Robert Legato

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Robert Legato

Robert "Rob" M. Legato (born 6 May 1956; age 67) is a director and visual effects coordinator from Ocean Township, New Jersey, who worked as such on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Hired in early 1987, Robert Legato started out as visual effects coordinator/supervisor for the franchise and has fulfilled that role for the entirety of his tenure at the franchise. After the production of the pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", it was soon realized that the new show was the most visual effects laden television production of its day, much like its illustrious predecessor, Star Trek: The Original Series was in its. A fourth senior visual effects staffer was deemed necessary to alleviate work pressure on the senior visual effects staff which included up to then, besides Legato, Gary Hutzel and Ronald B. Moore. To that end Dan Curry was brought in, partly on recommendation by his friend Moore. In order to streamline and increase production efficiency, the four were paired in two teams to work on alternating episodes, Legato being paired with Hutzel. The two-team visual effects format went operational halfway through the first season, the 16th episode, "Too Short a Season", being the first episode Moore and Curry worked upon as a team. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 31) The format worked so well, that it has remained in use for almost the entire subsequent run of the Star Trek television franchise, and Legato and Hutzel remained a team ever since.

Promoted to supervisor at the start of second season of The Next Generation, Legato and Hutzel transferred upon the conclusion of that series' fifth season, to the new television production Deep Space Nine to fulfill the same role. Their place on The Next Generation for the remaining two seasons was filled by a new team that consisted of David Stipes and David Takemura. Upon the conclusion of the first season of Deep Space Nine, for which he and Hutzel served as the only senior visual effects staff, supported by Dan Curry and one of the few Star Trek television series seasons that did not utilize the two-team visual effects staff format, Legato decided it was time to move on and left the franchise late 1993 to join Digital Domain. Glenn Neufeld replaced him on Deep Space Nine, while Legato's departure allowed Ronald B. Moore to remain on the franchise as visual effects supervisor for the third spin-off television series Star Trek: Voyager.

Aside from his duties as visual effects supervisor, Robert Legato was also given the opportunity to flex his muscles as director, and has directed two episodes of The Next Generation, third season's "Ménage à Troi" and fourth season's "The Nth Degree" as well as one Deep Space Nine episode, first season's " If Wishes Were Horses". In addition, he directed the 1991 The Star Trek Logs: An MTV Big Picture Special Edition documentary. His work on the Star Trek franchise has earned Legato three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects, as well as two won Emmy Awards.

Arguably, Robert Legato's most memorable achievements, at least were Star Trek's fan-base was concerned, consistently ranking these among their top favorite Star Trek scenes, was the visualization of the Battle of Wolf 359, both the depictions of the aftermath in The Next Generation's, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", and the battle proper in Deep Space Nine's pilot episode, "Emissary". On both occasions, it was Legato who was, by chance, the main responsible supervisor for conceiving and devising the visuals.

Legato's name can be seen on a panel in the episode "The Child" and was referenced in several other episodes as Robert Legato (Vice Admiral)

Before he was hired on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Legato worked at Image G, and it was Legato who was instrumental in bringing in that company as regular motion control photography supplier after the pilot episode. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 60-61)

Career outside Star Trek

While employed at Digital Domain, Interview with the Vampire (1994) being his first post-Star Trek credit, Robert Legato received in 1996 an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects for his work on the drama Apollo 13 which he shared with Star Trek: The Motion Picture visual effects artist Leslie Ekker. Two years later in 1998 he received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on James Cameron's drama Titanic (1997), while the blockbuster science fiction movie Armageddon (1998) was the last work he did for Digital Domain.

After leaving Digital Domain Robert Legato has since then worked as free-lance visual effects supervisor, What Lies Beneath (2000) being his first credit as such. He worked with director Martin Scorsese on the films The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006), both as visual effects coordinator and second unit director. More recent projects include Scorsese's horror thriller Shutter Island (2010) on which he worked as visual effects supervisor and James Cameron's science fiction films Avatar (2009) and Battle Angel (2011) on both as virtual cinematography system creator and visual effects pipeline engineer.

In 2012, Legato won his second Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on Martin Scorcese's adventure Hugo (2011).

Star Trek credits

As Director

• TNG:
  • "Ménage à Troi" (1990)
  • "The Nth Degree" (1991, as Rob Legato)
• DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses" (1993)
• The Star Trek Logs: An MTV Big Picture Special Edition (1991)

As Visual Effects Coordinator/ Visual Effects Supervisor

(This list is currently incomplete.)

• TNG:
  • "Encounter at Farpoint" (Season 1 - Visual Effects Coordinator)
  • "The Naked Now"
  • "Code of Honor"
  • "The Last Outpost"
  • "Where No One Has Gone Before"
  • "Lonely Among Us"
  • "Justice"
  • "The Battle"
  • "Hide and Q"
  • "Haven"
  • "The Big Goodbye"
  • "11001001"
  • "When The Bough Breaks"
  • "Heart of Glory"
  • "Skin of Evil"
  • "We'll Always Have Paris"
  • "The Neutral Zone"
  • "The Child" (Season 2 - Visual Effects Supervisor)
  • "Elementary, Dear Data"
  • "The Schizoid Man"
  • "Unnatural Selection"
  • "The Measure Of A Man"
  • "Contagion"
  • "Time Squared"
  • "Pen Pals"
  • "Samaritan Snare"
  • "Peak Performance"
  • "Evolution" (Season 3 - Visual Effects Supervisor)
  • "Who Watches The Watchers"
  • "Booby Trap"
  • "The Price"
  • "The Defector"
  • "The High Ground"
  • "A Matter of Perspective"
  • "The Offspring"
  • "Allegiance"
  • "Tin Man"
  • "Ménage à Troi"
  • "The Best of Both Worlds"
  • "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" (Season 4 - Visual Effects Supervisor)
  • "Brothers"
  • "Remember Me"
  • "Reunion"
  • "Final Mission"
  • "Data's Day"
  • "Devil's Due"
  • "First Contact" (uncredited)
  • "Night Terrors"
  • "Identity Crisis" uncredited)
  • "The Nth Degree"
  • "The Drumhead"
  • "The Host"
  • "In Theory"
  • "Darmok" (Season 5 - Visual Effects Supervisor)
  • "Silicon Avatar"
  • "The Game"
  • "Unification I"
  • "New Ground"
  • "Violations"
  • "Conundrum"
  • "Ethics"
  • "Cause and Effect"
  • "Cost of Living"
  • "Imaginary Friend" (uncredited)
  • "The Next Phase"
  • "Time's Arrow"
• DS9:

Emmy Awards

Legato received the following Emmy Award wins and nominations in the category Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects:

• 1990 Emmy Award nomination for "Tin Man", shared with Gary Hutzel, Steve Price, Don Greenberg, Erik Nash, Don Lee, and Michael Okuda
• 1991 Emmy Award nomination for "The Best of Both Worlds", shared with Gary Hutzel, David Takemura, Michael Okuda, Don Greenberg, Erik Nash, Steve Price, Syd Dutton, Robert Stromberg, Bill Taylor, and Don Lee
• 1991 Emmy Award nomination for "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", shared with Gary Hutzel, David Takemura, Patrick Clancy, Steve Price, Michael Okuda, Erik Nash, Syd Dutton, Don Lee, and Bill Taylor
• 1992 Emmy Award win for "Conundrum", shared with Gary Hutzel, David Takemura, Patrick Clancey, Adrian Hurley, Adam Howard, Don Lee, and Dennis Hoerter
• 1993 Emmy Award win for "Emissary", shared with with Gary Hutzel, Michael Dallas Gibson, and Dennis Blakey.

Star Trek interviews

• Reading Rainbow, Season 6, Episode 1: "The Bionic Bunny Show" (1988)
• "Rob Legato - Director to "The Nth Degree", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine Vol. 19, pp. 43-47, interviewed by Lee Goldberg
• DS9 Season 1 DVD special feature "Deep Space Nine Scrapbook Year One"/ "Building the Station", interviewed on 30 September 1992)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes (1993)
• Movie Magic, Season 1, Episode 11: "Models and Miniatures: A Model of Perfection" (1994)
• TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Five" ("Visual Effects", "Image G", "Shooting Elements"), interviewed on 4 April 2002
• TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry" ("Gene Roddenberry Building Dedicated to Star Trek's Creator"), interviewed on 4 April 2002

Further reading

• "Special Effects: The Next Generation", David Hutchison, Starlog, issue 132, July 1988, pp. 54-57, 77
• "The Special Effects Of Star Trek", Mitchell Rubinstein, Cinefantastique, Vol 22 #2, 1991, pp. 32-34
• "Rob Legato: Director of 'The Nth Degree'", Lee Goldberg, The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine, issue 19, June 1992, pp. 43-47

External links

• Template:IMDb-link
• Robert Legato at Wikipedia