Star Trek TNG VOY Helm panel

[Nobby]

Got this one from a Cooper Owen auction 9-10 years ago.
Didn't come with any documenttion and I've contacted CO since, to try and get some provenance, but no response.

It's thick 47"x12" plexiglass with no colored gels on the back (I stuck some cardstock on the back to brighten it up a little) so I guess this panel was used for various different lighting scenarios, or perhaps moved between different sets. But it's definitely a 'Helm' style panel.

Comes complete with scratches :lol

 

[gbg1701]

Hi Mark:

Those LCARS graphics definitely match the design used for the Helm console on the Bridge of the Enterprise D; though the color scheme on your panel seems a bit off. Check out this article on my site which focuses on both the Helm and Ops panel designs on TNG; and shows some screencaps from all 7 seasons of TNG and ST:Generations. At the very bottom of the post are some images of another set of panels which were offered on the market and, to me, appear to have a color scheme that doesn't quite match the screen capture references.

http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2010/04/star-trek-tng-lcars-panels-from.html

Gerald

 

[Quinn]

Very nice!

Does anyone have insight into how the TNG consoles on Gerald's site were built? I've got a TNG Transporter console plexi from Season 7/Generations timeframe. No documentation, but I'm pretty sure it's studio built. I don't think it was used on-set, though. Probably a backup. The TNG Ops, Conn and Transporter consoles/lightboxes were the same design, and I'm trying to come up with how to build one myself with the curves involved.

 

[Nobby]

though the color scheme on your panel seems a bit off.

That's because I coloured it myself by sticking coloured cardstock on the back
It just looked a bit dull with no colour

 

[gbg1701]

Hi Mark:

Your use of colored cardstock explains it then. Very well done; some of those colors do look to be excellent matches to some of the screen used ones.

Hi Quinn:

I believe the earliest Star Trek LCARS panels (including those in use throughout the life of the TNG television series) were created in a somewhat complicated fashion by the studio art department using many transparent pieces of colored film attached to a larger black and clear film sheet that contained the actual LCARS or Okudagram image.

To illustrate the process, here's a pic of a DS9 panel on posterboard from my collection that the Art Department prepared for photography to create the black and clear film. Note it's a reversed or negative image of the final design ...

Here what one of the film sheets would look like (still without color), as shown in an older Propworx auction listing ...

and below are some pics of a large screen used Voyager Bridge Operations panel in my collection that had been removed from its plexiglass when the sets were torn down; where one can see the smaller pieces of violet and orange film used to color the display ...

I do have an early feature film panel - actually from TMP - obtained from Ed Miarecki directly that shows a similar use of light blue and yellow and red film pieces to add color to a control panel.

Now the LCARS developed by the studio for the final seasons of Voyager and DS9 and some of the later feature films were produced in a single step printing process - the blacks and all the colors at once; but on very close up inspection of the colored portions of these LCARS prints - there is a definite "graininess" to the appearance that may be discerned.

Here's a link to an article on my site that shows more pics of the large Bridge Operations LCARS from Voyager: Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Authority: Star Trek: Voyager Bridge Operations LCARS Panel

Very Best,
Gerald

 

[Quinn]

Nice pictures. Thank you. The transporter graphic I own is completely mounted on the plexi and matches the Voyager photos above, including the tape on the edges and also to mask some buttons, and the way the gels are mounted. There are no screw holes on it and it's not scratched, leading me to suspect it wasn't installed on-set. Photos below.

I should be more specific as to what I'm looking for: the actual non-graphic part of the console. For Conn/Ops, this would be the whole unit that is also the lightbox that swings away from the operator.

The style of panel, which I think was only ever used for Conn/Ops/Transporter, is something I can't figure out how to replicate. Not only is the plexiglass a trapezoid, but the upper edges have a wicked curve, and the side cross-section is kooky with its rounded front. It's been driving me nuts. Not as easy to mount as a wall graphic!!!


Some shots of mine:

 

[CB2001]

A little 411 on the colored gels:
By the way it looks, the film they used to give the buttons color are what's referred to in lighting as "party gels." Basically, when it comes to gels, they help give off certain colors for certain purposes. For example, a color correction gel can be used to make all lights temperatures match if you have a mismatch that will affect the appearance of your subject. But for party gels, they're just used to color the light that is being thrown without actually altering the temperature appearance of the bulb (basically, if you need something lit in red in the background, you use a party gel to do so by using C47s to clamp onto the barn doors of your light).

In addition to gbg1701's shots, it also appears that the production team also used diffusion paper behind the party gels (I can't be sure about that though).

I'm just sharing this info for those who are wondering what the "colored gels" that are made mention of in the Propworx auction listing picture in gbg1701's post are.

 

[Snake126]

Very cool stuff. Thanks for posting.

 

[Quinn]

In addition to gbg1701's shots, it also appears that the production team also used diffusion paper behind the party gels (I can't be sure about that though).

Yes, that is what is on mine as well. That's what is shown in my last picture.

 

[BrundelFly]

"Liberated" from the distressed "crashed Enterprise" set.

 

[Quinn]

Nice. The graphics on yours appear to be identical to mine, but some of the colors are opposite in some spots. Is that backlit in the picture?