Howard A . Anderson , Jr . The choice was a logical one , as , aside from the close proximity to Desilu , the two brothers had already provided the animated title sequence for Desilu ' s main production at the time , " The Lucy Show " . Both brothers jumped at the opportunity with enthusiasm and confidence that they could deliver . The enthusiasm was not lost on Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry , as he wrote in a memo to the head of Desilu Business Affairs , Argyle Nelson on 24 August 1964 , " " I am delighted Anderson and others find the project interesting and fascinating . It will take a lot of corporation and creative thinking to bring this in exciting and on budget . " " ( " The Making of Star Trek " , p . 89 ) Anderson was assigned to design and film the optical effects for the two " Star Trek " pilots along with his brother Darrell , and later the series itself . It was Howard , who brought in Richard C . Datin to construct the two differently sized studio model s of the , as well as matte painter Albert Whitlock , with whom he was already acquainted . In conjuncture with Roddenberry , the brothers worked together to create the transporter beam , starfields and other effects including developing cost effective techniques of integrating matte painting s of alien worlds into live footage . However , as soon as production of the regular series had commenced , it was soon realized that the Anderson brothers were in over their head , as the new television show was the most effects laden show ever produced up to that point in time , and the producers had to employ the services of virtually every other effects houses in existence at the time , besides the Anderson Company . ( " " , p . 262 ) Nevertheless , the Anderson company has remained the lead effects house during the entire run of the " Original Series " . Neither he , not his brother , or any of their production staff for that matter , were ever individually credited for their contributions to " The Original Series " , instead being officially credited collectively under the company name . In 1978 , Anderson was reacquainted with the franchise , after being unsuccessfully sounded out for effects work on " " the year previously , when he helped out graphic artists Lee Cole and Michael Minor with the animation of the bridge console graphics of the refit - USS " Enterprise " as featured in , though he was not credited for it . ( " " , p . 37 ; " " , pp . 127 - 128 ) Howard Anderson rarely made appearances , if at all , in the " Star Trek " convention circuit , but did make a public appearance as a guest of honor , alongside several other " Star Trek " visual effects staffers of all eras , at the June 2001 Visual Effects Society Festival in Los Angeles . At the festival he talked about the original transporter effect and the blue - screen processes for creating matte shots , particularly those that superimposed the starship " Enterprise " over a star field , though he admitted , " " Blue screen was primitive even then — the stars showed through the ship every now and then , but we got by . " " Career outside " Star Trek " . Howard Anderson started to work in his father ' s company in the early 1930s , while he was still a pre - adelescent . He acquired a mathematics degree at the University of California , Los Angeles and upon graduation worked for Douglas Aircraft Company , shooting industrial films . These early projects included documenting construction of the first B - 19 airplane and the company ' s public relations film " We Give Them Wings " . His budding cinematographic career was interrupted by World War II , during which he served in the US Navy . After the war he returned in his father ' s employ and has , prior to " Star Trek " worked on the movies " Riders of the Pony Express " ( 1949 ) , " Prehistoric Women " ( 1950 ) , " The Man with My Face " and " Slaughter Trail " ( both 1951 ) , the Mexican movie " El corazón y la espada " ( 1953 , experimenting with some of the earliest applications of 3D ) , " Nightmare " , " Curucu , Beast of the Amazon " and the documentary " Unidentified Flying Objects : The True Story of Flying Saucers " ( all three 1956 ) , and " Invasion of the Saucer Men " ( 1957 ) . By this time he and his brother had taken over the company from their father , and he continued to accumulate credits for productions such as " The Time Machine " ( 1960 , one of the laurels of Wah Chang ) , " Jack the Giant Killer " and " Taras Bulba " ( both 1962 ) . His contributions to the 1968 war movie " Tobruk " earned him an Academy Award nomination , which he shared with Albert Whitlock , the matte painter Anderson brought in to work on " Star Trek " . After " Star Trek " , Anderson accumulated few other individual credits , such as " My World and Welcome to It " ( 1969 ) , " The Dirt Gang " ( 1972 ) and the 1971 science fiction television movie " Earth II " , which featured Gary Lockwood . However his company racked up a multitude of credits , which he , as a hands - on manager , had a large part in . It resulted for example in his 1970 Emmy Award nomination for " My World and Welcome to It " ( 1969 ) . His decades long association with the production of opticals and visual effects resulted in an honorary Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 2007 , as well as a 2004 President ' s Award of the American Society of Cinematographers ( ASC ) , into which he was inducted . Anderson continued the tradition started by his father , and named his oldest son " Howard A . Anderson III " , who took over the company when his father retired . Incidentally , how much the family tradition was upheld was evidenced by the fact that young Howard III , helped out on stage during the production of " The Original Series " by flipping the light switches for the running lights on the large " Enterprise " model , while his father was filming the model . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 27 , No . 11 / 12 , p . 64 ) Anderson passed away of cardiac dysrhythmia on 27 september 2015 , at the age of 95 . Emmy Award nomination . Unlike his brother , Howard Anderson was not nominated for an individual Emmy Award for his work on " Star Trek " , but , on behalf of his company , he and his brother received the following Emmy Award nomination in the category Special Classification of Individual Achievements : Special Photographic Effects :