
Recreating Star Trek's Briar Patch with Motion Control
Graham Quince November 29, 2024
0 Comments
This is a collaboration with @nmphoto37 who has been using a motion control to film models with amazing results. We've worked together to create an action sequence set in the Briar Patch from Star Trek: Insurrection.
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Google Youtube uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
Can't see this video? Click here! If you are in Safari, hover over Safari in your menu, click settings for creativecow.net and toggle the Auto-Play to Allow All Auto-Play .
The Enterprise enters the Briar Patch, passes through some nebula clouds, is attacked by the So'Na before coming about to strike back. It was a fun sequence to create and you can see the results here:
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Google Youtube uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
Can't see this video? Click here! If you are in Safari, hover over Safari in your menu, click settings for creativecow.net and toggle the Auto-Play to Allow All Auto-Play .
In this tutorial, after explaining how this video came about, I start by using the rotobrush tool to cut out the Enterprise from the blue background. Then I use this as a Track Matte for the beauty pass shot. This cuts out the starship but removes any concerns over spill. Next I take the lighting pass and use the Levels effect to darken the background and brighten the lights, before separating the nacelles to enhance them further with a glow.
Once that's done, I then demonstrate how you can use the Camera Tracker to determine the 3D space the ship is meant to be moving in. Using the parent controls in a slightly unusual way to make it seem like a cloud picture is fixed in space while the ship moves. And then I use that to create a luma matte so it appears the Enterprise passes through a cloud.
While all this is going on, I also give a shout out to @SternFX for their tips on camera tracking and demonstrate how I use stock footage assets from @PexelsPhotos and @ActionVFXofficial to make the final sequence.
November 22, 2024Partial Bold Text using After Effects expressions UPDATEDNow with an improved expression for Per Word Selection Questions asking: "Multiple
November 6, 2024Resizing Motion Graphic boxes in After EffectsBased on some recent forum questions, Ive put together a tutorial to
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
North America Stories
23/10/2026
SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has responded promptly to the global issue of PHP vulnerabiliti...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/10/2026
A Brand New, Ultra-high-performance Remote Followspot Control System
Ayrton has released Falconer, a brand-new, ultra-high-performance remote followspot system...
23/10/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The newly launched Wertheim Laureate Prize invites Nobel laureates ...
23/10/2026
Vegas Pro Delivers Professional Color Management and Faster Renders
Jessie Electa Petrov October 22, 2026
0 Comments
The 2027 release from Boris FX st...
23/10/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Price Increases Due to Rising Memory Costs
Brie Clayton October 22, 2026
0 Comments
New prices across a range of products ...
23/10/2026
Berklee Welcomes Marcus Gilmore for Signature Series Performance The two-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, producer, and bandleader will also lead ...
23/10/2026
Season 30 of The Voice Features a Record Number of Berklee Alumni Learn more about Dakota Cohen, Brandon Diaz, Nina Howland, and Zalissa Stewart, plus how the...
22/10/2026
Router Control Strategy: UCP Panels, WebPanel, and NBOSS Selecting a broadcast router control system is far more than a panel procurement exercise. The control ...
22/10/2026
BeckTV, Beam Dynamics, and Providius have announced a collaboration linking Beck...
22/10/2026
NETGEAR Enterprise has extended its Professional Services program beyond the network layer to cover AV-over-IP workflows, with NDI as the first ecosystem partne...
22/10/2026
USSI Global has promoted Ted Korte to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The promotion follows the recent appointment of Ed McGivern as Chief Revenue Officer as th...
22/10/2026
Calrec has appointed Video Progetti, a Rome- and Milan-based broadcast distributor and AV system integrator, as its distribution partner for Italy. Video Proget...
22/10/2026
NHL Network's NHL Tonight will mark its 5,000th episode on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. ET. The milestone covers episodes since the show began broadcasting f...
22/10/2026
CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, has partnered with Daktronics to install a five-display centerhung system and three entrance displays. Installed th...
22/10/2026
Arkona technologies has announced native integration between its BLADE//runner AT300 platform and Bitfocus Buttons, the control system from Bitfocus. The arkona...
22/10/2026
U2 will perform at halftime of the NFL Thanksgiving Eve Game on Netflix, celebrating the band's 50th anniversary. The game, the first NFL Thanksgiving footb...
22/10/2026
Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre in Victoria, Australia, has dep...
22/10/2026
Arqiva has migrated its occasional-use event scheduling and resource-management ...
22/10/2026
NBC Sports will present every alpine World Cup and World Championship race under...
22/10/2026
FOX Sports and The New York Racing Association (NYRA) have announced a multi-year agreement between NYRA and 1/ST establishing FOX Sports as the television home...
22/10/2026
Alpha, a technology integration and solutions partner for broadcast and production, has launched a Media Modernization practice and The Lab, a customer-facing e...
22/10/2026
Sweetwater's Dolby Atmos mobile recording studio, built inside an Airstream travel trailer, will make two Nashville-area appearances as part of a nationwide...
22/10/2026
SPORTEL Monaco 2026 wrapped up three days at the Grimaldi Forum from Oct. 19-21, welcoming rights holders, broadcasters, investors, federations, agencies, and t...
22/10/2026
Parks Associates research finds that 39% of U.S. internet households watch live ...
22/10/2026
As the Brooklyn Nets tip-off their 2026-27 NBA regular season, the technology be...
22/10/2026
Tech types from broadcasters, streamers, leagues, vendors, and service providers...
22/10/2026
Grant from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg's foundation
will also expand...
22/10/2026
By Ramona Flume
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Wh...
22/10/2026
YouTube Captures 15.8% of TV, Maintains Lead Among Media Distributors
Disney Re...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced that NDTV, a leading Indian news television and digital journalism company, has adopted the Amagi AdFl...
22/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, announced today that the CBC/Radio-Canada has selected Dalet to modernize its new...
22/10/2026
IBC today announced the official call for Challenge submissions for its 2027 Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, inviting organisations from across the glob...
22/10/2026
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that Odido, one of the Netherlands' leading telecommunications providers, has selected its award...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/10/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research today announced that Ron Burkle, founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, has been named chair of its Board of Direc...
22/10/2026
Sonnet Updates Popular Echo III PCIe Card Expansion Chassis Family with Thunderb...
22/10/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Special Pricing for DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton October 21, 2026
0 Comments
Now customers can upgrade to the power...
22/10/2026
Kazakhstan's AI ecosystem is moving from infrastructure plans to deployment.
The shift is visible across the full AI stack - from infrastructure to models...
22/10/2026
Launched today, NVIDIA Minerva is an AIOps platform built to help teams find problems earlier and keep AI factories productive. It brings together telemetry fro...