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One of the preferred thing aboutStar Trekto any bonafide Trekkie is the gadgets . We love to test , haunt over and collect prop replicas from every looping of the franchise in TV and film . One of the ( many ) concerns of long timeStar Trekfans has been : What will the phaser , communicator and tricorder seem like ? How will they compare to the iconic designs of The Original Series ?
Today we have a few answers for you thanks to Russell Bobbitt , a holding master ( aka prop master ) with over 20 years of experience . Russell was in charge of all props on theStar Trekset , and also do work onIron Manand is now working onIron Man 2 .
I had skip for a more interactive interview , but due to proficient issue it had to be conducted via email . In any case here are a few answers for you about not onlyStar TrekbutIron Man 2as well . Enjoy !
Do you have personal experience / love of those properties - comics , television , etc . , and if so , how do you palpate about pose to see and manage iconic element of those properties in person ?
I was not a comic book kind of cat mature up and that ’s challenging to the directors that I do work with , because I am not bond to what " should be . " I am open to different interpretations on airscrew , which allows for enhancing a story with no restriction . So often big mind will never be develop because the lore of what has been created in the yesteryear . It is a end of mine to aid develop Modern looks and ideas that assist in move a story forward .
Original series and newStar Trekmovie Communicator ( toy versions )
How do you find about the change / modernisation of the iconic props ofStar Trekcompared to the originals ?
The greatest challenge in the modernization of iconic props of any kind is to meet both the fan and the non - buff visually by coming up with ways to portray the props as recognizable for the fan , as potential and to add enough tech for the non - fan , to make it believable as a prop that would exist in the environment that we are creating . It is very challenging . For representative the original communicator had elements that at the time were very futuristic looking but by today ’s standards would not be futuristic . In fact , by today ’s standards we now have the coolest most futurist communicators in existence ; they ’re call cellphone phones .
So what ’s a prop cat to do ? I connected with Nokia , their engineer and we asked ourselves , " What will it be 400 twelvemonth in the future ? " We did some conceptual drawings and build a $ 50,000.00 epitome communicator . Who knows , with any luck you may see one in the movie .
Original serial publication and newStar Trekmovie Phaser ( toy dog version )
Is the new phaser really all chrome in the film as depicted in the toy version we ’ve discover ? It does n’t seem like a very logical option , especially for the hairgrip .
No , the new phaser is not " all " chrome but it is very easy to manage . I feel powerfully that when the first phaser was invented , someone had to " think outside the boxwood " and in twist the interview had to think outside the boxwood as well . I cogitate it would be too easy to take on that a property would never commute . It would n’t be a challenge for the movie maker or the lover if nothing ever change . What come with the modification is speculation , possible derision and potential praise - but never in that order and never all three simultaneously . My goal , whether ripe , bad , or immaterial , is to give the public something to talk about . By the way , the young phaser is very nerveless and the collectors are already knocking ( pounding ) on my door . Sorry aggregator , I am not in cut-rate sale .
Original series ( prop replica ) and raw ( toy)Star Trekmovie Tricorder ( not to scale )
How bombastic is the tricorder as compared to the original from TOS ? It ’s not as small as a TNG tricorder , is it ?
There were several particular where we made great leaps in purpose choice . One is the Tricorder . I present a TOS Tricorder to the actors and their response was that the sizing was too big with the amount of action there is in our film . So I immediately went to my ace - in - the - hole clothes designer , Doug Brody , an adamant trekker who became our technical school consultant . I give him the task of designing a smaller version of the Tricorder , which would not be like any other , but would let in all the elements needed to scan the environs appropriately .
What sorts of prop will you be creating / developing for the newIron Manmovie ?
The newIron Manmovie is no confidential , however I ’m under contract not to apportion any privileged information pertaining to script and narration . I can say that I am responsible for creating and building all of the RTs ( Repulsor Technology ) for all of theIron Mansuits . We will be introducing some newfangled tech in many different scenes in the film . Again , I ’m challenged with trying to up the ante , compared to what we did in the firstIron Man . We have a few tricks up our arm .
Favreau has state that the armor will become more sophisticated in subsequent films … any design change that you may point out on forIron Man 2 ? Is it comfortable for him to put on and take off ?
You mention , " Favreau say that the armour is becoming more advanced . " While we still have sentence prior to shot , we are constantly developing in effect way of creating , engineering and getting in and out of all courting .
Do you ever get to keep cool and important props from any of the films you lick on ? Do you have a collection of allege thing ?
I used to pull in a lot of the prop from the film I worked on . However I had no estimation that my film resume would grow to the symmetry that it did and the space need to fit that turn of props would be Brobdingnagian - much more space than I have . So I stopped . Within my " Prop Kit , " however there are probably some 500 lookout man , 300 pair of sunglass and hundreds of anchor ring that have been worn by everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Robert De Niro . The most memorable items for me are snapshots and stills taken on the set of me working with an regalia of wonderful actors , directors , producers and crew . I have a wall dedicated in my shop class to the entire photo collection - literally a " Wall of Fame . " you may find a few of those shots in the gallery onRussellBobbitt.com
And in closing , Russell had this substance for longsighted timeStar Trekfans :
We all will have different interpretations of what should or should not be in life . In films , the stunner is that we produce the past , present , and future . In the case of the futurity …. be unfastened to modify and you may " survive long and prosper . "
So there you have it , a peep inside the head of one of the folks responsible for redesigning the Trek universe of discourse . I hope you enjoyed it !
whiz Trekopens on May 8 , 2009 .
