Gooding plays the young Cadet Uhura on “Strange New Worlds,” and will be returning for the show’s second season. While she cannot yet say what kinds of stories Trekkies can expect from the new season, she did talk about losing her bearings while standing in front of the AR screen. Without being able to look at the camera itself, Gooding had to merely adjust to the fact that her artificial set was going to move and swirl at what seemed like random intervals. It seems that filming “Strange New Worlds” required actors to gain their sea legs. Gooding said:
“I think it was totally a learning experience because of the technology of how it works. The wall moves to make sense for the camera angle. The wall is constantly moving and there are constantly things happening. And at first, it was about having to like gain your bearings of understanding that while the world may move around, you are standing very still. It was almost trying to remember not to get dizzy or if there are grand movements it’s best to not try and follow it because you will confuse your brain.”
A common way to alleviate or prevent actual seasickness is to avoid looking out at the horizon or looking out windows where the pitch of the sea can be seen. Whether or not this is a tactic that can be employed by AR-surrounded actors is not something Gooding made clear. She did say, however, that she was eventually able to get used to it, remembering to prep for the more dramatic scenery shifts.
She got her sea legs, eventually.
