(written from a Production point of view)
Lee Stringer is a visual effects artist, employed from 1999 through 2001 at Foundation Imaging, who has worked as visual effects animator on Star Trek: Voyager, the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise, and as animator on the Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition).
The most signature contribution Stringer made to the Director's Edition, has been his co-build with Robert Bonchune of the CGI Enterprise model. "To help create this, Foundation Imaging was charged with creating and completing many visual effects shots and scenes. A version highly detailed computer model of the USS Enterprise was required. Starting with two CGI models provided by VFX Supervisor Daren Dochterman and Jose Perez, I was responsible with creating the Primary Hull (Saucer), the Bridge and Warp Nacelles (Engines). Helped by having unlimited access to the original filming miniature, the finished model replicates the look and details of the filmed version to blends the new elements and shots seamlessly into the film," Stringer clarified on his contribution. [1] Stringer has been interviewed in the "Redirecting The Future"-special on the DVD of the Director's Edition.
Shortly after completing the Director's Edition commission, Foundation Imaging closed its doors, and most former employees of the company moved over to newly formed effects company Eden FX, to continue working on Star Trek: Enterprise. However, Stringer opted not to follow his former co-workers into the employ of Eden FX, instead seeking his fortunes elsewhere. Nevertheless, he did afterwards make a few contributions to the successful Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar series as co-illustrator.
Despite having left the franchise, Stringer was on two occasions shortly reacquainted with Star Trek; in 2004, while employed at Threshold Digital Research Labs, he worked as digital artist on the Star Trek: The Experience film Borg Invasion 4D, alongside Fabio Passaro, and under the supervision of Adam Lebowitz, who reprised the same role he had at Foundation (and who, like Stringer, had opted not to join Eden FX).
A later unofficial contribution Stringer made, was his work as visual effects supervisor on the fan-made internet series Star Trek: New Voyages episode "World Enough and Time" in 2007.
Career outside Star Trek
Hailing from Great Britain, Stringer first worked worked in IT operations and support for JP Morgan Bank in London, before changing career direction, brought on by the fact that his, "interest in filmmaking, miniatures and effects began at an early age watching the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds and Space 1999 while growing up in Great Britain". [2] Stringer started his motion picture career in the visual effects department as model maker with credits on the science fiction series Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the science fiction film Twilight of the Dogs (1995), the science fiction film First Encounter (1997), and the video game F-Zero X (1998). During that period, Stringer operated his own company "Digital EFX".
After having moved to the United States, Stringer joined Foundation Imaging in June 1999. He then worked as CGI animator, apart from Star Trek, on the animated series Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999) and as digital artist on the television series Angel, Jonathan Frakes' television movie Star Patrol (2000, with visual effects supervisor David Takemura), David E. Duncan's science fiction film The Privateers (2000, starring Karl Urban), the video game Twisted Metal: Black (2001), and the fantasy film Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001). During his tenure at Foundation, he also served, alongside Randy Sharp, as instructor at its Foundation Institute, the instructional facility where the skills of new and existing employees alike were honed and furthered.
Pursuant the closure of Foundation Imaging he worked for Zoic Studios (2002-2005) and Scarlet Digital (2004-2005) and accrued during that period credits in the visual effects department that included the television movie Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future (2001), the action film The Extreme Team (2003), the science fiction pilot The Robinsons: Lost in Space (2004), the science fiction television movie NYPD 2069 (2004), the animated series Captain Scarlet (2005), Joss Whedon's science fiction film Serenity (2005), the short film Teddy Scares (2006), and the documentary series Nova ScienceNow (2007). Stringer earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special for his work on the television thriller Superfire in 2002, shared with his former Foundation boss Ron Thornton, Jonathan Rothbart, Sherry Hitch, and John Allardice and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series for the Firefly episode "Serenity" in 2003, shared with Kristen Branan, Emile Edwin Smith, Kyle Toucher, and Jarrod Davis. In between, from 2005-2007, Stringer took on a teaching position as Director of Special Projects at the Digital Animation and Visual Effects School, Orlando, Florida.
Yet, the most notable project he has worked on at Zoic, was Ronald D. Moore's remake of the science-fiction television series classic Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), specifically his work on the "hero"-ship itself. This work earned him two additional Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series in 2004 and 2005 which he shared with, aside from Gary Hutzel,Jarrod Davis and Gabriel Köerner, a host of former Foundation co-workers that included, Emile Edwin Smith, Kevin Quattro, Kyle Toucher, Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, and Aram Granger. In 2004 he was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial, shared with Gabriel Köerner and Jose Perez, and won a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Miniseries, Movie or a Special, shared with Gary Hutzel, Kristen Branan, and Emile Edwin Smith.
From 2005 onward, Stringer worked as free-lancer, and in 2007 he wrote and directed the short film Tofu the Vegan Zombie in Zombie Dearest on which he worked as editor followed by an occupation as director on the short fantasy film Creepers (2007). He worked as CGI supervisor in the employment of Lucasfilm Animation, Singapore, on the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2009). More recently he worked on the television productions Trenches (2010), Terra Nova (2011 – Pixomondo Visual Effects) and Exit Strategy (2012). As CGI/visual effects supervisor he has worked on the movies Iron Sky and Renee (both 2012).
Bibliography
- Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendars – Co-illustrator
External links
- LeeStringer.com – official site
- Lee Stringer at the Internet Movie Database
- Lee Stringer at LinkedIn.com
- Lee Stringer at Battlestar Wiki