OK, so you’ve probably noticed that August 31st came and went with no Act II. Unfortunately, a combination of real life and a dissatisfaction with the appearance of the planet killer have indefinitely delayed Act II until sometime in October. This will of course put the whole project deadline in jeopardy, but hey, a guy has to earn a living and sleep now and then! 
Run away! Run away!
To tide you over in the meantime, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do and share one of my “rejects” with you. Follow the link below to watch the opening scene from Act II when the Enterprise is fleeing the planet killer:
Decompress the zip file and watch the movie on your local workstation–easy peasy!
There are some things I like about this scene (mostly, the POV jump—I was going for a 1960′s-style camera pullback here and I think that it works pretty good, but I’m all ears for your comments!), and a laundry list of things that I don’t (the too-procedural appearance of the planet killer, a goof with compositing the “fire” effects of the PK, the motion of the Enterprise as she swoops through the debris field, the asteroid that looks like a giant wadded ball of bubblegum, etc., etc.) Better luck next time!
#1 by doctorwho_03 at September 21st, 2009
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Not bad. I’m sure once you have everything ironed out, it’ll be ten times better. My only question is, “Where’s the Constellation?” I thought the Enterprise was supposed to be towing her with the tractor beam.
#2 by beanslayer at September 22nd, 2009
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At first I didn’t think that the pull-back looked right, but I re-watched it a few times, and think you’re right.
The problem appears to me to be 2 or 3 things:
1 – the gumball is too pink, a darker ore will probably look better.
2 – the asteroids in the eater’s path don’t interact enough with it. Maybe a subtle reflection of the light from the max on the asteroids would improve things?
3 – I’d have to re-watch the original to remember where the Constellation was during the chase, but the good doctor may be right.
On the up-side, the asteroids not in the eater’s path look marvelous, as does the Enterprise itself.
#3 by beanslayer at September 22nd, 2009
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sorry, meant “Maw”, not “max”…
#4 by Metryq at September 22nd, 2009
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Forgive me for being negative, but I liked your first take on the DDM. Saberhagen’s original Berserkers were devious and actually talked. The DDM was a mindless brute, like a runaway bulldozer, which made it seem all the more terrifying to me. This new DDM with the spikey front… I dunno. And it’s too shiny. Perhaps if you varied the specularity with an irregular map. This thing has been plowing around planetary rubble fields for eons. Make any shiny areas look like scars that failed to impress the DDM’s neutronium hull. In reality, any ultra-dense material would probably be very shiny, but you must appeal to the audience’s expectations, like the “swoosh” of the Enterprise in the vacuum of space.
I also liked the previous asteroid field with the glowing lava effect. Not all of the rocks need the glow. It might look better if only the larger ones had a few puddles of still molten material. After all, the planet was blasted by an anti-matter particle beam not long before the Enterprise arrived. Feel free to get poetic — the scene should look like a nightmare out of hell. Make the visuals match Windom’s performance.
Instead of a pull-back, how about a reverse angle of the shot? Let’s assume one shot, although the original episode had two (one Enterprise, one DDM). Start with a side view of the Enterprise surfing through the rubble — perhaps something like the shot of the Millennium Falcon in JEDI where it sweeps towards the camera as it moved to the point position in the fleet before the hyperspace jump. The Enterprise and the camera pull away from each other to pass around opposite sides of a huge rock in the way. The camera overtakes the Enterprise while keeping it in frame so that the view is now looking aft: the Enterprise looking tiny in the vastness as the DDM comes into view. Put the local sun in the distance so that the ship’s lights are more visible and the DDM will be a huge, dark shape gaining behind. And nuke the dancing flames on the DDM — looks too much like an effect. Again, get poetic. Give the DDM a fiery, inner glow, like a giant furnace — like the glare of a Terminator or the ABC robot in JUDGE DREDD.
#5 by Bill L at September 22nd, 2009
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That is a tease…WEEL DONE!
Now, who do I have to murder to see your opener and ACT 1?
best
Bill
#6 by Scott Gammans at September 22nd, 2009
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Thanks to everyone for the feedback!
doctorwho, the Constellation got left in the dust. If you watch the original episode, the Enterprise is fleeing by herself, which I think makes sense—Spock, being the logical sort, probably figured that his first responsibility was to put as many kilometers as possible between the Enterprise and the Planet Killer. Besides, I have a an idea about depicting this decision… but you’re going to have to be patient
Metryq, thanks for the feedback. The glowy asteroids are gone for good, but I agree with you on the texturing of the PK which is why there’s a delay.
#7 by doctorwho_03 at September 22nd, 2009
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Of course, in the remastered version and Daren Dochterman version the Enterprise is shown dragging the Constellation along with the tractor beam, but this is your project, and I’ll go along with whatever you believe is best.
#8 by Dustin at September 22nd, 2009
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I don’t think that camera move works at all. I would be interesting in seeing a real example of what you’re basing it on, but there’s nothing natural about the way it is now.
#9 by Scott Gammans at September 23rd, 2009
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Hi Dustin,
I would characterize it as more of a “successful failure”. I think I achieved the look I was going for, and there are examples of this kind of pullback peppered throughout the original series. One example is the P.O.V. shift in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” where the camera pulls back from a view of a moving starfield to an over-the-shoulder shot of Spock and Kirk playing three-D chess in the old-style rec lounge.*
Having said that, I agree with you: although I achieved the look I was going for, the look itself just doesn’t work. It’s a little too God’s-eye, and doesn’t really mesh well with the visual style I’ve been trying to maintain up to this point. It’s still a fun little clip though, which is why I didn’t completely dustbin it.
This is really one of the most iconic sequences from this episode, so I want to make sure I get it right. A couple of ideas I’ve had:
1. Keep the same POV you see here with the Enterprise flying away from the camera, but instead of a pullback reveal of the planet killer, pivot the camera 180 degrees without moving the camera in the X/Y plane (it’s already moving in the Z-axis so that the camera isn’t completely stationary).
2. Have the camera fly alongside the Enterprise as she swoops through the debris field (think of a restrained version of the Millenium Falcon from The Empire Strikes Back, suitably toned down for a thousand-foot-long starship), and then pivot the camera 90 degrees aft to reveal the planet killer.
3. Change the orientation completely: have the camera in front of and above the Enterprise looking down at her as she flies through the rocks, and then “look up” just enough so that you still see the Enterprise but now also see the planet killer bearing down on her. (This is the leading contender at the moment.)
* – Editorial comment: I really miss the groovy look of the pilot-era sets, and the briefing lounge/rec room set is an especially good example. The overhead light fixture and sci-fi girders holding it up were so visually appealing and science fictiony-looking that you just knew you were on a starship from the future. By comparison, the briefing lounge in the production series looks like the conference room where I work—painfully drab and uninteresting.
Unfortunately, I think Star Trek lost some of its interior design sparkle after the second pilot. I know that they had to rebuild some of the sets when production moved from MGM to Desilu before “The Corbomite Maneuver” was filmed, but (as David Gerrold once aptly observed) did they have to make the inside of the Enterprise look like a 1960′s Holiday Inn?
#10 by doctorwho_03 at September 23rd, 2009
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If you want to go with Star Wars styled camera moves, I recommend the opening of A New Hope. That would be perfect for opening Act 2.
#11 by smokieyob at September 26th, 2009
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Just an idea but don’t give deadlines. We all know this is not something you get paid for so we’re cool with it. I figure we’ll see it all within the next couple of years or so and I know it will be worth it. Thanks for doing this it appreciated.
#12 by Scott Gammans at September 29th, 2009
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I hear what you’re saying, but if I don’t impose some sort of self-deadline/goal it will NEVER get finished. I’ve been working on modeling the Enterprise since Thanksgiving 2001 and this project since Christmas 2006… it’s time to finish the durn thing.
#13 by james michael avalos at October 15th, 2009
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That was freaking awesome mate !!!
#14 by PatrickR soar dude at October 20th, 2009
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I agree with the more interaction of the astroids. The other is the generic shape of the astroids I would make them more jagged as they are rubble from a cut up by a anti proton beam your render is astroids that would be much older. I think if you slowed down the pull back from Enterprise to the planet killer it would look better its an awesome effect I like it. You effort so far in this has been herculean!
#15 by PatrickR soar dude at October 20th, 2009
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I just realized what the pull back reminds me of the EVA scene in Mission to Mars. I so loved that effect it gave a sense of size and distance involved.
#16 by Scott Gammans at October 20th, 2009
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Hm, I remember that scene! Perhaps subconsciously I was channeling it when I was setting my scene up. I was definitely trying to show a sense of the overall scale of the scene and dire situation of the Enterprise… I just think the execution could have been better.
I’ve gone through a grand total of six iterations of Act II Scene 1 now… hopefully what’s in the hopper right now will be the winner.
#17 by Doc Thompson at May 8th, 2010
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The Dechards must all be suicidal.They obviously avoid mental health programs in the Federation and die by the hand of some big mechine.Still,one of the best uses of the Moby Dick theme used cleverly in a sci fi tv series.Have the camera fly alongside the Enterprise as she swoops through the debris field (think of a restrained version of the Millenium Falcon from The Empire Strikes Back, suitably toned down for a thousand-foot-long starship), and then pivot the camera 90 degrees aft to reveal the planet killer.
Don’t care=works fine by me
#18 by Ralf Zillmann at November 15th, 2010
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Your doomsday machine is great! Better than the original, better than the one from the remastered series!
Big compliment to you!
See you
Ralf
#19 by Ian Jones at July 31st, 2011
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Scott, I agree with you that the execution could be better. However, I didn’t find this too much of a problem when I was watching and could only notice the technical shortcomings if I really analysed the footage. The overall effect was great in my opinion and like Doc Thompson I loved the use of the Moby Dick theme.