By Natasha Young

August 26, 2015. 2:30AM.

My alarm goes off for my earliest STAR TREK BEYOND call time yet, 4:00 AM. We’re on location today at the Pitt River Quarry, the last location for the movie’s cast and crew before production moves overseas to Dubai.

After I arrive at the crew parking area, we are shuttled ten minutes to the on-location circus, where the trailers, food trucks, wardrobe, and makeup trailers are waiting for us. After arriving – while the sun is just barely rising on the horizon – the first task is no surprise: hand over our phones so the cameras can be covered with security tape, and get our contracts.

Once production is satisfied that we won’t be able to take any unauthorized photos of the day’s events, we head over to wardrobe. This was always one of my favourite parts, standing there looking at my red uniform in complete disbelief that it was meant for me… and that by stepping into it, I would join the Enterprise crew!

Garak would have been proud

Now, the one thing you should now is that the BEYOND Starfleet costumes are beautifully designed and built – the fabrics, stitching, and other small details that are probably invisible on screen are just incredible. That being said: the other things you won’t see on-screen are the very tight, uncomfortable Spanx worn underneath – it was very important to production that everything was completely smooth and wrinkle-free.

When Chris Pine was asked in a recent interview if he loved the costumes, he hesitated a bit before answering – and I could tell from the look on his face exactly why. For his survival suit outfit, he had to wear a long-sleeve, tight Spanx shirt, another long-sleeve shirt on top of that, and of course the very thick, blue jacket as a third layer… none of which allowed for any airflow while filming in the hot summer heat!

None of that bothered me – I was a Starfleet officer, and I never wanted to take that uniform off!

After wardrobe, it was off to hair and makeup before heading to my absolute favourite stop: getting my Starfleet insignia from the props department! What you may not know is that the props team was incredibly protective of the newly-designed insignia – the badges were very expensive, and nobody wanted them ending up stolen for sale online.

After handing over my contract, I got a rather stern lecture to keep track of the badge – because if I lost it I wouldn’t get paid – and after all that, the amazing insignia was affixed to my uniform and I was officially part of the Enterprise crew!

Now that I was all dressed for duty, it was time to head down to set – and because it was a huge set in the middle of a fully-operational rock quarry, our space was limited. The quarry held holding tents for actors, craft services for food, lots of equipment, and little else, but as I was ushered to my position, what I saw took my breath away.

You must be one with the rock

The set was so spectacular, and there really are no words that can fully describe what it was like to be there – I was surrounded by rocks, caves, weapons towers, lights, moving parts, and more.

One side of me were flashing beacons, roads carved out of the rocks, and a bridge crafted out of an old airplane wing – and on the other side, greenscreens, massive fixtures, the jail in which Krall holds the Enterprise crew, as well as pieces for other scenes in the movie (used for fights, beam-ups, etc.). We playfully referred to these yellow-coloured constructions as “the muffins” due to their shape.

I ended up spending twenty-two of the next forty-eight hours on those rocks, filming a scene that probably ended up being maybe two minutes in the final edit – and in the days that followed, I spent time both in an out of “jail,” being terrorized by Krall and his Swarm soldiers, watching Sulu and Uhura work out an escape plan, and getting rescued by Spock and Bones.

I could go on forever talking about my experience on the STAR TREK BEYOND set, but instead of boring you with minute-by-minute details, here are some of my favourite moments and observations from my entire filming experience.

Making first contact with Spock and Bones

On what I believe was my third day on set, I was busy talking to another actor awaiting the start of filming, and I was prepared to repeat the just-shot scene – where one actor taps me, and points ahead – but I looked up and there was Zachary Quinto, not ten feet away, and made up in full Spock mode.

When he caught my eye, I got a very Vulcan raised eyebrow and head not – seriously, a Spock eyebrow, raised just for me! Moments later (after I got over that shock) Karl Urban appeared in full Bones McCoy costume, and got an in-person “Dammit, man!” – that was it, my on-set experience could have ended there and I would have been completely satisfied.

Makeup magic

The BEYOND makeup team, especially those involved in the creation of the fantastic alien prosthetics, were just incredible – and while the designs obviously look amazing on film, they are even more amazing in person.

From Jaylah, Krall, and Keenser to the many new alien races designed specifically for this film you may not have even seen clearly in theaters, the intricate appliances were truly extraordinary. In fact, I think that every actor at some point felt the need to stare and poke at the makeup – and the poor actors underneath had to endure us all!

One of my best alien moments was when we were all still in Krall’s jail: Keenser was hiding behind me, an enormous six-foot-five alien was close by (promising to protect me), there were two other aliens to  my left – and then Krall and his cohorts were coming right towards me.

It was so surreal, being on that amazing set among all these new species – truly, a perfect Trek experience.

Bangs and a banjo

Seeing Zach walk around set with his ever-present banjo, wearing his fully-Vulcan haircut was one of the greatest sights – and that ranks high among my favorite moments.

I’m Captain Kirk! I’m Captain Kirk!

Chris Pine had not just one or two stunt doubles – he actually had three! Seeing all three of them walk around set with the same hair and uniform as the captain was always a comical sight, and I almost always did a double- (or triple-) take whenever one of those guys would pass by.

A cast with strong chemistry… and commitment

The cast of these movies clearly has an unbelievable chemistry – and if you know anything about them, that can’t be a revelation. From their group interviews to their constantly-expanding collection of Dubsmash videos, it’s abundantly clear how well they all get along.

Getting to witness it in person, though is a remarkable experience – the banter between Karl and Zach, hearing John Cho and Zoe Saldana sing… and always filled with lots and lots of laughter.

Whenever Idris Elba walked into a scene in character as Krall, he immediately commanded our attention – and was frightening when he was terrorizing the crew, deciding which of us would be zapped for our life energy.

He became Krall so completely that between his dedication to the villainous character and the incredibly-realistic alien makeup, it was impossible to see anything except Krall – and impossible to feel anything but terror!

Everyone knows that Chris Pine knows how to be silly and charming, and when he wasn’t filming he was always open and sweet to the cast and crew – very casual, with his signature flip-flops making frequent appearances when he was out of costume.

What I really noticed, though, was his absolutely serious focus on the work when scenes were difficult or emotional to shoot, such as the motorcycle sequence filmed in the quarry. Pine shot those scenes from very early in the morning through late afternoon, with lots of riding and stunts he had to repeat over and over, take after take.

After a few difficult takes, he took a break and I happened to speak with him briefly – he was in a really intense emotional space, and I could see that the weight of the scene (and his stunt work) were present in his demeanor. Gone was the usual laid-back guy; here, Chris was completely focused on the task at hand.

 
Boldly gone

There were so many more great moments from my time on the STAR TREK BEYOND set than I can list here – and I’m glad I’ve got my memories, because the bulk of the scenes I shot didn’t make the final cut. Don’t worry, though, I didn’t die – I’m a happy, surviving redshirt, and I’ll take my two seconds of on-screen time, as some of my compatriots had their parts eliminated entirely!

What I remember the clearest (and wish I was allowed to photograph!) was looking in the mirror and seeing that image of my uniform, Starfleet insignia, the infinity bun in my hair, and those boots – for a die-hard Trekkie like myself, wearing that authentic Star Trek uniform was a moment of pure joy.

The final thing I want to mention is that nearly everyone – from leading actor to background performer – seemed to be genuinely thrilled and honoured to be a part of this movie, and this beloved franchise. There was an explainable camaraderie that was so evident, and still remains: I found friends that I cannot imagine not having on set.

We weren’t just actors, we were the crew of the Starship Enterprise – and will be forever.