Macrocosm Visual Effects #1

TREKCORE > VOY > EPISODES > MACROCOSM > BEHIND THE SCENES > 2

Dan Curry: "In the episode Voyager encounters large scale viruses. And when we were coming up with a design for those inspired by the design of diatoms which are a microscopic organism on Earth that is used as part of a swimming pool filter system, dyed a tenacious earth to make them look nasty and threatening. Instead of having the normal rigid exoskeleton that a real diatom has, we changed the prongs on its tetrahedronal shape into grasping tentacles. And then for the stinger a full-scale stinger would be like this (displays model) And there were a couple of scenes where they had to push through the turbolift door and squirt their poison on people."
 

     

     

 
Dan Curry: "And there was one scene where Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway was having a close encounter with a giant virus, and as she was laying on the floor it kept trying to sting her in the face. So just out of frame I was standing with this, and making sure I didn't hit her in the face but poking it so Kate could avoid doing it, and when it was over we had a lot of laughs because it certainly was bizarre and very unpleasant-looking."

     

     

 

 
     

The computer-generated image of the macrovirus which attacks Janeway was added in post-production. To make it easier to put in the footage of the CG creature later, Kate Mulgrew filmed her dodging movements against a blue screen. When acting Janeway as she seizes hold of one of the creature's tentacles, Kate Mulgrew mimed the movements. The CG creature was added to the footage later.
From Janet's Star Trek Voyager Website