There have been a lot of iterations of “Star Trek” since the first voyages of the Enterprise way back in 1966. Each new series, each new addition, has to maintain a spiritual continuity with the story world that fans have fallen in love with for generations, but each “Star Trek” show also gets the chance to forge its own identity and bring its own perspective to Federation Space and beyond. That’s the challenge that cinematographer Tommy Maddox-Upshaw grappled with for “Starfleet Academy.”
“It’s a whole new chapter of ‘Trek’ and so we wanted a warm incubation [for] this new, younger generation of cadets,” Maddox-Upshaw told IndieWire as part of our recent Craft Roundtables. “Spock and everybody’s up on the wall.”
Maddox-Upshaw wanted to use the cinematography to craft a visual separation from the legends of “Star Trek” and give the cadets of “Starfleet Academy” a world that really felt like theirs, even if the instructors are wearing the classic blue, yellow, and red shirts. “I was trying to figure out a different format because everybody, in this sci-fi space especially, is anamorphic, clean, cold, long lens, reach on a 300m. I was like, ‘No, these are kids, and they need to be learning about camaraderie,” Maddox-Upshaw said. “People need to fit in the frames with each other, and let’s make the lens way more intimate in terms of the environment.”
“Starfleet Academy” starts out more intimate, but it doesn’t necessarily stay that way. “The palette went warmer. And then when they went on the missions, you’ll see that I kind of cool it off and mixed color and tonality,” Maddox-Upshaw said. That mixing is the subtle visual handoff that takes the students of “Starfleet Academy” and marks the moment where they need to Boldly Go out in the vast, vast Galaxy of “Star Trek.”
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is now streaming on Paramount+
IndieWire’s TV Craft Roundtables is now streaming on @PBSSoCal and the PBS App as well as IndieWire.com and our social channels.
