INTRODUCTION

There is a difference between 'special effects' and 'visual effects'. Special effects are those that take place on the set during filming, and are discussed in other Behind-the-scenes articles. Visual effects are those created after on-set filming, during post-production, and might be filmed weeks after the live action footage for the episode. Those for [#1 and #2 Caretaker] are discussed in this article.

'Visual effects' and 'special effects' are often abbreviated to 'VFX' and 'SFX' (the 'FX' being phonetic shorthand).

CG or CGI is a standard abbreviation for 'computer-generated' (usually re an image) or 'computer-generated image'. The use of CGI technology, with numerous ground-breaking techniques in [Star Trek Voyager] compared to previous Star Trek, helped lift the visual quality of the series such as enabling Dan Curry to conceive and produce the wonderful USS Voyager fly-by sequences in the opening titles, as well as several amazing sequences in the visually stunning [#1 and #2 Caretaker].

'Compositing' refers to putting shots together from 'elements' photographed separately at different times.

Dan Curry and the visual effects team have won Emmy Awards for their work on [Star Trek Voyager] - details. For his work on Star Trek, Dan Curry has also won two International Monitor Awards, the very first Digital Hollywood Award, and the UK's Cult TV Award.

Dan Curry: The pilot for [Star Trek Voyager] was daunting. It had a large number of shots that were really complicated, including creating a computer-generated character of the Caretaker creature. We had large space stations exploding, people doing kamikaze runs into gigantic spaceships, huge fleet of ships and the energy wave that transports us into the Delta Quadrant. One of the limitations we had in those days was that we had not really crossed into the realm of computer animation and the ships and a lot of the things we did were done with traditional miniatures and more traditional technologies.