David Stipes

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David Stipes

David Stipes at work

David Stipes is a visual effects expert who has worked, predominently as visual effcts supervisor, on the Star Trek spinoff series The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise.

Stipes was one of the first members of Star Treks production team to fully realize the potential of CGI and, being its strongest advocate, has been instrumental in the transition from miniature photography to CGI of the franchise already supervising one of its earliest applications in the episode "Emergence". Stipes has cited overwhelmingly practical reasons for his stance, "When I started at Star Trek in 1992, by the third script I saw that I could not deliver what the writers were asking for using the established approach to the visual effects. The approach to the visual effects work was based upon models and motion control photography. We were limited by track lengths and sizes of the models. I began looking at the software available at the time. As I remember, the leading software was about $40,000 a module and you needed three or four different modules to possibly do any film quality work." [1] His name appeared on several set artwork throughout the series.

His work on Star Trek earned him the following Emmy Awards and nominations in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects:

• 1994 Emmy Award for the episode "All Good Things...", shared with Dan Curry, Michael Backauskas, Scott Rader, Adam Howard, and Erik Nash
• 1995 Emmy Award for the episode "Caretaker", shared with Dan Curry, Michael Backauskas, Joe Bauer, Edward L. Williams, Scott Rader, Don Greenberg, Adam Howard, Don Lee, Robert Stromberg, John F.K. Parenteau, Joshua D. Rose, and Joshua Cushner
• 1999 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "What You Leave Behind", shared with Dan Curry, Gary Hutzel, Adam Buckner, Arthur J. Codron, Judy Elkins, Gary Monak, Paul Maples, Steve Fong, Don Greenberg, Paul Hill, Davy Nethercutt, Kevin Bouchez, Gregory Rainoff, Adam Howard, Larry Younger, Sherry Hitch, Rob Bonchune, David Lombardi
• 2002 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "Breaking the Ice", shared with Adam Buckner, Paul Hill, Gregory Rainoff, Adam Howard, John F. Gross, Steven Rogers, Fred Pienkos, and Eddie Robison

In addition, Stipes received an International Monitor Award in 1998 in the category Film Originated Television Series - Electronic Visual Effects for the episode "Call to Arms", shared with Dan Curry, Adam Buckner, Steve Fong, Kevin Bouchez, Davy Nethercutt, and Don Greenberg.

Prior to his Star Trek work Stipes worked on science fiction television shows such as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Galactica 1980 and V: The Final Battle (1984). His motion picture credits include Equinox, Caveman, Creepshow, The Stuff, Real Genius, Night of the Creeps, Deadly Weapon, Arena, Ernest Goes to Jail and The Lawnmower Man.

Star Trek credits

• TNG:
  • "Conspiracy" - Stop Motion Control Artist (TNG Season 1, uncredited)
  • "Realm of Fear" - Visual Effects Supervisor (Season 6)
  • "Relics" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "True Q" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "A Fistful of Datas" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Chain of Command, Part I" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Ship in a Bottle" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Face of the Enemy" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Birthright, Part I" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Starship Mine" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "The Chase" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Suspicions" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Second Chances" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Descent" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Liaisons" - Visual Effects Supervisor (Season 7)
  • "Gambit, Part I" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Phantasms" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Attached" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Inheritance" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "The Pegasus" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Sub Rosa" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Thine Own Self" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Eye of the Beholder" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Journey's End" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "Bloodlines" - Visual Effects Supervisor
  • "All Good Things..." - Visual Effects Supervisor

Star Trek interviews

Stipes was interviewed for the following articles and specials:

• 1994 VOY Season 1 special feature "Red Alert: Visual Effects - Season One"
• 2000 Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 11, interviewed on the Odo Morph Sequence
• 2000 Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 15, "Motion Control on the set"
• 2001 Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 22, "Odo gets some new threads: Morphing Clothes"
• 2002 Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 1, visual effects on Enterprise
• 2003 Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 11, "Animatics for Enterprise"

External links

• DavidStipes.com - official site
• Stipes' Universe - official blog
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