Tom Barron
Thomas "Tom" Major Barron  is a cinematographer specialized in the techniques of .

Barron's earliest acquaintance with Star Trek was in 1978-1979 during the production of , where he was employed first by Robert Abel & Associates, and secondly by Future General Corporation, when the former was pulled from the project. Because of his involvement with the film, Barron was interviewed in 2016 by Roger Lay, Jr. for the 50th anniversary special feature Star Trek: The Journey to the Silver Screen, Chapter 2: "Maiden Voyage: Making Star Trek: The Motion Picture". During the transition, some of Abel's equipment was not handed over to Future General, and Barron, acting upon a hunch, bought the discarded equipment. That equipment, stored away for some years, became the basis for Barron as he decided to go into business for himself when founding Image G in 1984. Originally located on Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, California, Barron and his company provided motion control services for commercials and movie productions. Some of his earliest employees were Dennis Hoerter and future  Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Legato.

In 1987, Barron was reacquainted with the Star Trek franchise as he was sought out by his, by then, former employee Legato to shoot some additional motion control studio model footage for the new Star Trek series. Initially thought to be an one-off project, the series' demand for Image G's services in shooting studio models rapidly increased. By the second season the deal between Image G and Paramount Pictures was formalized, and or the next 10 years Barron's company was the sole supplier of studio model footage for televised Star Trek. During the decade Barron has worked with numerous Star Trek staffers like, besides Legato, Gary Hutzel, Dan Curry, David Stipes and others, and was held in high regard as evidenced by a remark of Doug Drexler, "G still exists and is still run by Tom Barron. Image G continues to be one of the busiest motion control facilities on the planet. Tom Barron is also one of the funniest guys on the planet."

Barron has managed to cope with the transition to CGI and is currently still running his company, currently located in Valencia, California.

In 2002, Barron was one of the recipients of an Academy Technical Achievement Award 2001, for "overall concept and design" of an advanced motion control photography rig.

Further reading
"Behind the Scenes; Image G",

External links

Barron, Tom