In this exclusive interview, makeup department head SHAUNA LLEWELLYN and hair department head RYAN REED go behind the hairspray, coifs, colors, lacquers, and bedazzling to discuss boldly shaping a new visual world in the Star Trek universe with STAR TREK: SECTION 31. Working closely with costume designer Gersha Phillips, as well as with the film’s star Michelle Yeoh, it fell to this team to design and craft the outpost of Georgiou; and craft they did, emphasizing the freedom to explore new creative territories without pre-existing restrictions.
SYNOPSIS: In this new original movie, Academy Award® winner Michelle Yeoh reprises her Star Trek: Discovery role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, who joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she also must face the sins of her past.
Coming off their successful work with STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, the move from episodic television to a feature film allowed Shauna and Ryan unprecedented creative latitude with extended preparation time to develop intricate character designs without the constant interruptions typical in episodic television. The feature film format also enabled them to push design boundaries, creating more elaborate and experimental looks for characters like Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa. As both Shauna and Ryan admit, episodic work often requires simultaneously prepping for new cast members and current episodes, making it more challenging, while the feature film allowed them “the luxury” of concentrated design time for the feature film.
Breaking down the film, Shauna and Ryan explained their creative process began by pulling images from the internet and working closely with costume designer Gersha Phillips looking at the costume’s fabric, colors, and textures to inspire their hair and makeup designs. Shauna typically waited to see Ryan’s hair design and the costume before developing her makeup look, aiming to either complement or create an interesting contrast with the overall aesthetic.
The real highlight of STAR TREK: SECTION 31 is Michelle Yeoh’s character of Phillipa. Working closely with Yeoh, they created custom elements like green lashes that complemented the iridescent purple-blue cape and designed intricate makeup like the diamond-studded eyeliner. They had complete creative freedom with SECTION 31, which allowed them to push boundaries and create unique looks that had never been seen before in the Star Trek universe. Their goal was to use color, texture, and design to help tell the story and create visually striking characters.
In looking beyond the main characters, and particularly Michelle Yeoh’s Phillipa, Ryan and Shauna put a lot of thought into the background actors’ looks. They wanted to create a rich, diverse visual world that would make the bar scene feel authentic and immersive. They carefully curated each extra’s appearance, using bold colors like vivid neon green, bright white, and sunny yellow wigs. They ensured that both male and female background actors received equal attention, with colorful wigs, facial hair, and accessories like studded ears and lips. Their goal was to make each background character contribute to the overall atmosphere and help viewers believe they were in another part of the universe, even if those characters weren’t in close-up shots.
A key element of their design work with STAR TREK: SECTION 31 is that this is an action film with intense action sequences and they had to be cognizant of that in their designs as with action comes visible beading sweat and dirt. An interesting segment of this interview deals with specific products used by Ryan and Shauna to create controlled and enhanced sweat effects that would look natural and stay in place during intense action scenes. They focused on maintaining makeup and hair continuity, especially during breaks and setup times with some of the key challenges being (1) ensuring makeup and hair remain intact during fight sequences, (2) creating realistic sweat and dirt effects, (3) using products that would last throughout long shooting days, (4) matching sweat levels between takes for continuity, and (5) keeping the actors comfortable while maintaining the desired look.
It’s taken SHAUNA LEWELLYN and RYAN REED some 25 years, from their early days working on the series “Cheetah Girls” to now being department heads, driven by the creative process of character development and the joy of collaborating with talented teams.
A fascinating and fun conversation that you’ll want to hear!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 02/01/2025
STAR TREK: SECTION 31 is now streaming on Paramount+.
