The Viper speeds down the launch tube of the Battlestar Galactica (left) while a group of Vipers head toward the Cylons to do battle.

The project came together quickly. Generally the art department designs the spaceships, but due to the tight schedule production designer Richard Hudolin passed the bulk of the exterior design to the vfx team. Hutzel was pleased: “In the past I’ve had a lot of problems dealing with designs that are beautiful on paper, but we can’t make work in 3D.” A 2D drawing can imply that a line goes from here to there, but when you physically create it the lines need to connect or it doesn’t look like the drawing. As key modeler, Stringer superbly executed the exterior design of the ships. Hutzel worked with Hudolin to make the interiors and exteriors work together. There was quite a lot of leeway with most of the ships, but the Galactica and Lara’s liner had to relate directly to the interiors. The liner is a transport, the 747 of the future. Hudolin’s concern that the set would fit inside was satisfied when Hutzel confirmed that his team had measured it out and even included the production designer’s chairs through the windows.

The famous red eye of the Cylon fighter ship (left), which disables the Mk7 vipers, is visible here. The Viper is blown apart (right) by a Cylon. A few flames were shot as live-action pyro elements, but everything else, including additional flames, were created via CGI.

The team’s directive was to create a whole new Battlestar Galactica that didn’t necessarily depart from the original show. Hutzel was intrigued with the idea of retro sci-fi. He wanted to do a futuristic space show with real rocket ships, real engines and real limitations. “You don’t just fly as fast as you want to go as far as you want. You don’t fly faster than light. None of this silly, which flat light on this panel do I push to make the ship go?” For engines in Star Trek, a glow is added on the back end of the ship. On the Galactica, the engine fires up and jets shoot out. It’s a visual dialog that people understand. Those details were more difficult to achieve, requiring a lot of research and development in a short period of time. The real science concept also enforces the show’s premise that the only way to defeat the Cylons is to use human skill and retro technology.

In post, Rymer sat with the animators, directing the animation in the same way that he would direct on a set. Cooper fine-tuned finals to make the cuts flow smoother. Unlike houses that lock effects, Hutzel and Zoic changed vfx to an unprecedented level as the edit evolved — an unheard of process on a television show. The whole approach to the show came from a Mission Statement that Moore wrote. He wanted to reinvent science fiction. In reinventing the process of vfx design, Hutzel and his team at Zoic contribute to that goal and the success of Battlestar Galactica.

Mary Ann Skweres is a filmmaker and freelance writer. She has worked extensively in feature film and documentary post-production with credits as a picture editor and visual effects assistant. She is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild.