Production Wrap

This page details how the final cut changed (and didn’t change) based on the September and October screenings.

Spock’s Evil Vision. [Cut] I had long believed and argued with conviction that the value of this sequence was providing a much-needed bridge between the ominous tone established at the start of Act I and the events of Act III. Without it, viewers might wander back into the familiar feel of The Final Frontier. However, the screening results suggested that viewers could make no sense of its appearance or imagery. Ironically, the images (all of which are scraps from cutting) were meant to be weird and nonsensical, but this fact itself eluded everyone who screened.

I would later realize another reason to cut it: Spock never speaks of the experience with Kirk, and that requires some explanation.

Brig Brother Scene. [Edited] The re-edited dialogue and narrative were already solid here, but some of the shot re-ordering betrayed production quality whenever D. Kelley was shown to be standing on a slightly different mark. The solution was wonderfully simple and I now consider the Brig Brother scene to be perfect in both substance and execution.

Spock’s Fat Joke. [Intact] The screening results suggested that this dialogue edit should be cut, so I followed up and re-watched the scene without Spock’s new bit. This particular edit had been crafted about one year ago, and I recalled why it was a fine editing decision in the first place. To understand what I’m talking about, you’ll need to think like an editor for a moment.

You see, Spock was never meant to be part of the scene as depicted in BTB. There is only footage of him entering the scene and later appearing with gravity boots. Even when trimmed, the new climbing scene is sufficiently long that it feels too peculiar to watch Kirk and McCoy—and no one else—climb past the camera more than once. Having Spock say something off-camera goes a long way to selling the illusion that he’s there. Add to this the fact that most of the crew really were looking a bit bloated in Star Trek V and I feel compelled to stand my ground, for the utterance is not only technically vital to the scene, but also contextually in-line with the movie’s lighthearted moments.

Many Faces. [Edited]. The original effect of introducing various God faces was re-worked to telegraph sooner that each member of the landing party is being enraptured by a personalized form of God; otherwise viewers might not pick up on this fact until Spock is attacked.

However, it appears that these changes neither help the effect as intended nor do they makes things worse. I therefore opted to continue using the new effect on the chance that viewers might see it as a more intriguing start to the entity’s turnabout.

God Attacks Shuttle. [Edited] The screening process was successful in teasing out confusion and uncertainty linked to the principle beast, and it turns out that this scene contributed the most damage. My original treatment of this scene updated the evil entity, but it still appeared to Kirk as light energy. By implying that the Beast had inexplicably reverted to its ghostly form and followed Kirk to the shuttle, I made it harder for viewers to follow brand new shots at the stone pillars where the Beast’s essence is sucked away by the Keeper.

It should be easier for viewers to orient themselves to the final battle if the Beast plays the role of commander and the minions are involved in the actual confrontations. Thus, this scene was re-worked so that it appears a minion is attacking the shuttle to chase out Kirk.

The Beast Rises. [Edited] In connection with the above-mentioned scene, this shot now includes dialogue attributed to the Beast commanding its minions, “Bring them to me.”