How does Star Trek do all those special effects?

Answer 1

Special Effect scenes are usually done with a combination of a CGI Guide Model of (for example) a starship shot on a green screen. The model is usually on guide wire and set into a position that needs to be captured for the final scene. The camera takes a picture of the model in the position required and then the model is placed in the next position ready for the next capture. This is repeated until the scene requirements are fullfilled and the resulting data is fed into a computer. Programs like Maya and 3d Studio Max are then used to overlay Computer Generated images to complete the scene.