Star Trek TMP Enterprise Shuttlecraft hangar

Someone on the Starship Modeler Forum posed an interesting question today. The question was "whether anyone knows if the original miniature actually HAD a shuttle bay or whether what we saw on screen was matted in?" Specifically referring to the exterior shot of the studio scale model in space dock where Kirk and Scotty are approaching the ship in a travel pod, and the shuttle bay doors are open.

Outside of the film, I have seen several pictures of the studio model but none with the shuttlebay doors open. Screencaps I have looked at from Star Trek TMP appear, at least to me, like the interior of the shuttlecraft hanger is matted in. I also read where Andy Probert mentions that all the shuttlecraft hangar sequences were done with a combination of live action and matte painting effects. Is this true for the exterior model shots where the hangar doors are open as well? Can anyone here confirm this? or was there actually a miniature shuttlecraft hangar deck built into the studio model?

Marc

It always seemed to me that it was part of the model. I doubt a matte painting could be tracked well enough for those moving camera shots.

The Miniature did have a partially built shuttle bay... but was augmented with a tiny matte painting of a couple of workbees that was mounted inside the miniature itself... as you can see in one shot as they pass by. I believe this is what Mr. Probert means when he said it was a combination of matte and miniature. (of course, when we are inside, it is entirely matte painting.)

I got a response on Starship Modeler from someone named Gene who knows Mark Stetson; the builder of the studio scale TMP Enterprise. This is what he had to say:

"So, coincidentally, I had breakfast this morning with Mark Stetson and he confirmed that the Enterprise filming miniature had:

- A rear mount. (I confirmed this separately in a miniatures manual the Magicam prepared for the handover to ASTRA and EEG.)

- Replaceable hangar bay doors. One set "closed", another set "open".

- A physical model for the interior. It was forced perspective and not very deep. Was basically a floor, the starboard wall with some ribs, and a couple of work bees. They went with a miniature because as opposed to a painting because they knew the camera would be moving and there needed to be something there to have some parallax (depth).

He knows this because he was (coincidentally) the guy that built it.

Gene"

I wish some pictures would surface of the open hangar door configuration as it would be interesting to see the partially built hangar landing deck.

Yeah, that's.....um...me. Mark's shown me some photos of the Enterprise under construction, and I have a Miniatures Manual from the show - but none of it shows the interior of the hangar bay with any detail. That's why I made an educated guess about the matte painting (that was wrong).

Gene

On a (somewhat) related note - I'm in the midst of getting ready for a screening of ST:TMP on the big screen in L.A. next week -

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE | American Cinematheque

Richard Taylor, the VFX Art Director for RA&A will be there, as will Darren Dochterman (to talk about the Director's Edition FX while doing a Shatner impersonation ) and myself. We've got some interesting photos and artwork to display in the lobby and (hopefully) we can do a narrated slideshow showing off some of the artwork and photos on the big screen.

Gene

GKvfx said:

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Yeah, that's.....um...me. Mark's shown me some photos of the Enterprise under construction, and I have a Miniatures Manual from the show - but none of it shows the interior of the hangar bay with any detail. That's why I made an educated guess about the matte painting (that was wrong).

Gene

Thank you Gene again for your response and much appreciated insight!
I love film history in general, but behind the scenes special FX material really brings out the geek in me!

GKvfx said:

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On a (somewhat) related note - I'm in the midst of getting ready for a screening of ST:TMP on the big screen in L.A. next week -

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE | American Cinematheque

Richard Taylor, the VFX Art Director for RA&A will be there, as will Darren Dochterman (to talk about the Director's Edition FX while doing a Shatner impersonation ) and myself. We've got some interesting photos and artwork to display in the lobby and (hopefully) we can do a narrated slideshow showing off some of the artwork and photos on the big screen.

Gene

I truly wish I could make it to see this! I haven't seen Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the big screen since its original release. The presentation following is a welcome bonus! Thanks for sharing this information Gene.

Marc

GKvfx said:

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On a (somewhat) related note - I'm in the midst of getting ready for a screening of ST:TMP on the big screen in L.A. next week -

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE | American Cinematheque

Richard Taylor, the VFX Art Director for RA&A will be there, as will Darren Dochterman (to talk about the Director's Edition FX while doing a Shatner impersonation ) and myself. We've got some interesting photos and artwork to display in the lobby and (hopefully) we can do a narrated slideshow showing off some of the artwork and photos on the big screen.

Gene

Thanks for the artwork, I love the design side of the movies.

Hmm.... not a shot of the miniature hangar bay, but I did come across this clip of the live action plate that was shot for the matte painting -



Looks like the set was later (or previously) redressed for the Rec Deck briefing scene -



Gene

GKvfx said:

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Hmm.... not a shot of the miniature hangar bay, but I did come across this clip of the live action plate that was shot for the matte painting -


Looks like the set was later (or previously) redressed for the Rec Deck briefing scene -


Gene

Thank you Gene! These are really great pictures! It's intersting to note that it appears the hangar cargo bay set is only three cargo storage units wide; just like the Polar Lights 1:350 scale model. However, Mr. Proberts matte painting depicts four cargo storage units wide. Trivial stuff I know, as the Polar Lights kit was designed that way on purpose to allow for lighting.

I also never made the connection between the hangar cargo set and the recreation room set! It certainly appears to be a redress of the same set! Great stuff!

Marc

Ah, ha.... knew I had this somewhere. The color is really out of whack, due to being a 30+ year old film clip. But it gives you an idea of how Probert expanded the hangar bay -



Gene

Another very nice picture Gene! Well done matte shots are simply amazing to me. I have never seen these pictures before as separate images. Thank you again for sharing these!

Marc

If you want to contact Andrew Probert here is his email address.

andrew@probertdesigns.com ( from his site) . We had some back and forth communication about his Tron work some time back. Very nice guy and welling to share. Might help you with your research.

-James

asemblyrequired said:

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If you want to contact Andrew Probert here is his email address.

andrew@probertdesigns.com ( from his site) . We had some back and forth communication about his Tron work some time back. Very nice guy and welling to share. Might help you with your research.

-James

Thank you James for the tip! I have visited Mr. Probert's Web site, but never corresponded with him personally.

Marc