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==History== |
==History== |
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| − | In [[2375]], the holoship was employed by [[Admiral]] [[Matthew Dougherty| |
+ | In [[2375]], the holoship was employed by [[Admiral]] [[Matthew Dougherty|Dougherty]] and [[Ru'afo]] to secretly transport the entire six hundred [[Ba'ku]] inhabitants off {{dis|Ba'ku|planet}} without their knowledge in order to obtain the [[metaphasic radiation]] inherent in the [[planet]]'s [[planetary rings|rings]]. |
The [[ship]] was cloaked and placed at the bottom of a [[lake]], located near the Ba'ku village. It was later detected by [[Starfleet]] personnel, unaware of its presence, due to strong [[neutrino]] emissions coming from the lake. |
The [[ship]] was cloaked and placed at the bottom of a [[lake]], located near the Ba'ku village. It was later detected by [[Starfleet]] personnel, unaware of its presence, due to strong [[neutrino]] emissions coming from the lake. |
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| − | It was later brought back into the planet's [[orbit]] |
+ | It was later brought back into the planet's [[orbit]] by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Worf]], where it was used to transport the [[bridge crew|command crew]] from the [[bridge]] of [[Ru'afo's flagship]]. This feat allowed [[Gallatin]] and [[Jean-Luc Picard]] to disable the nearby [[Son'a collector]]. ({{film|9}}) |
==Design== |
==Design== |
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| − | [[File:Federation holoship interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Federation holoship |
+ | [[File:Federation holoship interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Federation holoship]] |
| − | The Federation holoship's outward design was that of a rectangular vessel |
+ | The Federation holoship's outward design was that of a rectangular vessel containing a forward mounted bridge module and [[warp nacelle]]s set into the main body. |
| − | + | The holoship was built specifically to serve as a [[transport]]able [[holodeck]] used to create [[hologram|holographic environments]] to simulate the surroundings familiar to the holoship's passengers. It was also equipped with fourteen long-range [[transporter]]s and a [[cloaking device]]. ({{film|9}}) |
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| + | {{bginfo|The ship's cloaking device was likely in violation of the [[Treaty of Algeron]], though, curiously, this was never addressed in the film.}} |
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== Appendices == |
== Appendices == |
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| − | === Background === |
+ | === Background information === |
The idea of surreptitiously transplanting an indigenous people by use of the [[holodeck]] had already been explored in {{TNG|Homeward}} when a group of [[Boraalan]]s were transplanted in the holodeck of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} without their knowledge to their new homeworld as their own world became uninhabitable. The concept of the holoship might have stemmed from this incident. |
The idea of surreptitiously transplanting an indigenous people by use of the [[holodeck]] had already been explored in {{TNG|Homeward}} when a group of [[Boraalan]]s were transplanted in the holodeck of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} without their knowledge to their new homeworld as their own world became uninhabitable. The concept of the holoship might have stemmed from this incident. |
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=== Studio model === |
=== Studio model === |
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| + | :'''''See''''': [[Federation holoship model]] |
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| − | The Federation holoship was one of the very few major specialty Federation starships, if not the only one, ever shown in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and as such presented its unique problematics when it came to designing the ship. According to [[John Eaves]], the ship was redesigned to appear more like an oil tanker or storage ship and given a shape that would easily fit into the Ba'ku lake. (''[[The Secrets of Star Trek: Insurrection]]'', p. 96). The final design was intended to be 810 feet (247 meters) long. ([http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/the-ship-scales-of-insurrection/ Blog entry]) |
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| − | ====Design==== |
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| − | [[File:Federation Holoship prelimanary designs.jpg|thumb|left|Federation Holoship designs, directions not taken]] |
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| − | [[File:Federation Holoship final designs.jpg|thumb|...and the one taken]] |
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| − | The Federation holoship was designed by John Eaves. Early sketches of the holoship featured a more typical Starfleet configuration with [[saucer section]] and [[warp nacelle]]s and the [[registry]] NX-75115. Eaves commented on his design process, "''The holoship went through a lot of changes. Originally it was a traditional Federation design, so I started out with a saucer section. The way the village was designed, it lent itself well to that [shape] - a saucer would be the best place to encase that holodeck image.''" ([[Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 4|''Star Trek: The Magazine'']], Volume 1 , isue 4, p. 30) Rejected by Director [[Jonathan Frakes]] and Producer [[Rick Berman]] who wanted a more industrial look, Eaves returned to his drawing board and came up with a "{{w|Aero Spacelines Super Guppy|Guppy}}"-like design, one Eaves himself took a shine on, "''They wanted to go with something more freighter-looking. So I went through another stage where it looked like a Guppy, one of those old 1950s cargo planes. That was my favorite one.''" ([[Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 4|''Star Trek: The Magazine'']], Volume 1 , issue 4, p. 30) |
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| − | No matter what Eaves' personal preferences were, "''They felt it still looked too 'starshippy,' so we got rid of that and then moved onto the 'flying brick.' They wanted something very tankerish, like an oil tanker. I kind of bevelled the sides, and at one point the cockpit was at the very back of the ship, just like a tanker. So that went for a while, and then they had it moved to the front. That was the shape that Berman really liked.''" ([[Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 4|''Star Trek: The Magazine'']], Volume 1 , isue 4, p. 30) Eaves would later recall on his [http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/the-holo-ships-of-insurrection/ blog], |
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| − | <blockquote>"In Star trek “Insurrection” A Massive Federation Holo-ship was called for and the following sketches show the process of how this one came to be. The early designs featured a saucer style ship, then transformed into a pufferfish, and finally a flying shoe box. The first two were my favorites and I didn’t really care for the flying brick, but it was what was chosen so I took most of the inspiration from Giant Oil tankers. In the first pass there was a bridge at the front of the ship and by the final design the bridge moves to the rear of the vessel. [[Jerry Goldsmith]] Composed the score for this one and I liked the metallic theme he wrote for it much more than the final design. I also included the orthos but to achive the same look simply get a shoe box, spray it completely with super 77, and then roll it thru a pile of legos and old model parts!!! HAAA! I am not really cranky if that is how your reading this,,, I was laughing and remebering all the silly horrors that came from this movie in regards to one of our supervisors… He was always changing the direction on which way things were to fly after the fact that they were approved renderings being built and lit in CG. This unnammed guy was really something!! (...) OH yeah and the unnamed guy also changed the scale of the ships from shot to shot!!! I can’t even remeber how many times I would have to run over to his office to try and correct all the insanity!!! It was during this film in particular that scale charts and directional arrows were attatched to EVERY drawing. There is a shot in the film where all the vessels fly under the camera to take orbit,, that is the closest to all the accurate scales."</blockquote> |
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| − | Began in January, Eaves finished up in February 1998 on the design, and produced a set of orthographic views of his designs for the modelers at [[Blue Sky/VIFX]]. |
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| − | ====Studio models==== |
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| − | [[File:Federation Holoship study model.jpg|thumb|The scanning model with bridge positioned at the rear]] |
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| − | For {{film|9}}, the producers decided to complete the transition into the [[CGI|digital]] realm and that this feature would be the first movie completely without the time honored {{w|motion control photography|motion control model photography}}. However, in this stage of the technique, that meant that the CGI-workload had to be divided between two VFX-houses, [[Santa Barbara Studios]] for the outer space shots, and Blue Sky/VIFX for the planet bound effects. As the Holoship featured prominently on the surface of [[Ba'ku (planet)|Ba'ku]], the task of modeling the ship fell at first to Blue Sky. For expedience sake, a 30 inch [[Studio_model#Study_model|scanning model]] of the upper half of the model was constructed by [[Mykel Denis]], [[Tom Griep]] and [[Tamara Waters]], thereby saving the [[CGI]] modelers at Blue Sky the time to construct the corresponding {{w|wire-frame model}} freehand. (''[[Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models]]'', issue 34, p. 26) It was only when this model was sent to the producers for approval, that they realized that, despite their scrutiny, they had made an error in judgment. Eaves had positioned the bridge on the back of the vessel, reminiscent of the bridge on a 20th century supertanker. This presented them with some unexpected headaches, as Blue Sky's Model Shop Supervisor [[Carlyle Livingston]] explained, "''This caused some concerns about logistics. Keeping the bridge positioned as it was in John's sketch meant there would be an expanse of ship seen out of the window every time you looked forward–which would be both tougher and pricier than just seeing the usual starfield. We moved it up front, the built a few different bridge conning towers before they signed off on it.''" (''[[Cinefex]]'', issue 77, p. 83) He further added, "''When Rick Berman and [[Peter Lauritson]] and everyone else involved looked at John's drawings, what appeared to be the front was, unknowingly, the rear view. So, when this was pointed out, they had a hard time visualizing the ship any other way than what their original perception was. Therefore, because of that presumption and the shots needed, the ship was turned around 180 degrees, forcing revisions to the engine nacelles and the location of the conning tower. And because the ''Holoship'' had to look like it was holding an entire village inside, perception of human scale was important. Rick and Peter commented on the hatch needing to be bigger. So there changes were made. It's part of the process of finding out just what's right.''" (''[[Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models]]'', issue 34, p. 29) The revisions were done in April after Eaves revisited his design and modified it, annotating on his sketch "''The'' ever so modified Holo Ship Drawing". |
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| − | [[File:Federation Holoship CGI model.jpg|thumb|Blue Sky's CGI model]] |
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| − | Yet, Eaves' efforts notwithstanding, the revised holoship design was eventually not followed by the modeler at Blue Sky/VIFX, most likely out of time and costs considerations. Instead it was decided to merely reverse the flight direction of the model (resulting in that, what Eaves intended to be, the [[impulse engine]]s were consequently forward facing), which was constructed as a [[CGI]] model by Digital Modeler [[Robert Rioux]]. Since Blue Sky was only responsible for the planet bound effects, where the ship would merely be seen sitting in the water, only the top part of the model was constructed, as was with the scanning model. After Blue Sky was finished with their part of the ship, they would turn over the data files of the model over to Santa Barbara studios for their part of the work. |
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| − | However, it was not only the visible part they had to visualize, but also the invisible part, which did not went off without a hitch as Digital Artist [[David Stephens]] remembered, "''I was the R&D supervisor at VFIX working on the ST9 holoship digital water effects. I do remember a physical mock-up being around the office at one time, but all of our digital work was done with a CG model supplied by another company…not sure though if it was from Blue Sky (which was our sister company at the time) or from Santa Barbara Studios. I will mention that we internally finaled a far better version of the “invisible” holoship effect than was eventually in the film. Originally we had standing pools of water on the top of the ship reflecting the mountains, rivers streaming off the sides, and a lot more foam and wave interaction. Unfortunately one of the film’s producers felt that the image was “too sophisticated” for Trek audiences. Imagine my shock and dismay. Ultimately, what was asked for was “an inverted ash tray in the water” with little or no interaction. Fortunately the finished imagery wasn’t that simplistic, but it was disappointing compared to our original work.''" [http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/blue-sky-model-reference/#comment-7248] Digital Effects Supervisor [[Mark Rodahl]] elaborated, ''"It was decided that the cloaked look would, in part, resemble one of those old glass ashtrays being dipped in a tub of water. Adding reflective glistenings of water dripping off the above–water section of hull helped bring out the ship's stealth–like nature, while the scale of the vessel was enhanced by adding a refractive element, as well as CG foam on the surrounding water to indicate the ship's "footprint" in liquid–the measure of displacement its presence created in the lake.''" Visual Effects Supervisor [[Jim Rygiel]] added, "''Decloaking the ship in broad daylight meant matching the caustic ripple lighting, reflections and shadows present in the plate. The holoship reveal was an image–warping look that maintained the established Federation style''" (''[[Cinefex]]'', issue 77, pp. 83-84) |
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| − | After receiving the digital data files, Santa Barbara Studios, revised the model for its scenes in outer space, by modifying the animation and rendering, as well as constructing the missing lower half of the ship. It is one the very few models in the franchise that was co-constructed by two different companies. The model was built, rendered and animated in the {{w|Autodesk Maya|Maya}} CGI software.(''[[Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models]]'', issue 34, p. 29) |
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=== Apocrypha === |
=== Apocrypha === |
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| − | The [[novels|novel]] ''[[ |
+ | The ''[[Star Trek: Section 31|Section 31]]'' [[novels|novel]] ''[[Abyss]]'', by [[David Weddle]] and [[Jeffrey Lang]], establishes that the holoship was created by [[Section 31]] for the Ba'ku incident, which the organization had engineered and had publicly blamed on Dougherty. The holoship was slated for destruction by [[Starfleet Command]] after the incident became public; however, [[Commander]] Elias Vaughn and his cabal of Starfleet [[officer]]s covertly working against Section 31 stole the ship and faked destruction [[report]]s, later using it to help undermine various Section 31 operations. |
=== External link === |
=== External link === |
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| − | * {{ |
+ | * {{mbeta}} |
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[[de:Holoschiff]] |
[[de:Holoschiff]] |
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Revision as of 22:40, 3 March 2016
The Federation holoship was a prototype of Federation starship first launched in the mid-2370s.
History
In 2375, the holoship was employed by Admiral Dougherty and Ru'afo to secretly transport the entire six hundred Ba'ku inhabitants off Ba'ku without their knowledge in order to obtain the metaphasic radiation inherent in the planet's rings.
The ship was cloaked and placed at the bottom of a lake, located near the Ba'ku village. It was later detected by Starfleet personnel, unaware of its presence, due to strong neutrino emissions coming from the lake.
It was later brought back into the planet's orbit by Lieutenant Commander Worf, where it was used to transport the command crew from the bridge of Ru'afo's flagship. This feat allowed Gallatin and Jean-Luc Picard to disable the nearby Son'a collector. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
Design
Interior of the Federation holoship
The Federation holoship's outward design was that of a rectangular vessel containing a forward mounted bridge module and warp nacelles set into the main body.
The holoship was built specifically to serve as a transportable holodeck used to create holographic environments to simulate the surroundings familiar to the holoship's passengers. It was also equipped with fourteen long-range transporters and a cloaking device. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
The ship's cloaking device was likely in violation of the Treaty of Algeron, though, curiously, this was never addressed in the film.
Appendices
Background information
The idea of surreptitiously transplanting an indigenous people by use of the holodeck had already been explored in TNG: "Homeward" when a group of Boraalans were transplanted in the holodeck of the USS Enterprise-D without their knowledge to their new homeworld as their own world became uninhabitable. The concept of the holoship might have stemmed from this incident.
Studio model
Apocrypha
The Section 31 novel Abyss, by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang, establishes that the holoship was created by Section 31 for the Ba'ku incident, which the organization had engineered and had publicly blamed on Dougherty. The holoship was slated for destruction by Starfleet Command after the incident became public; however, Commander Elias Vaughn and his cabal of Starfleet officers covertly working against Section 31 stole the ship and faked destruction reports, later using it to help undermine various Section 31 operations.
External link
- Federation holoship at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works