Blog Day!

Ready or not, here it comes… a full day of blogging here on the Drex Files! I’ve actually had a few days to relax, and I’ve rounded up a cargo bay full of stuff that I want to share, and hope that you’ll tag along!

Did you see Rod Roddenberry’s Trek Nation on the Science Channel? Bar none, one of the best docs on Star Trek ever. What I miss most about Star Trek, is Gene Roddenberry, and that is what TN is about. Gene died when Rod was only 17 years old. Trek Nation is the journey of a son discovering his father. It’s extraordinarily touching, and you and I are a part of it. Trek Nation is not to be missed.

Now… on with the blog!

Congratulations to the Beautiful Couple!

Sure, sure… that English prince-guy got married to that gal, whatser’ name a little bit ago… but this is true royalty you’re looking at right here! Last weekend Rod and Heidi celebrated tying the knot! The reception was a wonderful affair to be remembered. Most of you know that Rod is an avid scuba diver. He proposed to Heidi underwater, and presented her an engagement ring drawn from an oyster shell! What a guy! What a gal! What a night!

Welcome To The July 4th SOTL Blowout!

Honey? Where is that jar of pickled nacelles?

Welcome back, and welcome to the drex files 2012 Ships Of The Line Calendar BBQ! Sure, we started early the other day by kicking off with our pals at trekmovie.com, but today we cross the streams and put the anti-matter to the matter!  Five of our delta radiation crazed artists have stepped up to the drex files hot plate, providing the fireworks that will help make this weekend nova! A special thanks to the fevered minds of Tobias Richter, Mark Rademaker, Dan Uyeno, Douglas E. Graves, Craig Frey, and D.M. Phoenix, for bringing all the fixins!

We’re gonna run it a little different today, Rather than string all the SOTL pictorials into one long entry, each will have it’s own feature article. In between I’ll slather some relish and typical drex files hyperbole. So don’t just stand there jawin’, Spock, throw another ship on the barbie!

(Thanks to Matt Boardman for the invite art!)

Now Hear This! Back With More Stuff July 3rd!

Swing by over the long holiday weekend for a Drex Files BBQ. We’re sure to have all the fixins, plus a few surprises (like  a Ships of The Line 2012 sneak peek)! So mark your chronometers, reverse the polarity on the flow sensors, and lock on to these coordinates! See you then!

Blog Day! Sunday The 15th!

I’m feeling the need to commune with my peeps, mark it down, Sunday May 15. I’ll be blogging all day. So keep your arms and legs inside the car, and standby to receive bacon!

Up For Air

Hi gang! First chance I’ve had to read your comments! It’s always a pleasure to share with you guys. I love and am fascinated by this stuff the same way you are, and it just doesn’t seem to wear off.

Obviously, I love both CG and physical models\sets. Yep, there is nothing like seeing a model in person. There is nothing like strolling the corridors of a starship, or a battlestar.

A physical model is no guarantee of a better looking shot. Ultimately, success or failure, CG or physical, relies on a whole plethora of factors that need to line up just right. It’s thrilling!

The kid in me wants to know that somewhere there is a spaceship on a stick. Seeing any one of the ships in person is like seeing a movie star. We were always giddy when Gary invited us down to Image G.

On the other hand, I am having such an incredible and joyous experience working with Gary, Kyle, Jesse, Dave, Mike, Davey, Q, Neal, deg, Niall, Jeremy, Heather, Jim, Derek, Manny, Matt, and Chris, in our little pirate CG department, that I would never go back.

We have more control than ever before. We’re not only building models to a degree beyond what we have experienced in the past, but we are also art directing, lighting, shooting, and creating sets too. It’s so insanely all inclusive as to slacken most any film makers jaw, and it feels like the culmination of my varied career. On with the show!

New D-TV On Thursday 4/14!

Nuff’ said!

Hailing Frequencies!

Howdy all! Got things to share! Pull up a chair!

OBTW… I’m sorry if I missed answering any of your queries. I’m so busy that I can only respond on the days that I am actually posting. If you just gotta reach me – dougdrexler@rocketmail.com

Back With More Stuff! – Saturday, March 26

Things are intense as Gary Hutzel and our gang push that upper right hand corner of the television science fiction envelope once again! We’re prepping the high octane visual effects for Battlestar Galactica: Blood And Chrome, and man, the atmosphere is electric! I can’t say much,  except that I  see wall to wall action in your future! It’s thrilling to be strapping on Vipers and spinning up the FTL again!

This Saturday I touchdown long enough to  deliver more of the Trek data, images, diagrams, articles and geek balm that makes your hot apple turn over! So fine tune your synapses, polish your eyeballs, and until then, head on a pivot!

DREX-TV Returns Thursday February 3rd!

And if that’s not enough, we’ll back it up with a day of posts right here on the Drex Files  this coming Sunday!

Time To Eat!

Okey dokey, gang! That wraps it up for me! Time for the Christmas feast! I hope you enjoyed the holiday offering here on the Drex Files! Until next time, remember my friends, stay jolly!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

drexmas

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Merry Christmas everybody! It’s a little after 6am here on the west coast, as Dorth, Beaky, and I rub the sleep from our eyes. Dorth is in the kitchen getting ready to start Christmas breakfast. She always does something special. Beaker is tearing the festive wrapping off of his honey stick, has broken a piece of it off, and holds it in his parrot fist chewing thoughtfully, watching me tapping on the keyboard to you, my friends out there around the world. I’ll be by the keyboard all day long tending to this holiday edition Drex Files, so let’s rock!

Special thanks to my good pal Matt Boardman for the wonderful “Drexmas Day Radio” intro. Thank you, buddy! Happy holidays to you and your family!

You better watch out!

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Hi gang! A quick note to say that your wandering boy is going to make a day of the Drex Files on Christmas. I’ll be posting all day long and generally hanging out here, so be sure and drop by! Who knows what I’ll dig up?

Bulletin! – I will be a guest on Trek radio this coming Saturday, so make time to harass me -

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Doug Drexler on Trek Radio this Weekend!

EARTH (15^th December 2010) – Trek Radio is excited to announce that it will be interviewing Oscar and Emmy winning Doug Drexler, this saturday (Dec 18th) at 11am Pacific Standard Time.

After 20 years involved with Star Trek in many roles as well as having been involved on other hit shows such as Battlestar Galactica and Caprica, Drexler also produces regular video blog entries for the new StarTrek.com.

He will be joining Trek Radio for an extensive live interview, where he will be asked questions about his life, his involvement in Star Trek and his love for his work.

If you have a question for Doug Drexler, please email it to “zach@startrekradio.com” with the words “Doug Drexler Question” in the subject line.

In addition, if you would like to be considered to come live on the air to ask your question, please add “hailing.frequency” on Skype (www.skype.com) with the words “Doug Drexler Question” in the invitation subject.

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Be sure to tune in for what is sure to be an awesome interview on Saturday, December 18th at 11am PST (2pm EST / 7pm GMT)

http://www.trekradio.net/

DREX-TV Episode II – Noon Today!

You read right, buck-o! I’m turning a new DREX-TV in to star trek.com on Thursday. They will post it on Friday, and it will mirror here in greater definition! Longer format! More filling! Be sure to check back!
See it here in HD.

Hello I must be going

You know how I said that Caprica had finished up, and I had time on my hands and was looking forward to spewing here on the Drex Files? I may have even mentioned how I anticipated having some time to hang out with Dorth and the parrot… maybe even get some parrot wrestling in. Well, turns out that was just an alien illusion and that time off is something you only read about in AARP brochures. Here’s what happened: Gary was called in to lend a hand finishing up a feature film that’s shooting in Louisiana, and since we are his troops we’ve shipped out with him. No rest for the wicked.

Everything is last minute in show business, and the last week has been an intense effort to get things going. What I’m getting at is that today’s Drex Files that I trumpeted as being chock full, and possibly even overwhelming, will instead be only moderately as exciting as I had hoped. Although as I work today on Gary’s Louisiana movie job, I intend to make a few interesting posts, although not the deluge I had promised… apologies… duty calls… but that IS on the horizon. No, there won’t be DREX-TV today, but trust me, I have some incredible unseen stuff lined up for the next one, although it may be a few weeks off.

So today I’m starting off with the Emmy brochure I put together for Caprica VFX. It’s pretty cool and very revealing and somewhat mind-boggling looking back on it. We really did all this on a weekly TV schedule?

Drex Files Bulletin!

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Still catching my breath!

The last four weeks have been a real roller coaster. What with finishing the high octane (no exaggeration) season finale of Caprica, the Emmys (we didn’t get it!), and a top secret new project (loose lips sink ships), yours truly has been operating at high warp until just yesterday.

Since life has been especially intense, the Drex Files delivery schedule is just slightly out of phase, look for the next issue on September 12th. Included will be the second ever episode of DREX-TV, with more never before seen footage of real life on the final frontier (Gary Hutzel unearthed some historic TNG Trek footage that I can hardly wait to share with you)… and yes, more SOTL: Active Duty!

So tune in, ’cause I’ve got a lot to get out of my system!

- Doug out!

Live on startrek.com!

http://startrek.com/article/the-drex-files-a-video-addendum

You’re Invited!

Another cool graphic from Matt Boardman! Thanks, bub!

drex-TV launches noon Friday

See you tomorrow!

Drex Files-TV update!

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I’m waiting for a go-ahead from startrek.com to post the first episode of our new Drex Files-TV video-mag right here! Yesterday Paramount told me that it looked like a throttle-up for tomorrow. I’ll keep you informed. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Caprica season 1.5. We heat things up a bit.

Thanks to Mighty Matt Boardman for the new header! That goes for everyone. You make ‘em, I’ll use ‘em!

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Rockin’ The Hailing Frequencies

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To all the ships at sea, and all the ports of call!

I’m putting together a video-mag-slash-column for the relaunched startrek.com. called “Video Bytes” .

“Video Bytes” run concurrently at the “drex files” and I cannot wait for you to see it, ’cause It’s gonna rock your shuttlecraft.

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** 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! No, not the Georges Melies science fiction classic, I’m talking BarBara Luna! 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. OMG it was hysterical, but that’s another story. I brought my video camera and captured some classic Luna, and I want to share it with you. She’s silly and zany and adorable.

** “SOTL: Active Duty!” – It hit me like a ton of neutronium! Take some old SOTL pages an animate them! Be sure you’ve got your heavy reinforced Depends on because this is gold, Jerry! See the launch of the refit NX and Matt Jefferies iconic ringship take flight! See the J, the Altair, and the Kelvin! “SOTL: Active Duty!” will be the kick in the PTC you have been yearning for! Tobias Richter, Robert Wilde, and Mark Rademaker guest.
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** … And if that wasn’t enough we’ve got an “Andygram” too! Amazing Andy Probert remembers the “sphinx shuttle” concept he created for TNG, while Bananamen Deg 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?

So here is the schedule adjustment for the drex files: Rather than posting here on July 25th, I will be using this weekend to finish “Videos Bytes”  Startrek.com and the drex files will be posting it on the 28th\29th. To round that all off I will be returning the following Sunday (8\1) with more of the sort of entries you have grown accustomed to! Standby!

- Doug

July 25th – Mark Your Calendar!

Because that’s when we return with another full day of posts! Back during the construction of Enterprise, and the departure of Voyager, Mike and I video documented set construction. Next time around, Jack and I will be editing the footage down into video-bytes for the drex files. Don’t miss it! – Doug

See You June 27th

Hope you guys enjoyed this months offerings as much as I enjoyed delivering them!

Tomorrow it’s back into combat over at the Universal ranch! Everyone carry on, have fun, stay safe, and remember to tune back on June 27th!  Drex out!

Standby to Receive Signal!

A concept sketch of that set that I did for Enterprise that was never realized. A script called for us to visit the bridge of a Xindi insectoid starship. I especially like the multiple insect eyes on the overhead, and the hive-like feeling of the MVS

We’re back! It’s been a tumultuous month working with Gary Hutzel and the rest of the talented VFX gang on season 1.2 of Caprica. Things begin to pick up steam in the second half of the season, and the series finale resets the entire playing field with the kind of action you’ve come to expect from our dept. We’ve also been pumping up other fun stuff at work, including our capacity to create pretty amazing 3D VFX. There’s that upper right corner of the envelope again… and there’s Gary livin’ in it! Can you imagine one of those rip roaring BSG battle scenes in three dimensions? That’s GOOD soup!

Today at the drex files we’ll be doling out a heaping helping of nutritious vitamin packed goodness. Propworx has completed their latest and most snazzy catalog for their upcoming Star Trek prop auction, including most of my collection that you guys have come to know, cool stuff from rousing Rick Sternbach, and a selection of exotic Okudian offerings from the outer edges of the Galaxy! I’ll be posting my interview from the catalog later, including a link where you can go and down the  auction book!

We’ll also get another sneek peak at the 2011 SOTL calendar, and another post featuring one of our ever popular BSG VFX Emmy presentation books!

So in the immortal word of Elwood Blues…  Our lady of blessed acceleration, don’t fail us now!

See You Again on May 23rd!

Hope everyone enjoyed this months offerings. See you next time with more stuff, including the continuing countdown to the 2011 SOTL calendar. Take care, have fun, and remember… if someone tells you you can’t, that’s a pretty good indicator that you can! Drex out!