty and full of cob webs! 40 years later and we are still laughing about it! Here’s to Joe, one of the most fun guys I got to work with!

More Joe -

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/tales-of-suspense-the-approval-process/

Voyager’s Steve Burg Designed Snow Crash

The Snow crash as it appeared on TV. Thanks to Suricata  for the link.

Everyone remembers the incredible CG crash sequence on Voyager, but not everyone knows that brilliant illustrator Steve Burg designed that sequence on paper first.

Steve is one of those unassuming geniuses whose modesty belies the raging talent below the surface. I first met Steve when he visited the Star Trek art department many years ago. We were blown away that he would want to visit US! After he left, John and I taped off a square of floor where he first landed. It became a holy spot in the department. When I met Steve I was delighted by the child-like innocence he radiates. One of the most genuine and nicest guys on the planet. I was lucky to get to know him better when I moved on to Foundation Imaging. We always enjoyed one another, and I stil lhold out  hope that one day we will work together. One day when Steve dropped by my desk for a chat, I noticed that he was holding a stack of bond paper upon which were a number of dynamic Steve Burg sketches. I was geeking out, as Steve explained that they were the storyboards for the Voyager snow crash. “I’m keeping these, ok Steve?”  I joked. “Great” said Steve, “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind holding on to them!” They’ve been in my collection ever since. As far as I know, they have never been reproduced anywhere… enjoy!

Steve Burg has worked on such notable films as The Abyss, Totall Recall, Terminator 2, Contact, Buckeroo Banzai, The Matrix, and X-Men, to name but a few. Be sure to check out his blog -

http://www.steveburg.blogspot.com/

Jem Hadar Battlecruiser

This Jem Hadar behemoth rattled teacups on Federation starships across the AQ.

Welcome back to another Sunday at the files! You can count on me to be at the keyboard every seventh day at 5:30am, and after a long stimulating week at work I find that delving into past adventures renews me for the campaign ahead. By the way, our pal Jörg is presently in L.A. and doing the Trek tour. His man on the move schedule  has him checking out the Tillman Water Reclamation facility (Starfleet), the amazing rocks of Vasquez (“Arena”), possibly Chateau Drex, and last but not least, the Art Directors Guild showing of TMP, complete with panel of past Trek art directors. That event will be moderated by keeper of the flame Daren Dochterman. I’m hoping that when Jörg gets back home he’ll put together an Away Team report for us, right here on the drex files.

The  drex files continues in it’s quest to close the starship intel gap with the CG version of the mighty Jem Hadar Battlecruiser. A goliath of a starship. It started life on DS9 as a physical model,and  made a welcome transition to CG. An entry displayed a few shots Mike and I took when we visited the Image G stages. It appeared hastily built, and was  unwieldy to photograph.

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/jem-battlewagon/

SOTL Flashback

“Top Secret”  – Pierre Drolet – SOTL – 2009

SOTL 2010 – On Sale Now – From Simon & Schuster

Calling Dick Tracy! 86

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Steve Canyon – 24

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http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-return-of-steve-canyon/

http://stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com/

Richard Livingston – BSG Ship Illustrator – Colonial One

BSG’s version of Air Force One. Colonial One, transient  home to the President of the Colonies, Laura Roslyn.

This is just one kick-ass design. The minute I saw it I was impressed. It’s just plain cool to look at. The design has a wonderful sense of reality about it, an absolute imperative on an absolutely grim show like BSG. I remember Gary telling me that the spaceliners which speckle the fleet were originally a design for Colonial One. They would have served well, but I think this final version of the erstwhile seat of Colonial government is the winner. It’s strong distinctive design sense resonates with fans of the show. It’s a hall of famer for sure.

Another smart decision on Gary Hutzel’s part:  enlisting the services of illustrator Richard Livingston. BSG craved designs that didn’t look like Star Trek, or Star Wars, and that was Richard’s knack. Richard’s designs have a solid utilitarian form follows function feel. Gary wanted to shed what he referred to as “pixie-dust” technology, and he found that in Richard.

Richard has generously dug up some of his early design sketches for BSG. Fairly rare stuff, as BSG did not get the publishing treatment that Trek got. Over the coming weeks I’ll ration out a revealing helping of some more of Richard’s designs, including some comments from the man himself.

These are two of Pierre Drolet’s test renders of his aging down of Colonial One for the start of season three. You may recall the third season opening revealing that two years had passed on New Caprica under Cylon rule. Gary wanted to be sure that the land locked Colonial One reflected it’s two year tenure in the elements. The weathering job is masterful.

Decker Lives!

We actually shot William Windom’s scenes for the New Voyages episode “In Harm’s way in our living room.

I loved the whole idea that Decker never died in the Doomsday Machine incident, and that he ended up alive, happy, and living with Captain’s woman BarBara Luna. When Dorothy was a kid, she had a crushed on Windom from watching him in a television show called “The Farmer’s Daughter”. When Bill arrived in his well worn jeep at our house in North Hollywood, I snitched, telling him my wife had a crush on him from the 60′s. He replied, “WELL, we’ll fix THAT!” Everyone agrees that William Windom stole the show in “The Doomsday Machine”, and Windom knows it, too…. “That was MY show” he chortles with devilish satisfaction.

We also had a huge ginormous amount of fun with all-time great Malachi Throne. The man was a bundle of high spirited humor. I had some of my most favorite moments watching episodes of  “Lancelot Link” with him. It was Malachi who taught me that there were “Actors, and then there were performers” , and that “the best all around attitude, was gratitude.”

Ferengi\Dekendi Spacecraft

Star Trek Enterprise’s Ferengi shuttle.  Nearly a space-going turtle, and somewhat reminiscent of the hardy USS Defiant from Deep Space Nine. I remember my disappointment when I read a Ferengi script so early in the life of the show.

If I had my druthers. most of the first season would have gone by before meeting any alien races. I’m intrigued by the idea that the Vulcan’s tell us nothing at all, and we are left to discover it on our own. I think Gene would have preferred that.

The Ferengi shuttle originally appeared in the  Enterprise episode “Acquisition”. It was re-used once in a major role, as a Dekendi transport seen in “Stigma”. Phlox’ wife Feezal takes the ship to get from the surface of Dekendi III to the Enterprise to deliver a new neutron microscope.

Calling Dick Tracy! 85

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Eyecandy 27 – deg – TOS.5.2

Did you know that it was just deg’s birthday? (Thanks Dea, for the heads up!) Usually you give someone a present on their birthday. In deg’s case he gave us a present. New images of his TOS refit. Sexy time!

Steve Canyon – 23

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http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-return-of-steve-canyon/

http://stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com/

Scar

People ask me if I miss makeup. Truth is, I still get to do it once in a while.  In the BSG episode “Scar”, we he had a mad Raider that had overcome it’s programming. The episode was akin to to a film noir monster tale. Gary asked me to design a horror mask for the marauding Cylon. We discussed it and saw it as a three way split between Frankenstein, a battered old tom, and Mickey Rourke in Sin City.

No one has ever seen Scar’s face clearly before now. I imagine it illuminated by a crack of lightning outside it’s victim’s bedroom window. Classic horror.

Lal

“I have observed that in most species there is a primal instinct to perpetuate themselves. Until now I have been the last of my kind. If I would be damaged or destroyed, I will be lost forever. But if I am successful with the creation of Lal, my continuance is assured. I understand the risk, sir. And I am prepared to accept the responsibility.“

– Data

The Next Generation makeup lab was a hole in the wall. It wasn’t even in the wall. It was a shack cobbled together on the stage behind 8 and 9. You know that footage of Persis Khambatta getting her raven locks shorn by Fred Phillips for TMP? That’s the shack… and I loved it. Who would ever guess? Big TV production… the makeup lab would have to be in a flashy setup on the Paramount lot… wouldn’t it? Nope… makeup artists are an interesting breed. Life is a cross between the army, and the circus. You go where the job is, and you set up your camp… wherever that may be.  I’ve made people up using the toilet as a makeup chair and with light coming from a single unshaded bulb. I’ve made actors up in the middle of the woods, in a speeding car, in an airplane, a swamp, and a kitchen… so making molds, sculpting, and running foam latex in a shack could be seen as a step up in some cases. You got out, and you got under, and if there are no amenities… like electricity, you made electricity… no water? You brought it with you. You learned to be self contained and self sufficient. You thought ahead and you thought on your feet. A Shack? I love it!

Mike and Jerry! We had a lot of fun! Look how Mike is wearing a small smile. That’s his makeup face. I’ve never seen him lose his cool. Not once not ever. That’s Jerry on the right. I still have to tell you about when Jerry, as a makeup infatuated kid, accidentally stole the face off of Abraham Lincoln at Disneyland. You don’t know what it’s like to have hot mouse breath on your neck.

Mike Westmore, Jerry Quist, and I laughed a lot. All three of us tended toward the boisterous, all while making aliens happen. We’d scream and laugh, and even sing songs. This could be a problem, as our “Dogpatch” style shack was on a soundstage. Someone else’s soundstage. Not even Star Trek.  Before I knew what “Wayne’s World” was, we were interrupting Garth and Wayne trying to get the shot.  The “Wayne’s World” soundguy had a wig-wag light put on our makeup lab work bench. It helped a little, but not  being allowed to laugh makes laughing more uncontrollable.

Word came down through Mike that an impending script had Data build his own progeny. It was called “The Offspring“. The idea was that it would start life as an androgynous mannequin. It would be golden and featureless, akin to a giant Academy Award. The face and pectoral adornment seemed straight forward. The question was the approach to erasing the actor’s naughty bits. The first thought was a foam latex pair of skin tight shorts which would be blended into the actors skin. I thought that it was important to maintain the musculature structure of the buttocks and the anatomy of the lower abdomen. A foam pair of shorts would effectively erase that. Since I had an opinion, it became my task, that along with the overall application of the head to toe makeup.

Mike sculpted Lal’s face and robo pecs. What a funny little face! Oddly sweet!  I snapped these shots outside between the soundstages.

Ultimately we would create a sort of foam G-string that would just barely cover the genitalia and fill in the butt-crack (Yes I get paid to do this!). Undoubtedly it would be easiest if casting would provide us with a woman with little or no breasts. No such luck in that respect. We ended up with Leonard Crofoot, who had an ample unit needing to be bound. The poor guy. Once glued in, there was no peein’ nor makin’ any doody! No way, no how! Remember that since I would be putting the makeup on all by my lonesome, the application would take about five hours, add to that a fifteen hour shooting day! You heard me, skippy! No facilities for about twenty hours!

Vulcan Vahklas Class Transport

Today we look at the Vulcan Vahklas class transport. The “Ring” concept had been losing ground for some time. This edition featured an interrupted ring, a fun idea which also suggested the Vulcan’s most endearing physical characteristic.

Happy Sunday! It’s good to be back and spend a little time in the catacombs of the drex files! Just like I left it. Uh oh… Max Rem left a dangerous anomaly in the annular confinement unit. Tsk, tsk. We have to keep those things properly incarcerated.

Been a busy week with the CG gang in the Hitchcock Building, prepping the first episodes of Caprica. Gary has been back and forth between here and Vancouver many times already, and the team… Kyle, Pierre, Sean, the Daves, Jesse, Farrah, Mike, Heather, Derek, Jeremy, Greg, and  Manny are creating something where there was nothing before. Every day is a challenge. Speaking of the team, ours went to the Emmys last night, but the Gold Lady went to “Heroes”. Missed it by that much! Kudos to our friends on the “Heroes” VFX team. Job well done! Which reminds me, Dorth and I have been watching the HBO series “Rome”. Finished it last night. What an amazing show. You just can’t believe it’s television. Characters, scope, intrigue, action, friendship, love , hate… an awesome achievement.

We start the day with another ship from the Vulcan motorpool of Enterprise. The Vulcan fleet is fascinating. A major race in the Star Trek mythos, yet it took over thirty years to explore this design ethic. As we got further and further from the “ring” concept, the less distinctive the V-ships became. It’s like having Vulcan character without ear tips.  I don’t recall what led us away from the ring. The Vahklas class ship features pincers, gills, and that ruddy red motif we have come to expect from Vulcan starships.

Sunday is for visiting! We’ve got BSG design, TNG makeup, Dick Tracy, Steve Canyon and Trek Eyecandy dead ahead!

3/4 – 02

Calling Dick Tracy! – 84

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Steve Canyon – 22

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 http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-return-of-steve-canyon/

http://stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com/

Edward Carrere – Production Designer

Many of you know that one of my favorite films is “The Fountainhead”. Here is an amazing picture of that movies production designer, Edward Carrere (L), doing a show and tell with Gary Cooper (C), and the films director King Vidor (R). I’m always blown away by this image from 1948. It is as fresh a situation today as it was when this shot was taken. Foam core models will be around for a good long time in spite of CG imaging, because nothing gives the director a more immediate understanding of 3D space.

Production Designer Edward Carrere’s solo career actually began with “The Fountainhead”. His fearless work still amazes: enormous offices, endless expanses of glass, impossible cantilevering, and modernist fantasies reaching high into the sky. Carrere’s long and illustrious career would eventually include brilliant work in every genre, from the gritty realism of “Sweet Smell of Success” and “The Wild Bunch”, to classic fantasies like “Camelot” and “Helen of Troy”.

What Color Is The TOS Enterprise?

In our previous post, “Eyecandy 27″, Sir Rickover felt that the Enterprise was a tad too gray. Well, what color IS the TOS Enterprise? My friend Paul Newitt, is probably one of the hippist cats in the ‘verse on this subject. Here is his report. Thank you Paul!

What Color IS the TOS Enterprise? – By Paul Newitt

Here are the much anticipated paint specs for the  “The Original Series” Enterprise, based on research provided by Richard C. Datin, the original builder of the 3′ (33in) and 11ft. (4x) filming miniatures, in late 1964.

Eye Candy 27

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.

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Great Scott!

My buddy, Sean Scott, and his favorite Batmobile.

You know about superheroes… Spiderman, Superman, Batman… I’m here to tell you those guys ain’t nuthin’! I work with superheroes! Let’s face it! I’m a fan! Especially a fan of  the guys who work in television…  no time…  no money, but often equal and sometimes even outdo work done for the big screen. Those are my kind of superheroes! Superman would wet his pants if he had to do what they do! Turn back time? Bah! How about a challenge?

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Not only is Sean Scott one of the best character animators in the business, but he is also one of the nicest men in this or any other quadrant. Sean and I first met at Foundation Image while working on the Voyager VFX team. You’ve seen his work in numerous television shows (and movies) such as, 24, Pushing Daisies, Ghost Whisperer, Hellboy, Surface, and Alias, to name a few. Sean has taken time from his extremely busy schedule, to put together a little pictorial and commentary of some of his work on Trek for us. Sean, thank you so much! The Con is yours, Mr. Scott!

Being able to work on Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek Enterprise has been one of the highlights of my career.  So when my friend Doug asked for a couple of character animation show and tells, I was happy to oblige...

(Above) This image shows how we see the model in Lightwave as we shape the wireframe mesh, and rig the character with bones – much like our own – for animation.

The Xindi were an exciting addition to ST:E’s second season, in that there were five different races, and they would be recurring characters.  Three of the races were to be prosthetics, and two CG.  Dan Curry, VFX producer, provided sketches for the characters.  The supremely talented John Teska created the insect model, and I, with additional help from the incredibly gifted Dave Morton, modeled the aquatic race.

A CG character has to be able to act just like the human counterparts.  So to bring the sculpted forms to life, we add bones and morph targets to allow us to bend and deform the model.  Then the animation (the best part of the job for me!) begins.  There must be a bit of high school acting still in my veins as I animate because I very much find myself taking on the role of the character while I sit at the computer and work.  Sometimes I’ll record myself acting out a shot and use it as reference to animate with.  I also have a mirror for watching myself for facial cues that can translate into the performance as well.

(Above) This image shows the progression from animation, to lighting and render, to final composite with Capt. Archer.

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(Above) This is a great shot that I wish I could take credit for, but mad props to the incredible John Teska for his modeling and animation.  This shot was created with a method we used in ST:E occassionally called roto-animation.  You can see an on set actor dressed in a body suit covered in grid lines.  The concept is to allow the director to direct the performance to his liking.  That footage is provided to us as the reference of what the animation should look like.  Here John has animated the CG insect over the actor, mimicking his motions and timings.  Of course, John was able to improve upon the performance, and allow the producers to refine the shot as desired.

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(Above) This was a fun shot from the final season of ST:E.  A newsreel clip was needed to show the Nazi’s marching through New York.  So production provided a stock photo from the 40′s, then I went to work altering history.  The first task was to paint out the vehicles and people that would be on the parade route.  Next I used thousands of CG crowd characters to line the streets, and CG soldiers to march and drive the cars and motorcycles.  Once some scratches and flicker were added in post production, the effect was complete, and wonderfully fun to create.

Sean, thanks again for the fun! Hey gang… this is what Sean does at work! Guess what? When this man goes home at night, the fun doesn’t end! While working to sharpen his character animation skills, Sean had himself a good time loosening up this ordnarily evil alien insect bug -

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(Below) With apologies to John Billingsley.