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Ok, I guess now I'm a nit picking Fanboy, but...
[rant]...why the hell don't the stars outside the window rotate in C&C? Esp for S3 they have the stars so bright that its you really notice it! I don't think it would have been that hard to come up with a prop to do that! I mean the stars outside the window on the observation deck rotate. OK, OK I know the backgound of the observation deck is CGI and all of C&C is a set. But for a show that rarely makes major reality mistakes, its distracting......[/rant]
Comments
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Freejack [/i]
[B][rant]...why the hell don't the stars outside the window rotate in C&C? Esp for S3 they have the stars so bright that its you really notice it! I don't think it would have been that hard to come up with a prop to do that!"[/quote][/b]
The stars don't rotate because the show didn't have the budget (or rendering time) to create CGI rotating stars for every shot of C&C, according to JMS. Not even Star Trek would have the budget to show a CGI starfield that often during a single episode.
As for coming up with a practical on-set prop to handle it, it's not as easy as it sounds. Here's what JMS had to say about it:
[quote]We've gone over this a lot; because the station rotates, you'd need a circular, rotating starfield that would be twice as tall as our stage ceiling to make it work, and it'd be hideously loud.[/quote]
[quote][b]I mean the stars outside the window on the observation deck rotate. OK, OK I know the backgound of the observation deck is CGI and all of C&C is a set. But for a show that rarely makes major reality mistakes, its distracting......[/rant] [/B][/QUOTE]
The observation deck was only shown a few times. C&C was featured prominently in almost every episode. To create a CGI starfield EVERY time C&C was featured would be very costly, both in terms of the show's budget and schedule (renderin time).
More info from JMS:
[quote]The problem is a mathematical one. C&C rotates *below* the center of the station, the core of the rotation. So the rotation wouldn't be at the center of the window, but rather above it, so you'd have a movement from side to side that's far more pronounced. To pull off this in a practical effect, you'd have to build a *round* starfield about 30 feet high, which is bigger than just about any TV soundstage around, and would have to rotate without making noise at that size (almost impossible). To do blue-screen compositing of starfields for the length of scenes we play in C&C is outside the limts of ANY TV series, including ST, which invariably uses a star curtain for window scenes of the same size as the B5 C&C, or sparingly uses bluescreen for smaller windows seen less frequently.[/quote]
Regards,
Morden
[B]Yeah, the non-rotating starfield always bugged me too, but jms and the guys had a good reason; budget was always going to be a problem for Babylon 5.
Regards,
Morden [/B][/QUOTE]
Not just B5.... NO tv show would have the budget or time to do it. C&C appeared in far too many scenes to feasibly create a rotating starfield for every episode.
I realize a 30+ft spinning disk isn't practical, but you'd think that a creative set designer could come up with a practical solution...
I guess its easier to assume things like this than do them...
That also why the straight on shots in front of the C&C window are relitively rare, often they are shots at a sharp angle to the window so you can't really see the stars.
Jake
Anyway...
[B]Perhaps its because we want it to be perfect :D [/B][/QUOTE]
It's close to that already, but yeah, I'd love to re-work the show somehow and improve on it in my own way. ;)
Regards,
Morden
only a quick idea;)
[B]stupid question but why don't have they used a big rotation disk with the stars on it to show the rotating stars?
only a quick idea;) [/B][/QUOTE]
[quote]Originally posted in this very thread:
[b]To pull off this in a practical effect, you'd have to build a *round* starfield about 30 feet high, which is bigger than just about any TV soundstage around, and would have to rotate without making noise at that size (almost impossible).[/b][/quote]