This post first appeared on Ren’s Patreon page.

We’re currently six-and-a-half weeks from the camera rolling on Ren Season Three Block Two. Always scary when you write that down, but prep is going very well.

We’re in the middle of casting the new speaking roles for this block. Big thanks to everyone who’s come in or submitted a self-tape.

Here are five more photos to update you on the other areas of progress.

The final draft of the script has been issued, with minor tweaks throughout and some slightly bigger changes in episode 303 to fix a plot hole. I took the opportunity to move an action sequence from location to set, which is better creatively but also saves quite a bit of money! That in turn meant that the schedule could be arranged much closer to story order with less jumping back and forth between episodes, always a bonus.

Crina Ciobanu, our head hair and make-up artist, has been hard at work on the wigs for both Oriana Charles (Ren) and Florian Hencher (Tomas). Oriana’s is the same one she wore in Season Two (and that Kate Madison wore in Born of Hope, fact fans) but it needed some improvements to the hairline so it sits better. Florian’s hair at the end of Season Two was real, but he’s since cut it short, so Crina has dyed and modified a wig to match his previous look.

The props requirements for this block are huge, and this is a glimpse of a key one by production designer Ash Finn. Eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted the typeface, an ancient Alathian script, on the bookstall in 204. It was designed by series co-creator Christopher Dane, who has also been working on some new and very important visuals for the show’s lore.

In a fortnight we begin the set build, so Ash and Dale have been hunting for materials. Acquired so far are some triangular frames which will become windows, some scaffolding that will help with a structural part of the set, and probably many other things stuffed into Ash’s spare room and Dale’s garden. Not to mention that the hayloft at the farm is still jammed full of last year’s set. An incredibly generous company called Firecracker Works are planning to deliver us even more materials when we get started.

If any of you would like to help us making and decorating the set or making props then public Making Weekends will run 22nd March-6th April. Every Saturday and Sunday during that period anyone is welcome to come along to Burleigh Hill Farm and lend a hand. More details closer to the time.

Meanwhile post-production continues on 302 and 304. I’ve received the first pass of the grade for 302 from our colourist Mara Ciorba. For those who don’t know, grading is the process of adjusting colours and contrast, both to match shots filmed hours or days apart and to impart an overall creative look to the show. The VFX for 304 are now finished, extending the Helgoth set. Seb Roberts has been hard at work on 302’s VFX shots, which are mainly adding flying arrows. As I write only a single shot remains, a tricky one where an actor mimes a quick reload of the bow and the arrow has to be added into her hand.

Finally, I’ve been planning the trailer for Season Three. This may seem premature, but I’m hoping there will be an opportunity to screen it in May so there will be limited time to complete it after we wrap our April shooting block. I’m very excited that a couple of very talented YouTube musicians have given permission to use one of their tracks on the trailer. More on that in due course!