I can’t help but notice that the ‘previously unseen’ image looks suspiciously like one of the CGI sequences used in the season six episode ‘Good Shepperd’

http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/6×20/Good_Shepherd_510.JPG

That is just so wrong that the lovely rear view in the spacedock didn’t get it’s day in the proverbial sun! I’m *very* late here, and it looks like I have a lot to enjoy. Thanks for sharing your hard work here on the blog!

BTW I love the renders you posted. Specially the first one.. Nice lighting :)

If you have any more that you’re thinking of doing, please do post them! They’re awesome.

Thanks for posting the images.

I really enjoy the Voyager series. Thanks for all of your hard work!

However, this rarely happens, most probably because it’s just not anyone’s assigned job. Who asks for the data? Who checks it? Where do they store it? Who keeps the records? All this would need to be answered and a process implemented and in most cases, either no one has thought it through or wanted to spearhead a new headache.

Even if the data was backed up, if someone wanted to load up a spaceship model ten years later, success would be hard to come by. Do they have the right software? Since no two companies ever name their hard drives with the same letters or use the same directory structure, will the new user know where to find the files when their computer tells them, “can’t find G:/spaceship/wingtip/test/nogood/deleteme/finalimages/nosecone.png?”

Even if all the ducks are in a row, often times the CG company, knowing full well the data they provide might be used to cut them out of the picture, will purposely not make it easy for the studio. Sure, they’ll provide the models as asked, but not the setup/assembly files (hey, setup files are technically NOT the model).

All this means is that the more time passes, the less likely it will be to re-create CG scenes. If all the data and the directory structure on a company’s hard drive remains untouched, it’s fine, but the moment you start to back stuff up and clear it off the server, your chances of success begin to dwindle.

Some companies have hired data management specialists to protect against this sort of thing (will Pixar encounter a “data chasm” when attempting to re-render all the scenes from the first two TOY STORY movies for their 3D releases?). However, since it means more money and something else to worry about, this is the exception rather than the rule.

When Foundation tried to restore data from the first season of B5, we discovered that the backup software had automatically truncated all file names to 8.3 characters – so when Lightwave was looking for a texture map called “StarfuryWingLeft.PNG,” all it could find was a string of files called “Starfur*.***” This would mean a user would have to load each image map into Photoshop, figure out what it was and were it was supposed to go and essentially rebuild the model from random data.

In essence, everything from the first two seasons were lost. The data was still there, but reconstructing it would have been a nightmare.

I don’t know what WB did to “lose” their own copy of the B5 files, but unless companies are more stringent about their data management in the future, I’m afraid there will always be a dozen reasons why the data can be “lost” forever.

The irony of all this is that when the switch was made from physical models to CG, everyone assumed we had entered a golden era when models would no longer fall apart in a warehouse somewhere, never to be used again. “We have CG now, things last forever!”

If only.

The captions in my renders will need to be updated. That’s what happens when I post too late!

When Foundation closed down, the servers – along with the content – were auctioned off. Much of the content may have been saved by artists who worked on the series, but it would have to be tracked down.

No matter how you slice it, it would be a considerable amount of work to re-integrate the entire Voyager visual effects server and re-render the FX in HD. In addition, although the series was shot on film, the entire post-production process was finished on NTSC video; to create an HD episode of Voyager, Paramount would have to go back to the vaults, re-transfer the film and re-built the episodes from scratch using the original editing data – if THOSE files still existed.

It could be done, but will Voyager re-sell enough copies on HD to justify the cost?