WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.208 --> 00:00:01.751 This week, I host Celia Rose Gooding, 2 00:00:01.751 --> 00:00:04.004 who has stepped into the role of Cadet Nyota Uhura 3 00:00:04.004 --> 00:00:05.714 on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4 00:00:05.714 --> 00:00:08.508 along with Executive Producer, Henry Alonso Myers. 5 00:00:08.508 --> 00:00:09.676 We'll get the inside scoop 6 00:00:09.676 --> 00:00:12.721 on creating Strange New Worlds' 23rd century uniforms. 7 00:00:12.721 --> 00:00:15.765 Plus, I've got an exclusive look at next week's episode. 8 00:00:15.765 --> 00:00:17.517 Buckle up and report to The Ready Room 9 00:00:17.517 --> 00:00:19.394 for all that and more. 10 00:00:26.568 --> 00:00:28.194 Hey, nerds! I'm Wil Wheaton 11 00:00:28.194 --> 00:00:30.238 and this is The Ready Room, 12 00:00:30.238 --> 00:00:32.574 your official behind-the-scenes hub 13 00:00:32.574 --> 00:00:34.909 for all things, Star Trek Universe. 14 00:00:34.909 --> 00:00:37.662 Today, we are breaking down Episode 2 15 00:00:37.662 --> 00:00:39.706 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 16 00:00:39.706 --> 00:00:42.375 Wow, it still thrills me that I am here 17 00:00:42.375 --> 00:00:45.128 to talk about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 18 00:00:45.128 --> 00:00:47.797 This episode is titled "Children Of The Comet," 19 00:00:47.797 --> 00:00:50.550 and before we go any further, red alert! 20 00:00:50.550 --> 00:00:52.135 If you haven't seen the episode, 21 00:00:52.135 --> 00:00:54.512 please make sure you navigate your way to it 22 00:00:54.512 --> 00:00:56.222 and then come back here to discuss, 23 00:00:56.222 --> 00:00:57.891 or you will find yourself needing 24 00:00:57.891 --> 00:00:59.809 Cadet Uhura's linguistic skills 25 00:00:59.809 --> 00:01:01.853 to decipher this Ready Room. 26 00:01:01.853 --> 00:01:03.897 Today I am so honored to have two, 27 00:01:03.897 --> 00:01:05.899 three-name guests beaming in to join me. 28 00:01:05.899 --> 00:01:07.692 The incredible Celia Rose Gooding 29 00:01:07.692 --> 00:01:09.235 who plays Cadet Uhura 30 00:01:09.235 --> 00:01:11.279 alongside Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 31 00:01:11.279 --> 00:01:14.074 Executive Producer, Henry Alonso Myers. 32 00:01:14.074 --> 00:01:17.035 I cannot wait to hear all about playing Uhura 33 00:01:17.035 --> 00:01:18.995 as we have never seen her before. 34 00:01:18.995 --> 00:01:20.080 Following that discussion, 35 00:01:20.080 --> 00:01:21.164 we'll take a deep dive 36 00:01:21.164 --> 00:01:23.666 into the new 23rd century Starfleet uniforms 37 00:01:23.666 --> 00:01:26.252 that grace our scenes in this new series 38 00:01:26.252 --> 00:01:28.922 with Costume Designer, Bernadette Croft. 39 00:01:28.922 --> 00:01:31.633 Don't worry, I won't forget about that exclusive look 40 00:01:31.633 --> 00:01:33.051 at next week's episode. 41 00:01:33.051 --> 00:01:35.762 But before we get to any of that, 42 00:01:35.762 --> 00:01:37.430 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 43 00:01:37.430 --> 00:01:39.474 debuted its first episode last week. 44 00:01:39.474 --> 00:01:40.934 And in that premiere episode, 45 00:01:40.934 --> 00:01:44.104 a new Star Trek theme debuted as well. 46 00:01:44.104 --> 00:01:45.814 And what a theme. 47 00:01:45.814 --> 00:01:48.233 Did you catch that theremin at the end? 48 00:01:48.233 --> 00:01:50.568 Now I am a nerd who loves theremins. 49 00:01:50.568 --> 00:01:53.613 If you are also a nerd who loves theremins 50 00:01:53.613 --> 00:01:55.907 and their beautiful intersection of art and technology. 51 00:01:55.907 --> 00:01:57.492 And I know there are a lot of us, 52 00:01:57.492 --> 00:01:59.577 I just wanted us to have this little moment 53 00:01:59.577 --> 00:02:01.371 of theremin appreciation together. 54 00:02:03.373 --> 00:02:04.207 Thank you. 55 00:02:05.125 --> 00:02:08.378 So let's take a look at the composition of that theme 56 00:02:08.378 --> 00:02:11.297 with storied Star Trek Composer, Jeff Russo, 57 00:02:11.297 --> 00:02:14.175 and Series Composer, Nami Melumad. 58 00:02:14.175 --> 00:02:16.302 Control room, engage. 59 00:02:18.721 --> 00:02:21.558 The theme music for Star Trek is iconic. 60 00:02:21.558 --> 00:02:23.434 We're always like singing it on set. 61 00:02:23.434 --> 00:02:25.311 We'll do some like Star Trekky thing 62 00:02:25.311 --> 00:02:26.729 and then start humming it. 63 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:28.898 There are certain things that happen on this show 64 00:02:28.898 --> 00:02:31.860 where you get reminded of The Original Series 65 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:33.653 and one of them is the music. 66 00:02:33.653 --> 00:02:35.321 It's goosebumps every time. 67 00:02:35.321 --> 00:02:37.157 Computer, identify this song. 68 00:02:42.245 --> 00:02:44.247 One of the greatest parts about this show 69 00:02:44.247 --> 00:02:46.791 is how close we are to The Original Series 70 00:02:46.791 --> 00:02:48.126 in terms of the timeline. 71 00:02:48.126 --> 00:02:49.586 We're directly proceeding, 72 00:02:49.586 --> 00:02:51.921 what will happen in The Original Series. 73 00:02:51.921 --> 00:02:54.549 So, one of the things I talked about with Henry and 74 00:02:54.549 --> 00:02:57.635 Alex about writing the theme for this incarnation 75 00:02:57.635 --> 00:03:00.138 is to really evoke the same things 76 00:03:00.138 --> 00:03:02.348 that The Original Series evokes. 77 00:03:02.348 --> 00:03:05.977 So I took a little from Alexander Courage's original theme, 78 00:03:05.977 --> 00:03:09.981 and then sort of tried to come up with melodies 79 00:03:09.981 --> 00:03:11.983 and harmonic content 80 00:03:11.983 --> 00:03:14.777 that really still evoked all that same stuff, 81 00:03:14.777 --> 00:03:17.238 but was sort of a deconstruction 82 00:03:17.238 --> 00:03:20.491 of what will come in the next series, 83 00:03:20.491 --> 00:03:22.535 which would be The Original Series. 84 00:03:22.535 --> 00:03:25.788 The idea is always to try to connect everything. 85 00:03:25.788 --> 00:03:29.167 And I went back and forth between whether or not I would use 86 00:03:29.167 --> 00:03:33.129 a human voice in the theme or if I wanted to use theremin. 87 00:03:33.129 --> 00:03:35.673 And the theremin obviously also evokes 88 00:03:35.673 --> 00:03:37.300 the idea of a voice. 89 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:39.219 So I thought it was a really good idea 90 00:03:39.219 --> 00:03:43.056 to use something like that as just a splash at the very end 91 00:03:43.056 --> 00:03:44.849 to see how we can really connect 92 00:03:44.849 --> 00:03:46.017 the theme from The Original Series 93 00:03:46.017 --> 00:03:47.602 and the theme from this one. 94 00:03:48.978 --> 00:03:50.647 It's just a ton of fun for me 95 00:03:50.647 --> 00:03:52.774 to try to figure out like how to do that, 96 00:03:52.774 --> 00:03:55.068 how to have our own voice, 97 00:03:55.068 --> 00:03:58.154 and yet still really evoke that same feeling. 98 00:03:58.154 --> 00:04:01.115 And I think Nami took that idea 99 00:04:01.115 --> 00:04:05.161 and sometimes presses that theme into the score. 100 00:04:05.161 --> 00:04:06.329 Collaboration with Jeff Russo, 101 00:04:06.329 --> 00:04:08.206 first it was very exciting. 102 00:04:08.206 --> 00:04:09.666 He has been doing a lot of Trek, 103 00:04:09.666 --> 00:04:11.417 so he's like super, super experienced 104 00:04:11.417 --> 00:04:13.294 and has really good insights. 105 00:04:13.294 --> 00:04:17.006 We had great talks, and he's a great guy. 106 00:04:17.006 --> 00:04:18.591 One of the things that we love to do 107 00:04:18.591 --> 00:04:20.969 is just plant little Easter eggs in places. 108 00:04:20.969 --> 00:04:22.845 And I know I speak for Nami 109 00:04:22.845 --> 00:04:26.683 in saying that we're both huge fans 110 00:04:26.683 --> 00:04:30.228 of the entire franchise and huge fans of The Original Series 111 00:04:30.228 --> 00:04:33.064 and huge fans of the music in general. 112 00:04:33.064 --> 00:04:35.942 So the idea that we can touch on all that stuff 113 00:04:35.942 --> 00:04:37.944 is just such fun for us. 114 00:04:40.154 --> 00:04:41.698 It responds to music. 115 00:04:41.698 --> 00:04:43.783 When approaching different episodes 116 00:04:43.783 --> 00:04:46.619 with different scenarios, different planets, 117 00:04:46.619 --> 00:04:49.289 you kind of want to be specific as much as possible 118 00:04:49.289 --> 00:04:51.582 and have a certain signature sound, 119 00:04:51.582 --> 00:04:55.503 whether it is a different motif or like a melodic thing, 120 00:04:55.503 --> 00:04:57.880 or maybe it's some kind of an instrument. 121 00:04:57.880 --> 00:04:58.840 Someone help me out here, 122 00:04:58.840 --> 00:05:00.008 I skipped music class. 123 00:05:00.008 --> 00:05:02.802 What I was trying to go for is if this is Vulcan, 124 00:05:02.802 --> 00:05:05.179 then it's gonna feel like Vulcan. 125 00:05:05.179 --> 00:05:07.015 I'm a pretty melodic composer. 126 00:05:07.890 --> 00:05:09.309 As you've seen, probably, in Prodigy. 127 00:05:09.309 --> 00:05:12.979 I love to take like a distinct sound 128 00:05:12.979 --> 00:05:15.023 or a theme or a melody. 129 00:05:15.023 --> 00:05:17.233 There's an Uhura motif. 130 00:05:17.233 --> 00:05:20.445 This is not the Uhura that we know from The Original Series. 131 00:05:20.445 --> 00:05:23.072 This is a younger Uhura, who's not entirely sure 132 00:05:23.072 --> 00:05:25.658 that she wants to be in Starfleet at all. 133 00:05:25.658 --> 00:05:28.536 The music kind of goes with her on her first away mission. 134 00:05:28.536 --> 00:05:29.537 Like what is that like? 135 00:05:29.537 --> 00:05:32.665 So we basically told that episode from her perspective. 136 00:05:32.665 --> 00:05:34.751 When I get to do that, when I get to follow 137 00:05:34.751 --> 00:05:37.170 like an overall arc, it's really cool. 138 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:39.130 We are cleared for warp, sir. 139 00:05:40.965 --> 00:05:44.969 Obviously, you have the big hero shots of the ship, 140 00:05:44.969 --> 00:05:47.555 which calls for super big score. 141 00:05:47.555 --> 00:05:49.974 And what we're doing is, is recording tutti in the room. 142 00:05:49.974 --> 00:05:53.394 So, when you hear the entire orchestra playing together, 143 00:05:53.394 --> 00:05:57.357 for me, it's like a big, really big and wide smile. 144 00:05:57.357 --> 00:05:58.858 If that makes sense. 145 00:05:58.858 --> 00:06:01.611 You are quite simply the only person for the job. 146 00:06:01.611 --> 00:06:02.653 It's a big responsibility. 147 00:06:02.653 --> 00:06:04.113 You want to do the track and you want to make 148 00:06:04.113 --> 00:06:06.699 everyone happy, but ultimately you draw from the story 149 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:09.452 and the characters. That is the most important thing. 150 00:06:09.452 --> 00:06:10.995 [whispering] I love this job. 151 00:06:10.995 --> 00:06:13.289 I think people are going to be happy. 152 00:06:17.794 --> 00:06:20.046 Today, I have the talented and musically-gifted 153 00:06:20.046 --> 00:06:22.382 Celia Rose Gooding, Uhura herself 154 00:06:22.382 --> 00:06:24.175 as well as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 155 00:06:24.175 --> 00:06:26.344 Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, 156 00:06:26.344 --> 00:06:28.388 joining me in The Ready Room. 157 00:06:28.388 --> 00:06:31.307 Welcome, thank you so much for being here today. 158 00:06:32.433 --> 00:06:33.893 Thanks for having us. 159 00:06:33.893 --> 00:06:36.604 Celia, you know the historical 160 00:06:36.604 --> 00:06:40.108 and cultural significance of Uhura. 161 00:06:40.108 --> 00:06:44.946 Tell me what it means to you to step into this iconic role. 162 00:06:44.946 --> 00:06:49.951 I mean, besides the obvious level of humility 163 00:06:50.076 --> 00:06:52.620 and honor and excitement, 164 00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:57.625 it is such a groundbreaking opportunity for me as someone 165 00:06:58.501 --> 00:07:02.672 who is a direct product of Nichelle's legacy. 166 00:07:02.672 --> 00:07:07.510 I think the fact that she was one of the first women to, 167 00:07:07.510 --> 00:07:10.805 Black women specifically, to play a role of non-servitude, 168 00:07:10.805 --> 00:07:14.225 it was opening the scope 169 00:07:14.225 --> 00:07:16.602 of what Black women could do in film. 170 00:07:16.602 --> 00:07:18.062 And so without her, 171 00:07:18.062 --> 00:07:20.273 I would not, of course be playing this character, 172 00:07:20.273 --> 00:07:22.692 but I don't think I would be an actor truly. 173 00:07:22.692 --> 00:07:26.028 So it is, I try not to think about it too much 174 00:07:26.028 --> 00:07:28.239 'cause I get incredibly overwhelmed and excited, 175 00:07:28.239 --> 00:07:31.576 but it's amazing. - I really understand that. 176 00:07:31.576 --> 00:07:33.494 Yeah, yeah, it means more to me 177 00:07:33.494 --> 00:07:36.289 than I could possibly put words to. 178 00:07:36.289 --> 00:07:38.082 I just hope I'm doing it justice. 179 00:07:38.082 --> 00:07:43.087 Your Uhura was always going to be your Uhura. 180 00:07:43.588 --> 00:07:46.215 And that's important and that's awesome. 181 00:07:46.215 --> 00:07:48.426 I see that you get that. 182 00:07:48.426 --> 00:07:49.719 - Yeah. - And that's really exciting, 183 00:07:49.719 --> 00:07:53.598 but you are playing Uhura at a very specific moment 184 00:07:53.598 --> 00:07:56.559 in her life in a way that we have never seen before 185 00:07:56.559 --> 00:07:58.936 where she's cadet, she's unsure 186 00:07:58.936 --> 00:08:01.105 is Starfleet really for me? 187 00:08:01.105 --> 00:08:04.400 I wanna know what that means to you 188 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:05.943 and how you are approaching 189 00:08:05.943 --> 00:08:08.488 that particular take on this character. 190 00:08:09.572 --> 00:08:12.033 I'm approaching it from a standpoint 191 00:08:12.033 --> 00:08:16.287 of someone who has no idea of what her future is, 192 00:08:16.287 --> 00:08:19.165 even though the rest of the universe does 193 00:08:19.165 --> 00:08:20.708 outside of the timeline, 194 00:08:20.708 --> 00:08:22.710 everyone knows that she's going to be staying there. 195 00:08:22.710 --> 00:08:24.253 She's eventually going to command 196 00:08:24.253 --> 00:08:27.381 and she's eventually going to do-- 197 00:08:27.381 --> 00:08:29.258 go forward and do incredible things. 198 00:08:29.258 --> 00:08:32.887 But I'm coming from a standpoint of someone who is like, 199 00:08:32.887 --> 00:08:35.431 yes, subtly brilliant. 200 00:08:35.431 --> 00:08:39.143 And just trying to figure it out. 201 00:08:39.143 --> 00:08:41.729 She's someone who is in a place 202 00:08:41.729 --> 00:08:44.106 that she thinks is going to be a temporary period. 203 00:08:44.106 --> 00:08:46.526 And she's not necessarily super interested 204 00:08:46.526 --> 00:08:47.985 in putting roots down 205 00:08:47.985 --> 00:08:50.738 and really, really connecting with the people around her. 206 00:08:50.738 --> 00:08:53.241 She's really trying to mourn and grieve 207 00:08:53.241 --> 00:08:55.660 and spend time doing something 208 00:08:55.660 --> 00:08:57.453 that gets her out of her own head, 209 00:08:57.453 --> 00:08:59.163 but also engages her in a way 210 00:08:59.163 --> 00:09:01.999 that I think she is really attracted to, 211 00:09:01.999 --> 00:09:06.546 which eventually leads to her staying, and all of that. 212 00:09:06.546 --> 00:09:09.757 Henry, we have talked about how Celia has interpreted 213 00:09:09.757 --> 00:09:12.927 all of these ideas and brought this Uhura to life. 214 00:09:12.927 --> 00:09:15.596 And a lot of that comes from the work you are doing 215 00:09:15.596 --> 00:09:17.807 as the Showrunner. 216 00:09:17.807 --> 00:09:20.726 You know how important all of this is, 217 00:09:20.726 --> 00:09:24.355 you know that as someone who is in charge 218 00:09:24.355 --> 00:09:28.901 of these legacy characters. They're not your characters, 219 00:09:28.901 --> 00:09:30.611 the way we writers think of characters 220 00:09:30.611 --> 00:09:33.281 as being our characters, right? 221 00:09:33.281 --> 00:09:37.618 These characters kind of belong to Star Trek, 222 00:09:37.618 --> 00:09:42.623 and you get to mold them and put your mark on them 223 00:09:43.165 --> 00:09:45.459 and move them around in ways 224 00:09:45.459 --> 00:09:47.878 that like the rest of us only get to do 225 00:09:47.878 --> 00:09:49.255 with our action figures. 226 00:09:50.715 --> 00:09:53.467 Talk to me a little bit about approaching, 227 00:09:53.467 --> 00:09:58.472 developing back stories for legacy characters. 228 00:09:58.472 --> 00:10:01.058 Television is a collaboration. 229 00:10:01.058 --> 00:10:01.892 - Sure. - It's a deep, 230 00:10:01.892 --> 00:10:02.810 deep collaboration. 231 00:10:02.810 --> 00:10:05.771 And so like for instance, with approaching Uhura, 232 00:10:05.771 --> 00:10:08.274 we felt it was important to really show 233 00:10:08.274 --> 00:10:09.775 a different perspective. 234 00:10:09.775 --> 00:10:12.653 And we had this unique opportunity to show an Uhura 235 00:10:12.653 --> 00:10:16.115 who is different from any Uhura that we'd seen before. 236 00:10:16.115 --> 00:10:20.828 Someone who is young, who is good at what she does, 237 00:10:20.828 --> 00:10:24.290 but not as not the assured future captain 238 00:10:24.290 --> 00:10:26.709 that she will eventually become. 239 00:10:26.709 --> 00:10:29.837 But like an entry point character. 240 00:10:32.006 --> 00:10:35.217 The way that we approach the job on the show tends to be, 241 00:10:35.217 --> 00:10:38.054 we're trying to make the show that we would wanna see. 242 00:10:38.054 --> 00:10:41.223 And to that extent, it's about creating 243 00:10:41.223 --> 00:10:43.601 what I hope are interesting situations 244 00:10:43.601 --> 00:10:47.355 for our talented actors and directors, 245 00:10:47.355 --> 00:10:49.732 and then letting them play. 246 00:10:49.732 --> 00:10:51.609 And then we get their incredible work back 247 00:10:51.609 --> 00:10:53.653 and we shape it and hone it a little bit. 248 00:10:53.653 --> 00:10:54.820 But like it's all there. 249 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:57.531 I mean, I can't tell you when... 250 00:10:57.531 --> 00:11:01.452 I remember when Celia auditioned and she was Uhura, 251 00:11:01.452 --> 00:11:02.870 she may not realize it at the time, 252 00:11:02.870 --> 00:11:05.456 but she was Uhura in that moment. 253 00:11:05.456 --> 00:11:08.584 Celia, did you realize it or like all actors, 254 00:11:08.584 --> 00:11:10.711 were you like, well, I blew it? 255 00:11:10.711 --> 00:11:14.340 No, I had no idea who I was auditioning for 256 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:15.174 when I was auditioning. 257 00:11:15.174 --> 00:11:17.093 I knew it was in the Star Trek Universe. 258 00:11:17.093 --> 00:11:18.052 I knew she was young. 259 00:11:18.052 --> 00:11:19.053 I knew she was brilliant. 260 00:11:19.053 --> 00:11:21.514 I knew she was a linguist and a communicator. 261 00:11:21.514 --> 00:11:25.059 And I was like, "Oh cool, I can do this." 262 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:28.854 And then I started meeting with Henry and Akiva, 263 00:11:28.854 --> 00:11:30.106 and I was like, 264 00:11:30.106 --> 00:11:32.983 "This feels like this is gonna be much bigger 265 00:11:32.983 --> 00:11:34.318 than I could ever comprehend." 266 00:11:34.318 --> 00:11:36.904 And then I remember going to one of my initial fittings 267 00:11:36.904 --> 00:11:38.280 and getting a phone call of like, 268 00:11:38.280 --> 00:11:42.034 "Hey, so Yabo was not real. 269 00:11:42.034 --> 00:11:42.952 That's not a real person. 270 00:11:42.952 --> 00:11:44.995 You're actually playing young Uhura." 271 00:11:44.995 --> 00:11:47.289 And I gasped so hard that my Uber driver looked back at me 272 00:11:47.289 --> 00:11:48.791 and was like, "Are you okay?" 273 00:11:48.791 --> 00:11:50.584 And I'm like, "Yes. I'm fine." 274 00:11:50.584 --> 00:11:51.794 Wait, wait, hold on. 275 00:11:51.794 --> 00:11:54.505 You were going to the fitting 276 00:11:54.505 --> 00:11:57.133 when you found out you were playing Uhura. 277 00:11:57.133 --> 00:11:59.468 That's amazing. 278 00:11:59.468 --> 00:12:00.302 Yeah. 279 00:12:00.302 --> 00:12:01.178 That is so cool. 280 00:12:01.178 --> 00:12:03.889 I know for a fact that if I knew 281 00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:05.182 who I was auditioning for, 282 00:12:05.182 --> 00:12:07.810 my tape would've been completely different. 283 00:12:07.810 --> 00:12:12.815 And so I am both like flabbergasted and eternally grateful 284 00:12:13.065 --> 00:12:15.484 for the fact that I had no idea who I was auditioning for 285 00:12:15.484 --> 00:12:18.279 until well after I'd already booked the role. 286 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:22.199 Henry, the Shepherds. 287 00:12:22.199 --> 00:12:25.411 The Shepherds make me think of the Pierson's Puppeteers 288 00:12:25.411 --> 00:12:26.537 from the Ringworld Universe. 289 00:12:26.537 --> 00:12:27.788 I don't know if you're familiar with that, 290 00:12:27.788 --> 00:12:29.582 but they make me think of these people. 291 00:12:29.582 --> 00:12:31.333 I haven't read Ringworld in forever. 292 00:12:31.333 --> 00:12:32.168 They make me feel like 293 00:12:32.168 --> 00:12:35.504 these kind of like galactic progenitors who sort of feel, 294 00:12:35.504 --> 00:12:38.340 from my perspective, they feel like, "We are gods." 295 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:41.761 But they're incredibly myopic for-- 296 00:12:41.761 --> 00:12:42.720 they think they're gods. 297 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:44.889 We escort M'hanit. 298 00:12:45.806 --> 00:12:47.224 The comet? 299 00:12:47.224 --> 00:12:49.602 M'hanit is far more than a comet. 300 00:12:50.561 --> 00:12:54.440 M'hanit is one of the ancient arbiters of life. 301 00:12:55.900 --> 00:12:56.734 Okay. 302 00:12:56.734 --> 00:12:58.277 But I'm really interested to hear about 303 00:12:58.277 --> 00:13:01.363 the blending of practical and puppeteering 304 00:13:01.363 --> 00:13:04.074 to bring these creatures to life. 305 00:13:04.074 --> 00:13:05.701 Tell me about that. 306 00:13:05.701 --> 00:13:08.788 Well, first off that the creature 307 00:13:08.788 --> 00:13:13.250 was a creation of Legacy Effects 308 00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:15.878 who do all of our prosthetics work and they are, 309 00:13:15.878 --> 00:13:17.379 I mean, they're phenomenal. 310 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:20.883 And we knew coming into it that part of the fun, 311 00:13:20.883 --> 00:13:23.928 I think of this series, Akiva and I really wanted to do-- 312 00:13:23.928 --> 00:13:25.262 we do a lot of CG work, 313 00:13:25.262 --> 00:13:27.640 but we also wanted to harken back 314 00:13:27.640 --> 00:13:30.309 to some great practical effects. 315 00:13:31.435 --> 00:13:33.354 And so when we were designing this creature, 316 00:13:33.354 --> 00:13:35.105 we thought this is a perfect opportunity. 317 00:13:35.105 --> 00:13:36.607 We only see them on the screen. 318 00:13:36.607 --> 00:13:38.359 So we'll be able to kind of manipulate them 319 00:13:38.359 --> 00:13:39.527 in an interesting way. 320 00:13:40.611 --> 00:13:42.321 The puppets' design-- 321 00:13:42.321 --> 00:13:44.865 It's actually an actor in there. 322 00:13:44.865 --> 00:13:47.284 We were casting the actor and the actor has no... 323 00:13:47.284 --> 00:13:49.745 basically they put a prosthetic over their face. 324 00:13:49.745 --> 00:13:51.080 They covered everything through here 325 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:52.540 and it's the actor's mouth. 326 00:13:52.540 --> 00:13:53.791 - [Wil] Wow! 327 00:13:53.791 --> 00:13:55.251 We wanted someone who could speak, 328 00:13:55.251 --> 00:13:58.504 who had a really great voice, but everything, the eyes, 329 00:13:58.504 --> 00:14:01.423 everything above that is all controlled by, 330 00:14:01.423 --> 00:14:04.426 I wanna say it was two or three puppeteers because 331 00:14:04.426 --> 00:14:05.553 those are all mechanical. - Amazing. 332 00:14:05.553 --> 00:14:08.889 M'hanit is far more than a comet. 333 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:11.267 Eyes are mechanical, the brows are mechanical, 334 00:14:11.267 --> 00:14:14.520 there's like, little kind of bags in the head 335 00:14:14.520 --> 00:14:16.856 that kind of pulse, that you can probably see 336 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:18.858 as you watch him talk. 337 00:14:18.858 --> 00:14:23.028 M'hanit is one of the ancient arbiters of life. 338 00:14:24.071 --> 00:14:27.074 But it was important to have an actor's performance 339 00:14:27.074 --> 00:14:28.200 at the center of it. 340 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:29.577 - [Wil] Yes. 341 00:14:29.577 --> 00:14:32.913 And because he can't really do anything 342 00:14:32.913 --> 00:14:34.748 because half of his face is covered. 343 00:14:36.166 --> 00:14:38.168 And can't even see while he's in it. 344 00:14:38.168 --> 00:14:40.880 We wanted to make sure that he had a very strong voice 345 00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:42.756 that could kind of come through that. 346 00:14:42.756 --> 00:14:45.426 M'hanit's course is preordained. 347 00:14:48.387 --> 00:14:51.307 I feel like that experiment really worked. 348 00:14:54.018 --> 00:14:55.686 He felt like a real alien. 349 00:14:55.686 --> 00:14:57.104 The eyes were really great. 350 00:14:57.104 --> 00:15:00.524 Like he really feels present, feels there. 351 00:15:00.524 --> 00:15:02.902 You kind of get a sense of his emotions, 352 00:15:02.902 --> 00:15:03.986 and that's what I think is great 353 00:15:03.986 --> 00:15:07.239 about practical prosthetic work that I miss 354 00:15:07.239 --> 00:15:11.493 with some of the CG is you really feel the actor inside. 355 00:15:11.493 --> 00:15:15.122 Then we shall not part as enemies. 356 00:15:15.122 --> 00:15:18.125 When I got to talk to some of the folks involved 357 00:15:18.125 --> 00:15:19.793 in Picard Season 2, 358 00:15:19.793 --> 00:15:22.129 and we particularly talked about the Borg queen, 359 00:15:22.129 --> 00:15:23.005 and when Annie was here, 360 00:15:23.005 --> 00:15:24.757 and we talked about bringing her to life. 361 00:15:24.757 --> 00:15:26.967 Whenever there was an opportunity 362 00:15:26.967 --> 00:15:29.303 to do something practically on set, 363 00:15:29.303 --> 00:15:31.680 everyone gets very excited about that. 364 00:15:33.349 --> 00:15:36.018 And to me that makes me feel like there's a big part of us 365 00:15:36.018 --> 00:15:38.145 that's still just little kids playing with our toys. 366 00:15:38.145 --> 00:15:40.230 And we love to see these things come to life 367 00:15:40.230 --> 00:15:41.899 on the set in front of us. 368 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:45.277 Celia, I have like just card after card, 369 00:15:45.277 --> 00:15:46.445 after card of questions for you, 370 00:15:46.445 --> 00:15:47.738 but I know we're running out of time. 371 00:15:47.738 --> 00:15:49.865 Yeah, oh, go ahead. 372 00:15:49.865 --> 00:15:51.575 So I just wanted to get to a couple 373 00:15:51.575 --> 00:15:52.409 of quick things with you, 374 00:15:52.409 --> 00:15:55.621 speaking of the practical effects, working with the AR wall. 375 00:15:57.164 --> 00:15:57.998 Yeah. 376 00:16:00.459 --> 00:16:03.712 I would imagine, you can just lose yourself in that, right? 377 00:16:03.712 --> 00:16:05.089 I mean, you can really - Oh my gosh! 378 00:16:05.089 --> 00:16:06.840 just commit to a performance in a way 379 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:09.259 that a green screen does not allow. 380 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:12.471 I'm getting to talk to everybody who works on it, 381 00:16:12.471 --> 00:16:13.973 about what that is like. 382 00:16:13.973 --> 00:16:16.058 And I'm curious to know what your experience 383 00:16:16.058 --> 00:16:17.601 as an actor was like, 384 00:16:17.601 --> 00:16:20.187 how that affected your performance, specifically. 385 00:16:21.188 --> 00:16:24.650 I am coming from a theater background, 386 00:16:24.650 --> 00:16:27.111 I love being able to see things, touch things, 387 00:16:27.111 --> 00:16:29.905 put my hands on everything and like actually walk up to it, 388 00:16:29.905 --> 00:16:32.950 see how it moves, and being able to be on the AR wall 389 00:16:32.950 --> 00:16:35.536 and actually see the world that we're in, 390 00:16:35.536 --> 00:16:39.164 it is incredibly freeing, but also incredibly grounding. 391 00:16:40.499 --> 00:16:41.583 It looks very cool. 392 00:16:41.583 --> 00:16:45.129 And as someone who is like, just fascinated by shiny things, 393 00:16:45.129 --> 00:16:48.507 it was very, very cool to see it move 394 00:16:48.507 --> 00:16:52.803 and see the cave come alive and watch the egg unfold. 395 00:16:52.803 --> 00:16:56.056 It was just mesmerizing, like what you said earlier, 396 00:16:56.056 --> 00:16:57.766 I very much felt like a little kid 397 00:16:57.766 --> 00:17:02.271 having an opportunity to step behind the... 398 00:17:02.271 --> 00:17:04.690 it feels like something out of Night at the Museum. 399 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:06.358 I don't know why my brain goes there, 400 00:17:06.358 --> 00:17:07.192 but, like- - I get it. 401 00:17:07.192 --> 00:17:09.278 to be able to take a step behind the red rope 402 00:17:09.278 --> 00:17:11.363 and see how it all goes down. 403 00:17:11.363 --> 00:17:13.866 It's awe-inspiring. 404 00:17:13.866 --> 00:17:15.868 And so much of the stuff we did specifically 405 00:17:15.868 --> 00:17:19.163 for this episode-- there's one moment 406 00:17:19.163 --> 00:17:22.583 in which I was turning on this spinning platform and singing 407 00:17:22.583 --> 00:17:24.001 and the world was moving around me 408 00:17:24.001 --> 00:17:26.795 and I got a little misty, 'cause it was like, 409 00:17:26.795 --> 00:17:29.548 this is what I do for a living, this is incredible. 410 00:17:30.924 --> 00:17:32.843 Henry and the entire team, 411 00:17:32.843 --> 00:17:35.137 they've given me a wealth of opportunity 412 00:17:35.137 --> 00:17:37.973 to do incredible stuff that I really don't know 413 00:17:37.973 --> 00:17:40.684 I'll have another opportunity to do in my career 414 00:17:40.684 --> 00:17:43.896 and to have it so soon and to get so used to it. 415 00:17:43.896 --> 00:17:47.357 It's like I find myself, pinching myself constantly of like, 416 00:17:47.357 --> 00:17:48.692 this is real, this is present. 417 00:17:48.692 --> 00:17:49.902 Stay grounded, stay here. 418 00:17:49.902 --> 00:17:52.196 Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out. 419 00:17:52.196 --> 00:17:54.406 Control room tells me that I have gone over. 420 00:17:54.406 --> 00:17:56.283 I've taken up more of your time 421 00:17:56.283 --> 00:17:59.286 than you generously agreed to grant to us. 422 00:17:59.286 --> 00:18:01.872 So I wanna thank both of you so much for being here. 423 00:18:01.872 --> 00:18:03.874 Celia, I wanna say as someone who's been part of this 424 00:18:03.874 --> 00:18:07.086 for 35 years, that sense of 425 00:18:07.086 --> 00:18:08.837 "Wow, I can't believe this is real. 426 00:18:08.837 --> 00:18:10.964 I can't believe this is my job," 427 00:18:10.964 --> 00:18:13.133 it never gets any less than it is right now. 428 00:18:13.133 --> 00:18:14.635 I'm so excited for you. - Thank God. 429 00:18:14.635 --> 00:18:16.762 I'm so excited for you to live with this 430 00:18:16.762 --> 00:18:18.013 just 'cause I know what it means 431 00:18:18.013 --> 00:18:20.641 and I know how it just gets cooler. 432 00:18:20.641 --> 00:18:23.519 And Henry, I am so unbelievably thrilled 433 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:24.895 to see the rest of the season 434 00:18:24.895 --> 00:18:26.730 and see where you take us 435 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:29.817 as Strange New Worlds continues to unfold in front of us. 436 00:18:29.817 --> 00:18:33.112 Thank you both so, so much for your time together 437 00:18:33.112 --> 00:18:36.865 and congratulations on the launch of what I am confident 438 00:18:36.865 --> 00:18:40.077 is going to be a legendary Star Trek franchise. 439 00:18:40.077 --> 00:18:40.911 Thank you. 440 00:19:01.557 --> 00:19:04.393 Nerds, I want you to use your imaginations for a second. 441 00:19:04.393 --> 00:19:07.062 I want you to imagine that you are a costume designer 442 00:19:07.062 --> 00:19:08.897 who gets to work on Star Trek. 443 00:19:08.897 --> 00:19:10.524 Then, a few years later, 444 00:19:10.524 --> 00:19:15.445 you get to design your version of the Starfleet uniform. 445 00:19:15.445 --> 00:19:17.573 That is of course not something that only exists 446 00:19:17.573 --> 00:19:18.448 in your imagination. 447 00:19:18.448 --> 00:19:20.492 It is a real thing that happened. 448 00:19:20.492 --> 00:19:22.327 Bernadette Croft worked on 449 00:19:22.327 --> 00:19:23.912 Star Trek: Discovery's first season 450 00:19:23.912 --> 00:19:26.498 and now she's exploring Strange New Worlds. 451 00:19:26.498 --> 00:19:29.501 Let's take a look at how these new uniforms 452 00:19:29.501 --> 00:19:31.420 that evoke their classic inspirations, 453 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:32.504 were brought to life. 454 00:19:33.964 --> 00:19:36.341 Wearing the Starfleet uniform is quite flattering. 455 00:19:36.341 --> 00:19:38.385 It's sleek, it's cool. 456 00:19:38.385 --> 00:19:39.261 It's fitted. 457 00:19:39.261 --> 00:19:41.263 I would say it's much less '60s 458 00:19:41.263 --> 00:19:44.600 than The Original Series, but more '60s than Discovery. 459 00:19:44.600 --> 00:19:46.268 And a lot more forgiving. 460 00:19:48.437 --> 00:19:50.105 That's the most important part. 461 00:19:50.105 --> 00:19:53.859 It's the iconic Starfleet uniform 462 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:56.236 and I have my own. 463 00:19:56.236 --> 00:19:58.197 That's nuts to me. 464 00:20:13.170 --> 00:20:16.256 I think the mission statement for aStrange New Worlds 465 00:20:16.256 --> 00:20:19.885 is to pay tribute to the nostalgia of TOS. 466 00:20:19.885 --> 00:20:22.804 Not replicate, but kind of just pay tribute. 467 00:20:22.804 --> 00:20:26.475 TOS started in 2266, 468 00:20:26.475 --> 00:20:31.480 and we are in Strange New Worlds at 2256. 469 00:20:31.605 --> 00:20:35.734 And it's about a year after we last saw Pike on Discovery. 470 00:20:35.734 --> 00:20:36.860 So I'm kind of caught 471 00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:40.530 in these two very visually different shows. 472 00:20:40.530 --> 00:20:43.992 So we had to come up with a way to marry them together. 473 00:20:44.868 --> 00:20:46.703 What we did was we used 474 00:20:46.703 --> 00:20:48.997 the kind of strong silhouette of Discovery. 475 00:20:48.997 --> 00:20:50.958 They had these great strong shoulders, 476 00:20:50.958 --> 00:20:53.377 a superhero kind of silhouette, 477 00:20:53.377 --> 00:20:56.380 and it was just a little more casual in TOS. 478 00:20:56.380 --> 00:20:59.549 So we wanted to elaborate on the uniforms 479 00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:00.676 in that way and just, 480 00:21:00.676 --> 00:21:02.386 yeah, make it a little more comfortable 481 00:21:02.386 --> 00:21:03.929 for the actors as well. 482 00:21:03.929 --> 00:21:06.974 We decided to open it up and reintroduce 483 00:21:06.974 --> 00:21:08.100 the Starfleet dress. 484 00:21:08.100 --> 00:21:09.977 It changes the silhouettes, 485 00:21:09.977 --> 00:21:12.104 the Starfleet dress is again, 486 00:21:12.104 --> 00:21:15.190 part of the nostalgia of The Original Series. 487 00:21:15.190 --> 00:21:18.026 The tunic is something that can be worn by any gender. 488 00:21:18.026 --> 00:21:22.322 We've used a microprint on the tops of the shoulders. 489 00:21:22.322 --> 00:21:24.366 And now down the sleeves. 490 00:21:24.366 --> 00:21:26.618 And Sarah, maybe you can tell us about microprint. 491 00:21:26.618 --> 00:21:30.622 Yeah, a fun detail for fans is that our microprint, 492 00:21:30.622 --> 00:21:33.500 we did a different microprint for each department. 493 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:36.795 So the gold command is the star. 494 00:21:36.795 --> 00:21:39.840 Our science microprint is the planet, 495 00:21:39.840 --> 00:21:43.385 and the engineering microprint is a spiral. 496 00:21:43.385 --> 00:21:46.638 And then also for medical, we did the cross. 497 00:21:46.638 --> 00:21:51.018 So each one is specific to their department. 498 00:21:51.018 --> 00:21:54.896 The next set of costumes we have is the medical. 499 00:21:54.896 --> 00:21:58.817 It's a great fusion of Discovery and TOS, in my opinion. 500 00:21:58.817 --> 00:22:01.945 So the medical team in Discovery 501 00:22:01.945 --> 00:22:04.906 wore these medical white costumes. 502 00:22:04.906 --> 00:22:07.367 We've updated it with our own microprint, 503 00:22:07.367 --> 00:22:10.996 but they look amazing on anyone who wears them. 504 00:22:10.996 --> 00:22:16.001 It's a glowing white, full body, skintight jumpsuit. 505 00:22:16.793 --> 00:22:19.838 I have been compared to a fluorescent tube light. 506 00:22:19.838 --> 00:22:20.756 Ow! 507 00:22:20.756 --> 00:22:22.549 It's kind of a nice challenge every day, 508 00:22:22.549 --> 00:22:24.009 trying not to get anything on it. 509 00:22:24.009 --> 00:22:25.385 'Cause if you breathe in the wrong direction, 510 00:22:25.385 --> 00:22:26.595 then you get a smudge. 511 00:22:26.595 --> 00:22:29.306 But I feel a million bucks in it, as well. 512 00:22:29.306 --> 00:22:30.223 It was a beautiful moment 513 00:22:30.223 --> 00:22:35.228 to have that streamlined beautiful blue, sea blue, color on 514 00:22:36.855 --> 00:22:38.482 with the black thread. 515 00:22:38.482 --> 00:22:42.152 So the medical tunic is kind of influenced by Bones 516 00:22:42.152 --> 00:22:43.779 from the TOS era. 517 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:46.990 It's a really classic round neck 518 00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:48.950 with the black kind of trim. 519 00:22:48.950 --> 00:22:52.579 We've updated it with this magnetic closure 520 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:55.999 and the micro print is the medical symbol. 521 00:22:55.999 --> 00:22:57.209 It was an experience, 522 00:22:57.209 --> 00:22:58.919 putting that uniform on, 523 00:22:58.919 --> 00:23:01.505 knowing the people that have worn it. 524 00:23:01.505 --> 00:23:04.508 I giggled, I giggled like a child. 525 00:23:05.467 --> 00:23:07.260 It's like the stamp, that final thing 526 00:23:07.260 --> 00:23:09.471 that's like concrete and cementing us 527 00:23:09.471 --> 00:23:11.807 into the realism of the moment. 528 00:23:11.807 --> 00:23:16.645 And I hope that the fans at home see the attention to detail 529 00:23:16.645 --> 00:23:18.897 because what costumes is doing with these, 530 00:23:18.897 --> 00:23:20.107 they're incredible. 531 00:23:20.107 --> 00:23:22.359 And I think that is just another piece 532 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:23.819 of what the diehard fans 533 00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:25.695 are really, really going to appreciate. 534 00:23:59.146 --> 00:24:01.022 And now we come to the part of The Ready Room 535 00:24:01.022 --> 00:24:04.025 where I give you an exclusive look at next week's episode 536 00:24:04.025 --> 00:24:06.528 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 537 00:24:06.528 --> 00:24:10.073 with a new self-contained adventure every week 538 00:24:10.073 --> 00:24:11.241 on Strange New Worlds. 539 00:24:11.241 --> 00:24:13.869 I am fully depending on these sneak peeks 540 00:24:13.869 --> 00:24:15.745 to hold me over while I wait. 541 00:24:15.745 --> 00:24:17.581 It's kind of like watching The Original Series 542 00:24:17.581 --> 00:24:20.125 or The Next Generation back in the before times. 543 00:24:20.125 --> 00:24:21.460 Are you ready? 544 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:23.211 Okay, but are you really ready? 545 00:24:23.211 --> 00:24:24.921 I know you're ready, I'm just messing with you. 546 00:24:24.921 --> 00:24:25.881 Here you go. 547 00:24:29.509 --> 00:24:30.802 Energize. 548 00:24:32.804 --> 00:24:33.638 Commander, I'm having trouble 549 00:24:33.638 --> 00:24:35.056 getting a lock on your signals. 550 00:24:35.056 --> 00:24:36.600 The ion storm is interfering. 551 00:24:37.517 --> 00:24:39.728 Storm's only getting closer, Enterprise. 552 00:24:39.728 --> 00:24:40.937 One second, Commander. 553 00:24:42.481 --> 00:24:43.690 Energizing. 554 00:24:51.323 --> 00:24:52.699 Transporter room to engineering. 555 00:24:52.699 --> 00:24:53.867 Hemmer, I'm losing them. 556 00:24:54.826 --> 00:24:57.204 Rerouting auxiliary power, get ready. 557 00:24:59.080 --> 00:25:00.540 Chief Hemmer to bridge. 558 00:25:00.540 --> 00:25:01.917 Prepare for temporary engagement 559 00:25:01.917 --> 00:25:03.502 of emergency systems backups. 560 00:25:27.067 --> 00:25:29.152 Engineering to transporter, try it now. 561 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.447 How did you...? 562 00:25:32.447 --> 00:25:33.823 I am a genius. 563 00:25:33.823 --> 00:25:34.824 Move quickly. 564 00:25:34.824 --> 00:25:37.702 Well, now I'm just gonna be stressed until next week. 565 00:25:37.702 --> 00:25:39.246 Seems like Captain Pike and the crew 566 00:25:39.246 --> 00:25:42.499 are in a stormy situation. 567 00:25:42.499 --> 00:25:43.333 Dad joke. 568 00:25:43.333 --> 00:25:45.126 Everyone, thank you so much 569 00:25:45.126 --> 00:25:47.420 for watching this week's episode of The Ready Room. 570 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:50.048 Next week, I'm joined by Rebecca Romijn, 571 00:25:50.048 --> 00:25:53.510 who currently resides as number one in our hearts 572 00:25:53.510 --> 00:25:54.844 and on our screens, 573 00:25:54.844 --> 00:25:56.555 as well as Strange New Worlds' 574 00:25:56.555 --> 00:25:59.099 Co-Executive Producer and Writer, Akela Cooper 575 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:01.101 to dig into Episode 3 of 576 00:26:01.101 --> 00:26:04.229 Strange New Worlds, "Ghosts of Illyria." 577 00:26:04.229 --> 00:26:05.689 How very intriguing. 578 00:26:05.689 --> 00:26:07.774 Until then, I'm Wil Wheaton. 579 00:26:07.774 --> 00:26:09.651 Live long and prosper.