The Paramount+ Original series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a group of young cadets, who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the demanding eyes of their instructors, they learn what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate friendships, rivalries, love and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation.
Holly Hunter stars as the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Cadets are played by Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins and Bella Shepard. Paul Giamatti is a recurring guest.
The series’ premiere episode was written by Gaia Violo and directed by Alex Kurtzman. It's produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, and streams exclusively on Paramount+.
Jon Dudkowski (pictured) serves as editor on the series, which is rolling out 10 episodes each week through March. Here, he shares insight into cutting the show, dealing with its many visual effects and some of the series’ unique challenges.
Jon, what are the unique editorial challenges of working within the Star Trek universe?
“The biggest challenge — and honestly, the most fun — is the scale of the collaboration. Starfleet Academy is built by an enormous team. Every part of that team is working to solve its own very specific problems, and all of that work comes together in editorial, so we can’t afford to think in creative silos. Editing SFA requires a holistic understanding of camera, sound, music, visual effects, writing and performance, as well as a respect and love for the history of the franchise. It’s not enough to ‘cut a scene’ — we have to understand how every department is thinking and why. A single extra shot, a longer beat or a small change in blocking can create enormous additional costs or push the schedule off track. Adding or subtracting a single ADR line can ripple outward — affecting a character’s arc, a season-long story thread or even betraying the science driving the plot. And the fan base will often dissect every choice, so there’s nowhere to hide a questionable decision.
“And then there are the canon considerations. With nearly a thousand hours of Star Trek stories behind us (not to mention books and games), every choice exists in conversation with what came before. In editorial, we have to balance knowing when to lean into Star Trek’s legacy and when to push the language forward — without breaking the rules of the universe.
“For example, when would a Bajoran consider it rude to ‘mind speak’ in front of non-Bajorans. That’s something we have to wrestle with in editing. Star Trek has a very specific internal logic — how technology works, how space is navigated, how people behave in this future. Editorial plays a huge role in maintaining that believability. If the rhythm, geography or cause-and-effect don’t feel right, the illusion collapses.
“In addition, I personally have a unique set of challenges on this show given my role. Sometimes I edit directly from set, cutting sequences in real time. Other times, I collaborate with directors and producers remotely. Occasionally, I’m directing an episode. I often act as a liaison between our editorial team and our VFX team. That level of collaboration is incredibly rewarding — but it’s not always easy.”
Does the show differentiate itself editorially from previous Star Trek series?
“SFA has an expanded tonal range compared to what we’ve done before. It has a little of the comedy of ‘Lower Decks,’ some of the ensemble warmth of ‘Strange New Worlds,’ the elevated production values of ‘Discovery,’ the coming-of-age stories in ‘Prodigy,’ and the themes of hope and exploration that are in the DNA of every Star Trek show. So the visual and auditory experience is expanded as well. All of these tonal shifts need to feel organic and serve the story.
“For example, we’re also using a wider lens package for SFA than the other shows, and that impacts how the drama lands. A close wide-angle lens shot has a different emotional impact than a long-lens close-up.
“We are also using a more modern music sensibility for the series, as it's about young cadets, and their music isn’t the music of earlier generations. Finding the right pacing for a scene when it has hip-hop beats underscoring it instead of more classic orchestration is a new challenge for editing SFA.”
Can you walk us through a scene that was particularly challenging to edit?
“Our action scenes are always an interesting challenge because of the VFX elements, and the volume stage scenes tend to make for impressive visuals. But the hardest scenes sometimes seem the least complicated.
“There was a scene in Episode 2 where Capt. Ake, Admiral Vance, Commander Kelrick and the President of Betazed are having a conversation at a reception while the doctor sings opera in the background. The dialogue is sharp and full of subtext as the President and the Federation officers conduct a sort of diplomatic waltz. Also, the President of Betazed is deaf, so all of his dialogue is International Sign Language with on-screen subtitles.
“So this is a very subtle scene where looks do a lot of the heavy lifting. I was cutting the scene on-set while Alex was directing, and it was late. The camera work was all fluid Steadicam moves, and we were shooting multiple cameras. Because it was four people, the eyelines were all over the place, but it was important that each person in the scene felt connected and engaged in the conversation.
“That was a tough one. It was late, and everyone was tired. The work was complicated but also subtle. I had to use the Avid ScriptSync tool on the fly to keep my eyelines and coverage straight. I think if you watch the scene now, it just kind of flows, but it took a lot of work to get there. I remember thinking on-set that this was kind of crazy. It made sitting in my normal office, cutting dailies, feel very relaxed.”
With large-scale sci-fi visuals, how do you make sure the story and character moments remain the focus?
“Empathy for the characters and empathy for the audience. For example, early in the pilot episode, Calib Mir breaks free from custody and fights to take control of the shuttle transporting him to prison. There are a lot of exciting pops out to the exterior to see how the shuttle is bouncing around as the fight takes place inside. This scene was done on the volume stage inside a shuttle. I think we had the shuttle on a gimbal as well to match the movement out the windows.
“It’s a classic action sequence that hopefully connects the audience with the hero. Part of my job is to feel empathy for the character — to imagine what he is thinking and feeling during this fight — and then build a sequence that conveys that experience to the audience, while simultaneously getting all the movement and plot information across so the story keeps moving at a furious clip.
“I’ve been working with Alex Kurtzman on and off since the pilot of Fringe, so that’s almost 20 years. We have a shorthand.”
How closely do you collaborate with the VFX team during the edit?
“The VFX team and editorial team work very closely throughout the entire process. One of the things that’s most interesting about Star Trek — and that separates a big VFX spectacle show like this — is that the VFX team begins designing shots long before cameras roll. The design work for the volume stage begins months in advance.
“The VFX team is in constant communication with the producers, the director and editorial. At this point, this particular team has been working together for a long time, so we have a shorthand and an understanding of how everyone works. I’ve been working in heavy VFX-driven genre work for decades, so while I’m not a VFX artist myself, I like to think I have a good idea of what they need to do their best work.”
When you’re cutting an episode, how often are you working with completed VFX versus temp or placeholder shots?
“Generally, the only ‘completed’ VFX work we have in the early stages is previs material, which is simply a visual sketch of what is going to happen during a shot, or the material that has been designed for the volume stage. Generally speaking, the volume stage material is pretty close to a finished product. Sometimes there will be additional elements we need to add, but most of what happens on the volume stage goes straight from the camera through editorial to finishing without a lot of additional effects work.”
Does your editing approach change when major visual effects aren’t yet finalized?
“The trick I use to integrate visual effects into a sequence before we have the timing or final work is to rely heavily on sound effects. If I close my eyes and listen to the scene, and I can map out what’s happening in my mind’s eye beat by beat, then I know the VFX will eventually work and elevate a story that’s already functioning.
“I was teaching at USC during COVID and everything was on Zoom. I had a little exercise I’d do with the students: I’d turn off my camera and tell them a short sequence of events. Then I’d ask who could follow what was happening. Everyone could. Then I would turn off my mic but leave the camera on and describe a new sequence of events. Without sound, it was impossible to follow the action. It was a fun way to illustrate how critical good temp sound work is.”
You mentioned Avid ScriptSync. What other tools are being used in your workflow?
“As I said, I rely on sound effects first and foremost. After that, I will use Avid or After Effects to temp together a visual idea of what I think is needed to convey the critical ideas for the shot. Our VFX team is incredible, so I’m not sure how much they need or use my temp work, but it’s an effective way to communicate ideas with the producers and the studio before the VFX team has had a chance to create their magic. And because we have a pretty good library at this point of effects-heavy moments, I can usually find a similar event somewhere in the catalog that gives me a timing reference. Then, when the real work starts coming in, we can and do make adjustments based on what the VFX artists are producing. Sometimes we find things during the VFX process that weren’t there during production — just like sometimes you find things on-set that weren’t in the script.”