15 replies to this topic

[SteveNeill]

Star Trek Sirius
My name is Steve Neill and I have worked in visual effects for over 35 years now. I have always been a big fan of Star Trek and have had the honor of working on it more than once.

On TMP I worked for Fred Philips and made Nimoy's ears and did some of the other make up designs. Much about this you can read about on my personal website: www.sneillfx.com

Last year I did a 47 part series on You Tube which documented my scratch building of the TOS Enterprise.



At the end of the series I had planned to film her and put her in space. One thing lead to another and a short film became bigger. I built an all CGI bridge. A real replica command chair and more. Much of this you can see on my personal website.

It ended up being a pilot for a spin off called Star Trek Sirius. The name of the ship and a pun as the captain has a beloved dog that goes everywhere with him.

The pilot is shot and cut. We are now adding the many visual effects. I'm sure some of you will not like it and pick it apart. That goes with this territory I really don't mind but the idea is to have fun.

BTW Doug Drexler makes a cameo you can see part of in the first trailer. He's an old friend. I'll stop there because this is getting quite long. Click on my signature to go to the site or here http://makestarshipsnotwar.com/ and thanks for looking.

Steve
__________________
Make Star Ships not War

[Dillkid]

Hello! I've just checked your site and those models really are great. My favourite is the NX-01, great job. Do you mind me asking if you got to spend much time or anything with the main cast for The Motion Picture?

[Virogen]

That model work ... is ... STUNNING. Just filming it with your hand camera like that it still had moments of cinematic magic. It's really amazing - your CGI is not to the same level, but I can understand using it because of its flexibility.

[starblue82]

Thats pretty cool... Very talented

[Tone720]

Great stuff, really enjoyed that video and looking at the site

[rta-man]

Welcome SteveNeill! We're glad to have you aboard.

Did you borrow the title "Big E" from the annual 6-state New England fair? Or was that coincidental?

[Cheile]

wow...welcome! glad to have you here!

i will check out your site tomorrow sometime--off to bed but wanted to welcome you before i sign off for the night!

[SteveNeill]

Thanks everyone seems I’m not getting email notices and for that I apologize. Yes I got to spend much time with the crew. Gene was my favorite though he was just a nice down to Earth kind of guy.

The CGI you are seeing is unfinished. Rough renders. Any way here's the latest:

While Matt Boardman works on re-texturing the Enterprise I thought it about time I got the USS Sirius underway. I’ve always had an idea of what I wanted in my mind it was just a matter of finding the time to sit at modeler and get her going.

She is a 20 year old work horse who has been through many of a hard battle and left to rot in a dry dock in orbit.
She is the ship that star Fleet gives Captain Neill. A sort of fixer upper as it would be
.
At this point in the game she is a rough wire frame. No texture maps, no bump maps. Just in a raw form.
Now that I have all the basic design in one piece I can move on to texturing and adding the smaller details. But being an old per TOS ship she should have even less detail than her eventual constitution class to follow.

Here is what I have so far. There will be of course more to come. Be sure to watch the video in HD and full frame.

And thanks again for the kind welcome!

Enjoy,

Steve

[SteveNeill]

Well I’ve started the long and nightmare process of texturing this model. And as I go along and get settled in with her comments some of my friends had made haunt me. One was from my old Friend John. Get rid of those big ugly supports. So I loaded the model up and it was the wrong one that didn’t have them yet. Hmmm…”you know. I think he’s right”

So I contact Matt Boardman. He says send me a picture to see. Yep he likes it that way too. Very well off they come. So far the ship was built upside down and now we have righted it. Dropped the big supports and I streamlined it a bit more. But Chris (or the Evil Genius) said you need to make it older than 20 years. Well look at the registry number. 1492??? LOL! Well I’ll let you guys do the math and that’s how old and beat up she is.

I have just spent the day working on the saucer section maps only. I still have a long way to go but I know how you guys like to watch…the process, so here’s a few pics until I get video up tomorrow and a bit more done.

Steve

[Dillkid]

Looking good!

[SteveNeill]

Well still a long way to go yet but she’s shaping u. thanks for all the suggestions I got this ship has under gone some more major chances. Thanks to all of you that voiced your opinions you helped a great deal.

Here’s some video this time. Please excuse the unshaven tried old guy. Here are a few rendered pictures of a work in progress. I am getting closer to do some shots with this.

Enjoy,

Steve

[SteveNeill]

Some more updates to the Sirius based on suggestions I have received and some of my own. Watch the video in HD and full screen please.

Enjoy,

Steve

[SteveNeill]

I’m moving on to the corridor sets and the Turbo lift I still have to make. In addition I have to matt Rosie and I into the window of a TOS shuttle for that shot where we approach and see the Sirius for the first time. We all ready have the green screen shot.

At this time until I get it on our website it’s time to start asking for help from the fans beyond the donations.
Here’s a short list of what we need to shoot the first full episode. And this must be in the Los Angeles area.

1. A DP with a good Cannon 60D or better.

2. Lighting package.

3. Stage space. It could be anything from an empty warehouse to a large workspace. Keep in mind we won’t be building entire sets so we don’t need a huge space.

4. Costume maker. Our uniforms will be different and easier to make then the TOS tunics.

5. Props. We are designing new props that are hybrids of the standard issue weapons. Our engineer character is very inventive.

6. A good make up person that knows how to apply my prosthetics.

7. A good sound man with a good digital recorder.

8. Sets. We need someone do make up green screen blanks and a few actual sections of our bridge. Again this bridge will be a bit different from the Enterprise.

This is just for starters. My wife and I are working on the script. We are hoping to shoot this summer after we finish the pilot.

If you can donate your time, space, or equipment and would like to be part of an LA based Fan Star Trek production please go to the website and send me an email. www.makestarshipsnotwar.com

Thanks so much!
Steve

[SteveNeill]

We are still hard at making this a reality. I started this campaign with hopes. It's a long shot but worth a try. Thanks for looking:

http://www.indiegogo...c=home&a=512070

[Dillkid]

SteveNeill, on 15 April 2012 - 04:16 AM, said:

We are still hard at making this a reality. I started this campaign with hopes. It's a long shot but worth a try. Thanks for looking:

http://www.indiegogo...c=home&a=512070

WOW. That is brilliant! Congratulations on that.

[SteveNeill]

Dillkid, on 15 April 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

SteveNeill, on 15 April 2012 - 04:16 AM, said:

We are still hard at making this a reality. I started this campaign with hopes. It's a long shot but worth a try. Thanks for looking:

http://www.indiegogo...c=home&a=512070

WOW. That is brilliant! Congratulations on that.

Thanks!

Steve