"Story is still king, and we create the visual effects to serve the story," declared visual effects producer and director Dan Curry, speaking of his role and how techniques have changed with the evolving technology of television production. "In the pre CG days it was fun to have to invent ways of using photographable physical objects to depict various phenomena...today with computers everything is differentm [but] philosophically, things remain the same."

In a new interview at Save Enterprise, Curry spoke of creating weapons and developing ships for the Star Trek shows, as well as his hopes for a fifth season of Star Trek: Enterprise and gratitute towards the fans. "Trek audiences are intelligent, interested in technology, and products intended for cerebral consumers and are an important target consumer group for many companies," he noted. "You should also know how much the cast and crew appreciates the efforts done on our behalf."

Crediting a childhood playing with toys and studying art and theatre, as well as "world travel and the appreciation of other cultures", with cultivating his interest, Curry said he was particularly proud of having developed Klingon weapons that the Korean Martial Arts Association and the US Navy have both recognized as worthy of study. He based Klingon Mok'bara on the discipline of Tai Chi mixed with "some Tae Kwon Do, a hint of Muay Thai, and a very esoteric martial art I had the opportunity to study in Laos." And he is also proud of effects on a much larger scale, such as the Dominion War battles on Deep Space Nine and the recent NX-01 flyby of Manhattan on Enterprise.

The lower budget has not affected his work "at all", claimed Curry, who added that he expects "that this will be the best season yet" and said that while he would not name a favourite among the many Trek actors he has worked with other than Porthos, Enterprise has been his favourite series. "Many of the crew-members have been around since TNG, so the atmosphere on the set is much like working with family. It would be difficult to find a higher level of camaraderie," he said.

For students interested in working in visual effects, Curry suggested focusing on storytelling as well as technique: "Film history, film editing, photography, art history, figure drawing, drafting, landscape painting, storyboarding, and experience in live theatre can be valuable additions to computer. Remember that the computer is just another tool, and the real work is done in the mind."

For more, including Curry's wish to direct another episode (he previously helmed The Next Generation's "Birthright Part Two"), his cameo on a padd and his martial arts studies, see the complete interview at Save Enterprise.

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