Star Trek director of photography Marvin Rush described making directors comfortable as one of the most important aspects of his job.

"The directors that come in are basically guests," he explained to Star Trek Monthly (via Sci Fi Pulse). "The trick is to figure out how to maintain some visual continuity without limiting the director's creative freedom."

Rush, who has worked on all the Trek shows since The Next Generation, was involved in creating the visual signature of each of the series. "If The Next Generation was like Superman, then Deep Space Nine would be Batman," he analogized, explaining that Batman was "a darker, more brooding character" and that DS9 "was to have slightly more ominous feel to it, higher contrast and darker sets."

The DP compared Enterprise's lighting to The Hunt For Red October, in which the lights on the ceilings and walls of the ship actually light the set to a large extent. "So the lighting becomes part of the set decoration, but they're practical; they're actually doing the job." On Enterprise he said that most of the lighting comes from lamps that are in the shots.

Rush directed TNG's "The Host" and Voyager's "The Thaw" and "Favorite Son" but has been focused on altering Enterprise's look for this season to accomodate the faster cuts for the increased action on the series.

The full interview may be found in the newest issue of Star Trek Monthly, while more excerpts are available at Sci Fi Pulse.

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