In-Universe:
A very short scene of the U.S.S. Defiant as it dodges phaser fire from Jem'Hadar ships.
Production:
"It's prohibitively expensive for Deep Space Nine," Hutzel says of CGI. "Dan set out with Star Trek: Voyager to create a new look, but we have a show that is established. And nobody's going to accept a CGI Defiant that has that kind of texture to it, so we're forced to create really photo-realistic CGI elements that have to be consistent with the look of our show - and it's expensive. Plus, I prefer to photograph the ships, especially a beautiful ship like the Defiant, or the station."
Probably the most traditionally impressive show in visual effects for ST: DS9 this year was "The Die is Cast." No CGI at all was used for the huge Gamma Quadrant battle between scores of the Dominion's Jem'Hadar ships and secret Cardassian and Romulan forces, all filmed at Image G, the off-lot studio where Trek's models and many other effects are filmed live on computerized, or "motion-controlled," rig.
"We started shooting motion-control on February 21, and we delivered on April 21," Hutzel recalls with a long sigh. "We had 20 days of motion-control shooting - a record for a one-hour show." An average shoot at Image G, he adds, is usually two days for an entire episode; five is "extraordinary" - and the climatic "money shot" of the battle when the Defiant blasts right through an oncoming Jem'Hadar ship took four days to shoot.
Gary Hutzel - Star Trek Communicator #105 (Page 57-58)
