DVD Team Dedicated To Preserving TMP's Spirit

The production team of the 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' DVD were on hand at last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con to talk about their desires and aspirations for the new Director's Edition.

"We always respected this project as a motion picture," producer David C. Fein told DVD File. "It was our goal from the start and Bob's [director Robert Wise] insistence that this will always keep the presence and size of an epic film."

One facet of the film that has been altered in the new edition is the U.S.S. Enterprise herself, as the original model has been replaced by a CGI starship. However, visual effects supervisor Daren R. Dochterman maintained that the new recreation would be faithful to the original. "It took many months and various different incarnations for the designers to perfect the original wonderful miniature," he said. "I think it is the best looking starship that has ever been seen."

A soundtrack remix also took place, with new effects that were originally intended to be used in the film reinstated in this edition. "Even though this is a new soundtrack, in many ways it is not," said sound supervisor Chuck Michael. "The majority of the sounds we were working with were things we found in the archives that were created for the movie. We unearthed many materials that were designed for certain sequences but weren't in the finished film - real material created by the original sound designers."

The fact that the new edition was created for DVD meant that the production team were able to work on some extra features. They conducted thirty interviews with members of the original crew, and recorded audio commentaries by director Wise, special effects supervisors Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra, and composer Jerry Goldsmith. However, it is up to Paramount to decide which extras make it into the finished product. "The material is there, it is up to the studio whether they want to include it or not," said Dochterman.

The full report can be found here at DVD File. Thanks to TrekWeb for this!

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