Star Trek: 10 Things You Need To Know About Transporters
9. The First Transporter Was Achieved With Practical Effects
The actual look of the transporter beam is quite striking in its various iterations and is most often achieved by means of CGI. Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Discovery heavily redesigned the original transporter beam, adding a slower blue dissolve in the former, with a golden circular pattern appearing in the latter.
The Original Series achieved the look by dropping aluminum powder between the camera and a black background. This was then superimposed on the images of the various crewmen, who were then dissolved out of the shot. This was most often achieved with the actual footage being frozen, as it would be a little later in the franchise before technology would allow people to move while in transport.
The back wall of the set was created with a very '60s aesthetic, from material that was later used in the various intercoms on board the Enterprise. Between that wall and the brightly lit floor-and-ceiling pads, the transporter set was able to overpower the stage lights, allowing an easier transition for overlaying the shots of the beam itself.