“Cinema’s first entirely computer-generated sequence” – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – a commentary on the making of the Genesis Effect

Last night I was discussing early computer generated graphic/animation sequences in movies. According to Wikipedia, Star Trek II -

“The Wrath of Khan was one of the first films to extensively use electronic images and computer graphics to speed production of shots. Graphics company Evan and Sutherland produced the vector graphics displays aboard the Enterprise and the fields of stars used in the opening credits. Among ILM’s technical achievements was cinema’s first entirely computer-generated sequence: the demonstration of the effects of the Genesis Device on a barren planet. The first concept for the shot took the form of a laboratory demonstration, where a rock would be placed in a chamber and turned into a flower. Veilleux suggested the sequence’s scope be expanded to show the Genesis effect taking over a planet. While Paramount appreciated the more dramatic presentation, they also wanted the simulation to be more impressive than traditional animation. Having seen research done by Lucasfilm’s Computer Graphics group, Veilleux offered them the task. The graphics team paid attention to detail for the sixty-second sequence; one artist ensured that the stars visible in the background matched those visible from a real star light-years from Earth. The animators hoped it would serve as a ‘commercial’ for the studio’s talents.”¹

Here is a YouTube video giving a behind-the-scene commentary on the making of this famous computer generate movie sequence:

Here is a slightly better YouTube video of the Genesis Effect wave computer animated sequence:

Pretty impressive!

While on the topic of Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it’s worth noting that the evil super villain Armando Guitierrez from the Freakazoid! animated cartoon TV series is voiced by Ricardo Montalban – the actor who played Khan Noonien Singh in the movie. Armando Guitierrez often behaves/talks similarly to Khan²

References

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrath_of_khan#Effects Accessed November 21, 2009.
2. Freakazoid! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakazoid#Enemies Accessed November 21, 2009.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Freakazoid! Cartoon Created by Steven Spielberg, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini