Childhood actor Presley Mahaffay, who played Lita, the first child to die in the film was moved to tears during the make-up process and cast and crew tried to console her. Apparently, she felt that the prosthetic that covered her head and partial face was somehow a permanent feature until she warmed up to it. Once in full make-up she felt much better and got use to it.
Given the "heavy" subtext in the film, director Michael L. King went for a specific look not seen in a trek fan film before. The sickbay aboard the USS Valiant was barely lit to reflect the gravity of the scenes and the exterior shots of the ship also reflected this as the story moved forward the vessel became darker and darker. CGI artist Craig Frey was attuned with King and did not need any instruction once he read the script. Other techniques used was a shoulder mounted camera by photographer Dan Reynolds that illustrated the audience looking in.
To augment the seriousness of the story, director Michael L. King requested that no music be used during all the scenes featuring the USS Valiant except for the final shot, despite the opposite from his producer Scott Johnson.
Reagan, Presley and Hudson MaHaffay are real life sisters.
Crosses to Bear is the final film to shoot at Starbase Studios in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as the sets were dismantled and moved to Arkansas under the care of Glen L. Wolfe and Dan Reynolds.