Editing Star Trek: First Contact (section)

===Design===
[[Image:St08-uss enterprise e.png|alt=A spaceship glides out of a vibrant, multicolored nebula. The ship is composed of a saucer-shaped primary hull, connected to a thicker secondary hull. Paired glowing engines are attached to the secondary hull via swept-back struts.|thumb|The new ''Sovereign''-class ''Enterprise''-E was designed to be sleeker than its predecessor.<ref name="Hochman-1996"/> The ship was the last element added to the above scene; the computer-generated nebula background was built first, with the starship composited in later.{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=68}}]]

''First Contact'' was the first ''Star Trek'' film to make significant use of computer-generated starship models, though physical miniatures were still used for the most important vessels.{{sfn|Eaves|2005}} With the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|''Enterprise''-D]] destroyed during the events of ''Generations'', the task of creating a new starship fell to veteran ''Star Trek'' production designer [[Herman Zimmerman]]. The script's only guide on the appearance of the vessel was the line "the new ''Enterprise'' sleekly comes out of the nebula".{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|pp=323}} Working with illustrator [[John Eaves]], the designers conceived the new ''Sovereign''-class ''Enterprise''-E as "leaner, sleeker, and mean enough to answer any Borg threat you can imagine".<ref name="Hochman-1996"/> Braga and Moore intended it to be more muscular and militaryesque.{{sfn|Braga|Moore|2005}} Eaves looked at the structure of [[Starship Enterprise|previous ''Enterprise'' iterations]], and designed a more streamlined, capable war vessel than the ''Enterprise''-D, reducing the neck area of the ship and lengthening the [[nacelle]]s. Eaves produced 30 to 40 sketches before he found a final design he liked and began making minor changes.{{sfn|Eaves|2005}} Working from blueprints created by Paramount's [[Rick Sternbach]], the model shop at effects house [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (ILM) fabricated a {{convert|10.5|ft|adj=on}} miniature over a five-month period. Hull patterns were carved out of wood, then cast and assembled over an aluminum armature. The model's panels were painted in an alternating matte and gloss scheme to add texture.{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=68}} The crew had multiple difficulties in prepping the miniature for filming; while the model shop originally wanted to save time by casting windows using a clear fiberglass, the material came out tacky. ILM instead cut the windows using a laser.{{sfn|Eaves|2005}} Slides of the sets were added behind the window frames to make the interior seem more dimensional when the camera tracked past the ship.{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=68}}

In previous films, Starfleet's range of capital ships had been predominantly represented by the ''Constitution''-class ''Enterprise'' and just five other ship classes: the ''Miranda'' class from ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', the ''Excelsior'' and the ''Oberth'' class from ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'', and the ''Galaxy'' and ''Nebula'' classes from ''The Next Generation''. ILM supervisor [[John Knoll]] insisted that ''First Contact''{{'}}s space battle prove the breadth of Starfleet's ship configurations. "Starfleet would probably throw everything it could at the Borg, including ships we've never seen before," he reasoned. "And since we figured a lot of the background action in the space battle would need to be done with computer-generated ships that needed to be built from scratch anyway, I realized there was no reason not to do some new designs." [[Alex Jaeger]] was appointed visual effects art director to the film and assigned the task of creating four new starships. Paramount wanted ships that would look different from a distance, so the director devised multiple hull profiles.{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=70}} Knoll and Jaeger had decided that the ships had to obey certain ''Star Trek'' ship precedents, with a saucer-like primary hull and elongated warp nacelles in pairs.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=23}} The ''Akira'' class featured the traditional saucer section and nacelles combined with a catamaran-style double hull; the ''Norway'' class was based on the [[USS Voyager (Star Trek)|USS ''Voyager'']]; the ''Saber'' class was a smaller ship with nacelles trailing off the tips of its saucer section; and the ''Steamrunner'' class featured twin nacelles trailing off the saucer and connected by an engineering section in the rear. Each design was modeled as a three-dimensional digital [[wire-frame model]] for use in the film.{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=70}}

The film also required a number of smaller non-Starfleet designs. The warp ship ''Phoenix'' was conceived as fitting inside an old nuclear missile, meaning that the ship's nacelles had to fold into a space of less than {{convert|10|ft|0}}. Eaves made sure to emphasize the mechanical aspect of the ship, to suggest it was a highly experimental and untested technology. The ''Phoenix''{{'}}s cockpit labels came from [[McDonnell-Douglas]] space shuttle manuals.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|pp=332}} Eaves considered the Vulcan ship a "fun" vessel to design. Only two major Vulcan ships had been previously seen in ''Star Trek'', including a courier vessel from ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture|The Motion Picture]]''. Since the two-engine ship format had been seen many times, the artists decided to step away from the traditional ship layout, creating a more artistic than functional design. The ship incorporated elements of a starfish and a crab. Because of budget constraints, the full ship was realized as a computer-generated design. Only a boomerang-shaped landing foot was fabricated for the actors to interact with.{{sfn|Eaves|2005}}

The ''Enterprise'' interior sets were mostly new designs. The [[Bridge (ship)|bridge]] was designed to be comfortable-looking, with warm colors.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=24}} Among the new additions was a larger holographic viewscreen that would operate only when activated, leaving a plain wall when disabled. New flatscreen computer monitors were used for displays, using less space and giving the bridge a cleaner look. The new monitors also allowed for video playback that could simulate interaction with the actors.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|pp=332}} The designers created a larger and less-spartan ready room, retaining elements from the television series; Zimmerman added a set of golden three-dimensional ''Enterprise'' models to a glass case in the corner. The observation lounge was similar to the design in the ''Enterprise''-D; the set itself was re-used from the television show, the only such set not to be struck following the filming of ''Generations'', though it was expanded and underwent a color change. Engineering was simulated with a large, three-story set, corridors, a lobby, and the largest warp core in the franchise to date.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|pp=324}} For its Borg-corrupted state, the engineering section was outfitted with Borg drone alcoves, conduits and Data's "assimilation table" where he is interrogated by the Queen.{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|2005}} To save money, the sickbay set from ''Voyager'' was redressed to serve as the sickbay of ''Enterprise'', while the USS ''Defiant'' scenes were filmed on ''Deep Space Nine''{{'}}s standing set.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|pp=324}} Some set designs took inspiration from the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' film series, ''Star Wars'' and ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.{{sfn|Frakes|2005}}<ref name=improved/>

The [[Extra-vehicular activity|spacewalk]] scene on the ''Enterprise'' exterior was one of the most challenging sets to envision and construct for the film. The production had to design a [[space suit]] that looked practical rather than exaggerated. Fans were built into the helmets so that the actors would not get overheated, and neon lights built into the front so that the occupant's faces could be seen. When the actors first put the helmets on, the fully enclosed design made it hard to breathe; after a minute of wearing the suit Stewart became ill, and shooting was discontinued.{{sfn|Nemecek|2003|p=330}} The set for the ship's outer hull and deflector dish were built on [[gimbal]]s at Paramount's largest [[sound stage]],{{sfn|Magid|1996|p=72}} surrounded by [[Chroma key|bluescreen]] and rigged with wires for the [[zero gravity]] sequences.{{sfn|Frakes|2005}} The stage was not large enough to accommodate a full-sized replica of the ''Enterprise'' dish, so Zimmerman had to scale down the plans by 15&nbsp;percent.{{sfn|Kaplan|1996|p=24}}