Post-production on the third season of Star Trek: Discovery continues remotely, with a couple of the editors giving an update on progress today.
Editors give an update on season three
Production on the third season of Star Trek: Discovery wrapped up in Canada in February, coming in just a few weeks before film and television production was shut down in Canada and Hollywood. Post-production, which was already underway, moved to remote work, including editing.
After working as an assistant editor and then moving up to edit a couple of Short Treks, Chad Rubel has joined the editing team of Star Trek: Discovery for season three. This afternoon Rubel posted an update on Twitter saying today was his last day of work on the season, and adding “What an amazing experience it was.”
Last day Editing on Star Trek Discovery season 3. What an amazing experience it was. #StarTrekDiscovery #editor
— Chad Rubel (@ChadRubel) June 18, 2020
Some fans may have taken this to mean that editing for the third season was complete; however, Chad later confirmed he was speaking specifically for his own work. Editors Jon Dudkowski, ACE, and Scott Gamzon, ACE, have been editing for Discovery on all three seasons. Today in reply to Chad’s tweet, Gamzon indicated that work continues for the rest of the editing team, telling Rubel he will be missed at the Friday editors meetings on Zoom.
It’s been a pleasure @ChadRubel. Will miss seeing you at our Friday Zoom Editors gatherings.
And always great to see someone you first met as an assistant absolutely excel when they make it to the chair in front of the console. https://t.co/tXAwoxcPJW
— Scott Gamzon, ACE (@ScottGamzon) June 18, 2020
Gamzon and other Discovery editors began working remotely back in March.
A preview image of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 released at NYCC last October
Post-production team working as fast as they can
We still don’t know when we will see the new season. Just yesterday in response to a fan inquiry on Twitter, Gamazon said the date is yet to be determined. Gamzon said the post-production team was “working as best and as fast as we can,” adding that working remotely has “slowed down” progress.
Yet to be determined. Working as best and as fast as we can – but working from home presents numerous challenges that have slowed down our process.
— Scott Gamzon, ACE (@ScottGamzon) June 17, 2020
Editing isn’t the only area of post-production that had to move to remote work. This also includes visual effects, sound, and music—and some elements of remote work are harder than others. For example, ADR (automated dialog replacement) may need to be recorded by actors from their own homes, requiring special setups. And it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that composer Jeff Russo found a workaround for recording the score, but having each musician record their parts from their own homes has created added complexity, which takes longer. Recently restrictions in both Canada and California have begun to be lifted for film and television production work, so it’s possible some of this work can return to something closer to regular operation (albeit with new safety protocols) in the coming months.
But as of now, post-production for Discovery season three is still a work in progress, and a release date is still TBA.
David Ajala as Book with Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in season three preview image released at SDCC in July 2019
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.com.
September!? Wish they launch something soon. If they are giving updates every week, Discovery and Lower Decks, these two shows could launch at the same time. There are several shows in the pipeline. Having two shows at the same time, will be great during this time, during the stay at home, #MoreTrekNow.
Wishful thinking on your part Jay. At least we got Picard earlier in the year.
Post production on Discovery is really coming along nicely. Hopefully we get more news shortly.
I’m starting college in September so I won’t have the time to watch these shows. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities if you are wondering.
My state is doing pretty well. The pandemic wasn’t much of a strain. Minnesota is full of smart people.
@Faze Ninja — of course you’ll have time. I watched Star Trek pretty much every day (maybe I skipped some 3rd-season episodes) when I was at MIT and even had time to go the Star Trek convention in NYC in Feb 1975. And from what I understand, college hasn’t gotten any harder in the last 45 years :) Good luck!
Sounds like your experience was pretty much like mine Binyamin. Fortunately, by my time CreationCons were running regionally and I didn’t have to leave town.
Since you love Trek Ninja, plan to reward yourself for getting your work done by Thursday evening.
You may even find that your student association may run an all night marathon on a Saturday night before a new season launches.
you will have time to watch trek… in college especially year one there will be time for a little fun… on the subject of the intelligence of minnesotans… i’ll let history decide
Even if they are both ready at the same time, I doubt they’ll launch them together. They would probably launch one, take a month or so off, and then launch the other.
You are most likely right. Discovery and Lower Decks might launch a month from each other.
DSC in Oct-Dec and Lower Decks in Feb – Apr
Discovery is most likely September
Around September 28th?? Like it was back in 2017.
This article is stressing the tedious process of post-production remotely. Yet another important factor will be the lack of original content that all studios are contending with for this year into next. DSC S3 late Sept into Dec Then Lower decks early 2022. Then maybe Short Treks (if any?), and Picard S2 in Fall 2022??
Unless the pandemic has been going on much much longer than I remember I think you skipped 2021 there ;-)
I don’t seem them streaming both shows at the same time. They will likely run all episodes of one… Wait a few weeks… Then run the other. That way they keep the churn to a minimum.
September seems to be the most likely release date at this point.
Maybe Lower Decks and Discovery could be released at the same time.
But you told someone who’d said the same thing earlier that it was wishful thinking.
His opinions only apply to others, not himself.
Look at the time stamps. The wishful thinking post wasn’t earlier. at 4:52pm it was ‘maybe they could be released at the same time’. At 4:55 it was ‘wishful thinking’. Makes perfect sense. The wishful thinking was self-directed as well.
So he completely changed his mind in three minutes? Makes no sense.
“Faze Ninja
Wishful thinking on your part Jay. At least we got Picard earlier in the year.”
Which is it???
Please be good, as much as I’ve despised the last 2 seasons it’s Star Trek and I do want it to be good.
We are in the same boat.
Ditto.
Is there a medical term for carpal tunnel in two fingers from crossing them so much? Because I think I have it.
Agreed. Really disliked first season (and my least favorite first season out of all of them) but season two started off with a lot of promise IMO. But I’m really hoping season 3 stays with the Star Trek trend of it being its break out season like all the other spin offs did. We certainly can’t blame it on being a bad prequel anymore. ;)
Season 1 was a trainwreck. Season 2 got off to a better start but went downhill from there. I want to be optimistic about season 3 but I can’t.
I understand for sure! As you know I try to be optimistic about these shows but I know a lot of people REALLY hate Discovery lol. And I can’t blame them if that’s how they feel.
All I can say is since they at least moved the show away from a time period it should’ve NEVER been put in the first place and set it in a post-Nemesis period (or this case a post-post-post-post one ;)) it’s free to be its own thing now. And more importantly it can shape the universe in however it wants. We haven’t really had that since TNG premiered in 1987 and for that reason alone is why I’m giving it a chance and very excited now! It can be whatever it wants.
“It can be whatever it wants.”
Given the “writing chops” on display so far, including from the Pulitzer God, I’m not sure I should look forward to or dread this prediction ;)
LOL, good point. ;)
All 2 seasons have been great. Discovery is the best Trek ever.
A career in comedy beckons.
Bingo!
Discovery blows. No amount of internet hype bots and fan queens can change that.
I’m not an internet hype bot as far as I know, so maybe I’m a fan queen and have been one since the fall of 1966 when Star Trek first aired — I enjoyed both seasons of Discovery immensely.
I’m glad at least someone did. Not everyone can be a curmudgeon.
Binyamin, from what you’ve said, it sounds like you’re one of a few people on this board who were already in their teens when TOS was in first-run. And yet, you are one of the absolutely most open minded as new Trek shows come out.
This is interesting.
I have been suspecting for some time that there is a large contingent of fans who first saw a Trek series in their preteens (whether in syndicated reruns or first-run) and have locked into a minutely detailed head-canon that filters everything they see after that. It can really be an impediment.
At this point, even some of the EPs are in that category. Michael Chabon has spoken to this point in interviews.
Discovery wrapped up production in February before the shut down. COVID started to get worse in March onwards. The second wave of COVID is probably here. I wonder how bad this pandemic will get in the fall. Especially with the flu season coming up.
Post-production is going really well it seems. One of the editors are done, good for them. Visual effects and music still need some tweaking to do. A work in progress indeed.
The editing team is doing good a good job.
I think they would get the most attention if they waited until after the inauguration. There is just too much going on.
After the inauguration… president Joe Biden in 2021. They should do it before the election in November.
You got my attention when you said the word “inauguration” for a second there.
There is too much going on. From COVID to the protests across the country. In the coming months is the election and inauguration of course. You are absolutely right.
Surely, people can spare 1 hour a week to get away from politics.
Also, if Netflix is still paying a substantial part of the costs they may not want to delay releasing it internationally for several months just because of an election in the US.
I guess Discovery will be released as soon as it is ready (unless Lower Decks comes first in which case they may wait until that show is done).
Covid-related work slowdowns or not, I suspect scheduling and timing of announcements for Trek products agreeing determined by a much higher level brand strategy for the merged ViacomCBS.
CBS had announced that CBSAA would have at least one original series launch a season per quarter.
It sounds as though the summer premiere scheduling has been muddled by both Covid and ViacomCBS’s plans for a new streaming platform that integrates its services.
I expect that we’ll start seeing announcements once ViacomCBS senior executives can map out a strategy for the next 18 months, and that depends heavily on when production can resume.
For Star Trek live-action series other than Picard, this could be very soon. Toronto and Mississauga aren’t reopened yet, but Covid case counts are dropping quickly and work could start there within weeks.
The Guild sheets for Toronto were already showing preproduction for Discovery S4 as ‘rumoured’ last week.
Discovery is getting a season 4… I lack any optimism for season 3 to be honest with you. It needs to be good because Discovery is so bad as a Star Trek series.
Amazon is involved with Picard. Netflix is involved in Discovery production. Maybe a trailer is coming really soon.
COVID and other factors are at play here.
when i tell my 4yo to clean his room the best and as fast as he can my expectations are set very low. i guessing they expect the same from all of us
CBS could be using this delay to make the season 3 premiere of DSC part of the new Viacom platform launch that’s to replace CBS ALL ACCESS.
I feel like like CBS All Access will end up like Disney+. Viacom and CBS will put all of there brands on one streaming service.
Disney did the same thing with Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic and other Disney brands on Disney+.
There is also HBO Max (stupidly unavailable on Roku or Fire TV, but I digress) which has a lot of Warner Bros programming in addition to HBO content. And there is the imminent launch of Peacock, which will have Universal content in addition to shows from NBC and other Universal-owned networks like USA and SyFy.)
Longer we wait the more viewers you will lose.
Why?
Just spitballing here but perhaps it’s because the more time that goes by the greater the chance of people forgetting it’s even there. These are of course the people who canceled (like me) and plan to re-up when the next show comes on. CBSAA does very little marketing it seems so it seems reasonable that the longer this goes the more potential subscribers they might loose.
That’s where I’m at, ML. Canceled, and probably won’t sign up again until Picard S2 or the Pike series. CBSAA just isn’t on my radar. They do hardly any advertising, except on broadcast CBS, and imo, their products have been substandard thus far. Trek, Twilight Zone, both underwhelming. If there is a golden age of television going on, it’s not on AA. If I hear good buzz here about DSC S3 I might give it a shot, but that show has already fooled me twice.
The stats from Parrot Analytics show that each time a season launches for one of the Trek series, it significantly increases the demand for the others (including TOS and the 90s series).
Discovery demand really ramped up before the premiere of Picard, and stayed up through the run and after. As well, both series are building demand for the entire franchise beyond the principal markets of the US, Canada, the UK and Germany. Picard really pushed for Mexico and the Latin American markets, and is making inroads in a broad range of international markets.
So, the strategy of one Trek live-action series running a season each quarter makes a lot of sense.
I reckon that with all the technology available to film-makers these days, when ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ Season 3 lands on Netflix and CBS All Access we viewers wont see or hear any tell-tale signs that post- production has had to be done remotely.
I’m sure the makers of the show wouldn’t put something out that was less than perfect anyway!
As far as the direction of the show is concerned I really hope that the crew of the Discovery stay in the 32nd Century for good and don’t find a way to get back to their original time. I think that would be a total cop-out. And of course it would cause major problems for those who were left behind at the end of Season 2 and were sworn to secrecy!
I hope we see lots of new alien species in the 32nd century and the building of a whole new level of official Canon for the ‘Star Trek.’ universe. I’d also love to see what the Ferengi, the Cardassians and the Klingons look like after almost a thousand years of evolution!
But I guess we’ll all just have to be really patient.
I think humans looked pretty much the same 1000 years ago as they do now. Maybe they weren’t as tall. Unless there’s some genetic engineering involved you would probably need to wait for a much longer period of time to see big evolutionary changes.
So Michael ‘woah is me, the world revolves around me and I hate it!’ Burnham is still in the show then? Yeah it is a pass from me, her character is just so unlikable!
This is why people lose interest. So much time goes by between seasons, it’s basically like it’s over. Miss the old days where a show ends in May and comes back in September. I’ve walked a way from a lot of tv over the last five years because the space between seasons makes it hard to care.
Worth. The. Wait.
chomping at the bit here. cant wait to see season 3