Remastering Star Trek: Q & A

The remastering of Star Trek is not a project to be undertaken lightly. There is a history here of some 40 years, a timespan long enough that some people are suspicious of using modern digital technology to enhance a show that was considered pretty cutting edge in its day; the quaint appeal of its admittedly now creaky special effects would somehow be lost. But to others, the relic of Star Trek's original visual effects is exactly what needs to be updated to make the show more appealing for repeated viewings and future High Definition media, and to a younger audience already transfixed by the digital chaos that exists in some modern movies.

To allay any fears, and to answer your most common questions, we've compiled a list and presented them to the experts, the ones actually overseeing the all-new and improved digital effects while striving to maintain the integrity of the Original Series.

Mike Okuda – Former Star Trek (multiple series) scenic art supervisor, technical consultant and author
Denise Okuda – Former Star Trek (multiple series) scenic artist, video supervisor and author
Dave Rossi – Former Star Trek (multiple series) producer, production associate and overseer of special projects.

Will the episodes appear in their full length form? Or cut for syndication?
We are using the full-length episodes for our work. They will, however, be cut for syndication airing purposes. [Any future DVDs would most likely be full length. - Ed.]


Will the episodes be broadcast in 1080i 4:3 HD and 5.1?
At the current time, the majority of affiliate stations cannot handle HD transmission unless they are live events (sports, news, etc.). As stations develop their capacity to air things in HD, CBS/Paramount TV will certainly be working with them towards that goal.

Will we see any new items or effects that were maybe mentioned but never seen?
You mean like the U.S.S. Antares from "Charlie X?" Oh wait, that's top secret. We better not say anything!

Will all the Original Series episodes be redone?
They are all being remastered in high definition and all 79 episodes will have visual effects work done. The extent of that work depends on the episode.

Will there be any enhancements to alien species, as opposed to ships? Like the puppet in "The Corbomite Maneuver"?
Typically, aliens will not be touched, but there may be cases where we add some sparkle.

Does the CGI work have anything to do with the next movie, "Star Trek XI"?
No. While CBS and Viacom share rights to Star Trek to some extent, this has nothing to do with what Paramount Pictures is planning.

How long does it take to do each episode? Does it depend on the amount of FX?
We have a very tight schedule and we'll be delivering one episode per week (at least) but CBS Digital is working on multiple episodes at once.

Will you be doing new models for cases where they simply re-used models, such as the Botany Bay from "Space Seed" being re-used as the Woden in "The Ultimate Computer"?
Where we can without affecting story or dialogue, we'll be generating new models.

If this is successful, will we see some re-doing of FX in The Next Generation?
That isn't even a consideration at this point. Let us finish this first! Sheesh!!

How are you going to ensure that the new CGI footage blends well with the original filmed shots? Will you be sampling film grain from the original stock and overlaying it on the new footage, like they did with the "Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition"?
Yes we are. Our goal is to never pull you out of the story.

In regards to redoing some of the exterior shots, does this only include the background matte work or will some of the foreground sets be touched upon as well?
In general, we're not touching the sets. In a few cases, we're getting to make a few tweaks, but for the most part, CBS Digital has their hands full with everything else we're throwing at them.

Will computer displays be upgraded too?
Not generally. The computer displays had a distinct style that we don't want to change. In a very few cases, we are planning on bringing up some shots to the quality of the rest of the show. For example, in "Where No Man Has Gone Before," we are planning on re-setting the text of Gary's book to eliminate the use of typewriter text.

Will you be removing hairs, dust and print scratches too?
That process is well underway and the transfers are gorgeous!

Will the static viewscreens on the bridge be updated to look more animated?
Again, we want to respect the original art direction. Also, when we did the re-created Enterprise bridge in "In a Mirror, Darkly," we used actual computer video projectors in the upper viewscreens. We tried to change the upper screens to make them cool. But we also discovered that changing them and animating them would draw the viewers' eyes to the point where it was distracting. Obviously, that's something that we don't want to do. So we're pretty much leaving them alone.

In "Balance of Terror," Kirk orders the ship to fire phasers, but we see photon torpedoes. Are you going to fix this?
You know, this is the first thing that we wanted to do when we started working on this episode. But then we started studying the episode more closely and discovered a number of things. First, Kirk orders "proximity phasers" to be used. This is the only time in the entire series where he does so. Second, the phasers behave differently than normal. They fire into space, then explode like depth charges. This is clearly the intention of the writer and director [Paul Schneider and Vincent McEveety respectively], since the episode is based on submarine movie metaphors.
Finally, the sound effects clearly dictate the timing of the weapon firing, and we very early decided that we did not want to mess with the soundtrack. As a result, we thought the best approach was to use a different phaser effect than is seen in the rest of the series. The new proximity phasers will have longer bolts than they did in the original "Balance of Terror," but they will still be tied to the original sound effects.

Go here to see to see a trailer for the remasters.