Most of our control panels and displays are large photographic 
transparencies designed by Mike Okuda and Cari Thomas using Adobe 
Illustrator, as well as conventional pen-and-ink techniques. These large 
sheets of film are mounted on Plexiglas sheets and backlit with electronic 
ÒblinkiesÓ by the Star Trek special mechanical effects department under the 
supervision of Dick Brownfield. The result is a very clean Òhigh techÓ look to 
our panels. When a panel must be seen in close-up, Mike often creates 
animated readouts on his Macintosh II computers using such programs as 
Macromind Director, SupermacÕs Pixel Paint, and ParacompÕs Swivel 3D. 
The resulting graphics are directly outputted to videotape using a Raster Ops 
board. The visual effects department is then responsible for digitally 
superimposing these displays onto the control panels in postproduction.