Robert "Rob" Legato is a visual effects supervisor, second unit director, and second unit director of photography. He was a model supervisor for the production of The Orville.
Background[]
Legato worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1992, and on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993. For his work on Star Trek, Legato was nominated for three Emmy's and won two.
The Orville[]
Creator Seth MacFarlane actively sought development specialists with experience in classic science-fiction of the 1980s and 1990s to re-create its look and feel for his new show. For that MacFarlane turned to Rob Legato: "[The Next Generation] was a favorite of Seth MacFarlane, and so he basically made his own Star Trek style motion control shots for the new show."[1] Legato believed an actual model of the ship would look more believable. He tapped Glenn Derry of The Fox VFX Lab (at the time called Technoprops) for assistance and together they designed a five-foot model of the ship on a computer to be 3D printed. After, they painted it and installed lighting.[2]
The VFX Lab filmed a five-foot model of the USS Orville for eight days. The model was internally lit and highly detailed. The finished product was used by visual effects supervisor Luke McDonald to generate shots of the Orville in space.
Shortly before the show premiered, MacFarlane cited working with Legato as one of his most enjoyable experiences on set:
For me, one of the biggest thrills was working with Rob Legato, the model designer, because most spaceship work now is, with some exceptions, done in CGI. I was always fascinated by the craftsmanship of building a model or making a matte painting, things that actually existed. That’s why I always prefer actual sets to CGI environments. And the Orville itself is a physical model built by Rob Legato’s team. And that was really exciting for me to sit there and watch this camera move around the ship the way it did the way they did Star Wars in the ’70s. And I remember thinking, 'God, this is probably the last time I’m ever going to see something like this happen.'[3]
External links[]
- Video promotional featuring MacFarlane and Legato
- Interview with Legato
See also[]
- The World of the Orville, page 12
References[]
- ↑ Seymour, Mike. "Fox buys Technoprops: Glenn Derry to head Fox's VFX". fxguide. April 6, 2017.
- ↑ "Seth MacFarlane Explains How The Orville Takes Flight | Season 1 | THE ORVILLE". The Orville. Sept. 9, 2017.
- ↑ Bennett, Tara. "SETH MACFARLANE WANTS TO RECLAIM SCI-FI WITH THE ORVILLE". SyFy Wire. Sept. 8, 2017.