Syd Dutton Syd Dutton is a visual effects artist , specialized in matte painting s , who worked on several " Star Trek " television series and films . Dutton was interviewed on for the special feature " The Art of Alien Worlds " on the VOY Season 4 DVD . In this special , he explained several matte paintings for episodes such as and , as well as the exterior of the Romulan Senate in . According to the call sheet from Monday , Dutton was picked up at home at 8 : 00 a . m . from the transportation department to work on the matte painting for the episode , including location sketches at the Japanese Garden . Personal and awards . Born as Sydney Richard Dutton in San Francisco , California , Dutton started his career in the matte department at Universal Studios in the late 1970s . He learned from matte expert Albert Whitlock , who provided matte paintings for . In 1983 , Dutton helped form ( along with Bill Taylor ) the effects company Illusion Arts , Inc . , located in Van Nuys , California , which provided matte paintings for several " Star Trek " projects . The company was closed in 2009 and Dutton joined the Culver City - based VFX shop " Zoic Studios " as art director and lead matte artist . During his time on " Star Trek " , Dutton earned two Emmy Award nominations and one win for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects : In 1985 , Dutton won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for the television mini - series " A . D . " , shared with Bill Taylor and Albert Whitlock . Dutton was also two times nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Special Effects : in 1992 , for the horror film " Frankenstein Unbound " , shared with Bill Taylor , and in 2005 , for the fantasy film " Van Helsing " , shared with Scott Squires and Ben Snow . Early career . At the beginning of his career , Dutton worked as matte artist and special effects artist on feature films such as ' s thriller " Family Plot " ( 1976 , with Albert Whitlock and Bill Taylor ) , Joseph Sargent ' s war drama " MacArthur " ( 1977 ) , ' s fantasy musical " The Wiz " ( 1978 ) , the science fiction television movie " Buck Rogers in the 25th Century " ( 1979 , with Scott Squires and David Stipes ) , the comedy " The Blues Brothers " ( 1980 ) , ' comedy " History of the World : Part I " ( 1981 ) , the horror drama " Ghost Story " ( 1981 ) , the fantasy thriller " Cat People " ( 1982 , starring Malcolm McDowell ) , ' s science fiction film " Dune " ( 1984 , with Brad Dourif and Patrick Stewart ) , the drama " The River " ( 1984 ) , the drama " Out of Africa " ( 1985 ) , the fantasy action film " Red Sonja " ( 1985 ) , the science fiction adventure " Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome " ( 1985 ) , the science fiction comedy " Real Genius " ( 1985 ) , the thriller " Clue " ( 1985 ) , the horror sequel " Psycho III " ( 1986 ) , and the action film " The Karate Kid , Part II " ( 1986 ) . Illusion Arts , Inc . . After founding the company Illusion Arts , Inc . , Dutton worked with his company on films including the comedy " Critical Condition " ( 1987 ) , the comedy " Dragnet " ( 1987 ) , ' science fiction comedy " Spaceballs " ( 1987 ) , the war drama " Glory " ( 1989 ) , the fantasy sequel " The Neverending Story II : The Next Chapter " ( 1990 ) , the thriller " Cape Fear " ( 1991 ) , the horror comedy " The Addams Family " ( 1991 , with Christopher Lloyd and Carel Struycken ) , the comedy " Robin Hood : Men in Tights " ( 1993 ) , the comedy " Naked Gun 33 1 / 3 : The Final Insult " ( 1993 ) , ' s comic adaptation " Batman Forever " ( 1995 ) , the comedy " The Birdcage " ( 1996 ) , the fantasy film " Dragonheart " ( 1996 ) , the action thriller " Daylight " ( 1996 ) , the action film " The Mask of Zorro " ( 1998 ) , the horror remake " Psycho " ( 1999 ) , the family movie " Muppets from Space " ( 1999 ) , the superhero comedy " Mystery Men " ( 1999 ) , the science fiction film " Bicentennial Man " ( 1999 ) , ' s mystery thriller " The Gift " ( 2000 ) , the action film " The Fast and the Furious " ( 2001 ) , the mystery thriller " From Hell " ( 2001 ) , the science fiction remake " The Time Machine " ( 2002 ) , the action thriller " The Bourne Identity " ( 2002 ) , the action sequel " 2 Fast 2 Furious " ( 2003 ) , ' s thriller " The Village " ( 2004 ) , the science fiction film " Æon Flux " ( 2005 ) , the fantasy film " The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe " ( 2005 ) , the action sequel " The Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift " ( 2006 ) , the comedy " You , Me and Dupree " ( 2006 ) , the remake " Miami Vice " ( 2006 ) , and the war drama " Defiance " ( 2008 ) . The last contributions of Illusion Arts , Inc . can be seen in the biopic " Milk " ( 2008 ) , the fantasy comedy " Night at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian " ( 2009 ) , and the science fiction thriller " G . I . Joe : The Rise of Cobra " ( 2009 ) .