them to ask production associate Zayra Cabot and the Joan Pearce Research Associates to gather information on parapsychology. They later agreed to portray Kes with "some measure of telepathic ability" for the pilot episode ("Caretaker"), and planned to address it further in future episodes. When casting Kes, "Caretaker" director Winrich Kolbe looked for an actress who was "fragile, but with a steely will underneath". The casting call was for only women in their early-twenties or younger. Producers hired Jennifer Lien based on their belief that she could embody the character's "somewhat childlike and fragile" qualities. Lien was one of the first cast members hired for the series; at the age of nineteen, she was the youngest actor on the show at the time of its debut. Lien only had a basic understanding of the Star Trek franchise prior to receiving the part. She said this allowed her to approach her performance without anxiety. She had auditioned for the show due to the opportunity to play a new alien species, and explained "it meant that anything could happen, offering me the chance to learn and grow as an actress". Jennifer Gatti was considered as a runner-up for Kes, and she would later guest star in the episode "Non Sequitur". Series creator Michael Piller was concerned the pilot was too "passionless" due to its focus on an action-adventure storyline over individual character development; he explained: "The biggest danger in the pilot was in creating a story that nobody cared about." Part of Kes' role in the episode, for Piller, was to encourage the audience to care about Neelix. The costumes in "Caretaker" were created by Robert Blackman. He said designing Kes' clothing was a challenge since producers were still unclear about the character and Lien was very introverted. Although he had difficulty with Lien, Blackman said the cast and crew enjoyed working with her. Kes' original costume was pastel colored and based on a sprite, but the producers rejected it after a wardrobe fitting. The Ocampa prosthetics for "Caretaker" were designed by Michael Westmore. While the early scenes of "Caretaker" were filmed, Lien tested various combinations of wigs and prosthetics; cinematographer Marvin V. Rush filmed each version for series creator Rick Berman to receive his final approval. During the show's first two seasons, it took Lien three hours a day to get into her character's hair, make-up, and wardrobe. As the series