Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: Notesfiles $Revision: 1.6.2.17 $; site uiucdcsb.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcsb!eich
From: eich@uiucdcsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Deflectors and ST 4
Message-ID: <16000007@uiucdcsb.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Dec-84 01:08:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsb.16000007
Posted: Sun Dec  2 01:08:00 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 05:36:40 EST
References: <3377@ucbvax.UUCP>
Lines: 38
Nf-ID: #R:ucbvax:-337700:uiucdcsb:16000007:000:2060
Nf-From: uiucdcsb!eich    Dec  2 00:08:00 1984

[re: ST-TMP FX]

Douglas Trumbell and his Entertainment Effects Group, working along with
John Dykstra's group (those who split from Lucas's ILM after Star Wars
and worked on the Battlestar Ponderosa pilot), completed ST-TMP effects
under horrendous pressure and parted amicably with Paramount.  The story
you heard sounds like a corrupted account of ST-TMP's original effects
plans, which involved Robert Abel & Associates (the innovative 7-UP and
Levi's commercials people).

Abel and co. dropped out after their grandiose plans for fancy
motion-controlled photography preprogrammed from graphics terminals
came to naught.  Apparently they had software that allowed an effects
designer to set up a model shot at a workstation, run a program to
translate the move into code to drive the motion control rig.  After
convincing himself that the shot looked right, the designer would dump
to a floppy, run over to the stage next door, set up model, lights,
camera, and floppy, and get the intended action on film.  They ran into
problems right away: their software assumed a point pov, and the camera
housing rammed part of the model rig!  Back to the software development
building for another run through the edit-compile-debug cycle...

Anyway, Trumbell (and Dykstra to a lesser extent) came on the scene
after Abel's and another group's failures (details of the latter attempt
escape me), and did well enough considering the tedious number of shots
required.  As for ILM receiving a slightly less than mint-condition
Enterprise from EEG for STII, ILM people (Ken Ralston, I think) did
blame Trumbell.  Apparently Trumbell had made a lower bid for TWOK than
ILM, but Paramount opted for Lucas's people.  I seem to recall Trumbell
himself griping about how overpriced ILM is, etc. at some point.
Personally, I think ILM effects have a distinctive flair, a stylization
of movement that makes STII & III effects superior to those of TMP.  And
nobody can do soft mattes like Lucas's optical people (the Bird of
Prey's landing on Vulcan).

Brendan Eich
uiucdcs!eich