this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
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TenForward: Where Every Vulcan Knows Your Name

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[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 9 points 5 days ago (3 children)

The transporter VFX were cheaper than filming model ships?

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 17 points 5 days ago

It was a still frame with the actors that were masked with stock effects. Bread and butter of film VFX at the time.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 13 points 5 days ago (2 children)

It's a single frame, where they would make a mask of the person and run the same film on that part every single time. The film they used was a slow motion shot of falling metal dust, upside down.

It probably took minutes to make those shots once they had the stock footage made.

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

The film they used was a slow motion shot of falling metal dust, upside down.

I swear I read it was gold glitter in water that was swirled

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

That's what I read many years ago. They probably used both methods.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That might be a later thing? Aluminum dust is what they describe in "The making of Star trek" (a book by Roddenberry and Whitfield, doubt it's still in print though)

It could have been other fx they did or from another show/movie altogether

[–] Sxan@piefed.zip 5 points 4 days ago

TIL, TY.

I still prefer TOS-style transporters, despite being fancier and more sparkly by ST: TMP.

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Not just the model. You have to build a full shuttle on the planet set every episode. Want to do an episode with on location shoots? Oh boy, that's going to be fun to haul out there. Almost might as well leave it at Vasquez Rocks permanently.

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It was a 3/4 size model, wasn't it? Surely they could tow it on a trailer?

Edit: from wikipedia

Art director Matt Jefferies originally envisioned a sleek, streamlined shuttle based upon his background as a pilot. The curved shape proved too expensive to build for the first episodes.[3] AMT offered to build a full-sized shuttlecraft at no cost in exchange for rights to market a model kit. The final design of the mockup, by Gene Winfield,[4] is 24 feet (7.2 m) long and weighs one ton, has a plywood hull, and was built in two months by a team of 12 people. A separate set was used for interior scenes as the mockup was too small for filming.[5]