THE CARETAKER CREATURE

above and right: the Caretaker in his true form [#1 and #2 Caretaker]

Dan Curry: Well, we were running out of time and wound up having several different CG houses work on variations of that, and we selected that particular one, and the difficulty there was getting something that looked transparent and we could see suggestions of organelles inside it, and have it shimmer properly and also reflect the world of the set around it.

The model shown in the two screenshots above is what was used for the actors Kate Mulgrew as Janeway and Tim Russ as Tuvok to react to during shooting. At that time the ultimate CGI form of the Caretaker was not fully known. The CGI footage of the Caretaker was added much later, in post-production. Often a model is used or, in the case of a CGI alien character, a human stand-in, or, in the case of a visual effect like the Caretaker's displacement wave, a notice briefly describing the visual effect. There are two reasons for this. The presence of a model is so that the actors not only have something or someone to "play off" or react to and ensures that the actors' eye lines are correct. If there is nothing there at all there is nothing for the actor's eyes to focus on at the correct distance, which could be evident on screen. The model such as a cardboard cut-out is shot for the exact number of seconds (down even to the fraction of a second) as for the real visual effect that is to be inserted later in post-production. Or rather, the later visual effect will, if necessary, be trimmed down to match the original shot. This facilitates the compositing, enabling the finished visual effect to be readily slotted, as regards time and easy identification of the shot, into the master videotape.

Janeway and Tuvok see the Caretaker in his true form for the first time [#1 and #2 Caretaker] dark blobs within its form indicate the last moments of life for the Caretaker [#1 and #2 Caretaker]

As the Caretaker dies, his form shrinks.

A [#1 and #2 Caretaker]	B [#1 and #2 Caretaker]
C [#1 and #2 Caretaker]	D [#1 and #2 Caretaker]
(not CGI) once dead, the Caretaker is a quartz-like solid substance [#1 and #2 Caretaker]	(not CGI) Janeway, about to pick up the dead Caretaker [#1 and #2 Caretaker]