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Observations in TNG: "The Masterpiece Society"

A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "The Masterpiece Society" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).

"The Masterpiece Society" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
Close to the stellar core fragment, the USS Enterprise-D flies towards Moab IV.				The recomposited shots in HD.

Moab IV as seen on the main viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D.
In this shot, numerous pieces of filming equipment are seen. A microphone boom can be seen above Picard and metallic stands of other pieces of filming equipment can be seen on the left and right frames of the shot.				The microphone and the tripod stands to the left and right of the forward bridge stations were digitally removed in post production.
A colonist behind Aaron Conor is seen holding a large blue PADD. This PADD will be used by Alexander Rozhenko as a toy in "A Fistful of Datas" and is also seen on Tilonus IV in "Frame of Mind".	"A Fistful of Datas"	"Frame of Mind"		The PADD in an HD close-up.
The barren surface of Moab IV can be seen in this beautiful matte painting created for this episode. It was re-used once in "Chain of Command I" where it was used to depict the surface of Torman V.				The foreground was edited for TNG-R to exhibit more surface detail. The clouds were edited too.

The green case held by one of the colonists is similar to the one Ambassador Odan used in "The Host". A similar case, though brown in color, was used by Dirgo in "Final Mission" and Alexander Rozhenko in "New Ground".	"The Host"	"Final Mission"		The case in an HD close-up.
		"New Ground"
The lamps seen in the genome colony have been seen in numerous earlier and later Star Trek episodes. They first appeared on Nimbus III in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and were last seen on Romulus in "Unification I+II". They will next be seen in the season 7 episode "Thine Own Self".	"Star Trek V"	"Unification II"		A look at the lamp in HD.
		"Thine Own Self"
Several maps of the Moab planetary system are seen in this episode. Some small maps can be seen behind Hannah Bates in this shot.				An HD close-up of the map.
The lab in the genome colony is a re-use of the USS Enterprise bridge from the first four Star Trek films. The set was modified and redressed numerous times over the course of the series so it can barely be seen that it was once the bridge of a Federation starship. The set last fully appeared as the interrogation room in "The Drumhead". The console in the background was rented from Modern Props. It also appeared in "11001001" in a Starbase 74 office.	"11001001"	"The Drumhead"		No changes
Some of the blue planetary maps can be seen much better in these shots.		"Pen Pals"		In HD, it can be made out that the primary of the Moab system is Alpha Moab.

Geordi's red engineering PADD can be seen lying on the console. The three spherical light sources in the background were originally created for the geophysical lab seen in "Pen Pals". The domes usually appeared in the science lab aboard the USS Enterprise-D in later episodes.				The lab and the PADD in HD.
The animated graphics in these old-fashioned LCARS displays were added in post production.				The animations were newly created for TNG-R, but in a way that the "primitive" look was preserved.


The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of Moab IV. The planet originally appeared as the similarly barren planets Daled IV and Klavdia III in "The Dauphin". Re-Used Planets in TNG				Moab IV is represented by a new but equally cloudy CG planet in TNG-R.
Hannah Bates and Geordi La Forge use a newly created console to conduct tests on the tractor beam strength of the USS Enterprise-D. The blue glow was added in post production. The prop appeared again in "Imaginary Friend". As can be seen, the prop was modified slightly to hold a gas sample from FGC-47.		"Imaginary Friend"		The consoles in HD.

The small table holding the console first appeared in sickbay in "The Host". It appeared in some later TNG episodes like "Ethics" and "Birthright I", usually in sickbay or main engineering.	"The Host"	"Ethics"
The hostile surface of Moab IV was inserted into the live-action footage in these shots in post production.				In TNG-R we see a digitally reworked planet surface with more detail.


Bates and La Forge have made a breakthrough with the tractor beam modifications as can be seen in this shot modified in post production. The tractor beam now features a red pulse.				The reconstructed effect in TNG-R.
The away team beams down with two prop canisters seen in several earlier episodes. The cylindrical case is normally used as a transporter test cylinder while the small cross-shaped cargo container was first seen on Gamma Hromi II in "The Vengeance Factor".	"The Ensigns of Command"	"The Vengeance Factor"		No changes
The USS Enterprise-D is flying close to the stellar core fragment and is using its ventral tractor beam to push the fragment away from Moab IV. This tractor beam emitter was last used in "Final Mission".		"Final Mission"		The sequence in TNG-R.


Like in the previous episode, the side entry to main engineering can faintly be seen behind Hanna Bates. This angular door is connected to the main corridor set as can be seen in the screenshot from "The Hunted" where the other side of the door appears on the right.	"The Hunted"	"Violations"		No changes
A graphic of the tractor beam strength is seen on this main engineering monitor.				The display was reconstructed for TNG-R.
Hannah Bates uses a small illuminated PADD that was also seen in the season 3 episode "The Most Toys". The same prop appeared in many later episodes, like "Frame of Mind" and "Gambit II". In the former, it still displayed the same blue graphic as here.	"The Most Toys"	"Frame of Mind"		An HD close-up of the prop.
	VOY: "Remember"	"Gambit II"
The surface of Moab IV was added into this window in post production. The same set piece was seen earlier in the episode. In that case, it was not used as a window but rather as parts of a flower bed.		Earlier in this episode		A different landscape was used for TNG-R.
A similar sculpture of a female torso was also seen on Starbase 173 in "The Measure of a Man". In that episode, the sculpture was painted metallic gray. In this episode, the male counterpart to this art piece is also briefly seen.		"The Measure of a Man"		HD close-ups of the scuplture.

Hannah Bates's small PADD can again be seen lying on the central console in the lab on Moab IV. The console was especially created for this episode and went on to appear in several later TNG episodes including on the USS Raman in "Interface".		"Interface"		The consoles in HD.
The aforementioned console can be seen a little better in this shot. An interesting PADD with some raised surface details is seen lying on the console here. The two consoles in the background were rented from Modern Props. The console on the left was also seen on the Regula I station in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and in Dr. Ira Graves's lab in "The Schizoid Man" while the console on the right also appeared in the science lab on Ventax II in "Devil's Due". Consoles by Modern Props in Star Trek	"Star Trek II"	"Devil's Due"
	"The Schizoid Man"
Finally, in this shot it can clearly be seen that the set is a redress of the interrogation room set last seen in "The Drumhead". A small section of the set also appeared as Dr. Ja'Dar's office in "New Ground".	"The Drumhead"	"New Ground"
Some more planetary and stellar maps and the transparent spheres usually seen in the USS Enterprise-D's science lab are seen in this screenshot.		"Suspicions"		The map in HD.
The matte painting of Moab IV appears again in this shot. The shot zooms in into the right side of the matte painting so details of the domed buildings can be made out much better.				Another look at the reworked matte painting.

The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of Moab IV.				The shot with the new planet in TNG-R.
A close-up of the crystal that Picard usually plays with when he has to make a tough decision.				An HD close-up of the crystal.
A last look at Moab IV. The planet appears darker than it did earlier in the episode.				There is no such color discrepancy in TNG-R.

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