Associates and Ferren Associates and Ferren was the that was contracted to provide the visual effects for . Founded in 1978 by its namesake , cinematographer Bran Ferren , and originally located in Long Island , New York City , the company at first started out as a a research house for developing cinematographic equipment and techniques . Very soon afterwards it started to produce visual effects , first for commercials , and later on for motion picture productions as well , with " Tempest " ( 1982 ) its first motion picture credit , and winning awards for " Little Shop of Horrors " ( 1986 ) . Apart from the above - mentioned productions , Associates ' only other visual effects motion picture credits were " Hannah and Her Sisters " ( 1986 ) , " Funny " ( 1989 ) , " Making Mr . Right " ( 1987 ) , " The Untouchables " ( 1987 ) , and " Second Sight " ( 1989 ) . Associates and Ferren ceased its existence in October 1993 , when it was absorbed into Walt Disney Imagineering , as Ferren took on a position as Senior Vice President – Creative Technology in that company . Star Trek V : The Final Frontier . In 1988 , the company was sought out by the producers of " Star Trek " to produce the visual effects for the upcoming feature . As to why the company , by then located in Hoboken , New Jersey ( though still maintaining a subsidiary facility in New York City ) , was chosen , William Shatner , a bit derogatory perhaps as far as Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) was concerned , has elaborated , " " Having begun our search for magic at ILM , we were dismayed to find that most of that firm ' s best technicians , the A team , were already hard at work on the Steven Spielberg / Lucas collaboration " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " . At the same time , a good portion of the B team were putting together the effects for " Ghostbusters II " . We knew that the best ILM could offer simply wasn ' t their best , and for that reason , we tested the water by asking a number of companies all over Hollywood to audition for the job on " Star Trek IV " , fronting each of them $ 10 , 000 and asking that they do their best to create a striking and unusual image of God . We found our winner in . . . Hoboken , New Jersey . " " ( " Star Trek Movie Memories " , pp . 298 - 300 ) However , years later , in 2010 , Executive Producer Ralph Winter candidly admitted that , as far as he was concerned , other considerations also came into play , " " We felt like we got taken advantage of by ILM and so we shopped to go to other places . We found a guy in New York , Bran Ferren , who had a pretty good approach to doing the effects , but ultimately they were horrible . " " Winter ' s assessment of Ferren ' s " good approach " , no doubt reinforced by the fact that the company earned a Academy Award nomination in the category " Best Effects , Visual Effects " the previous year for " Little Shop of Horrors " , was also impressed upon would - be director Shatner . Shatner recalled , " " Traveling to Ferren ' s studio , he almost immediately dispensed with the small talk and dragged us into his workshop . Once inside , he showed us that without complicated opticals , lenses , or computer - generated graphics , he could conjure up effects that were truly magical . With a small centrifuge whooshing amid a large aquarium - style tank , a whirlpool quickly developed , ultimately running almost perpendicularly through the center of the redesigned guppy house . Now adding a few chemicals to the tank while smiling broadly , not unlike the Sorcerer ' s Apprentice , Ferren clicked on a few lights , creating a blinding column of light , and held us enthralled in his low - tech wizardry . We signed him on the spot . " " ( " Star Trek Movie Memories " , p . 300 ) Signed on to do all the visual effects for the feature , what Shatner had witnessed was pretty much the technique Ferren would use in creating the Great Barrier effect , as later featured in the movie . Eventually , the film proved to be a less than cordially received outing in the " Star Trek " film series for . Part of the reasons were the visual effects of which Winters commented , " " And , unfortunately I almost killed the franchise in terms of the visual effects . ( . . . ) And the combination of a story that was not working , it just wasn ' t commercial , the effects were terrible – we almost killed the franchise , it almost died . " " As far as the " God " sequence was concerned , Ferren conceded in 1990 , " " The FX turned to out to be very disappointing , and this was a movie that we really needed them to put us over the top story - wise . Especially at the climax with the horde of rock gargoyles . You don ' t ever like to say that because you don ' t want to think that a movie is dependent on special FX . Certainly , " Star Trek " is the kind of thing where the FX play less of a role than the characters and the story , but I think that the story we were telling this time , at least at the movie ' s end , very much needed unique and convincing special FX to make those story points work . Those FX don ' t quite deliver , and in some cases , it looked a little shoddy and ludicrous . " " Apart from this , Associates and Ferren encountered many more problems during the production . Organized as a flexible organization with a core of about forty staffers , Ferren was forced to subcontract a large number of additional personnel and companies , as the production proved to be the most effects - laden project the company had ever embarked upon . Among the subcontractors were Gregory Jein , Inc . , to help out Associates ' own model shop , as well as Peter Wallach Enterprises for the , with which Ferren ' s company had no experience , due to his aversion to the technique . ( " Cinefex " , issue 42 , p . 51 ; " American Cinematographer " , July 1989 , p . 76 ) Another serious setback was the vandalism performed on the " Enterprise " model that had to be addressed at great expense . All these additional problems contributed to the visual effects as being perceived sub - par , especially in comparison to ILM .