Watch: VFX Legend Douglas Trumbull Explains How He Saved Star Trek: The Motion Picture

And to this day…no other Trek film have matched the scope and majesty of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Say what you will about it’s slow pace/boring…ect…..the movie gave 2001: A space Odyssey a run for it’s money. And read into that if you want to.

Alas, we shall never witness another Star Trek film with such depth of intellectual conceptions and beauty of images.
No I am not saying Star Trek needs to be slow and purely cerebral, it can be fast, funny and action packed, but above all it should be original from start to finish.
Not some hacked up job of retelling and slathering previous greatness as if those are the only story lines worth telling.

I love Star Trek the Motion picture. I was six when it came out that’s when it became my favorite entertainment thingy, or whatever you call it, of all.

when I was even younger (around 3 4 5), I hated it. My mother love it. The TV show would come on Saturdays and Sundays at 6. right when my sister and i would wake up from our nap. I’d wanted to watch something for kids and instead we got Star Trek.

That all changed with the Motion Picture. I don’t know why but I just loved it. The music, the effects-especially warp speed, and THE ENTERPRISE.

I didn’t get the boring complaints, like the long dialog-less scenes inside of V-ger. I loved it. To me that’s how it would be, standing there in awe studying this out-of-this thing from who knows where.

I always thought that TMP was robbed at the Academy Awards, when Alien took the Visual Effects Oscar.

Alien had some wonderful effects, but the multi-element travelling matte shots of The Big E in space dock were fabulous. I suspect many people had no idea whatsoever how complex that image was, especially in the days before rampant motion control and CGI.

They made it look TOO easy…

YES and YES. It’s intriguing. As a child, I became wrapped up in that world. I love the novelization.

Trumbull is a genius and a legend. Glad he saved it! =D

TMP is a masterpiece! =)

I don’t get how people say in the same breath, they like 2001 but don’t get/like TMP, yet there are those similarities with pacing, fantastic set design, true 65mm cinematography (scenes w/FX) and the involvement of a superbeing with the storyline. The often spoken lack of character development is way off. Did you not see how Spock’s character is transformed from the beginning, where he tries to purge his human half through Kolinahr, yet totally reverses himself and embraces it at the end? Which, by the way, sets up the self less emotional act that we see in Wrath of Khan? I was especially moved by Spock’s speech in sickbay, after the Vger mind meld, where he’s at peace with himself, no more conflict..he even laughs at himself. Re Comment #7 you miss the point. I have always suspected the aforementioned complaints and sentiments are from people who have not grown up with the series in at least syndication and have seen the TOS films in their original release. So, yes, you post Gen Y-ers and Millenials, I’m referring to your generation. Why must every movie be enjoyed with a nod to ADD sense of film editing and pacing? I remember seeing the movie opening weekend at around 2 am, only because every show, 36 hours before it was sold out..and it was being shown around the clock in several local theaters! This was in the day before they had megaplexes and 5000 screen openings that you have today. I think the movie opened in barely 800 or so screens and there was some controversy over the fact that admission prices were jacked up to the then unheard of $5 admission prices to take advantage of the demand to see the movie. The fact it had no competition, Spielberg’s ‘1941’ was the only other release but bombed at the box office, enabled TMP to open big breaking then box office records. The only other big film that would open during the holidays was Disney’s ‘The Black Hole’ which also did not fare well. So pretty much TMP owned the box office for several weeks since its opening and the winter months. Trumbull and his team of FX artists, John Dykstra, included really made the film. No doubt about it. The attention to detail in the Enterprise model, the Office complex, drydock and the Vger interior and the 65mm photography utilized to capture on film in greater detail than anything ILM ever did in the later TOS films, holds up to the test of time even today, imho. I enjoy Trumbull’s ‘first person’ approach to the VFX design. A great example is the warp drive jump. Seeing the movie in its original theatrical release and original soundtrack surrounds and watching the Enterprise warp with the transphotic effects onscreen, had the impact of pushing yourself back in your seat as if reacting to acceleration forces. My friend and I felt this..and in subsequent viewings, it was funny to see others move back in their seats during the warp sequences, too. I had hoped in Into Darkness, with its carte blanche budget, would have duplicated this cinema trick but didn’t. I really hated the pixie-dust warp trail effect after the ship warps. While, the ‘jump’ itself makes sense and with the image shake conveys a different take on ‘warp’, it didn’t surpass Trumbull’s version, imho, or ‘experience’ even in the IMAX-lite prints of Into Darkness. When they did TMP’s DVD Director’s edition, I had hoped Trumbull had been more candid about his involvement with the film than what they had in the extras. The clip above says a lot. I’m thinking there’s more. Perhaps when/if they release a BluRay edition of the the Director’s Edition, we can revisit Trek’s past with more in-depth interviews. And what of the VFX footage done by Bob Abel & Associates? That should be shown in its entirety in a future BluRay release. I believe the only part of their work that made it to the cut was the Vger probe sequence where Ilia gets zapped. That was a cool sequence that holds up pretty well today. I remember that for many audience members it was quite jarring after the ship travelling through Vger’s interior. When the probe, in all its ear splitting sound fx glory, has zapped Ilia and the sound goes to a deafening silence and the tricorder is all that is left behind and hits the seat and floor, there was always someone in the audience that yelled.. ‘damn!’ ;) I remember reading in the fanzine Starlog, in late ’79, that Trumbull had stated he would deliver ‘adequate’ VFX in time for its release date but if the film had opened in Feb 1980, he would guarantee the BEST POSSIBLE VFX. In the different seminars… Read more »

i may be remembering it wrong but i think the only abel n co work to make it in the movie was the big e herself? i do remember someone in an interview said that after spending millions nothing they shot looked good enough for the movie…also remember someone describing a scene that looked like the enterprise flying over what looked like shaving cream…anybody remember watching xanadu…that was all abel efx which looked pretty cool…except the animated sequence which was don bluth…but the best vfx in that movie was olivia newton john herself…yum…

I know some say it was slow. But this is still my all time favorite Trek movie. Intelligent character driven plot that was pure to the Gene Roddenberry’s vision of Trek. I have purchased the VHS, VHS special features, DVD and DVD remastered. It is the one movie I would buy again to see on BluRay.
“Out there..That-away….The Human Adventure is just beginning”

@ 17 Dom

“Alien won because its art direction by Ron Cobb and HR Giger was really groundbreaking and brilliantly transferred into physical reality. There’s little in TMP that hadn’t already been done a decade earlier in 2001 or in Star Wars.”

A valid point. I don’t mean to take anything away from Alien. But I think the groundbreaking elements in Alien were the art and the *physical* effects (such as the Space Jockey).

From my own viewpoint, I return always to the Enterprise fly-around, as the huge triumph of TMP. The opticals in 2001 and Star Wars were largely ships matted against star backgrounds. And even today, if you watch Star Wars it has become easier and easier to see how blocky those mattes were (as film stock ages and color differentials increase).

By contrast, TMP’s “love making” scene with Enterprise is at least a 7 element matte construction with most everything in motion against other objects, while the camera is tracking around the entire thing. And those mattes are virtually flawless.

Driving home from the theatre, my passengers were all chattering about the various aspects of the film, while I drove silently. Finally someone asked what I thought. I gave the only answer I could:

“She’s G O R G E O U S !!”

I am never surprised at how the suits handle movies. I do wonder how much of that blind bidding still goes on today?

As for TMP, it was my first movie and I will always love it. I stream it or watch the DVD in part or in whole on a regular basis.

To me it shows great love for a franchise and the work done by Trumball and the effects team shines every time. Thank you for a beautiful “motion picture” to behold.

TMP put far too much emphasis on the special effects and far too little on the story and characters. Special effects are supposed to be like ketchup — something that enhances the main meal, not the meal itself.

25. Your comment bringing up the DIRECTOR’S CUT is another chapter in the saga that is the PRODUCTION of Star Trek (as far as Hollywood studios go) — and WOW did they do a bang up job of it! Tasteful isn’t close to how the newer “cut” can be described, and the love the crew poured into it was reflected in how ROBERT WISE, the first movie’s director, would finally state THAT’S HOW [HE] ENVISIONED the script, finally brought to life with added items that were written and even story-boarded in for the original production, but that were “left out” for all manner of reasons. Doug T’s efforts were not only PRESERVED, but were inspiring to the renewed edition. BRAVO EVERYONE, and here’s to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE!

Like most everyone else, I was astonished at how amazing the Big E looked in this film: the 45-degree angle of the swept-back nacelle pylons, the hull plating details, and so much more … WOW!!!!!!!

My all-time favorite rendition of Star Trek’s jump to warp was introduced in this film — through the so-called “STAR-BOW” … and we might even surmise that if this movie had been give a title (such as ‘The Wrath Of Khan, ‘The Voyage Home, etc.), it might have been Gene Roddenberry’s own positive vision of our future spoken to us through what was shown in graphics after the last jump to warp at the end…. THE HUMAN ADVENTURE IS JUST BEGINNING. That’s what Star Trek is all about, isn’t it?

It’s really a shame that they find it so difficult to release the directors cut of this film on BluRay. Many of the mistakes that were made in their rush to finish this film were corrected. However the redone FX were done in 480p meaning that they would have to reshot in 1080p to redo this for HD. I really wish CBS or someone would take this on so this much improved version of the film would be available in HD.

16,
A few things. R/Greenberg did the animation in the opening titles for XANADU. Abel’s people did do some work on TRON, I think using the equipment they kept from TMP.

Magicam built the Enterprise, from a redesign by Abel’s Taylor and Probert that just basically put a spin on the Jeffiries redesign for phase 2.

Abel finished the interior wormhole stuff (or rather, it was finished at their facility while overseen by Trumbull’s bunch), but that is the only Abel stuff in the film.

The new preston jones book on TMP should shed some new light on the Abel issues (only one more month to go!)

26,
The DE is hardly Wise’s vision. Go back and see his interviews after the film came out for what his vision for it was, this is SharpLineArts’ vision, along with a few bits Wise had always intended. I think the DE is a mess and a half, especially the sound mix, and the new ship shots are major disappointments, you could have gotten more credibility shooting high-resolution stills of the actual ship on the animation stand (and given the lack of movement in the new shots, you really could have gotten away with that.)

yup kmart the details on who did what n why on tmp has gotten a bit muddled in me mind over the years,thabx fir the clarification…i need to dig out my copies of cinefex n cinefantastique n reread em….

mentioning the computer voice…i remember i didnt like the flat male computer voices in tmp…majel woulda been muvh nicer….
there was only one other spaceship i thought as beautiful as tmp enterprise….the black holes cygnus.,.design n look of that took my breath away…oh ive liked a lot of star wars like the millenium falcon,the ships in 2001 etc…but almost nothin comes close to enterprise…

Over the years I have frequently disparaged TMP and called it “The Slow Motion Picture.” After watching the clip and reading many of the comments here, I picked up the Blu-Ray from my local library last night and gave it a fair viewing. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. It is by no means a great movie, but it was no where near as bad as I remembered.
I think that one of the biggest weaknesses of the original series was the poor special effects they were forced to endure due to a limited budget. They certainly made that up to the fans with TMP. Lavish effects, huge sets, and a beautiful new look for the Big E gave the fans just what they always wanted.
As far as the characters, I didn’t find them quite as 2 dimensional as some have said. Kirk is emotionally affected by the transporter disaster and appropriately humbled when Decker rightly countermands his phaser order, McCoy is his usual irascible self, and Spock gets to show emotion. In fact, Spock reaches an important milestone in his emotional growth. He realizes that attaining Kohlinar is not the answer he needs and that emotional contact with others is necessary to his well being. This will be the beginning of Spock’s evolution throughout all the series and movies to come. He is no longer conflicted by his dualism. He becomes comfortable in his own skin, so to speak.
The story does seem to be a rehashing of “The Changeling” but it has more depth and more far reaching implications for the Star Trek universe. What was the machine planet that altered Voyager 6? Is it the Borg homeworld at an earlier stage? Where did V’ger go and will it return?
Of course these are just my opinions and I don’t expect everyone to agree, but by re-watching TMP with an open mind some detractors may come to see the movie in a new light. Thank you for reading this.

ST:TMP is way better than 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I tried to watch Space Odyssey and got so bored. I remember seeing this movie at high school because it was regarded so highly by so many and felt a bit bored as I watched, but liked the music. Now it turns out that the movie just repeats the same Strauss waltz over and over. Like the film Apocalypse Now, it is another very over-rated film. Space Odyssey was a bore and AN is a horrible bore.

No, I am not just into noisy, crazy action and big explosions blah blah and anyone who read what I have written here since July 2010 should know that.

At the time, it was clear that so much was gained going from TMP to TWOK that few noticed all that was lost. The success of Khan gave the impression that a large budget was totally unnecessary for a Trek film. But I think that Wrath of Kahn could have been a FAR better film if it had been granted a big budget rather than the TV movie budget it was given.

re 30-KMart:

I’m baffled that you think the Director’s Cut is a step backwards for TMP. Robert Wise is a classic hollywood director with amazing credentials, and everything I’ve read about TMP indicates the production was a deadline disaster. Robert Wise said this is what he intended to deliver in a couple different interviews I read, not sure why he’d bother to revisit otherwise.

I thought the director’s cut was a huge improvement over the theatrical release and I thought the added effects were more or less seamless when I first saw it, but now I’ll admit perhaps I need to rewatch it for the effects and sound mix.

My takeaway, Doug Trumbull did a stand up job with TMP, but more importantly, the Director’s Cut finally delivered a version of the film that lived up to it’s visual scope… and I agree, I wish they’d release a BluRay version.

#41. kmart – September 9, 2014

In my readings of Wise, he seemed to be universally appalled at how his movie was crammed into the home viewscreen on videotape after its theatrical run, i.e. he seemed to be very clear he didn’t think it got a fair shake viewed in that way that it was never intended. If anything, I always get the feeling the the DC DVD was merely his attempt to address that.for the pre-HD home TVs.

I do recall Paramount had a limited theatrical showing of the DC. Any idea how they did that? I assume it wasn’t afforded a 75mm film blow up transfer?

To echo a few points made here:

1) The Blu-Ray of this movie is fantastic. There are details in the cloud scene I had never seen before!

2) I would also love to see the DE done on Blu-Ray, but I get why they haven’t done it.

3) Contrary to the opinions of some, I think the added effects on the DE largely blend well with the rest of the movie. The only thing that came off as jarring is the CGI nacelle seen from the viewport in the officer’s lounge. It always struck me as being set at the wrong angle. There’s one or two that don’t come off as quite photo-realistic, but then we are talking stuff made on 15 year-old computers…….