On Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, my role was to create and manage VR environments for the Art Department, serving as a critical pre-visualization tool for the entire production.
The primary function was to build immersive, fully-lit virtual sets from the Art Department’s 3D assets. This allowed directors, producers, and department heads in Toronto and Los Angeles to tour and approve sets months before construction began, saving significant money by identifying design issues and preventing costly on-set mistakes.
This VR process was used for specific production challenges:
- Virtual location scouts and planning camera movements.
- Planning visual effects shots involving split-screens across two different sets.
- Visualizing advanced lighting and reflection schemes for key sets.
The fidelity of the VR models to the final built sets was crucial for making creative decisions. Below shows the final shot of the Enterprise bridge as seen in the show.
My talk on the VR development process was part of the Production Design panel at FanExpo Canada in 2019. My segment, timestamped below, begins at the 45-minute mark.
