Jonathan West is the Director of Photography on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." He also served in that capacity on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." In addition to his cinematography duties, Jonathan directed the ST:TNG episode "First Born" and six episodes of ST:DS9 including the landmark "Trials and Tribble-ations."

Question: When directing, do you find it easy to let go of your DP role?
Green

JW: It's very easy for me to bow out of my DP role. Photography is second nature to me, so my experience is always in the back of my mind, but I concentrate fully on the role of the director when I do that. I'm also helped greatly by my camera operator, Kris Krosskove, who fills the role of DP when I'm directing.

Q: is anyone set yet to direct the final episode of Deep Space Nine? I'm sure you have gotten to know the various directors quite well over the years, and I was curious who you would like to direct? I'm personally shooting for Anson Williams.
Jason

JW: Hi, Anson, how are you? Seriously, folks, I think it's going to be Allan Kroeker but nothing's been set in stone. For all I know, it could be me.

Q: Do you serve as DP on every episode, every day of shooting?
Jason

JW: I've been the DP for the last five seasons, 26 episodes a year, except the six DS9 episodes I've directed. I take a week to prep -- so I miss two episodes for every one I direct.

Q: Are you the same Jonathan West as in the old Batman series?
some guy by the lake

JW: No, that was ADAM West -- and I'm not James West from "The Wild, Wild West" either! :-)

Q: Why is the series shot on film and not on digital video? And why not with 30 fps for better motion on NTSC? I read, the sfx are made with 30 fps.
jaTV

JW: I think it's been established that over the years we've shot on film for archival purposes. The negative can then be used for whatever technologies are developed in the future. There's no specific reason why we don't shoot at 30 frames a second that I know. I just shot and directed a low-budget feature film on high-definition digital video to eventually be transferred to film for theatrical release. It's a dark comedy entitled "What's Eating You?" And we've saved about $100,000 by shooting on high-def.

Q: Why did the beard go?
Daniel

JW: Because I wanted a social life! I looked an escaped convict!

(everyone else in the room here has a beard)

Q: When is the new movie coming out?
Samuel

JW: December 11. And don't ask me anything else about it because I haven't seen one frame of it! I'll just be in the audience like you will!

Q: Were the women's costumes purposely tight to attract the teenage male to the shows?
M'Stang

(Who is THE teenage male, anyway?)

Q: Jonathan, this is a typical question and one that will be asked many times....Will you miss working with ST:DS9?
Paul

JW: This is the first time it's been asked! Of course I'll miss the Star Trek family. We spend more time with one another than we do our own families. Many of the crew members have been with me since before I joined Star Trek -- 12 to 13 years. We probably will go on to something else as a team. However, I won't miss the claustrophobia of working on stage for DS9 for five years. The sets are dark, moody, and one gets the same feeling spending 12 hours a day there as one might have if they were actually in space. We arrive at work and it's dark, and we go home in the dark.

Q: Todays my birthday! Is it true Terry Farrell and Robert Beltran's birthday is today also.
ams

JW: Yes, it is-- and happy birthday.

Q: Mr. West, First of all, thank you for your beautiful cinematography. My question is, how do you prepare for every episode to give it the unique look we see every week? Because the photography really projects the essence of the story.
Toby

JW: Thank you for the compliment! We receive a preliminary script about a week and a half before we shoot. I read it enough times to determine what the mood of each scene requires. In addition to production meetings with the director and heads of various departments. The overall style of DS9 is "film noir in space". If you're familiar with the film noir period of the late 1940s and 50s, angles, lighting, and sets all contributed to the ambience of the storytelling. I joined the show on season 3, and made some changes in its visual approach. Although the previous style was lovely, I felt that DS9 itself -- the space station-- needed to be explored in greater detail as part of every scene. I began using wider angle lenses, and integrating the set in a different way. The first two season utilized tighter shots and never revealed the true scope of the sets that were built.

Q: Jonathon, did you follow the original program as a younger person? Was it a favorite like it was and still is to a number of us boomers???
marty

JW: Yes, I watched the original series. As a matter of fact, one of my school friends knew someone who worked on the crew back then, and we were invited to spend some time on the set. .. where I met Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Little did I know that someday I would BE in the film business, but would actually contribute to the Star Trek legacy.

(We've just determined that the episode Jonathan saw a part of was "I, Mudd")

Q: is there going to be another startrek series?
Spocky

JW: Not next year, from what I've heard. But no one is commenting about the year after and the future.

Q: Please don't let ds9 go off the air!
NOG

JW: OK, it'll be in syndication forever. Promise!

Q: Is it true that the lighting crew is the hardest working bunch of a production?
DavidG

JW: You must be an electrician?! Of course you are, David, but you're too conservative politically!!

Q: Is that little boy in the picture rotation you?
HappyJane

Q: Did you enjoy still photography before you started shooting motion pictures?
JG

JW: That is me! I've been shooting stills since I was four years old. My folks gave me a Brownie camera. I was the one responsible for all the home movies. And my mother dressed me funny.

Q: What will you do after DS9?
Syl and Ben

Q: What will you be doing after Star Trek?
Ryan

JW: There IS life after DS9. I will continue working as a DP AND as a director. I have a production company, American Independent Media, that is just completing its first feature film, "What's Eating You?" A woman's dark comedy. We're going to be hitting the film festival circuit at the beginning of the year. After a 12-14 -hour day on DS9, I go to the editing room and work for another 3-4 hours on it. That's why I'm not doing the typing tonight!

Q: Hi Jonathan West, I love all your work for star trek!! do you travel the world looking for great location shots or stay mostly in california for them? and where are some of the places you have been?
Lynsee

JW: I have traveled all over the world for a variety of productions in my career. However, DS9 shoots primarily on the lot at Paramount. Many of our exotic exterior sets are actually built on the stage. We go out to locations like the rock quarry with a 115 degree temperature. (Rocks and Shoals) I have been all over the US, practically every city. I've been to Greece, Saudi Arabia, I did a show for eight months in Hawaii, "Island Son." I've shot documentaries in Alaska. I have not yet been to Australia, which is a place I'd love to visit.

Q: Thank you for making time for this visit! It's so wonderful to see the advancements in photography over the seasons. Do you have ideas you would love to implement but you are inhibited by the technology at this time?
Katinka

JW: I'd like to try an episode shot entirely in front of a blue screen, with the entire environment computer-generated. But the budget is prohibitive!

Q: Are you concerned that the CGI 'stuff' will supplant actual actors, sets, etc? (CGI = computer generated images)

JW: I think eventually the technology will allow just that. I'm not afraid of it, because there will always be a need for someone to help envision what's put on the screen. That's why I've been directing. But in addition I think audiences will always want live actors to relate to. Otherwise the star system is dead.

Q: What format would you recommend for an aspiring filmmaker's first film?
The GMan

JW: I did some extensive research before doing my project. I compared 16mm blowups to 35mm, with digital high-def transfers to 35mm. And I was overwhelmed with the quality of the high-def images, when projected in the theatre on film. I couldn't tell the difference. They were actually sharper and had less grain than the 16 blowups. If cost is a factor, Sony is doing some wonderful work with transfers from Beta SP and DigiBeta to film. I've even seen Mini-DV cam transferred to film, with surprisingly good results. I think what's more important with the beginning filmmaker is your storytelling abilities and your entertainment potential, rather than overwhelming sophisticated audiences with technical expertise.

Q: Why is it so important to have the actor stand in a certain place on the set?
Jason

JW: In dramatic photography, you are filling the frame with images which have to be choreographed with camera movement and lighting design. Actors do have the freedom to reheasre a scene and to move in the context of the scene, prior to us making the set-up. Once the rehearsal is finished and the actors are marked, they have to be consistent with their movements and the scene is blocked.

Q: What has been your favorite episode where you have directed photography for?
timeerkat

JW: One of my favorites was "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?" because we created a James Bond-ish atmosphere. Another is "The Quickening" in Season 4. That was a location shoot where we created a city with a similar look to "Waterworld." It was quite challenging to keep the look consistent in an uncontrolled exterior environment. On the stage, it can be sunset for 10 hours. On location, you've got minutes. That's when I start screaming. :-)

Q: How has your job changed since the days of TNG?
Seven of One

JW: I think the biggest change from TNG is that DS9 has a darker tone and texture to it. The stories involve much more conflict, both personal and on an action level. I think when I first joined TNG I was so concerned with maintaining the look that had been established that I did not experiement as much as I do on DS9. Whenever we film a low-key dark scene the producers tend to favor that feeling, based on their comments to me.

Q: What is the process and at what point is the filmed material converted to video for broadcast?
JimmyZ

JW: WE shoot on 35mm film ... Eastman 5298, ASA 500. The film is developed and immediately transfered to digital Beta tape. The rest of post-production is done on tape. The negative is never cut and is stored. It's edited on an AVID and then the on-line master tape is on Digital Beta.

Q: How common is it to have to go back and shoot pick-ups or additional footage after principal photography?
ChrisH

JW: Very common. We generally have a 2nd unit filming insert shots or small additional scenes at least once every two weeks. These are planned so they won't take up expensive production time. Occasionally, we have to reshoot a scene or part of a scene because the producers may question some aspect of how it was performed, or they may have some writing changes. But that's expensive and rare.

Q: What series was or is the most challenging to film DS9 or TNG?
Elic

JW: DS9 is the most challenging, because of its dark style. I'm always looking at it with new eyes, trying to come up with new approaches to scenes and interesting shots. But TNG was a LOT of fun!

Q: Is there a particular episode of DS9 that was especially difficult for you to film? And do you have any responsibilities when it comes to photgraphing scenes in space? Or are your responsibilities strictly on what is filmed on the set?
Lawrence

JW: My work is limited to shots on the set, except for any elements that are incorprated into ship shots where actors are involved.

(An example of that would be the actors in front of a viewscreen.)

JW: More and more of our space shots are being done with CGI, where they used to be models. A particulary difficult episode was "Rocks and Shoals." We were deep in a rock quarry for three days with 40 Jem'HAdar in heavy make-up and costumes-- the hottest days in LA summer history! With crane shots, special effects, explosions, moving up and down the mountain all day long, et cetera, scorpions and rattlesnakes!

Q: What is the hardest part of your job?
Ken

JW: The hardest part is maintaining communication among the various department heads, realizing the director's vision, being the "father confessor" on the set, and keeping everyone motivated. If it was just the photography it'd be easy!

Q: How did you start your career as a director of photography?
Calvin

JW: I started in documentaries while in the Air Force, and when I got out of the service I "pounded the pavement" for jobs and gradually worked my way into a position with a documentary commercial house. I had an opportunity to join the union and was immediately placed in the position of assistant cameraman. So I found myself working my way up, again. After three years of that I became a camera operator, where my credits included 28 TV movies, 5 series, and nine features in eight years. Only THEN did I move up to director of photography in 1985. And I don't regret a minute of it!

Q: Mr West, why do you find working as a part of Star Trek rewarding?
Hash

JW: Because they pay me a lot of money! :-) Actually, I take pride in my work, and it's an honor to be able to contribute in my way to television history. I did five series in a row prior to Star Trek that were all challenging in their own right. Each of the lasted a year and were off the air. There'll never be another job like Star Trek for me.

Q: What is your favorite DS9 set?
Sean

JW: My favorite on it, I guess, is the Promenade, because it has more space and a lot of architectural possibilities for framing. My least favorite set -- the blankety-blank caves. The blankety-blankety-BLANK caves! :-)

Q: What is your role in creating Odo's shape-shifting effects? Also, I think that he ought to shape-shift more often.
Big Daddy

JW: We shoot the principal photography and the reference plates for the visual effects shots -- we shoot Odo and what he morphs into, and the morph is taken care of by someone else.

Q: What exactly does a Director of Photography do?
Picard

JW: The director of photography is responsible for all of the visuals you see on screen. The choice in camera angles, lenses, camera movement, etc. is determined during discussions with the director. The lighting of each scene falls into my responsibility. Obviously, there is a large support group of crew members in a variety of jobs, but the look is ultimately determined by the DP. I work very closely with the Production Designer, Costmers, Special effects, Make up depts. It's a team effort.

Q: is it still useful to send you a script for deep space nine?
kalle

JW: Unfortunately, it is not useful to send me any scripts because I don't write, buy or have the authority to determine content.

Q: What types of stories will be done in the last year of DS9? will you want anything special to happen for the final?
Barry

JW: Again, sorry, but I am not responsible for story content. I am looking forward to completion of the season.

We've just finished filming our 13th of 26 shows and the producers promise a wild ending.

Q: What is the next episode that you will direct?
A.M.

JW: I directed "Chrysalis", episode #5... I haven't been assigned another one yet.

Q: Congratulations on the Sci-fi Universe award for "Trials and Tribble-ations". What was the hardest part about directing this brilliant episode? Will there be any DS9 TV Movies?
I Sisko

JW: Thanks for the congrats. The most difficult part about directing the episode was integrating the actions of our characters with the shots of the Original series. That planning was extremely detailed and painstaking. We only have one week of preparation for each show so I was working round the clock with Gary Hutzell, visual effects supervisor. There was a lot of blue screen and green screen work. We had to align our people in specific parts of the frame. The camera moves had to be matched (motion control)... Of course I didn't have to do a lot of that personally. There was a fight scene in the K-7 bar that I studied closely and had to choreograph our shots with pieces shot in 1967. The difficulty was that it was the last sequence in our schedule and I had 2 1/2 hours in which to shoot it. (around 11PM after a 12 hour day.