question re: seasons in Star Trek XI

[edenfalling]

The Star Trek: AOS story I am trying to write (still tentatively titled "The Light in Your Eyes," though I am growing less and less certain about that phrase's applicability) is set between the Enterprise's return to Earth and the ceremony and departure at the end of the film.

I am not familiar with the climate of San Francisco. Is anybody able to tell, from the brief scene-setting shots, what time of year it is meant to be? I'm guessing mid-to-late spring at the earliest, and late summer or very early autumn at the latest (judging by the foliage), but I'm not sure what San Francisco has by way of seasons, and, therefore, what months qualify as late spring or late summer.

I am not talking about calendrical or astronomical seasons. I am talking about seasons as defined by local temperature and plant growth. For example, spring doesn't really start in Ithaca until the first or second week of April, no matter what the calendar says about equinoxes.

So can anyone help me out? I need this information to judge the kind of off-duty clothes people might wear, and to figure the time of local sunset, which is important for two minor plot-related reasons, and which must be accurate because I am writing in Spock's POV!

Also, just as a point of information, I am assuming that in Star Trek's version of the 20th century, the Eugenics Wars disrupted global climate change enough that by the time it got bad, technology and/or a world government were in better shape to deal with it, so the future earth has basically our current climate, or even a slightly cooler one.

(Yes, I really am this obsessive sometimes.)

Comments

[jeeps]

hey, i found you via my network, hope you don't mind a stranger popping in! i live in the bay area and have for the last eight years, so. your guess about the time of year isn't a bad one, though in truth it can be any season. northern california basically has two seasons: wet, and dry. it's wet during the winter months, meaning it rains a lot, but there can just as easily be clear, sunny days in the midst of that. it also rains sporadically during the spring. the outside shots of sf at that point in the movie would also be appropriate for summer, really. keep in mind that even in summer, san francisco is on the bay, so it can get hot during the day and be very cool (sweater-appropriate weather) at night. and when i say hot, i mean by sf standards: this month has only made it as high as 80.

hope that helps!

[edenfalling]

Yes, that's very helpful -- thank you! I had decided to have Uhura wear a jacket in the evening, and now I feel justified in that choice. :-)

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

There can be warm, sunny days at any time of year in San Francisco. Winter (December into early February) brings chilly, often rainy weather (except in drought cycles, and of course we're in one of those right now). In wet years, rain continues into March or April, but spring--meaning warmer days and blooming daffodils--starts in mid-February. Summer (June through August) is often cold and foggy, although that varies a lot depending on what part of town you're in. Seriously--there are foggy streets and sunny streets. I think the Presidio, where Starfleet Academy seems to be located, is mostly north of the fog belt, but I'm not 100% sure of that. In any case, San Francisco's nicest weather is usually in the spring (mid-February into May) and fall (September through November).

Foliage can be a bit misleading, since the grass turns green when it starts raining and many annuals bloom through the winter. And of course, palm trees are evergreen. Deciduous trees are on more or less the same schedule as on the east coast, though.

Hope that helps! I paid no attention to the seasons when I was watching the movie, so I can't offer any specific insight.

[edenfalling]

I have this vague notion that I saw deciduous foliage and it was full-grown and all green, so probably it can't be earlier than mid-April or later than mid-September. But I wasn't paying attention while I watched the movie, so I am not sure how much to trust my memory. *sigh*

I also am not sure how much time passed between the Enterprise's return and the very end of the film. I am inclined to say it must have been at least three or four weeks (for repairs and bureaucratic wrangling, if nothing else), and possibly four to six months in order to let the cadets officially graduate and confirm their emergency promotions, as well as let the general staff sort through all the paperwork. And since everyone seems quite cheerful at Kirk's promotion/commendation ceremony, I am inclined to go with the 'several months' timeline, to allow everyone time to mourn and start recovering.

Which would imply that Kirk's hearing was in late April or early May, and his commissioning was in, say, early September. And the Enterprise returned to Earth probably within a week of when they left for Vulcan, so my story must be set around the first week of May. I can work with that.

Thank you so much for your help!

[deralte.livejournal.com]

Well, the smaller deciduous trees were green, but there seem to be larger, dead trees among them which is very weird now that I look at them (during Kirk and McCoy's conversation about the kobayashi maru outside they do a 360 degree circle of the academy and grounds). I wonder if the special effects people didn't get to colour them in, or if we should assume there was damage from the Eugenics war?

[edenfalling]

Hmm. So they're mutant trees (either they have weird leafing schedules, or there's just genetic damage that kills trees erratically), or there's still traces of soil damage that kills several trees each year? I could see that.

Or maybe they're just late-leafing varieties? Trees do not turn green at uniform times -- maples are usually early, for example, while oaks are a bit later, and there's this one giant tree (possibly cottonwood?) a few blocks from my old apartment that often didn't start greening until two or three weeks after all the other trees had full-grown leaves.

Either way, I think that is further evidence that the movie proper (discounting the commissioning and final scene) takes place in the spring. Because if it were fall and some trees were already bare, I would expect the others to be changing color.

Thanks for the thoughts!