Frederick G . Alba Frederick " Eric " G . Alba , also credited as Eric Alba , is a ( VFX ) artist who worked on , , and between 1993 and 1995 . He was credited as a VFX associate on and as a VFX assistant on ; his contributions to " Deep Space Nine " and " Generations " were not credited . In 1993 Alba joined the " Star Trek " visual effects staff . His tenure on " Star Trek " constituted his first professional job , and he has remarked , " " I held a swing position on postproduction . At the time we were shooting " The Next Generation " and " Deep Space Nine " , and I worked for both productions . " Star Trek " was my first TV show and my first visual effects job , so I always say that " TNG " and " DS9 " were my film school , since I never actually went to one . I learned a lot about teamwork and what a collaborative art form filmmaking is , even at TV level . My mentors Dan Curry and Rob Legato and Gary Hutzel were all generous with their time and willing to teach me . I was in a very unique situation – a very young kid who was allowed to learn all of this stuff at the beginning , before computer graphic imaging was everywhere . " " ( " " , p . 500 ) During his " Star Trek " tenure , he received Emmy Award certificates for his contributions to and . At this time he used the name Frederick G . Alba ; in later work , he used ( and continues to use ) the name Eric Alba . More recently , Alba , a prolific still photographer , has contributed to the 2012 book , " " , providing privately shot behind - the - scenes photographs for publication therein , he took when he was employed by the franchise . On he occasion of the passing of his former " Star Trek " VFX Supervisor Hutzel in February 2016 , Alba posted a large behind - the - scenes photo album on Career outside " Star Trek " . Having started out his VFX career as a VTR operator and editor working for National Video Post prior to his tenure at " Star Trek " , Eric Alba began working for Northwest Imaging and FX as a visual effects supervisor and producer in 1995 , pursuant his " Star Trek " tenure . While at Northwest , he worked as a visual effects supervisor on the television series " Sliders " , " Strange Luck " , " American Gothic " , " Profit " , " Highlander " , " Sabrina the Teenage Witch " and " The Burning Zone " , as well as several TV movies ( including the 1996 " Doctor Who " TV movie ) . From 1998 to 1999 , Alba worked for Digital Anvil as a facility visual effects producer and game art production manager . While with Digital Anvil , he served as facility visual effects producer for the film " Wing Commander " . In the late ' 90s and early ' 00s , Alba was a facility visual effects supervisor / producer for Paramount Studios Digital Design , Xaos Inc . , Silicon Illusions and Charlex . He also worked as the head of 3D production and as a producer for Imagineasia . From 2003 to 2005 , Alba worked as post - production and visual effects supervisor on the PBS / National Geographic documentary series " Strange Days on Planet Earth " . His work on this series was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft : Graphic & Artistic Design category . Since 2006 , Alba has been a freelance visual effects supervisor and producer , working primarily on short - form projects such as commercials and music videos . Recent long - form projects include episodes of " Gossip Girl " and " The Sopranos " , as well as the films " Inside Man " and " Drive Angry " .