Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Production

Production

DS9 was the second Star Trek TV show to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for exterior space shots, the first being Star Trek: Voyager, from Season 3 onward. Although other television shows such as seaQuest, Space: Above and Beyond, and Babylon 5 had used CGI exclusively to avoid the high expense of model photography, the Star Trek franchise continued primarily using models for exterior space shots, because it was felt models provided more realism. DS9 started using Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse in 1997 (Seasons 6 and 7) for its effects as part of the ongoing storyline of the Dominion occupation of the station. However, the Deep Space Nine station itself remained a physical model throughout the series' seven-year run except for the final scene of the series. In October 2006, the physical model of the station was sold for $132,000 in an auction at Christie's auction house in New York City.

The opening sequence was likewise modified around the time the Star Trek: Voyager series launched, most notably by the introduction of CGI inserts of construction work being performed on the station's exterior by suited maintenance crews, and more docking and launching activity by ships, along with subtle colored wisps of nebulae added to the background starfield. Accordingly, the solo trumpet (preceded by a solo French horn) featured prominently in the main theme by Dennis McCarthy to accentuate the lonely isolation of the outpost was now augmented by a chorus of brass as the station attained a more bustling atmosphere following the presence of the wormhole.

The USS Defiant was the first full-fledged starship in the Star Trek franchise to have a CGI model used in regular production. It was first built and animated by VisionArt, which was responsible for the morphing of Odo. The CGI Defiant was featured heavily in the Season 4 episode "Starship Down", where it battled a CGI Jem'Hadar ship in a CGI gas giant's atmosphere.