 The Vulcan stairs were filmed at Occidental College — the production 's only location shooting . To create the orange atmosphere , Correll used a large 15 by 15 feet ( 4 @.@ 6 by 4 @.@ 6 m ) floodlight , created for the 1983 Peter Hyams film The Star Chamber , placed on the top of a 110 @-@ foot ( 34 m ) crane . The location 's blue @-@ grey sky was replaced with a matte painting that covered the top half of the stairs shot . Many ornamental touches Nimoy wanted for the procession scene ultimately never materialized . The background of the set was simply a painted piece of canvas ; Nimoy had the background out of focus in all the shots as a way to hide the shortcomings of the scenery . Elements removed from the Vulcan sequence included a procession through the " Vulcan Hall of Ancient Thought " , a space dominated by large heads atop columns and a sculpture towering to a height of 20 feet ( 6 @.@ 1 m ) . The scene was cut because the procession dragged on for too long . 
