Apogee, Inc.
Apogee Productions, Inc., originally known as Apogee, Inc., was a full service visual effects (VFX, at the time still called "special effects") company and one of the two main companies responsible for the VFX of , after Robert Abel & Associates was let go from the production in February 1979.

The company was created by John Dykstra on 14 November 1977 after he had left Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and had its office located in Van Nuys, California.  It was formed during the production of the 1978 Universal Studios Battlestar Galactica movie, re-edited from the original pilot episodes but premiered before the classic series started airing, and its three follow-up regular series episodes. Working alongside Dykstra at the time was his employee and former  VFX staffer Richard Edlund, who helped him to form the company, but decided to leave before The Motion Picture commission. Apogee was initially and primarily formed out of former ILM employees, like Edlund was, and offered the full spectrum of VFX production, contrary to the more specialized ones such as Magicam, Brick Price Movie Miniatures, Greg Jein, Inc. (these three only props and studio models), or Future General Corporation (FGC, only VFX filming and compositing), all of them incidentally also commissioned for The Motion Picture.

While working on the Galactica commission, the company had actually already been approached by Paul Rabwin as one of the VFX companies sought out for the Motion Picture after the upgrade decision in October 1977. However, he had already committed his company to a follow-up project, the 1980 movie Altered States, so he had to decline on that occasion. (Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 46-47) He was again offered a VFX commission on the movie directly after the February 1979 VFX debacle by his former mentor and just appointed Motion Picture VFX Director Douglas Trumbull. Trumbull was faced with the gargantuan task of recreating all the VFX from scratch for the movie at the eleventh hour, and suggested the company of his former protege in order to get a head start on VFX production, as he needed time to revitalize his own nearly dismantled FGC VFX company. At that particular point in time though, Dykstra had to decline again as he and his company were still working on Altered States. However, less than a month later, the movie was taken away from his company and, with no other projects in the pipeline, Dykstra was able to offer the services of his company to a relieved Trumbull after all. (Cinefex, issue 2, p. 51; Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 372-374) Incidentally, one of Apogee's employees who also worked on the movie was Trumbull's father, Don Trumbull.

Signed in late-March 1979, the company was tasked with model and miniature manufacturing as well as designing, shooting, and editing key VFX scenes. Apogee rented a facility in the San Fernando Valley specifically for the production. The VFX scenes Apogee was entrusted with were the opening Klingon scene, the digitizing of the Epsilon IX station scene, the wormhole mishap sequence, the exterior V'Ger approach sequences (the interior scenes were done by FGC, as were all the other VFX scenes), and the scene with the V'ger probe on the bridge. Part of their responsibility was, under the supervision of Grant McCune, having their model shop build a number of studio models for the film, including a two-foot articulated thruster suit puppet, three models of the Epsilon IX station (an entirely original Apogee design), and all the exterior sections of V'Ger; in addition, they extensively modified Magicam's  model for it to become the  model.

The company nearly ceased its existence in the fall of 1982, when Dykstra dismantled the company due to the lack of commercial projects. However business picked up shortly afterwards, beginning with 's movie  (1982), and the company was revitalized (as Apogee Productions, Inc. from 1989 onward).  Ten years later, however, in late 1992, Dykstra closed down the company permanently when he left to join Los Angeles-based Eggers Films. 

Grant McCune took possession of some of the equipment as well as the lease on the property and restarted the company as his own under the name Grant McCune Design. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Sketchbook: The Movies, p. 79)

Staff
People employed at Apogee, Inc. at the time of the production of The Motion Picture included:
Staff
Dick Alexander
Chuck Barbee – Effects Camera Man
David Bartholomew
Deborah Baxter
David Beasley
Mat Beck
Cosmos Bolger
Stephen Brooks 
Glenn Campbell
Mark Cane
Angela Diamos
Roger Dorney – Director of Optical Photography
Dennis Dorney
Don Dow – Effects Camera Man (1977-1978) 
Patricia Rose Duignan – Production Associate (1977-1978) 
Janet Dykstra
Richard Edlund – Director of Miniature Photography (1977-1978)
Robert Elswit
Chuck Embrey – Effects Gaffer
Leslie Ekker – Animation and Graphics Artist
Jon Erland
Joe Garlington
Bruno George
Pete Gerard – Model Maker
Rick Gilligan
Philip Golden
Phil Gonzales
Richie Helmer
Phil Joanou
Jack Johnson – Production Illustrator
Paul Johnson
Proctor Jones – Assistant Effects Camera Man
Michael Joyce – Model Maker
Denny Kelly
Deborah Kendall
Greg Kimble – Effects Camera Man
Steve Klein
Mark Kline
Martin Kline
Don Kurtz
Michael Lawler – Effects Camera Man
Steve Mark
Pat McClung
Grant McCune – Model Shop Supervisor
Syd Mead – Concept Production Illustrator
Mike Middleton
Alvah J. Miller – Electronics Supervisor
John Millerburg
Harry Moreau
Erik Nash
Ron Nathan
Debbi Nikkel – Production Accountant
Jerry Pooler
John Ramsay
Gary Rhodaback
Steve Sass
Dennis Schultz
 – Model Maker
Robert Shepherd
Bill Shourt
John Shourt
Tutt Shurtleff
Dick Singleton
Richard Smiley – Model Maker
Doug Smith – Effects Camera Man
David Sosalla – Model Sculptor/Maker
 – Effects Camera Man
Michael Sweeney
Don Trumbull – Partner, Mechanical Design
Susan Turner
Don Webber

Greg Wilzbach – Animation and Graphics Artist
Diane E. Wooten

Further reading
 "Star Trekking at Apogee with John Dykstra", Don Shay, Cinefex, issue 2, August 1980, pp. 50-71
 "John Dykstra, Planning Science-Fiction Illusions", David Hutchison, , issue 103, February 1986, pp. 53-54 
 "Behind the Scenes: Visual Effects-1979", , December 2001, pp. 63-69

External links
 
 

fr:Apogee, Inc.
Model and miniature effects companies
Visual effects companies