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Full HD! Blow it up full screen!

Finally!

The plan is to make this a monthly thing. Hope you dig! Below is the article that accompanies this V-blog on the relaunched, refitted startrek.com -

Drex Files Video Addendum!
We’ve only explored 2% of the Galaxy!

I was a fan from the first glimmer of black and white cathode ray over forty years ago, and am still hip deep. I’m in the enviable position of having worked on Star Trek for nearly two decades and have probably worked in more capacities than anyone in the history of the show… makeup artist, scenic artist, illustrator, and visual effects artist, and you now what? I’ve never been able to get enough!

Many of you know me from my blog, “The Drex Files”. Man, I poured a lot of stuff into that site. When Ian Spellin of suggested my putting together a column for startrek.com, I was dubious. Would a year and a half on Drex Files leave me anything to explore? Watch this!

Andygram!
We look at one of Trek’s sleekest and sexiest unrealized designs, The sphinx shuttle.

Whenever I think of Andy Probert I think of that scene in “The Right Stuff” where a reporter asks Gordo Cooper who’s the best pilot he’s ever seen. I’m one of Andy Probert’s biggest fans, and for me he is the best look for Star Trek. His sense of logic and aesthetics has never been equaled. One of my favorite Probert designs is the unrealized “Sphinx” shuttle, a cousin of the classic workbee. We’ve rustled you up a heapin’ helpin’ of the man himself, and Douglas “Deg” Graves brings it to life with his newly minted 3D version of the fabled conveyance. A classic Trek design. Why would anyone make Star Trek without Probert attached?

They’re the Juggernaut, bitch!
Ode to the Mararthon Mill Construction  crew.

One of the most thrilling things about working on Star Trek was watching the construction gang in the Marathon Mill take our sketches and blueprints and make them real… and like magic, sets would seemingly coalesce from thin air.

When Mike Westmore piped me aboard the Enterprise D as a a makeup artist, I got my first closeup look at those classiest of starship sets. Buddy, I was like a kid in a candy store, free to wander the 23rd century and marvel at the magnificent designs and incredible craftsmanship that went into even the smallest detail.

There is a saying in the makeup department… first to get there, last to leave. But there were days when I would finish up at 2am, pack my kit, head across the Paramount lot to the parking structure, and be blown away that the construction guys would still be at it full tilt. Later, when I made the jump from the makeup department to art department, I would learn who this amazing powerhouse of a gang was. Not only would I be privy to their world and particular brand of magic, but I would now be working with them hand in hand. I would not only be wowed by their incredible talent and skill, but by the unique characters and personalities that drove the Trek construction juggernaut. Heady days, my friend.

A rough and tumble world of pneumatic nail guns, saber saws and testosterone. The “Marathon Mill” was a wild and woolly pirate ship that demanded a thick skin and a sense of humor to successfully navigate.  Working with construction was one of the funnest, coolest and most satisfying experiences of my widely varied life in Hollywood. Our Star Trek machine was well oiled, and in it’s veins flowed trust, affection, and admiration. I don’t believe that I have ever worked on another show where cooperation between departments was so powerful.

During construction of the NX sets I kept a video record, and this stuff’ll knock your socks off. The first installment makes maximum montage of the construction of the NX warp core and engineering department. Hey you know it, and I know it: A cool engineering department is central to a starship, and we were especially proud of this one. It’s a remarkable document of a very ambitious Star Trek set, and baby you are there!

Le Voyage dans la lune!

When I was thirteen years old, four of the sexiest women on Earth were Raquel Welch, Brigette Bardot, Ursula Andress, and BarBara Luna. When I saw Luna as the Captain’s woman in the classic Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror” she was IT. She still has more of IT than any two women have a right to have of IT. How does she do it? A few weeks back, me, Dorth, Jimmy, and Luna went to see “CHIPs: The Musical” (no, I’m not kidding!) at Gary Marshall’s Eagle Theater in Tolucca Lake (It was hysterical, but that’s another story). I brought my video camera and captured some classic Luna. She’s silly and zany and adorable. Scamp, vixen, brat, comedian, artist, and legend. It’s silly for me to go on and on trying to impart the fun of BarBara Luna. Watch the video already!

Ship’s Of The Line: Active Duty!
This wild idea more than anything else gave me the impetus to create this vid\mag\column for startrek.com

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary… what could I do to make this column special? Then it hit me like a ton of neutronium! Oh you beautiful Galaxy! There were a hundred shots already set up for Ship’s of the Line that were dying to be animated! So I grabbed a bunch of my own pages, talked to Tobias, called Mark, shot up a flare to Rob… and in less than a week we had something special! Check your inertial dampers, fasten your seat belts, and be sure you’ve got your extra heavy reinforced Depends on because this is gold, Jerry! See the launch of the refit NX and Matt Jefferies iconic ringship taking flight! “SOTL: Active Duty” is the kick in the PTC you have been yearning for!

Hey, that was fun! I hope you got a kick out of the Drex Files Video Addendum! Fire a green flare if you’d like to see more, and in the meantime I’ll be fighting killer robots!

In fact I’m working tomorrow, but I’ll be off on Sunday and will be posting! Dugout!

Enterprise J Sketchbook

(Above) The Enterprise J was a throw-away, but in spite of only being seen briefly on a monitor, it has developed it’s own cult following.

I was digging around looking for something else, when I found my very first concept sketches of the Enterprise J. There is nothing as immediate as picking up a stick with a piece of graphite embedded in it, and pulling the trigger on an impulse. With two days before a production meeting you have to think fast and not obsess… especially since I wanted Herman to be able to show a rendered animation of the ship in flight. So! On you mark, get set…

(Above) Bang! The J cracks out of quantum warp dwarfing the NX. This was the very first sketch. There are so many ways to interpret a loose drawing like this. Looking at it years later, it creates a cascade of new ideas about how to finish the model. If we had a few weeks, it would have finalized differently. As it was, the model was bashed out in a matter of hours. I really like this sketch and it’s energy.

(Below) A slightly different study of the underside, with warp engines arching upward.  It’s very organic, and once again, energetic.

(Below) Top view. There is often a sense of whimsy to my sketches. I see that in the foreshortened primary hull. The faster the ship the more foreshortened.

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For more on the J -

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/enterprise-j-search-redux/

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/enterprise-j-search/

Devore Warship (and a host of others)

(Above) Looking rather like a contemporary stealth fighter, with it’s matte black finish and mesh-like pattern, the Devore warship was what we referred to as a “Get Well” design: a recycled ship of the week that helped extend our budget.

We’re back! It’s March 28th, a date near and dear to my heart… my birthday… and I’m gonna to spend it with my compadres! You! Kick the tires and light the fires! Drex Files is on the air!

The Jörg report:

This ship first appeared in the Voyager season 5 episode “Counterpoint”, where it was seen as the Devore warship. The ship has appeared several times after that, usually in the background or as part of a larger fleet shot. In “Counterpoint” it was supposed to be a really big ship (as can be seen in the screenshots from the episode). In later appearances, it was drastically scaled down. It first reappeared in “Alice” as part of Abbadon’s depository of lost treasures. It was then seen again in “Drive” as a vessel taking part in the Antarian Transstellar Rally. In this episode, it was flying backwards and was just a little bigger than the Delta Flyer. The model then reappeared in “The Void” as a stranded alien ship. Finally, it appeared in an episode of Enterprise, as a Sphere builder vessel in “Azati Prime”. It was part of the  Sphere builder-Federation battle seen by Archer through a window of the Enterprise-J.

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Lego J

The Enterprise J from “Azati Prime”.

When Chris Gay sent me these images of his Enterprise J, I just about fell off my chair. I have to admit an oddball feeling of having “arrived”, after all, this honor is usually reserved for the Capitol Building, Statue of Liberty and the Loch Ness Monster. Chris admits to being obsessed by the design, “You did a wonderful job with the Enterprise J. It’s beautiful to look at. It’s like a Starfleet take on Noah’s ark.” Chris! Not only is your Leggo sculpture of the J amazingly cool, I bet it hurts like hell to step on in your bare feet!

For more of the Lego J – http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=377756

For more on the Enterprise J – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/category/ent/enterprise-j/

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I guess I can pretty much retire now, ’cause I’ve seen it all: an Enterprise J made of Lego blocks!

Altair Class – Space Trials

My art department generated test of the Altair class starship. This sequence was generated as one of several designs being considered for the Enterprise J. It’s a design concept which originated with Mike, and that I developed during the Voyager search.

Backstory – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed/

Special thanks to Matt Wright for nudging me to make the drex files video clip capable!  Note – it may take a moment for the clip to show up, so give it a second!

Congo Class

Another shot just turned up of the “Congo class” starship. A runner up for the Enterprise J, discussed in an earlier blog. This is the approved J saucer mated with the Altair wingship.

Enterprise J Search Redux

Long missing images of the Enterprise J finally turn up showing the underside of the mysterious vessel.

I Opted for spindly nacelle struts because I felt it suggested a technology beyond what we were familiar with. Matt Jefferies used this same gag on the original series ship with it’s impossibly thin engine supports. It’s nacelles had a floaty appearance, defying the laws of physics. It was my opinion that the ever heavying up of engine struts over the years, took some of the magic out of the Enterprise.

(below) An aft view reveals a somewhat elegant starship, and for me, the design suggested a far-flung era.

More info on the search – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/enterprise-j-search/

Enterprise J Search

One of the J configurations sent to the front office for consideration. The secondary hull by itself became known as the Altair-class featured an entry or so back. The primary hull went on to become part of the approved J ship, as seen below. You know how the Enterprise was described to Charlie X as “a whole city in space”? The 1701 was really a village compared to the J, which even dwarfed the D ship. I saw this concept as a multi-generational vessel, that had large parks, entertainment zones, and entire universities on board. The ship is so large that turbo lifts would be  replaced with site to site transporters.

If At First You Don’t Succeed…

The starship concept that never took wing.

Voyager was in pre-production, and a ship search was in progress. “So Mike,” I asked, “is there a pet idea of yours you’d like to see developed that we could pitch to the Killer B’s?” Killer B’s being out pet name for Berman and Braga. Mike rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You know those V shaped television antennas you see on automobiles? That.” So I went back to my desk, opened Adobe Illustrator, a vector based 2D program, and developed the above black and white sketch.

The design, which we all thought was a cool departure, never made it to first base. Very different, but still had that “starfleet” look. Oh well.  A few years later on Enterprise, the design was submitted once again as an idea for the NX. No dice, Chicago. Two years after that for the Enterprise J. I would sleek it  somewhat, and rebuilt it in Lightwave. No luck that time either ( although the engines would end up on the approved J ship). Phooey! Well dang it! I edit the Ships of the Line Calendar (with Margaret!), and by Crom, people would get to see this cool design.

(Above) The Altair class wing ship makes it into space for “Ships of the Line”. I was taken by the way it contrasted and complemented the shape of Any Probert’s magnificent Enterprise D. The was also something vaguely IDIC-like about the juxtaposition.