What's coming up in Star Trek Remastered?

Dave Rossi: Right now, the big project is "The Doomsday Machine.? I think it's the biggest single episode in terms of shot count, as well as the complexity of effects. Not only is it a great episode for story and character, but it really has some of the best space combat sequences in the entire original series.

Mike Okuda: The folks at CBS Digital have been working on this one for weeks. I love the detail they've put into the wrecked Starship Constellation! You can see mangled details inside the decks. One of the nacelles is ripped open and you can see the warp coils inside. The other one is partly shredded. You really get a sense of the power of the planet killer and the desperation that drives Decker.

Denise Okuda: Every time I see Niel Wray (visual effects supervisor) lately, the dark circles under his eyes are a little bigger, and he looks a little more haggard. He and his team have been working late into the night on this one. Even later into the night than usual! But the smile on his face keeps getting bigger because the work is so cool.

Mike: Niel's not the only one. I heard a rumor that a bunch of the guys are heading to Vegas for a long weekend as soon as "Doomsday? is finished. They deserve it!

Have you changed the Doomsday Machine itself?

Dave: We wanted to honor the original concept, and in fact, we researched some original story notes in which Norman Spinrad described the planet killer as bristling with weapons. At the same time, we wanted to retain as much of the original model design as possible. We gave the new planet killer a texture reminiscent of hammered titanium and solid lava, trying to indicate that the surface of the machine had been pounded by untold arsenals over the aeons.

Denise: The artists at CBS Digital came up with a cool animation effect that they call "nuclear fire? for the heart of the machine. It looks a lot like the original, but has a 3D quality and swirling streams of energy. We wanted it to look like the fires of hell.

Why didn't you add Spinrad's "bristling weapons? to the machine?

Mike: We always try to be aware that this show belongs, in a certain sense, to the fans who have loved and supported it so strongly for so many years. We are consciously trying not to stray too far from the familiar elements that they've loved for so long. It would be very different if we were making all-new episodes set in that time period. If that were the case, there are a lot of changes that we'd love to make, but that didn't seem appropriate for this project.

Dave: Besides, the original planet killer was scary looking. Very alien.

Denise: Also, we've added some tiny hints of machinery, mostly in the cracks, that might be all that's left of the bristling weapons. Most of that stuff is melted into the surface.

How do you pick the shots to do?

Dave: Denise, Mike, and I meet a couple of times a week to review episodes. We watch an episode and build a list of ship shots, viewscreen shots, and matte paintings. We also take detailed notes on what's happening in the story at each shot, what we think the original writer, director, or editor was trying to convey. That's the heart of the project. We also build a list of other effects that we feel should be redone. Sometimes it's what we call "broken shots,? effects that just need to be fixed. Sometimes it's things that we just think will look cool.

Denise: Naturally, we can't do everything that we'd like to do. Mike really wanted to replace the medical records and Gary's speed-reading screens in "Where No Man Has Gone Before,? but it just wasn't possible. He sure tried, though!

Mike: The next step is that we meet with Niel Wray and Toni Pace at CBS Digital to go over our "wish list.? Together, we hammer out what can and can't be done for each episode. Niel and Toni are really our partners in this project. Sometimes, when we ask for something that is too time-consuming they will suggest alternatives to give us what we want.

Such as?

Mike: In "Journey to Babel,? we really wanted to put the full hangar deck behind the shuttlecraft in the doorway shots when Sarek and his party are disembarking. Niel and his crew did such a great job on the landing that we wanted to see more of that digital set. The problem was that it was a very long shot that would have involved an enormous amount of rotoscope work and motion tracking.

Dave: Niel came to our rescue. He suggested a simplified version of the shot in which they put in the bottom of the observation gallery in just part of the sequence. Now, when the camera pushes in, we can see at least that part of the back wall of the hangar deck. It's a nice tie-in.

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