[Christopher Halsey]

During the later seasons of DS9, Voyager and of course throughout Enterprise CGI ships were used in place of traditional models.

Which do you prefer?
Why do you prefer it?
What is the best image you can find that best supports your choice?

[Cehus]

CGI. Axanar showed us all how damn good it can look. Models just can't compare in this day and age.

[Three of Seven]

Honestly, I find it hard to tell the difference, I'm not really good at that kind of thing but I imagine CGI might be more practical and will stand the test of time. Models are also less versatile and I imagine need more maintenance, so from a practical perspective, I'll say CGI, aesthetically I think they are both fine

[Christopher Halsey]

As far as CGI has come I personally still think they lack something versus a physical model.





I like the fact that I feel like I could reach out and touch anything in those images, that it has real substance and presence. As fancy as CGI is I still haven't seen it manage that and for me that makes all the difference.

[Kains]

At the risk of sounding old, I have to go with models. Having said that, I personally love it best when a mixture is used, and especially when you can get traditional model makers to work with CGI designers.

I had the benefit years ago, when working in Lightwave, of having a traditional animation guy helping out (He had worked on pieces like Clone High for example), and insights into even little things helped make final products so much more vibrant and real.

[Flicky]

First Contact's Battle of Sector 001 shows just how good CGI can look, and that was almost 20 years ago. With the leaps and bounds CGI has had in those 20 years, ships look better and more realistic than ever. Even effects made by single people look fantastic, just look at some of the great stuff our very own Phoenix has made.

Sure, models may be more humble and have a special charm to them, but we can make so much more now. Maybe if someone were to try a 3D-printed ship model?

[Phoenix]

Ok, let me get in on this, you all know i make cgi ships clips and models for game, Now i know i make them low poly. Now in movies they use 20x the amount of poly count in their what ever than i do, then u have the shaders and post effects, BUT it has a feel of somthing not quite right, THOUGH a REAL Phsyical model always has somthing about it, a more REAL feel. i don't care what others say, gimme good old models anyway any day. Im so glad jj (WTF AM I ABOUT TO SAY) Has built full size Xwings and the Falcon for the new star wars film, instead of just using cgi for that bit, its becoming a lost art and alot of people would like it back NOW here is where i'll put my main point across.

YES it is easier to build something in cgi then building something from scratch, BUT with technology these days, once u've build the 3d model you can JUST PRESS PRINT!! lol - then u get a phsyical model they can then build just like a jigsaw and get an amazing bit of filming material

hope thats made some sence

[Phoenix]

In good Old blue peter fasion Here's one i made earlier

it took over 24 Hours to render Six different passes
Background
Ship (defuse)
Ship (lighting)
Ship (ambiant Occlusion)
Ship (Self Illumination)
Ship (Spec)

Then Once that was done, Put Each layer into aftereffects, making sure I'm tell it that EVERYTHING is 24 fps Not 30 and then making sure the Blends are all in the right place. then making sure any effects like glows etc are there, And then After all that Render it out again, import it into Premier Pro Add Titles, Credits, Sound Effects and back ground music

[Vox]

Well I did notice that Voyager did go through a slight colour change of her hull during the show but other than that I can't really say I noticed, but by the time Enterprise came around it was easier to tell that it was a full CGI ship and not a model.

[NeoTrident]

Its models for me, they look far more real. The conversion from the model Defiant to the CGI Defiant was shocking, the CGI model was a completely different and by far less superior. If you look at the Ent-A in STVI that was an amazing model with incredible detail, also compare the CGI Sovereign with the Model in First Contact you can really see which is which.

In my opinion Star Trek wasn't ready for CGI till Enterprise.

[LynxMukka]

I would say CGI usually if done well, but also models, if they are large scale models. It really depends on the artistic intent of the media.

The original Enterprise-D model (6ft) which was restored for the Star Trek Generations movie. I think it shows it is possible to have something look good in the model world. TNG's episode Encounter at Farpoint, remastered, used most if not all original model shots from the 6ft, it looks good right?

I'm not pro-model or pro-CGI, I personally see the benefit to both.

[Phoenix]

I'm not pro-model or pro-CGI, I personally see the benefit to both.

Well Said

[Bridger]

I prefer models over CGI, they give me more the feeling that something is realy there.





Voyager Studio Model VS. Voyager CGI Model:

[Curzon Peers]

I don't think it's really fair to compare the models and CGI used in DS9 and Voyager. That was when CGI was just starting to really take off, and it wasn't nearly as good as it it today. I also think that picture of voyager model vs voyager GCI is unfair. enither are in the proper environment. The model isn't using the lighting it would be using when being filmed so it looks very obviously plastic wheras under the studio lighting they film with it looks like a real, metal spaceship. Similarly, the CGI is using basic shaders, and obviously didn't spend much time rendering, so it looks obviously digital. On the actual show, neither are anywhere near that obviously fake.

Personally, I think both have their place (the same with CGI vs animatronics for characters, if you want a good example of animatronics watch Farscape). The physical items can be good for getting a feel for an item and for blocking a scene, but you can do a lot more with CGI since it's a lot easier to move a digital ship that weighs nothing and a virtual camera that doesn't require a complex series of cranes, and it's easier and cheaper to modify a CG model for stuff like damage. I tend to lean toward CGI because of what you can do with it, but both have their place.

[Bridger]

What I wanted to point us how incorrect the CGI models were when the transfer happened, to be honest the Voyager CGI is one of the better transfers, just take a look at the phaser stripes.