Star Trek Shots

Director Jonathan Frakes reviews a script with Holly Hunter in the command chair on the set of "300th Night". Veteran TREK director (and of course Commander) said of helming "300th Night" that guest star Tatiana Maslany was his "secret weapon" to make the mother son scenes in the episode resonate: "I was a huge fan of her, still am, obviously, and even more so having worked with her. And I had watched Sandro develop over the season as I visited the set and they shared the first couple of episodes as they were being cut together, so I knew the style of shooting that Alex [Kurtzman] and Noga [Landau] had wanted to go for, the motif with these very tight, moving, emotional close-ups. And because this show, this episode is filled with those kinds of emotional moments, it lent itself… I mean, the action is great and the stunts are great and the visual effects are great, but for me, it’s always a combination of the emotional stuff and some levity, which we got a little bit of, when the cadets were stealing the shuttle. It has the layers of stuff that makes a good STAR TREK."

Jonathan Frakes and Holly Hunter on the set of "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

it has grown on me. the main titles are fractured, appropriate to the core of the show, I think. but now that the season is almost over, the theme's been stated clearly enough times throughout that it's become kind of an earworm, at least for me!

STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY title card looking up the height of the school's atrium to the Starfleet delta at its top.

Picturemill's CD William Lebeda and EP David Midgen:

"We referenced the tree on set as well as the growth stages of a sakura [cherry blossom] to accurately capture the sense of timelapse growth. Though this is a fantasy tree, growing in a building of the future, it is grounded in reality."

Cherry blossoms float down the corridors of the USS Athena and Starfleet Academy itself.

Picturemill's CD William Lebeda and EP David Midgen:

"And seeing the [a] grow alone, out of context, felt like it missed some of the scope and scale of the Academy... Matchmoving between the buildings and the tree growing integrated the two halves of the story in an emotional and satisfying way."

A circular building under construction in the warm tones that are a staple of STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY's visual language.

A high rise bearing the Starfleet insignia under construction by drones and floating machinery.

From Picturemill's Creative Director William Lebeda and EP David Midgen:

"...we discussed seeing just the campus being built, but it felt too cold. Though spectacular, that kind of purely architectural timelapse... can lack some emotional connection."

Blossoms on the tree at the heart of Starfleet Academy's massive atrium, a visual metaphor for the young cadets at the center of STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY.

From Picturemill's Creative Director William Lebeda and EP David Midgen:

"Alex Kurtzman, co-showrunner and EP at Secret Hideout, had a vision: A metaphor of these new cadets as the seeds of a new Federation, growing into the next generation of Starfleet officers."

STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Opening titles (no text) by Picturemill

Director Jonathan Frakes reviews a script with Holly Hunter in the command chair on the set of "300th Night". Veteran TREK director (and of course Commander) said of helming "300th Night" that guest star Tatiana Maslany was his "secret weapon" to make the mother son scenes in the episode resonate: "I was a huge fan of her, still am, obviously, and even more so having worked with her. And I had watched Sandro develop over the season as I visited the set and they shared the first couple of episodes as they were being cut together, so I knew the style of shooting that Alex [Kurtzman] and Noga [Landau] had wanted to go for, the motif with these very tight, moving, emotional close-ups. And because this show, this episode is filled with those kinds of emotional moments, it lent itself… I mean, the action is great and the stunts are great and the visual effects are great, but for me, it’s always a combination of the emotional stuff and some levity, which we got a little bit of, when the cadets were stealing the shuttle. It has the layers of stuff that makes a good STAR TREK."

Jonathan Frakes and Holly Hunter on the set of "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno manning a station on the bridge of the USS Athena on an unauthorized mission. Director of Photography Philip Lanyon said STARFLEET ACADEMY's visual language was meant to be more approachable than previous streaming era STAR TREK series, this included the shift in aspect ratio: "On its face, it’s for a younger audience. The very down-to-earth, technical changes we made were that we went to a 16:9 [aspect ratio] to fill the TV. We felt that was a little more approachable for all audiences, compared to the 2.40 widescreen format we used for DISCOVERY, STRANGE NEW WORLDS, PICARD, and SECTION 31. That was the big visual change, [and then] a little less anamorphic feel, a little bit less flare, although we feel like that’s a part of the common collective consciousness of what STAR TREK is, visually, so we definitely had that in there."

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno in "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno manning a station on the bridge of the USS Athena on an unauthorized mission. According to Notaro, she and her brother watched STAR TREK together as children. When she attempted to introduce the franchise to her own kids, the reception was less than enthusiastic: "I've tried to show my kids the show. When they were really little, they were only interested in watching the spaceship fly by. Anytime I was on camera, they were like, 'Go back to the spaceship.'"

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno in "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake on the bridge of the USS Athena on an unauthorized mission. According to Notaro, she and her brother watched STAR TREK together as children. When she attempted to introduce the franchise to her own kids, the reception was less than enthusiastic: "I've tried to show my kids the show. When they were really little, they were only interested in watching the spaceship fly by. Anytime I was on camera, they were like, 'Go back to the spaceship.'"

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake sitting weird in her Captain's chair (as she does) in "300th Night". Episode description: As the year comes to an end, Caleb must choose between the life he thought he wanted and the life he’s built for himself at Starfleet Academy. Meanwhile, Nahla breaks protocol in one final gambit to keep a promise to Caleb.

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in "300th Night", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Robert Picardo inside the shuttlecraft set as a camera crane films from outside the cockpit window during production of "The Life of the Stars". Picardo discussed working long shooting hours alongside his younger fellow castmates: "...Pace-wise, mentally, the fourteen-hour shooting days — is a challenge, but they’re so delightful to be around. They’re committed to their roles, very serious about their work. You want to work with actors who take the work seriously, but not themselves too seriously. They seem to have really good senses of themselves, of what a long career will be, and their heads are screwed on right. That’s very refreshing for me to see in all of these wonderful young performers."

Filming Robert Picardo on the shuttlecraft set during production of "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in the (mostly) black and white realm of Kasq. Director of Photography Philip Lanyon said STARFLEET ACADEMY's visual language was meant to be more approachable than previous streaming era STAR TREK series, this included the shift in aspect ratio: "On its face, it’s for a younger audience. The very down-to-earth, technical changes we made were that we went to a 16:9 [aspect ratio] to fill the TV. We felt that was a little more approachable for all audiences, compared to the 2.40 widescreen format we used for DISCOVERY, STRANGE NEW WORLDS, PICARD, and SECTION 31. That was the big visual change, [and then] a little less anamorphic feel, a little bit less flare, although we feel like that’s a part of the common collective consciousness of what STAR TREK is, visually, so we definitely had that in there."

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake en route to Kasq. Accordig to Robert Picardo, playing The Doctor 800 years in the future presented a unique challenge, particularly when factoring in the character's unique traits as an artificial lifeform: "It's mind-blowing. I said to [the producers], 'Wait a minute, you mean I have 800 years of digital memory — perfect clarity — so that an event that happened 792 years and 112 days and this many hours and minutes, that moment was not only recorded in here, but it was as clear as something that happened yesterday?' [They said], ‘Yep, that's what it means.’ I said, ‘Alright, I'll start trying to wrap my mind around that now!’ ”

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake en route to Kasq. Accordig to Robert Picardo, playing The Doctor 800 years in the future presented a unique challenge, particularly when factoring in the character's unique traits as an artificial lifeform: "It's mind-blowing. I said to [the producers], 'Wait a minute, you mean I have 800 years of digital memory — perfect clarity — so that an event that happened 792 years and 112 days and this many hours and minutes, that moment was not only recorded in here, but it was as clear as something that happened yesterday?' [They said], ‘Yep, that's what it means.’ I said, ‘Alright, I'll start trying to wrap my mind around that now!’ ”

Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in a shuttlecraft bound for the photonic world, Kasq. Robert Picardo described The Doctor's feelings towards SAM prior to the events of "The Life of the Stars" as conflicted: "The Doctor, I think, likes feeling unique, but also a protege who is giving him more attention and interest that he clearly wants to return. He's both intrigued and annoyed by her.”

Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Kerrice Brooks as SAM and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in an Academy shuttle en route to Kasq. Robert Picardo described The Doctor's feelings towards SAM prior to the events of "The Life of the Stars" as conflicted: "The Doctor, I think, likes feeling unique, but also a protege who is giving him more attention and interest that he clearly wants to return. He's both intrigued and annoyed by her.”

Kerrice Brooks as SAM and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Holly Hunter, Kerrice Brooks, and Robert Picardo inside the shuttlecraft set, filmed from outside the cockpit window during production of "The Life of the Stars". Picardo discussed working long shooting hours alongside his younger fellow castmates: "...Pace-wise, mentally, the fourteen-hour shooting days — is a challenge, but they’re so delightful to be around. They’re committed to their roles, very serious about their work. You want to work with actors who take the work seriously, but not themselves too seriously. They seem to have really good senses of themselves, of what a long career will be, and their heads are screwed on right. That’s very refreshing for me to see in all of these wonderful young performers."

Holly Hunter, Kerrice Brooks, and Robert Picardo on the set of "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Robert Picardo inside the shuttlecraft set as a camera crane films from outside the cockpit window during production of "The Life of the Stars". Picardo discussed working long shooting hours alongside his younger fellow castmates: "...Pace-wise, mentally, the fourteen-hour shooting days — is a challenge, but they’re so delightful to be around. They’re committed to their roles, very serious about their work. You want to work with actors who take the work seriously, but not themselves too seriously. They seem to have really good senses of themselves, of what a long career will be, and their heads are screwed on right. That’s very refreshing for me to see in all of these wonderful young performers."

Filming Robert Picardo on the shuttlecraft set during production of "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Tig Notaro in costume as Commander Jett Reno in a Starfleet Academy classroom, a publicity photo for STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY Season One. According to Notaro, she and her brother watched STAR TREK together as children. When she attempted to introduce the franchise to her own kids, the reception was less than enthusiastic: "I've tried to show my kids the show. When they were really little, they were only interested in watching the spaceship fly by. Anytime I was on camera, they were like, 'Go back to the spaceship.'"

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno, STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Mary Wiseman returns as DISCOVERY's Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly: A visiting instructor arrives at the Academy and uses an unorthodox method to help our cadets process the emotions of recent trauma in "The Life of the Stars".

Mary Wiseman as Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno in the command chair of the USS Athena during a Starfleet Academy training simulation. According to Notaro, she and her brother watched STAR TREK together as children. When she attempted to introduce the franchise to her own kids, the reception was less than enthusiastic: "I've tried to show my kids the show. When they were really little, they were only interested in watching the spaceship fly by. Anytime I was on camera, they were like, 'Go back to the spaceship.'"

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Paul Giamatti (with a clapper in front of him) holding a model of the NX-01 during filming of "Come, Let's Away" A major fan of STAR TREK, Giamatti admitted he was surprised he received the offer to play Nus-topher Braka: “I didn't actually think I'd ever actually get a call! I made no secret about the fact that I loved the show, but I never thought it would actually be something that would happen… It's a top experience for me. I don't know that much else can top this. I still kind of can't believe that I got to do it."

Paul Giamatti on the set of "Come, Let's Away", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

A camera operator films Karim Diané and George Hawkins on the set of "Ko'Zeine" Regarding the introduction of non-heterosexual Klingons through his character, Jay-Den Kraag, Diané had this to say: "Star Trek has always pushed boundaries. In the 1960s, Nichelle Nichols was a Black woman in a leadership role on prime-time television during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She received hate mail for it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged her to stay because of what it meant. Today, it’s a gay Klingon who happens to be Black. History tends to resist progress before it celebrates it.”

Karim Diané and George Hawkins on the set of "Ko'Zeine", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Paul Giamatti (with a clapper in front of him) holding a model of the NX-01 during filming of "Come, Let's Away" A major fan of STAR TREK, Giamatti admitted he was surprised he received the offer to play Nus-topher Braka: “I didn't actually think I'd ever actually get a call! I made no secret about the fact that I loved the show, but I never thought it would actually be something that would happen… It's a top experience for me. I don't know that much else can top this. I still kind of can't believe that I got to do it."

Paul Giamatti on the set of "Come, Let's Away", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Director Larry Teng jokes with Robert Picardo on the set of "Series Acclimation Mil". Picard discussed working long shooting hours alongside his younger fellow castmates: "...Pace-wise, mentally, the fourteen-hour shooting days — is a challenge, but they’re so delightful to be around. They’re committed to their roles, very serious about their work. You want to work with actors who take the work seriously, but not themselves too seriously. They seem to have really good senses of themselves, of what a long career will be, and their heads are screwed on right. That’s very refreshing for me to see in all of these wonderful young performers."

Director Larry Teng with Robert Picardo on the set of "Series Acclimation Mil", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Mary Wiseman returns as DISCOVERY's Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly: A visiting instructor arrives at the Academy and uses an unorthodox method to help our cadets process the emotions of recent trauma in "The Life of the Stars".

Mary Wiseman as Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly in "The Life of the Stars", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

A camera operator films Karim Diané and George Hawkins on the set of "Ko'Zeine" Regarding the introduction of non-heterosexual Klingons through his character, Jay-Den Kraag, Diané had this to say: "Star Trek has always pushed boundaries. In the 1960s, Nichelle Nichols was a Black woman in a leadership role on prime-time television during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She received hate mail for it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged her to stay because of what it meant. Today, it’s a gay Klingon who happens to be Black. History tends to resist progress before it celebrates it.”

Karim Diané and George Hawkins on the set of "Ko'Zeine", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)

Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag photographed on the set of in "Ko’Zeine". Exceptionally engaged with the STAR TREK fan community, Diané revealed that he had trepidation taking on the role of Jay-Den, knowing there would be ugly online discourse around the character's sexuality and even attire, but he said, "...what matters more is this: over the past few weeks since this show premiered, I've received countless messages from LGBTQ+ people around the world... people who feel seen, validated, and inspired by Jay-Den. Those messages outweigh every bit of negativity. Every single time."

Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag in "Ko’Zeine", STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY (2026)