 Among the other effects ILM had to produce were the transporter beam and the warp speed effect . Mullen noted that the effects ' look changed depending on who was directing the film ; " everyone wants something distinctive , but nobody wants to get far enough away from the TV series to startle the Trekkies . " The effect was produced by cutting out or rotomatting the individual to be transported , then making a vertical slot through which a high @-@ intensity light was positioned . A computer @-@ controlled move would cause the light to spread from the center and fade away , then reset its position and repeat the movement on the opposite side . Handmade acetate filters and gels were applied to give the transporter beam color and patterns , followed by small flickering animated highlights called " bugs " which appeared after the character had dematerialized . The Klingons ' transporters were given a harsh red look to differentiate them from the smooth blue Federation effect . Whereas many of the multicolored rainbow warp trail shots from The Wrath of Khan were stock footage taken from the first film , the producers of the third film wanted something new . A streak effect , in which a beauty pass of the ship was combined with blurred passes for each light intensity , was tried first . The result was disappointing ; as the Enterprise grew larger the streaks became distorted and out of place . Mullen rejected a straight animation of the warp drive as too bouncy , but the footage was cut in for editing while ILM went through six more approaches to the problem . The final effect , a " vaporous , colorful trail " , came together only weeks before the film 's release . 
